God Speaks to Mary About Having a Baby
The context for today's scripture is a meeting between two expectant mothers. Elizabeth is getting on in years and has never been able to have a kid. Mary is young and not yet married. Both pregnancies are unexpected and unplanned past the people involved. It's amazing how news of the same event – being pregnant – can be received very, very differently depending on the circumstances. Both children growing in their mother'due south wombs will be special. Elizabeth'southward son, John the Baptist, volition prepare the way for Mary's son, Jesus. At the moment of today'due south scripture their sons' ministries lie some 30 years in a time to come that cannot be seen or known past the mothers, any more than parents today tin can imagine what their children'south lives will be like in xxx years.
December 14, 2014
Luke 1:46-55, Mary'southward Dream
Doug Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 24:53 — 22.8MB)
Elizabeth, praying against the reality of her past experience, is in seclusion hoping her pregnancy will last full term and bring a son and take abroad the disgrace she has felt in her civilisation at not being able to give birth. Mary, having what tin but be described as a miraculous encounter, agrees to partner with God co-ordinate to God's word, merely cannot have any thought what she is going to experience. The angel Gabriel tells Mary her older relative Elizabeth is pregnant with a son and Mary goes immediately to see her. Maybe one of Mary's thoughts was, "If Elizabeth is truly pregnant, information technology will be a confirmation of my own experience."
When Elizabeth greeted Mary by approving her and the fruit of her womb earlier Mary could tell her she was pregnant, it provided confirmation for Mary about her experience; she wasn't imagining it or hallucinating. And Mary said (Luke 1:46-55), "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 call me blest;
for the Mighty One has done nifty things for me, and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
He has shown force 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,
Co-ordinate to the promises he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendents forever."
Mary'due south soul magnifies or declares the greatness of God. Magnify has several meanings, including to glorify or praise, every bit well as to enlarge or to make greater in size. A magnifying glass enables us to meet something more clearly. When Mary says "my soul magnifies the Lord" and shares what God has washed for her, she is praising God and enabling others to see God's nature and grapheme more clearly than we tin through the lenses of our own experience.
First, Mary praises God for what God has done for her personally.
Her spirit rejoices in God her Savior. Mary looks to God for mercy, salvation, and deliverance. "He has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant."
"The Mighty One has done great things for me." How has God looked on you with favor? What dandy things has the Mighty Ane done for you? It's important to remember that Mary at this point was almost certainly only a teenager, yet she'south focusing on God'south blessing in her life and the slap-up things God has done and non the difficulties she will face in existence true-blue.
Secondly, Mary praises God for what has been washed for generations and what the Lord will practise in the future and Mary speaks of all these things as if they were already achieved. God has shown force, scattered the proud, brought downwardly the powerful, filled the hungry, and helped his servant Israel. The God who has been true-blue in the past will continue to be faithful in the future. As a rich American, I'm a petty uncomfortable with Mary stating God is not on the side of the proud, the powerful, or the rich who are going to be sent away empty, just nosotros take to deal with the fact that's what God's Give-and-take states. Luke's gospel is filled with these kinds of reversals. Throughout his gospel Luke repeatedly warns usa not to invest our lives merely trying to climb a pyramid of material success or personal prestige that Mary says God is going to flip upside down.
We said concluding week that part of preparing for the coming of Christ at Christmas, is accepting responsibility for and repenting of actions, speech, beliefs, or patterns of thought that are harmful for u.s. or other people. When people'due south lives get turned around and God gets the credit, the Lord is magnified. When we magnify the Lord nosotros enable others to encounter God and what God has washed more clearly than they tin can with only their own vision. Psalm 34:3 invites us, "O magnify the Lord with me, permit us exalt his proper name together." Considering the favor God has shown us and the great things God has done for united states of america in our lives, our church, our state, our world – how practise we magnify the Lord in return?
Another manner we magnify the Lord is through our obedience to God's word. Elizabeth says to Mary (Luke 1:45), "Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her past the Lord." Mary was obedient to the Lord even though the future didn't turn out the way Mary hoped it would when she shared these joyous words. No parent wants to out alive her or his child; it's perhaps the greatest heartache one tin experience in life. When Jesus was only a baby a human named Simeon said prophetically and ominously to Mary (Luke ii:34-35), "This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will exist opposed and then that the inner thoughts of many will exist revealed – and a sword will pierce your own soul too."
Mary could not have imagined equally she and Elizabeth shared their mutual joy that one twenty-four hours she'd run across her son publicly tortured and executed. However, thankfully her heartache would exist transformed to commemoration. The gospel of Luke begins with the joy of Mary and the angels and ends with joy afterward the resurrection of Jesus. The gospel concludes (Luke 24:52-53), "And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with swell joy, and they were continually in the temple approval God."
There'due south a sense in which the future is never going to be exactly the way we thought it might be in our lives, our families, at BBC, in our nation or the world; nevertheless, it's important for us to exist like Mary who was faithful and kept believing in the goodness of God and the purposes of the Lord even though her dream of having a long, happy marriage and kids didn't plough out the way she probably thought it would before Gabriel came to her and shared the message that changed her life.
