Do All Things Freely and Cheerfully for Others

My sermons usually have three points. Now, in Advent, a usual serving of three M’s: Magnificat, Martin and Mentor. Mary’s Magnificat, Martin Luther and our mentors.

First, Magnificat. Luke’s canticle of Mary’s prayer, known as the Magnificat, is based on the first word of the Latin translation. The English translation reads, “My soul doth magnify the Lord.”[1] In Latin, “Magnificat anima mea Dominum.” To magnify comes from the Latin word magnificare. It means to increase the size. As Luke understood the word, he wrote “to declare the greatness of.”[2]

Hannah’s prayer and many other Old Testament passages inspired the form and content of Mary’s Magnificat. In 1^st Samuel, we read, “Hannah prayed and said, ‘My heart exults in the Lord…’”[3] Both canticles declared God’s holiness at their beginning and end.

The Magnificat’s opening statements focus on what Mary experienced personally. God’s choice of her to be the mother of Christ began a pattern of divine action that recurred throughout the Gospel. In other words, in this classical statement of God’s activity: the lowly are raised and the lofty are brought low.”[4] As a mighty challenge to the existing structures of power and oppression,[5] the Magnificat states that God bypassed those at the center of power in favor of the marginalized and the lowly, including the lowly yet blessed Mary.[6]

Moving on from her own experience to that of her own people, Mary announced this reversal in values, echoing the Beatitudes and a major theme of Luke’s Gospel. Israel’s devout, poor and lowly clung to the ancient promises and longed for the time of salvation. The Magnificat ends with Mary acknowledging that this longed-for era arrived, and invites Israel to join her in her song and make her experience of salvation their own; for to speak of what God has done is to announce what God will do.[7]

In summary, the passage notes two characteristic Old Testament ideas. First, God comes to help not the rich and powerful but the poor and simple.[8] We read this throughout the Scriptures, but the Prophet, Zephaniah, expressed it best. “Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord.”[9]

The second idea is that ever since Abraham received God’s promises, Israel has been God’s favored one. Recall the passage in Genesis which reads, “The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.’ … And he brought him outside and said, ‘Look toward heaven, and number the stars. …So shall your offspring be.’”[10] Deuteronomy repeated the promise. “You are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. … because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers.”[11]

Mary’s Magnificat simply described the mighty arm of God that scattered the proud and arrogant, and remembered His promises.[12] And so, we move from Magnificat to Martin.

Among other things, Martin Luther criticized the Catholic Church in the 16^th century for its promotion of devotions to the saints. His complaint was with misguided, ignorant, greedy priests who preached something other than pure Gospel which careless or self-seeking bishops promoted or tolerated.

But first, we must distinguish between Luther’s criticism of certain practices and his thoughts on Mary, Mother of Christ. While Luther attacked externalism in religion, the absence of sincerity in worship, and the gap between professing lips and unfaithful hearts, he was not against Mary or singing the Magnificat.

Luther believed it was a fine custom to sing the Magnificat in all the churches daily at vespers. Note that our Lutheran Service Book includes the Magnificat in Evening Prayer. (Anglicans and Roman Catholics include it as well.) Note further that we proclaim this Gospel on the Feast of the Visitation (July 2).[13]

In Luther’s words, the Magnificat’s opening reminds us that God “does nothing but exalt the lowly and lower the exalted. … He breaks whatever is whole and makes whole whatever is broken.”[14] … “’Great things’ are nothing less than she became the Mother of God … for on this there follows all honor, all blessedness, and her unique place in the whole of mankind, among which she has no equal, namely, that she had a child by the Father in heaven.”[15]

When people praise and honor us, Luther wrote, “we ought to profit by the example of the Mother of God and at all times arm ourselves with [the Magnificat] to make the proper reply and to use such honor and praise correctly.”[16]

At one point, Luther reflected, “It needs to be pondered in the heart what it means to be the Mother of God … Her sole worthiness to become Mother of God lay in her being fit and appointed for it, so that it might be pure grace and not a reward.”[17]

Finally, with Philip Melanchthon, Luther cited the purification account in Luke, writing, “She was purified according to the Law of Moses in keeping with the custom of all women. Although she was not bound by such a law, nor was there need for her to be purified, she submitted herself to the law voluntarily and in unbound love. She was not … justified by this work, but having been justified, she did it freely and without coercion. … [We do not] act for the sake of being justified, since, having been justified by faith, we ought to do all things freely and cheerfully for others.[18]

Martin Luther said much more about Mary and the Magnificat, but as I move from Martin to mentor, remember that last phrase: do all things freely and cheerfully for others.

