Blessed Rebel Girl

Luke 1:26-56

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”[a] 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”[b] 35 The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born[c] will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

39 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be[d] a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

46 And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
47   and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
48 for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
   Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
   and holy is his name.
50 His mercy is for those who fear him
   from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
   he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
   and lifted up the lowly;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
   and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
   in remembrance of his mercy,
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
   to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’

56 And Mary remained with her for about three months and then returned to her home.

“Mary and Elizabeth” by Lauren Wright Pittman

These last few Sundays of Advent, we’ve heard this story sung in melodic chorus – “An angel went from God to a town called Nazareth to a woman whose name was Mary.” Maybe you can even hear the harmonies now as I say the words. “You shall bear a child and his name shall be Jesus, the chosen one of God most high.” Maybe you find yourself eager to join in the song.

It is a beautiful tune that sings of an even more beautiful vision. God is with you.  

The hopes and fears of all the years are met in these words – God is with you. The Gospel writer wants to make sure we notice. This vision and promise has been at work from long ago. The threads of God’s story are being woven together. The promises God made to David and Jacob for their blessing to endure are being fulfilled again through Mary. A line of royal authority continues. The child is to be named Jesus, the Greek by way of Aramaic version of the Hebrew Joshua – the liberating priest who brought God’s people into the promised land. There will be no end fullness of ever-flowing milk and honey that he brings. Mary sits alongside her ancestors like Sarah and Hannah who find themselves flabbergasted with the divine promise of an impossible baby who will have a profound impact on the world. Her name and the revolutionary song she sings in response to this news are tied to Miriam – whose name means among other things, “rebellion.” Mary carries on the exodus tune and through the waters of birth, will open up a new way for all creation.  

The ancient promises of God with us, to the redemption of the world, are being fulfilled…and as clearly Jewish as this promise is, the fullness of its goodness does not get boxed into the corner of one religious identity.  “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most high, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.” These titles, thrones, honorifics, and even birth through a virgin mother…match line for line with the alternative story of a Caesar’s holy and redeeming birth to a Roman Empire that was considered “the whole world.” “God is with you” will mean….yes, there too. God’s promises don’t just go around or over the exploitative systems of power, but enters in to disrupt and dismantle every nook and cranny where other promises hope to have sway.

Just after her visit with Elizabeth, Mary responds with a song which is called “The Magnificat” which comes from its first line “my soul magnifies the Lord.” She sings of the radical and redemptive upheaval that this day will bring, let the fires of God’s justice burn. She does not sing in a distant future tense, but in the present perfect which again notes complete fulfillment.  God HAS scattered the proud. God HAS brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly. God HAS filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. This is the setting-aright of all things, which will mean knocking some things down, lifting up the trampled, visiting the overlooked, turning exploitation on its heads so that justice rather than dominance, rolls down over everything.

While I love the gentle lilting rhythms of Holden Evening’s Magnificat, it still surprises me that this subversive song doesn’t have a punk rock version that I think it deserves.  Mary meek and mild is one step away from putting on her Doc Martens and a Leia Organa t-shirt that says “a woman’s place is in the resistance,” marching with a sign that reads “eat the rich.” Or, more likely, putting her dark hair in braids along the Frontera, or on the Reservation, or her traditional blue dress reflected in one of kente cloth, with her fist raised to the sky in protest.  This announcement of the angel is more than a baby to one family, it is the assurance of liberation for all people for all time. And it arrives through an unmarried pregnant girl from a little working-class town.

Before she sings with such powerful and present promise, she wonders….how can this be? As much as we long for this all to be true and to be here, we have seen and experienced so much that seems to be contrary to this reality. We’ve been taught that one plus one makes two, and yet here is a promise that there is more than one way to create holy family. We have witnessed barriers that hold apart, and yet here God transcends them all. How can this be?

Perhaps she cannot yet fully account for its truth, but begins to lean into its mystery. Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

The angel points her to community, to her relative, her kin, Elizabeth with whom she can visit and wonder and cry and hope and be with.

I remember soon after learning that I was pregnant, I hurried to visit my friend Andrea in California as she had just given birth herself. I helped with burping, swaddling, and rocking her little one as I wondered how this could be in my own rhythm of life. We walked and talked and fumbled together. As we shared the excitement, nerves, and  wonder – none of those things went away but rather, just as my body could carry something at once intimately connected and yet foreign and unknown, it seemed my soul too could grow and expand enough to make room for this vast experience of expectation.

Perhaps it is in community, in relationship, in friendship, kinship, in sharing, that Mary finds the power to proclaim the fulfillment of this astounding promise and sing. The angel of God declares Mary blessed, those near her affirm this blessing, until she too claims it as her own. Her leaning into God’s promise has her diving head-first into the deep waters of possibility - not only for herself, but for all those the world has deemed “impossible” and indeed all the world, from beginning to end and then some. God is with you. Let it be.