Sermon Summary...

What do you desire?
What has happened unexpectedly in your life?

These two questions reflect the situations that Mary and Elizabeth find themselves in before the birth of Jesus in the middle of Luke 1, when Mary is recorded as saying the Magnificat. Mary is unexpectedly pregnant with Jesus, and Elizabeth is pregnant with John the Baptist, even though she is past the stage of childbearing. Both give thanks to God for their present conditions.

In Mary’s Song (the Magnificat), Mary magnifies God for what He’s done in her life, for His character as reflected in His judgments, and for what He’s done for Israel. She places herself within the larger context of Israel’s story, recognizing that the baby in her womb is the fulfillment of the promises God has made to Israel over time.

My sermon was about how, when things happen unexpectedly in our lives, or when we are desiring that next change, our response should be to sing the Magnificat into our own situations. Like Mary, we are filled with the Holy Spirit—filled with God. Unlike Mary, we are not pregnant with the Messiah. Though an angel has not come to us, the Holy Spirit has. We are filled with Him, and even though life may not be quite what we’d like it to be, we are part of a story larger than ourselves. We’re part of God’s story—the story of what He’s done for Israel, for the Church, for the world, and for us individually.

Luke 1:26-56 has so much in it that I almost want to exegete it right here, but I will refrain and leave you with this two-paragraph summary. The sermon on Sunday night went really well (so I hear—I only spoke… it’s so hard to hear yourself when you speak!). The experience was validating for me as both writer and teacher—that I can write and teach. (Some of you are thinking, “duh,” but it’s so easy to feel like a fraud near the end of the semester when you’re stumped on a project.) For the church, I pray that the Holy Spirit used my words to speak truth into individual lives… the process of communication is so complex, and I love it when I know that the Holy Spirit is involved. In a way, the pressure’s off of the message-deliverer. The message-deliverer is accountable to God, who then takes the words and sows them into the hearts open to hear. He infuses them with His meaning…

I know there are sermons that have reached me in this way. Many times, the message I hear is not the message the pastor intended to preach, but it is built off a few words that the Holy Spirit uses to speak truth. I pray He uses my words in this way—because He knows I can’t get them there myself!

Thanks for praying.