FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT
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Readings: Micah 5: 2-5a; Luke 1: 39-55
Those of us who attend Evensong regularly, or have done in the past, or who recite the words of Evensong day by day, are well acquainted with the canticle called Magnificat – ‘My soul doth magnify the Lord…’ is the start of the version we probably know. It’s not very often, though, that we hear these words as part of our Sunday readings. And it may be a surprise to find that the ‘Magnificat’ does not immediately follow the visit to Mary by Gabriel, telling her that she is to be the bearer of the world’s Saviour, but rather, it follows the account of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth – the gospel for today.
We can’t be certain that Mary and Elizabeth were sisters – though we often talk about Jesus and John the Baptist being cousins – but certainly they were close relatives, and close in their personal relationship. The story is a lovely account of the excitement of two close friends both expecting their first babies.
After Mary’s dramatic encounter with Gabriel, she is desperate to share the news with someone else, someone who would appreciate the importance of what had happened. Mary must surely have valued the reassurance of Elizabeth – an older woman, and Mary’s company must have been a welcome relief to Elizabeth, who to this point had endured her pregnancy in seclusion and with a mute husband. You’ll recall the story of Zechariah, related earlier in the chapter; how he had been struck dumb for disbelieving the news that his wife – getting on in years – was to have a son. So when Elizabeth says, “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord”, maybe she had her husband’s unbelief in mind.
The text later tells us that Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months, and then returned home. Now the well-known account of the Annunciation begins with the phrase ‘In the sixth month….’, and it only occurred to me recently to ask – ‘in the sixth month of what?’ The answer is, gleaned from the previous verses – the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy. So if Mary travelled to Elizabeth after Elizabeth’s six-months, and remained with her for about three months, it seems likely that Mary stayed with Elizabeth until John was born. By this time her own pregnancy would have been well advanced, and she may have been anxious to seek the seclusion of Joseph’s home.
In one of her biblical commentaries, Delia Smith says, “The scene between Mary and Elizabeth always reminds me of a single log smouldering away on a fire; put another log alongside it and the two catch fire and the flames leap and roar.” So Mary and Elizabeth, in their experience with God, are on fire with joy.” Both pregnancies were little short of miracles, of course: Mary’s was a virgin-birth, and Elizabeth’s was a conception in old age.
But to return to the words we know as Magnificat, familiarity might cause us to overlook the quite revolutionary nature of its sentiment. Indeed, there were places in the British Empire where it was forbidden to sing Magnificat, in case it stirred-up the natives to rebellion. Fact!
So in these words, Mary gives thanks that through her pregnancy the world will come to know its Saviour. Her song begins by giving thanks to God for his redemption. The important thing to note is that the God who has acted in this way in the past acts now. Our God is not of the past alone or to be projected into the future; our God is of the now. Mary foresees that she will be called blessed, because of the wondrous birth she will bring about. Yet Mary has made this possible by saying ‘Yes’ to God. It is the mighty one who has done great things, and holy is his name. God has the same loving kindness for all who fear him from generation to generation.
Next Mary speaks of God as a revolutionary power. The presence of God changes things. In his power God scatters the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. When I hear of the unexpected end of a dictatorship such as we have witnessed in Syria, I say, with Mary ‘He has brought down the powerful from their thrones.’ When I recite those words day-by-day, my prayer is for other places where people long for the mighty to be put down from their seat. It is not to the powerful that God submits; God puts to an end the world’s worship of might and prestige, and he often raises up the humble and the lowly. All are precious to God and he cares for all; and those open to his love are raised up – rich or poor, common or royal.
It is a strange experience to discover how happy and content many poor people are, and how miserable are so many with lots of possessions and riches. Mary’s song would have been a revelation to many of her time, as Jewish belief was that the more you gained on earth, the more God loved you. But this is not so; we are not measured in God’s eyes by what we possess. There are many well-off people who are empty inside, but those who know God are satisfied and realise that their lives are filled with good things. So these are some of the lessons of the Magnificat; if we could learn its lessons and its attitudes to God and to the present, our lives would be greatly enriched.
But there are two readings today. The first – from Micah – is to my mind one of the clearest prophecies about God’s plan to save the world through the birth of Jesus. It’s all to do with the significance of Bethlehem. Ephrathah were the clan that inhabited the city after the conquest of Canaanite territories. Bethlehem had already performed a task as God’s instrument by becoming the seat of David – the great king of Israel. But now, somewhere around the sixth century before Jesus, the prophet seems to suggest that Bethlehem’s task is not yet over. He says – ‘from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.’ He goes on to say that this will occur when ‘she who is in labour has brought forth.’ We place a great deal of importance on the birth of Jesus. He doesn’t appear as a young man, ready to rule at 25 years old, or whatever it might be. We celebrate his very birth.
The way in which God eventually took human flesh depended on all sorts of events and human responses over the centuries, as various people said ‘yes’ to God. But God’s will has not finally been realised. We don’t always see the ideals expressed in the Magnificat found in the ways of the world; we don’t always see the humble exalted or the mighty put down from their seat.
Micah predicted that this ruler who would emerge from Bethlehem would stand and feed his flock, who would be able to live in security and peace. But we don’t yet see that ultimate peace in the world. In many people’s eyes, Jesus Christ is not ‘great’ to the ends of the earth, which Micah predicts. But we live with the Advent hope and expectancy that this will be so; that Christ’s kingdom of love and peace will fully come. It is this hope and belief that will draw thousands to churches all over the world in the coming days.
We live between ‘now’ and ‘not yet’. Christ is with us now; fulfilment is still to come. Our task is to live faithfully in those two dimensions, and to know that – like Mary and Elizabeth – ‘Blessed are we who believe that there will be a fulfilment of what is spoken by the Lord.’