Two in Advent, one in Christmas, our saints Mary, Zechariah, and Simeon give us words to ponder and sing as we wait for the coming of God on earth. We devote ourselves to their words, authorized to be God's own Word, this Advent.
St. Mary's Magnificat
Readings:
1 Samuel 1:27-2:10
St. Luke 1:39-56
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Who speaks to us, even this evening, as we hear from our Epistle reading:
These few Wednesdays before Christmass, we will focus on song, specifically the songs or canticles of Christmass. Those would be the Magnificat, the Benedictus, and the Nunc Dimittis.
Just as we saw a parallel between Palm Sunday and the First
Sunday in Advent, the parallels continue this evening as we hear from St.
Hannah and St. Mary and their songs to teach us of Christ. We call them
parallels, but we may as well see them for what they are: prophesies.
Prophesies don’t just predict the future in a 1 to 1 ratio,
as in exactly how things will happen. Though part of a prophesy, the main force
of prophesy is to, you guessed it: teach Christ! And Hannah, from 1 Samuel does
not stray from this path.
Hannah is a virgin, though not a pure virgin as St. Mary
was, for Hannah is married. Scriptures would call her a virgin because her womb
is barren. A barren womb is a virgin womb, even in a marriage, because no
children have come out. It is based on children, not adult activity.
The fact that Hannah’s husband had more than one wife is
also disconcerting but telling. God does not allow polygamy; one man, one wife.
Yet the Lord does His work in spite of our sin. Hannah is the favorite wife,
regardless, because the Lord sees through to the inner man and chooses the
lowly to confound the wise.
Samuel’s conception and birth parallel Jesus, because they
show forth Jesus. The miraculous birth. The despised character. The handing
over to God for Service.
All of this was in St. Mary’s heart when she was inspired by
the Holy Spirit to sing her magnificent song. Not only is Hannah, and all the
Old Testament, St. Mary’s family and history, but it continued on to her. Even
her mother was named after Hannah.
All to get her, and us, to Christmass. To get us to the Magnificat,
the magnification of the entire human being in God. for that is St. Mary’s
opening as she sings, “My being magnifies the Lord”. Not just her soul, which
we have separated from our bodies, in error, but body and soul in one St. Mary.
How is it that a sinful being exalts, and lifts on high, the
Lord of all?
It is to that very being that God desires to dwell. In that very being Himself: God made man. Above every other thing in creation, God chooses man and becomes man, in order to redeem man and unite man to Himself.
To this, St. Mary sings and magnifies to teach us. And she sings
on:
her spirit doesn’t just rejoice, but it rejoices physically. A leaping spirit rises when her Savior draws near to forgive her sins and give her God’s own righteousness, in her body, which He has looked upon, and its state of humiliation, and caused all generations to call her “Blessed Mother, Mary”.
For the Mighty One has done to her great things; caused her
to bear God Almighty, holy is His Name of Jesus Who will reign in triumph from
a tree. In this wise, His Mercy does extend from generation to generation, as
opposed to His judgement, felt by Hannah. For those who fear Him do not fear
punishment, but renunciation instead of annunciation.
He has shown strength with His pierced and scourged arm and
has scattered and offended the super-shiny spiritualists in their deep thoughts
of heart; those who believe they are super-spiritual and need no body for God
to save.
“He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and exalted
the lowly”. There is only one throne: God’s. He casts Himself down to men to
become sin Who knew no sin, thus becoming the lowly of the lowly, the last, the
least, in order to exalt sinful humanity, redeemed by His Blood.
And now, my favorite stanza from God’s Mother: “He has
filled the hungry with good things and the rich He has sent empty away.”
It is not just the multiplication of loaves or the preservation of our own pantries, it is the preserving power of His own Word, which is food indeed. Which at first seems ignorant of God. We need food to survive. Starvation is no laughing matter and it is not staved off by words. But now they are. He still takes care of our tables if we trust in Him, but now He sets His own table.
And the board, there, is never ending. Never ending, now
that He has kicked out the rich. It is the rich’s table He makes available to
us, just as He did for His people to the Promised land. Land they did not build
on or work in, but received nonetheless.
