Mary says, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord. My spirit rejoices in God my Savior. For he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.” We had a nice discussion at bible study about the Magnificat. Did Mary actually say these words or were they taken from a similar, earlier writing in first Samuel. I think you can get caught up in questions like this that can neither be proved or disproved.
What the author of Luke is telling us is that Mary and her relative Elizabeth had both been blessed by God. Elizabeth had become pregnant and would have a special child named John. In the words of the angel who visited Zechariah, “he will turn many people of Israel to the Lord their God.”
These two men would change the world. They would eventually turn the Roman world upside down and they continue to impact us today.
But lets talk about Mary. How do you think she must have felt when an angel appears to her and says she will bear a son. His name will be Jesus and his kingdom will be without end. She must have had a lot of questions, at least a little doubt, and a lot of anxiety. The society was very hard on unmarried women having children. Mary was probably very young, maybe fourteen. Think back to the time when you were fourteen. What were your major concerns. I think my major concerns were pimples, and getting my homework in on time. And, of course my little brother whom I fought with on a regular basis.
Lets not trivialize what Elizabeth was going through. She was old and people rarely lived long in those days. I am sure she was worried that she might not live long enough to see John raised. At the time of her pregnancy her husband was not only very old but was also unable to speak.
Even though all of this was happening there was great joy for both women. They both felt blessed. They were counting their blessings.
So, what about you. I know enough about most of you to be aware that you have all gone through difficult times and some of those difficult times continue. Lets talk about the other side of that coin. What are your blessings. Please share those blessings with us. Lets count your blessings. I know for me it is all of you, a wife who loves me, children who love me. I think one of my greatest blessings is that God is in my life and I know that if everything passes, (and it will) I will still have that loving relationship with God.
Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment