Luke 1:46-56 · Mary’s Song

46 And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord

47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed,

49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me-- holy is his name.

50 His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.

51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.

53 He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.

54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful

55 to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers."

56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

Good News...Really?
Luke 1:46-56
Sermon
by John E. Harnish
Loading...

Thank God for Luke. Of the many insights Luke gives us, his glimpses of Mary are especially profound. Were it not for Luke's Gospel, we would know very little about Mary. Mark skips the birth altogether, and in his Gospel, Jesus seems indifferent to Mary when she does show up. Matthew's Mary is mute. Not one word comes from her lips. She is present, but passive and silent. John shares her presence and her story, but little of her words or thoughts. And St. Paul… the bulk of the New Testament…never even mentions her.

We Protestants have tended to avoid Mary as if she belonged only to the Roman Catholics, and in the process perhaps we have missed the beauty and the power of her place in the sacred story. Jason Byassee reminds us that in Mary, the church makes its radical claim to "Incarnati…

ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., Collected Sermons, by John E. Harnish