Advent Three: What a Song!
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]And Mary sang:
I’m bursting with God-news;
I’m dancing the song of my Savior God.
God took one good look at me, and look what happened –
I’m the most fortunate woman on earth!
What God has done for me will never be forgotten,
the God whose very name is holy set apart from all others.
His mercy flows in wave after wave
on those who are in awe before him.
He bared his arm and showed his strength,
scattered the bluffing braggarts
He knocked tyrants off their high horses,
pulled victims out of the mud.
The starving poor sat down to a banquet;
the callous rich were left out in the cold.
He embraced his chosen child Israel;
he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high.
It’s exactly what he promised,
beginning with Abraham and right up to now.
~ Luke 1:46-58 The Message by Eugene Peterson
“What a Song It Is!”
It is in the presence of Elizabeth and in her home that Mary sings her song. And what a song it is!
A song similar to the song sung by Hannah at the birth of Samuel
A song reminiscent of the song of Miriam at the crossing of the Red Sea;
A song of praise and a song of revolution;
A song of a hope-filled-faith in God’s promises
A song of God’s mercy and God’s justice;
A song of the past, a song of the present, a song of the future;
A song of good news for the poor;
A song of turning the structures of the world upside down;
An old song reciting the almighty acts of God;
A song of God’s new covenant in Jesus the Christ.
Mary’s song still comes a bit too close to home as it tells us Christmas is not about getting what we want but about God both getting and giving what God wants. Good news of great joy and great discomfort. Beware, you powerful! Hope and rejoice, you powerless! This is the real surprise of Christmas the lifting up of the lowly and the filling of the hungry with good things while overthrowing the powerful and sending the rich away empty.
~ Glen V. Wiberg
The invasion of God is always and everywhere a revolution! It moves us beyond and invades every realm of life. Life invaded by Christ changes and is thus a revolution. Mary’s song is a revolution and the followers of Christ can use a good revolution. Christ is coming – what is the use of Advent without a revolution?
~ Barb Waters
Come together, people of God
in hope of revolutionary change
for us and the world around us. Amen
~ Brian Wren
These reflections are for use during the week of December 13-19, 2020
Joyce D. Sohl
Joyce D. Sohl has been Laywoman-in-Residence since 2009 as a full-time volunteer. She retired as CEO of United Methodist Women in 2004. She is the author of 4 books, a teacher, retreat leader, writer and non-professional musician. Here at the Center her work is in the area of Spirituality & the Arts with such programs as Tuesdays in the Chapel, Vespers & All That Jazz, Poet’s Corner, quarterly retreats, and art exhibits.
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