The Revolution Will Be Sung

Dec 11th  |  The Reverend Kevin Scott Fleming |  Luke 1:39-56

            I can’t think of another holiday that has music as such an integral part of its celebration and history.  Think of all the songs of Christmas.  There are hundreds, if not thousands.  Every year, when Robert and I sit down to talk about Advent and Christmas, we have a library of music from which to choose. 

            Think about your favorite Christmas song.  Go ahead, try to pick just one.  It may seem easy at first.  But then, you begin remembering.  “Oh, my favorite is ‘Silent Night.’  No, wait, ‘Joy to the World.’  But, then there’s “O Come, All Ye Faithful.’  And what about, ‘Hark!  The Herald Angel Sings?”  You see, how it goes?  And that’s just the “church songs.” 

            Music is a way that people have always expressed their deepest longings and most profound joys.  We sing when words alone simply won’t suffice.  There is something about the combination of words and melody that makes it seems as though we are really saying something that needs to be said. 

             The Song of Mary, or “the Magnificat” (as it has come to be called), is such a song.  It seems like everyone has had a go at setting Mary’s words to music.  There are hundreds of settings of these amazing words, though the original tune has been lost.  The early church most likely sang a version of these words. 

            The lyrics are really a “cover” – a reworking of a much older song – sung under something of the same circumstances.  If you go back to 1 Samuel 2 and read the first ten verses, you’ll hear some familiar words:

                        My heart exults in the Lord;

                                    my strength is exalted in the Lord…

                        those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,

                                    but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger…

                        The Lord makes the poor and makes the rich;

                                    He brings low, he also exalts.

                        He raises up the poor from the dust,

                                    He lifts the needy from the ash heap,

                                                To sit with princes in a seat of honor…

In her joy over the impending birth of her son, Samuel, Hannah sings a song of praise, celebrating the power and presence of God.

            Mary takes that ancient theme and offers her own variation on it. 

“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 forever.”

Mary sings Hannah’s song, but with a new sense of celebration. 

            It’s not that Mary sang, or how Mary sang, but what she sang that makes the difference.  The song we attribute to Mary is a song of revolution and renewal.  God is doing something new – something world-shaking – something life-changing.  God is breaking into the world order and rearranging everything!  The powerful are brought down, while the humble and meek are lifted up.  The hungry are filled and satisfied, while the rich walk away empty-handed.  And, make no mistake, it is God who is the principle architect and character in this revolution.

            As Mary sings it, God is turning the world upside-down.  God is rearranging everything we know to be true.  God is reworking the creation.  God is reforming everything we know.  God is shaking the very foundations of all that can be seen. 

            In fact, the way Mary sings her song, she sings as though it has already been accomplished.  This is not something that God is going to do.  God has already done it.  This is not something that will come about in some day that is yet to be, out there in the nebulous future.  It’s a done deal!  God has already overthrown the world’s way - and the Baby hasn’t even been born!

            This, of course, is the way to the truest and most lasting revolution.  Revolutions come and go.  Someone thinks they have the right idea, or the right motivation, and they try to set things right.  Sadly, most of the revolutions we have known have only lasted a brief time, with those leading the revolution establishing themselves as the new power and authority and following the same course of those that went before them.  Revolutions are fleeting things. 

            But the revolution that God calls for - that is lead by Jesus - has lasted for two thousand years and shows no signs of stopping.  It is a revolution that calls for justice for all people.  It is a revolution that calls for the hungry to be fed, the thirsty to be given drink, the naked to be clothed, the sick to be treated, the imprisoned to be cared for, the stranger to be given welcome, and for fairness and justice to be the principles by which all people live. 

            It is a revolution that does not require bloodshed and, in fact, abhors bloodshed.  It is a revolution of the heart.  It calls for the heart to inform all that we think and do.  It calls for the replacing of the heart of stone with a heart of flesh filled with compassion.  It is a revolution that is marked by gentleness, kindheartedness, and concern for all.  It is a revolution that seeks the best for everyone and excludes no one. 

            And it is not an individual revolution.  It is less concerned about the individual and more concerned about the world.  This version of Christianity that is neatly individualized – carefully compacted into what’s good for me and mine – has little to do with the revolution of which Mary sings.  The version of Christianity that is so prevalent and seems to be only concerned with getting to the air-conditioned comfort of heaven is just about as far removed from what Mary is singing about as night is removed from day.  A Christianity that is only concerned with individual salvation can only become a tool used to further divide the world that Jesus came to unite.

            The revolution God instigates and of which Mary sings is a revolution that upsets every apple cart we can imagine.  And the goal of the revolution is simple: that God becomes God once again and we rejoice in the fact that we no longer have to bear that burden.  The revolution says, “Let God be God and let God do as God pleases.”  The revolution says, “Let the world be as God meant it to be – a place of plenty and justice for everyone – a place of endless shalom – a place of blessing and every good thing.”

            As Luke and Mary tell it – it’s already accomplished.  Because of Jesus, the revolution has been accomplished.  It’s done! 

            But…there is still much to do.  The world of which Mary sang has not yet come in its fullness and completeness.  The hungry are still hungry, the thirsty are still thirsty, the poor are still poor, the sick are still sick without hope of treatment, the imprisoned are still locked away and forgotten.  The homeless still walk our city streets looking for refuge.  The victims of injustice still cry out, “how long?”

            In these waning days of Advent, there is still time to “prepare the way of the Lord.”  There is still time to let God’s kingdom of love expand around us.  There is still time to ease the pain of those the world too quickly forgets. 

            So, join the revolution!  Join God’s revolution and sing the greatness of our God!  Join the transforming uprising of God’s people and let the deserts blossom and bloom.  For God is coming among us in new ways!  God is – for now and evermore.  Amen.