“And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will callme blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.’”
— Luke 1:46-55
When the angel Gabriel announced to Mary what God had designed to have happen, her response was an immediate yes: “Here I am the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” It isn’t clear if God was seeking her consent, but Mary chose to give it. She chose to allow God to work through her to transform the world.
By the time she gets to the home of Elizabeth, she has had the opportunity to think about things. And yet here she still says yes! Whatever plans or dreams she might have had for her life, she could not have imagined that it would involve directly participating in providing the means by which salvation, justice, and equity would come to all. I have always marveled at her understanding. The language she uses here is not that God WILL do these things, but that God HAS DONE these things. She isn’t just reflecting on what God has done in the past, but that in this child, that work finds fruition. Mary knows that when God promises, it is already as good as accomplished.
Of course it isn’t all good news. Some people don’t want the hungry to be fed, nor the forgotten to be remembered. Some who are well off believe that equity and justice will threaten their position. Some who feel that they are gods don’t want to be reminded that they are, actually, not. Mary isn’t saying that God punishes the rich and powerful (though God might burst their bubble); she just observes that God’s focus is on, well, people like her. God favors the lowly.
I was reminded of Mary’s words here as I listened to the church answering machine today. First up was a saved message from earlier in the week, from a gentleman who was castigating us for “drawing in homeless filth to Huntington Beach.” He was “angry and disturbed” that we “cater to the riff-raff when thy just need to get a job… they are making it unlivable here…” his rant reached a crescendo with “I do not want to have to drive by and see them all…!”
Of course the next two messages were from young women in the community who wanted to know when they could bring donations to the food closet.
I am afraid that through you, the members of this congregation, God has sent that young man away empty, filled the young women with good things like charity and grace, and has looked down with favor upon the lowly.
O God, in this season of magnificence and glory, let us remember the humble and the lowly. May we understand again that you change the world through the simple faithful working folk like Mary and Joseph. Move through us to favor the forgotten. And when we are either too full of ourselves or empty of all hope, broaden our view, so that we may know that you equip us and send us to be your servants in the world. Through Jesus, Your beloved and begotten, we pray. Amen.
2020 is almost over!
Thanks be to God!
You all have been amazing in your faithful giving. We are on track to meet 100%
of our budgeted giving for this year. Thank you so very much!
Some giving notes:
– Congress has passed a special rule for this year only, allowing you to deduct
up to $300 in charitable donations, even if you don’t itemize deductions!
– To be counted for 2020 giving, we must receive your gifts by December 31,
2020. Anything received after this date will be reported in your 2021
statement.
– To date we have received over 100 pledges for 2021. We know that there are a
great many questions about the year to come. If you are unable to make a pledge
at this time, we humbly ask that you share a tentative estimate of your giving
for the coming year, which you can change as conditions allow or require. This
will help us to set a plan for expenditures.