This morning we continued the: Advent at Advent – Waiting and Wondering series. at Advent Lutheran Church (ELCA).
Sermon
My message, “An Unexpected Song” is based on Luke 1:39-55.
You can watch the message below or read the manuscript.
Excerpt
The last two Sundays, we’ve talked a lot about God choosing John. John the less than qualified. John the Prophet. John the eccentric wilderness preacher.
And, now we find God has chosen Mary. Mary the young woman, likely a teenager. Mary the one engaged to be married to Joseph. Mary the one who had lived a very low profile life up until now.
Now, Mary is the one who consents. The one who is pregnant and wise beyond her years. The one who feels her baby leap within her womb.
The one who responds by magnifying God. Mary glorifies God for what God is doing through her and for all that God will do through her and through the son she will bear and name Jesus.
Her song isn’t a fun Christmas carol. It isn’t a catchy secular holiday tune. It’s a robust, honest, and forthright look at how the world will change through her, through her son.
In fact, it was and is so radical that it has been banned. In our time we think of banning books, but we need to be aware that the Magnificat has been banned too. It was banned for fear of people hearing about God’s preferential love for the poor. The bans happened during the British rule of India and then again more recently in Argentina in the 1970s and in Guatemala in the 1980s.
This morning is the third Sunday of Advent. It is the Sunday we light the candle of love reminding us that we are preparing for the arrival of Mary’s baby, the one who will embody love in new ways and who will invite his followers to be known by their love. As we continue our Advent journey, we give thanks for Mary and commit to listening anew to her song – an unexpected song on our seasonal playlist.