Magnified for You!
Fr. Tim Nunez
Magnified for You!
I wondered this week why Luke begins his Gospel as he does. Matthew begins with a genealogy, Mark starts with John the Baptist and John starts with creation then jumps straight to John the Baptist. Only Luke shares this backstory about Zechariah, Elizabeth and Mary. Why?
Luke addresses his Gospel to an anonymous patron he calls Theophilus, which means “Lover of God.” He starts with Gabriel telling Zechariah, an old priest in the Temple, that he’s going to have a son that he is to name John. I’m not going to recap the whole story but Luke then tells of Mary’s visit from Gabriel which leads into this moment when these two women meet.
Oh this is so God! A miraculous pregnancy, well, two miraculous pregnancies, that came with divine announcements. It demonstrates and celebrates the prophetic nature of Jesus coming into the world, yet in fulfillment of the prophets of old and as proclaimed and enacted by The Lord in the moment.
This is why he starts as he does. This prophecy is happening now! It’s the portent of seeing the ancient promises fulfilled, what is coming right now and what is about to come. As an acorn holds all the genetic code for a mighty oak, these encounters between God and people, then the people with each other, hold the potential of this story for them and for all who embrace it. That’s why.
Zechariah and Elizabeth remind us of another unlikely pregnancy as Sarah was also barren and she and Abraham were quite old when God told them they would have a son.
And it also rings familiar with all the biblical figures who were called by God to leadership or faithfulness. In every instance of anyone sincerely answering God’s call, we find that a key aspect of their faith is courage. I’d like to test that statement. Give me the name a Bible hero, any one you admire.
(I intend to work with whatever names people call out. Here is a list for readers and/or just in case they don’t play along very well.)
Courage in Abraham and Sarah in leaving their homeland and journeying to the land Canaan on God’s promise.
Courage in Moses to confront the Pharaoh of mighty Egypt and lead his people out of bondage and through all the challenges of wandering in the wilderness for 40 years.
Courage in Joshua to enter the Promised Land on that promise.
Courage in Ruth, the Moabitess, to follow her Jewish mother-in-law back to Israel where Ruth would find a husband and become King David’s great-grandmother.
Courage in David to face Goliath, to endure the threats of King Saul, to face his own sin and the horror of his own son Absalom hunting him down.
The courage that Mary shows in this birth narrative and when she, Mary Magdalene and the other women gather at the foot of the cross.
The courage of Peter, James, John, Paul and all the rest of them to face all the trials, tribulations and most often death to share the God News of Jesus. And no one showed more courage and faith than Jesus.
In every instance, their faith in God is bound with the courage to go where he leads them and to accomplish his will in and through them. At the heart of our faith we find, always, courage; courage to trust what we believe and who we believe in. We don’t see any place or anyone in scripture where God’s call is merely to behave reasonably well and sort yourself out.
Think about how that relates to you. You have your own issues and challenges to meet daily, with work, kids, laundry, cleaning, and so on. Some people overcome some serious physical challenges to simply get through their day. Some have emotional or other challenges to manage, or daunting circumstances, or debilitating grief. Some have all of that all at once, maybe most or all of the time.
In the midst of such trials, people turn again and again to The Lord to give them strength. There is a great deal of courage in that. I cannot say if their faith is driving their courage or if their courage is feeding their faith. Faith and courage seem to build on each other.
The courage described regularly in scripture has more to deal with mission. Having the courage to ask, to listen for an answer and to follow through is also tightly bound to faith.
The Magnificat is a canticle as you see in your bulletin insert. I’d like us to say together the translation that is in the Gospel passage. Only this time rather than thinking of Mary in her moment, I want you to think of yourself in your moment, in all of the challenges and difficulties you face right now, with whatever pain is wearing on you right now.
Remember that everything God did in, through and for Mary, he did for you. For the world, yes; and for you specifically.
My soul magnifies The Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my savior, for he has looked with favor upon the lowliness of his servant.
Surely from now on, all generations will call me 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 great strength with his arms; 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 the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made tour ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.
This week you will find in your bulletin a little card about Alpha. Alpha is designed for people who are outside the church, be they non-Christians or those who have lapsed for whatever reasons. It is an outreach to those sorts of folks, the people who are not already here or another church. You can leave it in the pew or toss it in the recycling basket. But I hope you will take it with you and give it away. The person may receive it and toss it or they may look into it. They might even take interest. We cannot know unless we try.
Please pray on this. Ask The Lord to whom you should give a card. That takes some courage - we have social pressure to avoid talking about religion or politics, so I’m asking you to pray, listen and trust God with it. We are only giving you one but we will give you as many as you want.
Mary’s song is our song and it is a song to share. Pray on that and share it.
AMEN