Like Mary, God's promises can also be fulfilled in us and through us, but the new life God wants to bring along will accept time to develop and may happen in ways that are non always comfortable or even easy for us to take. Like Mary, there's a sense in which our church is too in a period of pregnancy. It's every bit if BBC is significant with the possibility of God's future. In a church building, pregnancy also requires waiting and coping with changes as they occur. Those changes are not always welcomed or comfortable, but they are endured because at that place is a purpose in listen – new life is developing in our midst.
I've heard, although it didn't happen with Jill, that some women may become irritable at times when they're pregnant. This is probably a malicious falsehood; nonetheless, there may be times when the physical changes go so uncomfortable that a person'southward mental attitude and spoken language have a turn for the worse. The aforementioned tin exist true in growing churches significant with the possibility of God's future. Nosotros demand to be certain we exercise patience and understanding as nosotros get accustomed to new situations. Like Mary, we can glorify God in whole-hearted worship and prayer that ponders what God is doing in our midst. Merely time will reveal what the hereafter will bring. We believe God'south promise will be fulfilled in us and through us but it will take fourth dimension. So what do nosotros exercise in the mean time?
Well, what do expectant parents do? They make preparations. When we sing Joy to the World on Christmas Eve nosotros hear the words, "Allow every heart prepare him room." In that location's a sense for us individually and every bit a church that to set to birth God's time to come we demand to prepare room for Jesus to come into our hearts and into our midst. One of the ways we prepare room is through a delivery to worshiping God with all our centre, soul, strength and mind. Perhaps there'due south a temptation in this large infinite with comfortable seating to sit back and sentry those of united states of america up front worshiping. It's important for us to fully participate in worship and not to merely exist a spectator or observer.
Notice the exuberance and enthusiasm of Mary's prayer. She's rejoicing in God her savior. Mary is a wonderful model for us in so many ways including her passion for worship and prayer.
Another style we prepare to birth God's future is through a commitment to prayer. We read many times in Luke (i:29, 2:19, ii:51) of Mary pondering events in her heart and we know from this prayer in Luke one and her presence in the visitor of believers every bit they pray in Acts 1 that she was a woman of prayer.
Wholehearted worship and passionate prayer are ii of the key means nosotros prepare to nascence the new life God desires to bring forth through us. They're as well vital ways of receiving salubrious spiritual nourishment just as expectant parents do good pre-natal care. An expectant mother keeps her organisation equally healthy every bit possible and eats nutritious food to give her growing baby the all-time possible chance. Tragically, in that location is a severe problem in our nation with pregnant mothers using opiates and giving nascence to babies who are likewise addicted and go through withdrawal in the their starting time days of life. When mothers practice good prenatal care, the babe benefits, when they don't, the baby suffers. That is likewise true when it comes to the new life God wishes to bring forth through us.
To return to the beginning of our story, some of us, like Elizabeth, may have hoped and prayed for something in our life for years and those hopes and dreams weren't fulfilled. Like Elizabeth, nosotros need to detect ways to hold onto our organized religion in the midst of that thwarting and waiting. Some of united states, similar Mary, have had something happen that nosotros totally hadn't hoped or prayed for that significantly impacted our life. Like Mary, nosotros tin can acquire to hold onto our religion in the midst of those totally unexpected events and to look patiently and prayerfully for God's futurity to be revealed. These two exemplary women, Elizabeth and Mary, are smashing role models and examples of facing both thwarting and the unexpected with resilient organized religion and courage. That is a message of Christmas that is powerful and lasts throughout the unabridged yr.
Mary is pregnant with the possibility of God'south futurity.
God'due south promise is going to exist fulfilled in her and through her, but it will have time. Pregnancy requires waiting and coping with changes every bit they occur. Those changes are non always welcome or comfortable, simply they are endured because there is a purpose in mind. A person is growing, developing, and maturing and new life is going to emerge.
Like Mary, God's promises tin can be fulfilled in u.s. and through us, but the new life God wants to bring forth will take time to develop and may happen in ways that are not like shooting fish in a barrel for u.s. to take.
Similar Mary, nosotros can glorify God in whole-hearted worship and prayer that ponders what God is doing in our midst.
Similar Mary, nosotros tin can share God's business organisation and love for the humble, the lowly, the poor and the hungry.
Similar Mary, we can magnify the Lord in our lives so that others may see God more conspicuously. If I could have arranged it, I would have gotten slap-up big magnifying spectacles about 3 feet in bore hanging from a sturdy piece of rope that I could accept placed over your head as you left worship today to remind you always to retrieve that we're called to magnify the Lord in our lives every moment of every mean solar day throughout the year.
Like Mary, we can take the joy of looking forrad with excitement and anticipation for the new life that God is bringing forth within u.s.a. and through us.
Questions for Reflection or Discussion
Similar Elizabeth, have yous ever hoped and prayed for something in your life and those hopes and dreams weren't fulfilled? How, like Elizabeth, did you concord onto your religion in the midst of that disappointment?
Like Mary, have you always had something happen that you totally hadn't hoped or prayed for that significantly impacted your life? How, similar Mary, did you concord onto your organized religion in the midst of that totally unexpected effect?
What can we larn from their examples of Elizabeth and Mary nigh facing both disappointment and the unexpected with resilient religion and backbone?
Mary praises God for what the Lord has washed for her personally. What are you praising God for today?
What exercise we larn from Mary about wholehearted worship and passionate prayer?
How tin you magnify the Lord in your life and then that others may meet God more than conspicuously?
Source: https://brewsterbaptistchurch.org/marys-dream-2/
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