And Who is rich, but the Lord? He kicks Himself out from His
own table, suffering and dying, that we might have a place set for us there, in
His Name. Jesus is the rich God-man, sent empty away to the cross, that sinner
would find favor in God’s sight and invitation to His table.
This is St. Mary’s hope and teaching. That she, lowly as she
is, has a seat at the table, laden with her Savior, for her. This is Hannah’s
teaching, that she has been chosen out of the highly regarded to sit at the
feast of “Bearing the Son”.
This Gospel is then given to our fathers and to Abraham, to
pass on, to teach to the next generation. To tell of the works of the Lord, not
just the flashy ones, but the humble ones. Being born to no pomp and
circumstance. Maturing to no fanfare or fame. Suffering and dying as a lowly
criminal.
Jesus, the Seed, maintains His own Word, forever. It endures
because He endures. The table is full because He is full. His Church and those
Who believe are chosen and invited, and in their being there, at His Church, He
is magnified, for His work is complete. His great and awesome wonder of
rescuing sinful man from sin, death, and the power of the devil.
And this will not change, just as St. Mary’s song will not
change, neither will St. Hannah’s. Because they endure, we are confident that
His Promises endure along with them. Thus, we sing St. Mary’s song, over and
over again, to remind ourselves and to leap for joy at the mention of Jesus
Christ, our Crucified and risen Lord.
And the song goes on…
Who speaks to us, even this evening, as we hear from our Epistle reading:
“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people”
These few Wednesdays before Christmass, we will focus on song, specifically the songs or canticles of Christmass. Those would be the Magnificat, the Benedictus, and the Nunc Dimittis.
It is to that very being that God desires to dwell. In that very being Himself: God made man. Above every other thing in creation, God chooses man and becomes man, in order to redeem man and unite man to Himself.
her spirit doesn’t just rejoice, but it rejoices physically. A leaping spirit rises when her Savior draws near to forgive her sins and give her God’s own righteousness, in her body, which He has looked upon, and its state of humiliation, and caused all generations to call her “Blessed Mother, Mary”.
It is not just the multiplication of loaves or the preservation of our own pantries, it is the preserving power of His own Word, which is food indeed. Which at first seems ignorant of God. We need food to survive. Starvation is no laughing matter and it is not staved off by words. But now they are. He still takes care of our tables if we trust in Him, but now He sets His own table.
St. Zechariah's Benedictus
Readings:
1 Samuel 16:14-23
Colossians 3:10-17
St. Luke 1:57-80
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Who speaks to us, even this evening, in St. Zechariah’s song:
That is, the Lord, the God of Israel is Blessing itself. So tonight, we sing with St. Zechariah and once again reveal Who it is that is saving us and Who it is that is fighting for us.
Just as Scripture says “God is Love”, so too “God is
Blessing”. And St. Zechariah goes on to explain why this is: because He has
visited and created atonement just for His people. That is why Jesus is the
Blessing from Whom all blessings flow.
We mention this to bring to light one of the strange things
about prophesy. That it has one foot in the now and one foot in the not yet. At
the same time it speaks of things happening now, it also hides in its words
things that are to come, and not necessarily just predicting the future.
If we listen to St. Zechariah’s words, we can clearly see,
on the surface, that he is just uttering a thankful hymn to his Redeemer in
light of his miraculous, newborn son and that he can speak again. Maybe he
knows he speaking prophesy, maybe not. It was St. Luke that wrote his song
down, not St. Zechariah, but I’m sure St. Zechariah had it memorized.
Over half of his hymn is simply speaking about Who God is
and what He has done. “Has” done. As in, that all happened in the past and
there has been no appearance of God, in that way, since. Until the angel
appeared to St. Zechariah during Church.
This is the problem that even many Christians today,
struggle with. They read their Bibles and all they hear is past and future. “If
only God would come and punish evil like the old days” or “if only God would
hurry up and establish His kingdom on earth”. For those with a certain,
non-sacramental, worldview, God does not act now, because it doesn’t look like
He is acting now.
So we make excuses for Him. “That’s not how God works” or
“its just not your time” or something similar, excusing God for His apparent inactivity
in our lives. Which in turn, makes God too small to have faith in.
