Sermon Notes, December 11, 2016
Rev.
Garry McGlinchy
Pastor
Garry continued Advent 2016, “We Believe,” with his third sermon, titled “Joy: Finding
God’s Way.” The scripture reference was
Luke 1:46-56, the story of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth and her song of Joy, which
has been called The Magnificat by
church leaders.
When
you think about Mary and her situation, you might think she had no reason to
sing. She’s young, she’s scandalously
pregnant, without the dignity and cover of marriage, and she’s just walked about
80 miles to meet with her elderly cousin.
And yet through the shock, strain and stress, she sings. Dietrich Bonhoeffer called this song the most
passionate, wildest, most revolutionary hymn of advent. C.S. Lewis called this song terrifying, yet
it is not angry. It is a song that
announces that the prayers of Mary’s ancestors have not been dismissed by
God. Instead, they will be answered in
God’s way. There will be justice, restoration,
and joyous singing. All of Mary’s
announcements in this song were coming through her unborn child; they were not
yet reality. Mary is not singing because
of the past, but because of the future.
She’s singing out of hope and joy.
In this time between the first and second coming of the Christ, while we
anticipate justice and restoration and joy, these are not yet reality. But our attitude can reflect Mary’s joy.
Mary rejoices because God is her mighty warrior. (vv. 51-53) In her song, Mary lists the things that God
has done. He has performed mighty deeds,
scattered the proud, brought down rulers, exalted the lowly, and He has
deprived the rich and filled the poor. In doing this Mary has claimed the work of God
as the foundation that God will work in her own life (v. 49). Have you ever considered God’s mighty acts to
be done on your behalf? When God called
Abraham, rescued Isaac, preserved Egypt through Joseph, and led His people by
Moses, He did that for you. When God
anointed judges like Deborah and Samson, and prophets like Samuel, He did that
for you. When God took the crown from
the haunted King Saul and gave it to David, He did that for you. When God rebuilt Jerusalem’s walls through
Nehemiah and revived the Israelites through Ezra, He did that for you! And the story of God’s work goes on, for you!
Mary
claimed the work of the Mighty Warrior as action on her behalf. Do you have the faith to claim God’s mighty
work as being done for you? Mary’s faith
led to her joy. Has God been your mighty
warrior that you may be filled with joy as well?
Mary rejoices because God is her covenant partner.
(vv.54-55) The second reason for Mary’s
rejoicing is because she understands that God is her covenant partner. Do you think of God as your friend? He is! But the foundation of God’s friendship
is not a friendship of equals; it is a friendship of two very unequal
parties. God’s friendship with humanity
is a covenant when one partner needs the other and will pay a kind of tribute
and support to the stronger party. But
in God’s covenant, He is the strong party.
He does not need anything from humanity; He has it all. Yet God comes down to our level to be in
faithful covenant with us. Mary grasped
by faith that this covenant relationship was for her, too. And it let her to sing in joy. Know this to be true: God wants to be your
partner. God reaches out to you, not
because He needs you, but because you need Him.
Will this act of God inspire joy in you, too?
We
all have different blessings, curses, and challenges in life. But in the midst of all of these experiences,
we can rejoice. Mary, in spite of
stress, strain and shock, sang. Regardless of what the world thinks of your
circumstance, you can glorify God and rejoice in God. Just as He was with Mary, God has been
mindful of you. If you will accept God as your mighty
warrior, it means fighting a different battle in a different way. It means entrusting your safety and surety to
God, not in a passive manner, but in the way that you fight, through prayer, in
fairness, for true justice. If you will
accept God as your covenant partner it means going all in. God has given everything. He held nothing back in Christ because you
need Him. And He calls for the same
commitment: He calls us to hold nothing back from Him. Mary’s life was radically different because
of the gift of God. Your life can be
too.
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