Sunday December 14th, 2025 Worship

The Magnificat has always been one of my favorite Gospel readings; Mary’s song of praise! This young, poor, unwed mother gives voice to her trust in God and her belief that the promises God speaks of are true. “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for you, Lord, have looked with favor on your lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: you, the Almighty, have done great things for me and holy is your name” (Luke 1:46b-49). There is this implicit trust that promises God makes will be fulfilled; there isn’t a shred of doubt. God will do these things because of what God has already done. While we lift up Paul and Abraham as these great examples of faith, I think Mary needs a bit more recognition, at least in the Lutheran church.
This is why, even though the Magnificat from Luke’s Gospel is an alternate Psalm reading for today, I wanted to make sure to bring it into the light of this place. Because the conviction about God’s faithfulness and trustworthiness are at the center of all our other readings today. Whether it be a return from exile in Isaiah (Isaiah 35: 1-10) or the Psalm’s recollection of the promises made to their forebears (Psalm 146: 5-10), we are reminded of all the ways that God was been trustworthy before and will continue to be trustworthy into the future. Mary’s song is the main reason I struggle every year at this time with the song, “Mary, Did You Know?” She may not have know every little detail, but there was this profound sense of trust in what God was working in and through her, and her child. We just need to read the Magnificat to hear that, yes, she did in fact know!
There is a deep hope that these promises of Scripture are true. The greatest evidence of this is the way the verbs are structured, not as events that will happen in the future, but activities that are happening now. The Lord, the God of Jacob, is the one “who gives justice to the oppressed, and food to those who hunger,” “sets the captive free,” “cares for the stranger,” and “sustains the orphan and widow” (Psalm 146:7-9). When we hear these words from 2,000 years ago, we know that we still have these issues in our society. We have seen a dramatic rise in hatred directed at the stranger, threats of capture, and the inability for people to obtain the food and shelter necessary for their survival. Yet, we still trust that God is bringing these changes about. We hold onto the hope that this is not what God desires for us, but that things will change for the better. I think about that every Advent as I put on this blue Stole from Bethlehem, and I remember the hope that is still alive in that town and around the world. Just look up videos of their Christmas tree this year and you will see their hope and joy too.
There is one caveat that we often don’t want to acknowledge when we think about the promises of God, namely that the promises don’t just exist for us and those we think are deserving of them. We often don’t want to do the work of acknowledging the ways that God’s promises are for the well-being of all creation, not just a few. These promises aren’t those of glorious wealth and fabulous power to control others, but are about a restoration of wholeness and balance, a return of dignity and respect, especially for those who have been most harmed by the current reality of the world. When we hope for these things, we know that, just because the promises are true, it doesn’t mean they are instantaneous. After all, the Israelites were exiled in Babylon for many generations, this Isaiah reading about the promise of their return wasn’t something that became a reality the next day or even the next month (Isaiah 35: 1-10). It gives us something solid to stand on, when the world around us tries to shake our faith that ways of the world can be different.
We also know that hope is not passive, but it moves us toward action too. These promises don’t mean that God will magically make all of these things happen while we get to sit and lounge about, but we are part of the transformation that is turning the world around, turning toward justice and peace. We are being reshaped by these promises too and sent out to love and care for the world even more deeply as a result. The work that God is doing requires a shift in the entire way that we gather as society in order to see the restoration of wholeness for all of creation. Because, this reorientation to God and one another, a deepened connection to creation and our fellow humans, changes us at our core as well. This is the promise that is embodied in the life and ministry of Jesus, because faith isn’t just about what God is doing for me, but what God is doing for the sake of the world. This is what Mary sings in the Magnificat, what the Israelites rejoice in as they prepare to return from exile, what the Psalmist proclaims, and what Jesus’ identity as the Son of God witnesses to in the world.
What Jesus is doing, and the message that is sent back to the imprisoned John is a testament to who God is and what God desires to bring about world. Jesus tells John’s disciples to ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see:  those who are blind receive their sight, those who are lame walk, those with leprosy are cleansed, those who are deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them’ (Matthew 11: 4-5). Jesus’ ministry is a fulfilment of the promises that God has made to generations previous, and his works continue to testify to his identity as the Messiah, the true Son of God. He is not like the other leaders who have claimed the title, only to seek after things that benefit themselves and their friends, but his ministry is for the sake of all, especially the poor and marginalized.
What Jesus is doing isn’t even about the physical healings, in and of themselves, but about the ways that people relate to one another, including those who have been dismissed and cast aside for being different, and shunned for their perceived sins. In their healing, Jesus is forgiving the claims of sin that are laid upon the people, since their physical ailments were viewed by those around them as consequences of their sinfulness. This doesn’t mean that everyone is perfectly healed, but that our definition of wholeness and well-being are shifted to include all the ways we are embodied in the world. It removes the stain of sinfulness, proclaiming that the Good News is for all people, not just the few that feel self-justified.
What Mary sings of and what Jesus embodies in his ministry are the very promises that are grounded in who God is and what God desires for the world. We still have a long way to go before these promises are fulfilled, but that does not mean that they are not true and that we cannot still hope in them. Each of us is equipped to help inch these promises closer to reality, as we are transformed by our faith and sent out in love. There is a reason that this Sunday is attributed with joy, not because the work is easy, but because the words of Mary kick off a joyful proclamation of rebellion, led by the one who is turning the world around, and empowering us to take up our part for the sustained joy of the world. This isn’t a fleeting happiness, but a joy that comes about when we are all able to live as God’s beloved, as a part of a world that is turning toward wholeness and care.