How did Mary remember what she never experienced? She is young, a teenager when the angel appears before her. He announces: You will become the mother of the Messiah, the Savior of the world, God in human flesh.
The angel’s presence and greeting catches her by surprise; his message does not. Mary wonders how she will become pregnant, for she’s a virgin, never having slept with a man. Still, the message of the coming Messiah does not faze her.
Her song reveals the promise of the Messiah is rooted in her bones. She echoed the songs of Scripture for God’s Old-Covenant people: Her soul proclaims and her spirit rejoices. The Mighty One carried out His mighty deeds for her, scattering the proud in the imaginings of their hearts.
Mary composes the story of Scripture into a new song. Well, both new and old. Did you not find Hannah from our Old Testament reading in Mary’s words? Mary’s mind is resonating with the Messiah.
Who formed her and filled her with the Promise? Did her mother make such music, with Mary later ringing out in such song? Anna is preparing the supper meal, imprinting Mary as she grew within the womb.
Did her father throw Mary into the air, catching her in his arms, filled with delight? Joachim sings to her the songs of their ancestors, as dinner sizzled over the flame.
Rabbis didn’t teach girls in those days. Mary’s ear catches her male cousins singing of the Messiah—the Promise made to father Abraham long ago.
Mary’s betrothed, Joseph, is a holy man. Perhaps, they imagine what life will be for them. They gaze into the sky, dreaming of life after the Promised One arrives.
Someone shared the melody emanating from Mary’s lips. Her song now grows stronger as the angel tells her of Elizabeth, her much-older cousin, being pregnant. Elizabeth lived more years than Mary; she is past the age of bearing children. God is at work here! “Nothing is impossible” with God.
The core of Mary’s faith in the Messiah, soon to be stirring with life within her, is the covenant God gave to Abraham. The promise to Abraham is her promise. She is part of the people through whom the Messiah will come. Now, she sits stunned. God will use her as His chosen vessel to bring His salvation into the world!
God’s Covenant with Abraham shows God as loving, caring, forgiving, renewing, and encouraging. God promised Abraham a land, the Promised Land. A populous people as the sands on the shore and the stars in the sky would descend from him, because of the Promise. Blessings would abound for all through Abraham because of his Descendant. Now, Mary will bring the promised Descendant into the world!
Mary’s melody recalls the many times God showed Himself faithful to His Covenant promise. Her mind relived the experiences of God’s people as she carried with her the Hebrew way of remembering, of being brought back to an event. God did scatter the proud in the imaginings of their hearts. He toppled the mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly. She is becoming living proof.
She will soon become the mother of the Son of God, “I AM,” Yahweh in human flesh, the God so holy she feared to speak His name. Such an honor. Her head spins, and she can only speak a “yes” to God’s messenger. “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled” (Luke 1:38). The Holy Spirit through the spoken Word of the angel does what the Word declares: Mary is pregnant.
She now passes her intoned words of remembrance to us! Her song is now our song—the Church’s song. Her words pull forward the prayers, needs, and expectations of the promised Messiah. We sing, reliving the Divine Promise of salvation by God through Abraham’s Descendant.
Mary’s song reaches forward to us—to all generations born after the Savior’s birth, to all who need God’s mercy and forgiveness. To sing Mary’s song is to sing with Mary, with generation after generation of God’s people through the centuries, who bow before God in awe and receive His grace.
The Lord of heaven and earth is eyeing the humble state of His servant. The angel’s words deliver God’s words to Mary. Her lips cannot remain silent from such an event. She will become the mother of God, God in human flesh.
God casts His rays of favor on those who don’t rely on themselves, their deeds, or supposed righteousness before Him. His mercy unmasked to Mary through His spoken Word, is a foretaste of God’s restoration. “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled” (Luke 1:38). God chooses Mary to bear His Son because, in her humility, her heart is not full of herself but empty, waiting for God.
Today, we are all Mary. We bring nothing to God, for He does not shine with favor on us because of who we are in ourselves or what we bring to Him. Our bondage to this fallen world is complete—we are helpless, impoverished, and destitute without God.
For God to recognize us as His “servants” is His doing. We serve Him because His Word and Spirit came, washing us in holy water. His Word enters our hardened ears and changes our sinful flesh into sacred vessels as He lives in us. In His Supper, His body and blood come to us in bread and wine so our flesh may be like His.
The Mighty One did His saving deeds: He scattered the proud, toppled the mighty, exalted the lowly. He satisfied the hungry with food, sent the rich away with nothing, and remembered to help His servant Israel.
The deeds of God are His mighty acts of salvation. For Israel, this focused on the Exodus and Passover, God rescuing His people from slavery. God’s act of redemption to come will be different. God in Mary’s womb, will be born to suffer, die, and rise.
Our Lord’s final act of salvation will be when He returns once more, on the Last Day, to resurrect our bodies, as He also rose from the tomb. Mary is blessed because God is using her to bring about His mighty acts of salvation.
“His mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear Him.” Such compassion from God begins and ends with the fear of God. Mary does not sing of a paralyzing fear of punishment but humbled awe. I deserve death, but God gives me life. We realize what we deserve and who God declares us to be: His holy, forgiven child.
We never outgrow this fear, this realization. For if we do, we are acting like we are God, not His servant. God’s mercy for the generations is on those who fear Him.
Mercy is the essence of Jesus’ ministry. He comes as the merciful and compassionate Messiah, not as a God of vengeance. He does not punish His enemies for their sins against Him but places himself under the Father’s wrath. He suffers for us.
God shows His mercy, releasing the fallen creation from its bondage. He sets the captives free, releasing the slaves of Satan, healing the sick, forgiving sinners, and raising the dead. What God did and does to save us cause us to fear Him.
We think “fear” should not be one of our responses. So, we learn the fall into sin also took our understanding of fear as a hostage. God also comes to redeem our fallen experience of fear, setting right what sin made wrong.
Mary’s example brings us to ask: “Who or what am I proclaiming as I prepare for Christ to come?” Mary’s voice sings out: The Mighty One carried out mighty deeds for me, and His name is holy. We can only declare the same truth for ourselves because of what God does. God carries out His mighty deeds for choosing us as His own.
God made us and, because of our sin, comes to remake us through our Savior, Jesus Christ. Life and salvation are ours through God’s astounding love given to us in His Son, the promised Messiah. He redeems us from our sins and makes sure we inherit eternal life from the Father.
Like Mary, we do not boast of our humility but confess the truth. She shows us and teaches us how to praise the wonderful goodness of God. Our worthiness or our unworthiness don’t give us cause to praise God. Only His divine mercy and grace.
Mary’s beautiful song reminds us: every song we sing in God’s house is to be a hymn inspired by the Christ-child. His presence, born among us, redeemed us. His continuing presence to us in Word and Sacrament still comes to recreate us by His Spirit and Word, through water and word, bread and wine.
Mary’s song is our song, for we can only proclaim and rejoice in the Lord because Christ lives in us and we live in him. His humility is ours now, which means His glory will also be ours when He raises us on the Last Day.
Who taught Mary, so the Promise took root in her bones? We are unsure. What’s important is recalling, like Mary, we are the children of Promise, Abraham’s offspring.
The Apostle Paul reveals: “Those of you who are baptized into Christ are clothed with Christ…. Now, if you belong to Christ, you are Abraham’s descendant, heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:27, 29). This day, we are all Mary, filled with the presence of God, filled with the salvation of the world. Amen.
