Good News Among the Lowly

Advent Sermon: Good News Among the Lowly

Prayer: Oh God, lure us now into a deeper understanding of who you are and what your hopes are for this hurting world. Amen.

As we gather in the spirit of Advent, we prepare for Jesus's coming and the fulfillment of God's promises. Today's gospel reading from Luke gives us an image of a world turned upside down: where the lowly are lifted, the hungry are filled, and the mighty are brought low. We are reminded that the gospel is not a story of triumph for the powerful but a proclamation of good news to the weak. This is the message Mary sings in her Magnificat. This message reveals God's heart for justice, rooted in love and mercy. Mary's words not only unveil the character of God but also the origins of Jesus' passion for justice.

Mary's Magnificat is steeped in the language of the prophets. Her words echo Hannah's prayer in 1 Samuel, the psalms of David, and the proclamations of Isaiah. It is a song that celebrates the God who brings liberation to the oppressed and remembers the covenant with Israel. Her words anticipate Jesus' ministry and his vision of a kingdom where the first are last and the last are first. Mary's song is a prelude to the gospel, a prophetic declaration that the downtrodden are not forgotten but are central to God's kingdom.

Mary's words reflect a deep understanding of God's ongoing story, which continues through us. Her song connects her to the long line of prophets who spoke of God's justice and faithfulness, a line in which we are not just invited but empowered to continue as followers of her son Jesus. We should not be just spectators in God's story but active participants, carrying forward the legacy of justice and faithfulness that Mary and the prophets before her proclaimed.

Consider for a moment who Mary is. She is a young woman from a humble village, poor and powerless by the world's standards. "My soul magnifies the Lord," she sings, "for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant." Her humility becomes the vessel for God's work in the world through Jesus.

It's tempting to attribute Jesus' wisdom and compassion solely to a divine nature. But doing so risks ignoring the significant influence of his Jewish heritage and his earthly relationships, particularly with his mother. Where did Jesus learn to see the world through the lens of God's justice and mercy? Look at Mary and at her song. To say that Jesus' character and mission emerged fully formed from divinity is to discount the centuries of God's work among the Jewish people and the direct influence of his upbringing.

Jesus did not emerge in a vacuum. His teachings and actions flowed from the culture and people who shaped him. In Mary’s song, we see the seeds of Jesus' radical ministry: his care for the poor, advocacy for the marginalized, and unwavering vision of God's kingdom brought to Earth.

When we acknowledge Jesus' humanity, we are invited to see the divine working through the ordinary. This amplifies the truth that God speaks through the humble, the weak, and the unexpected. Ignoring this reality diminishes not only Mary but also the voices of the marginalized throughout history—those who continue to bear the image of God in their struggles. It's a source of inspiration and hope, knowing that God's vision is not limited to the powerful and the wealthy but is at work in the lives of the ordinary and the marginalized.

As we reflect on the Magnificat and how it shaped Jesus' ministry, let us ask: Who are the lowly among us today in our community? Who are the forgotten, the marginalized, and the oppressed? Where do we see the lonely? The exploited?

Mary's song calls us to see them through God's eyes and join in God's justice work as Jesus did. It invites us to examine our own lives: Where are we complicit in systems that harm others? This is a challenging question, one I constantly struggle with, but one that we must all ask ourselves. Where do we need to repent and be transformed so that God's kingdom might be revealed to the harmed?

Advent is a season of waiting, but it is not passive waiting. Like Mary, we are called to act with hope and courage. We are invited to magnify the Lord in our lives—to proclaim the good news and embody the hope of Christ in a hurting world.

What is good news for a hungry person? What is good news for someone without a home or family? What is good news for someone struggling with depression? What is good news for the immigrant? What is good news for the Earth? What is good news for those among us who are ostracized by their families for their beliefs, gender identities, or political views?

This time of year is especially hard for many. How can we be good news in a hurting world? Befriend the lonely. Feed the hungry. Pay off someone’s medical debt. Provide a ride for someone who doesn’t have transportation. There are many ways to be good news.

In Mary's Magnificat, we see the beginnings of Jesus' radical ministry—a ministry rooted in God's love for the outcast. As followers of Christ, we are called to continue this mission. The Magnificat challenges us to hope boldly and to act justly, knowing that God's kingdom is breaking into the world through the humble, the unexpected, and the faithful.

I want to close on a snippet I read from Diana Butler Bass. She writes:

Her glory is almost always connected to her maternity. Mary is Mary because of Jesus. But before she was Jesus' mother, Mary was a prophet. In some ways, her story is like that of Isaiah, a person of humble circumstance who lived at a time of political turmoil and military oppression. An angel appears to the future prophet, who feels inadequate to bear God's word to the people. Yet, eventually, both Isaiah and Mary relent and submit to the Spirit's call on their lives.

And, long before the cry of the infant in the manger, Mary proclaims the in-breaking of God's reign, the political justice that will be born into the world:

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 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 for ever.

Yes, Mary is Mary because of Jesus. But Jesus was born Jesus because of Mary, who responded to the call of God, as did Isaiah of old: "Here am I, the servant of the Lord." Without her, the light would not have shined in the darkness.

So, as we approach Christmas, let us carry Mary's song in our hearts as Jesus did. Let it inspire us to magnify the Lord in our lives, proclaim the good news to a hurting world, and live as witnesses to the hope of Christ. May we honor the legacy of faith that stretches from the prophets to Mary to Jesus, and may that prophetic imagination live on through us.

Amen.