Though some Christians will leave themselves at that point
of prophesy, St. Zechariah with God’s Word, does not stop there. Zechariah
introduces a child into the song, which he and we think is John the Baptist,
his newly born son.
And because of the miraculous way John was brought into the
world, Zechariah rightly ascribes godly works and aspirations to the beginning
of his son’s life. Because of such a blessing, Zechariah is caught up in the
Spirit of Blessing and the joy for his son spills over into Joy for another
Son.
Our first clue is when St. Zechariah mentions David. He does
not say David is just a servant, but the Blessed One’s child! Just as St. Zechariah
repeats it at “You, child shall be called the prophet of the most high”. Of
course this is John the Baptist, as Jesus says, “Truly, I say to you, among
those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet
the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Mt 11:11).
But it is more than the Baptist. Which means, John the
Baptist is only a shadow of the child to come, just as King David was a shadow.
A shadow of the true child, the true Atonement, and the true prophet Who brings
God’s own forgiveness to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, not
just Zechariah and Elizabeth.
This is the full force of St. Zechariah’s song and it
retains this same force when sung by us today. The force of crying out for
Jesus to be our Prophet, Priest, and King. To bring His Blessings to us. To
deliver us from our enemies and give us His Atonement for our sins.
This Advent, it is well for us to ponder the depths of
prophesy that we don’t understand and realize that St. Zechariah can be singing
about past, present, and future all at once, because it is God’s Word and God’s
Word is eternal, outside time. So Zechariah can be singing about God’s actions
in the past, God’s actions in the future, and God’s actions right now.
In fact, God’s Word is of such power that today, if we hear
Him, we can have exactly the same fulfillment of prophesy that St Zechariah had
and the same singing of prophesy as he did. For God gives us His word to sing,
along with Zechariah, using the same words. And since these words confess His
Son, Jesus Christ, we can find that same Jesus, in Church, communing and
singing with His people on earth.
Once again, in song, we find the military might of Jesus
Christ Who desires to give us His Holy Spirit by His Word alone and fights to
break and hinder every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our
sinful nature.
For the chief power of Christ, for us, is forgiveness. Where
there is forgiveness of sins, there is life, light, and salvation. The Holy
Spirit Himself honors [His Church’s songs] as a means that He uses in His work.
He testifies in the Holy Scriptures that His gifts came upon the prophets
through music, compelling them to all the virtues, as seen in Elijah’s case.
Using music drives out satan, as the example of Saul’s shows. ((Savior of the
nations come; What Luther says, 982:3103)
And the song goes on…
Who speaks to us, even this evening, in St. Zechariah’s song:
“Benedictus
Dominus Deus Israel”
That is, the Lord, the God of Israel is Blessing itself. So tonight, we sing with St. Zechariah and once again reveal Who it is that is saving us and Who it is that is fighting for us.
Who speaks to us, even this evening, in St. Zechariah’s
song:
“Nunc Dimittis
servum tuum, Domine”
Quoting St. Simeon, that is: “Now Dismiss, now forgive, Thy
servant, O Lord”
To unveil a standing mystery in the Church’s Divine Service,
for you perhaps. What the heck is a nunc dimittis?!
Among those mysterious names in the Divine Service are the
“Kyrie”, “Gloria in Excelsis”, “Alleluia”, “Sanctus”, “Hosanna”, “Pax Domini”,
“Agnus Dei”, and “Benediction”. And even if I were to translate those titles
for you into English, they would still require more explanation. Why do we use
them? Where did they come from? What does this mean?
When we ask these questions of our songs from heaven, we get
closer to a non-answer, than anything else. Non-answer because there is no real
answer. We have found in their words, a mystery.
How ridiculous. Mysteries in this day and age? The only
mysteries we have are murders and who-dun-its. There is nothing under the sky
that we have not delved our science into and brought to rational light.
Do not be deceived. There are things that true science
cannot explain, and if they attempt it, they must dive into the realm of
religion to do so.
Some examples:
First, logical and mathematical truths cannot be proven by
science. Science needs logic and math to be true beforehand, in order to work.
