Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK
Dec. 21, 2011

Daily Ornament!
A Week of Peace: Wednesday, Day Twenty-Five of Advent

“Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol Him, all you peoples. For great is His love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord.” – Psalm 117:1-2
Gospel Reading: Luke 1:26-38
“The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” – Luke 1:35-37

From today’s Lesson in “Illuminate.”

“Gabriel, an angel or messenger of God, is sent to deliver news once again. Gabriel is a sign of God’s presence for us. When we see Gabriel appear in the story, we feel the same kind of awe and fear as Mary in today’s story and Zechariah in yesterday’s story. While it may be true that seeing Gabriel caused fear, we can also assume that the appearing of a messenger of God also comes with an overwhelming sense of God’s presence. We are invited to recognize God, who inspires a feeling of awe, in the midst of this holy announcement.” (pg. 67)
Just in case you have not watched the news lately or read the paper--it’s Advent. It’s time to sing again. It’s time to sing of Christmas. According to the American Society of Composers, the list of the top 25 “most-performed Holiday songs for the first five years of the 21st Century” does not include any traditional Christmas Carols. Amazing, isn’t it? In case you are interested, the number one “Holiday” song in terms of air-play and/or recordings is Bing Crosby’s, “White Christmas.” The number one song regarding public performances is “The Christmas Song” (“Chestnuts roasting on an open fire”). Number two is “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.” Doesn’t that just bless your heart? The closest to a religious theme is number fifteen: “Feliz Navidad.” Ouch. But do you ever want to hear “Mary’s Song?” Just a hint…it isn’t in your hymnal. It is recorded in Luke’s gospel, Chapter One. In the Third Gospel, Mary takes center stage. She speaks; she sings; she worships; she obeys God. But her introduction to the world is low key. She is pictured as being very young, very poor, unmarried, and pregnant—ideal for the socially-minded but uncomfortable for the cultic-minded. To say that Luke pictures her among the overlooked by society is an understatement. But Mary was not overlooked by God. Of all the young women God could have chosen to be the mother of the Savior, God chose well. Young Jewish girls were raised to be homemakers, not poets. They were trained to be seamstresses, not scholars. They were instructed in things domestic, not things prophetic. Mary, as it turned out, excelled in all of these. And she could sing! Her song begins with these words: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him….” (Luke 1:46-49).
In the full passage (1:46-55) this humble, young child with no formal education paints a word picture to delight the most gifted poet. She tells of a recently-conceived Savior who would announce freedom for all who believe that God will make a way where there seems to be no way. She proclaims that this Savior will bring deliverance to captives and will correct injustice everywhere. She sings of a God who has “brought down rulers from their thrones” while at the same time elevating the humble. She remembers the God of Abraham and exalts the God of Jesus Christ—even before Christ is born.
Are you ready to hear Mary’s song again? The world isn’t. It doesn’t know Mary’s God. Our leaders have sought their gods in strange places—in secular academia, in drugs of addiction, in dishonest practices, in political power, in immoral living, in self-centered schemes to gain wealth, in lies, in outright fraud, in deceptive handling of the public trust, in ways that would have been totally rejected by the founders of our nation. The world at large isn’t listening for Mary’s song. But we are. And what does Mary’s song tell us?
Mary’s Song tells of a God who keeps his promises. Mary’s Song tells of hope for those who have no hope.
Mary’s Song tells of a Savior who will redeem the lost.
Mary’s Song tells of a future that is immeasurably more beautiful than the past or present. Mary’s Song tells of the Holy Spirit who visited Nazareth so long ago and is still at work today.
Mary’s song may not be on the world’s “favorite 25” list, but it should be on our list. And we need to sing it. Why? Because it’s time to sing again. It’s Advent—it’s time to celebrate.
Pastor J. T. Carnell