Trying to prove them by science would be arguing in a circle
Second, metaphysical truths, like there are other minds
other than my own or that the external world is real or that the past was not
created 5 minutes ago with an appearance of age, are rational beliefs we have
that cannot be scientifically proven. Though it is interesting when we try, it
is philosophy and religion which explains these things.
Thirdly, ethical beliefs about statements of value are not accessible
by the scientific method. Meaning, you cannot show that evolution has purpose.
You can't show, by science, whether the Nazi scientists in the camps did
anything evil as opposed to the scientists in Western democracies.
Fourth, aesthetic judgments cannot be accessed by the
scientific method, because the beautiful and good, cannot be scientifically
proven.
Finally, and most remarkably, science itself cannot be
justified by science. The scientific method is dependent on unprovable
assumptions.
So there are mysteries in life, though we dismiss them.
There should also be mysteries in the Faith. Not mysteries as in, “we need to
figure this out to be saved”, but mysteries as in “how does He do that” and
“where does He get such wonderful toys”.
St. Simeon holds the greatest mystery in his hands, as Jesus
is brought, 8 days old, to His circumcision. Here is the promise of divinity,
yet He will bleed. Here is the Creator of all, yet He is held in elderly arms.
Here is One Who’s essence none can touch, Who holds all things in His hands,
and Who rained manna on His people in the wilderness, wrapped in swaddling
clothes.
St. Simeon holds this mystery and says, this is it. This is
the climax. This is the epitome of all that God has said, done, and thought.
Since God and man are one Christ, now all that the Apostles and Prophets said
will come true, that “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one
body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Cor 10:17).
In the One Body, St. Simeon can die in Peace, Himself. He
won’t die in fear, or as the wicked do, or go down to Sheol where there is no
remembrance of God.
He will die and he will live. He will be washed and be clean
in front of God. He will be fed and never hunger again, all by this Holy
Mystery wriggling in his arms.
Notice also where St Simeon was waiting. It was not at home,
or in a synagogue, or in his closet. It was at the Temple. At Church. Which
means there was prayer going on that day. There were readings going on that
day. There was singing going on that day. All in worship to the God Who Gives
salvation to His people.
What they were reading and singing, we can only guess, but
what they were praying, we know. They were praying for the consolation of
Israel. The Comforter of Israel. The Paraclete of Israel, he says in the Bible.
They were praying Hosanna. They were praying for God’s
Kingdom to come.
And it was a child that came. “The wolf also shall dwell
with the lamb”, says Isaiah 11, “The leopard shall lie down with the
young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little
child shall lead them” (11:6).
Perhaps that was the reading at Divine Service that day, for
there the Root Of Jesse is prophesied to spring out of the stump of Jesse; the
remnant of faithless Israel.
It was no surprise to St. Simeon that God chose infancy to
work His Salvation. Not that “God can do whatever He wants”, but “God will keep
His promises” to come as a son.
Now, Lord. Now that we have seen Jesus, we have seen the
completion, the perfection of all Your work. Now, since it is finished, take
us. We can go. There is nothing more for us here, except the Peace that passes
understanding.
For we have not just heard the Word, but held the Word with
our own hands. Forgive us for doubting that Your Word is Sacramental, that it
uses both ideas and physical things to work among us. Forgive us, in light of
Your Salvation, prepared before the foundation of the world, in front of all
people to see with human eyes.
The Light of Light on a hill of Golgotha. The Glory of
Glories on the hill of Zion.
In St. Simeon’s song, we see the humanity of Jesus. And with
the humanity of Jesus, the divinity of Jesus. Such that, along with St. Simeon,
we must now say that God does indeed have hands and feet, eyes and ears, mouth
and nose.
Sometimes they grasp their mother’s hand, and sometimes they
grasp spear and nail. Sometimes they coo in delight, and sometimes they cry in
anguish. Sometimes they breathe a cool summer breeze, and sometimes they breathe
out their last.
But the Consolation is just the beginning. The Last Breath
is only the exhalation of sin and death and not of life and freedom. To depart
in Peace is to live in Peace. Peace Incarnate, in everlasting innocence,
righteousness, and blessedness. And every time you sing St. Simeon’s song, this
should be your heart’s focus. That, since you have now died in Christ, prepare
to be resurrected in Him, as well.
And the song goes on…
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