The story of Mentor comes from Homer's Odyssey. Odysseus, King of Ithaca, fought the Trojan War and entrusted his son, Telemachus, to a teacher and overseer named Mentor.

After the war, Odysseus wandered vainly for ten years trying to return home. Telemachus, now grown, searched for his father. Mentor accompanied Telemachus on his quest. After father and son reunited, they cast down would-be usurpers of Odysseus' throne and Telemachus’ birthright.

The word Mentor evolved to mean trusted advisor, friend, teacher and wise person. Mentoring is a fundamental form of human development where one person invests time, energy and personal experience to assist another person’s growth and ability.[19] Examples of mentoring relationships include Socrates and Plato, Haydn and Beethoven, Freud and Jung. In the Bible, we see these relationships between Jesus and His disciples, Barnabas and Paul, Paul and Timothy, Naomi and Ruth, Elijah and Elisha, Moses and Joshua, and Elizabeth and Mary.

The essential qualities of a mentor are personal credibility and experience. Mentors look for “teachable moments” that expand or realize the potentialities of the people they lead.

The most common mentoring techniques in business include accompanying, sowing, catalyzing, showing and harvesting. Mentors ask the key questions: “What did you learn?” and “How useful is it?”

I could say more about mentoring. It is my last point for this reason: As mature adults, we see ourselves as mentors to younger protégés. We value the benefits of mentoring younger adults in the corporate, collegiate and clerical spheres, among athletes, actors and artists, for musicians and military personnel. We even value reverse mentoring – learning from younger people how to program our smart phones and computers.

I am sure we agree that everyone benefits from mentoring, but have I incorporated mentoring into my spiritual life? As I grew in age, did I grow in wisdom and grace? Can I grow in wisdom and grace without seeking advice or guidance from a spiritual mentor? Can young adults and teens grow in wisdom and grace without spiritual mentors?

Serena Pace, a DCE in Arlington, Texas, addressed spiritual mentoring in a doctoral dissertation that addressed the problem of teens and young adults leaving the Lutheran Church.[20] Pace concluded that younger people benefit from an older person who walked similar life patterns. “An older person can share life experiences from a credible standpoint and offer wise counsel and guidance.”[21] Mentors extend beyond pastors and church workers to mature men and women who have walked life’s roads and traveled its journeys with the Spirit.

Mature men and women can offer wise counsel and guidance, but only if they themselves continue to seek counsel and guidance from others who journeyed before them. That is why we turn to Martin Luther and Mary’s Magnficat. That is why Martin turned to Johann Von Staupitz, Mary to Elizabeth, the disciples to Jesus, Paul to Barnabas, and so on. In every age and culture, young men and women need an older person who walked similar life patterns.

Throughout my years in the seminary and ministry, I sought spiritual guidance and counsel from men and women who practiced and pondered their faith. Now, at 58, I benefit by listening to seasoned men and women who walked with God. I benefit by reading about sinner-saints who journeyed with the Spirit.

To whom do you turn? An elderly relative living out her days in a nursing home? A retired pastor with decades of education and experience? The writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer or C.S. Lewis? Do you turn to Martin Luther or Mary Mother of God when life presents situations that challenge your integrity and loyalty – not for intercession, but for wise guidance? Can Martin or Mary mentor us?

As the Gospels, the Cross of Christ and the Magnificat served as mighty challenges to the existing structures of power and oppression in another age and culture, do they serve the humble and oppressed who pin their hopes on God’s promises today?[22] As Mary invited a new Israel to join her in song, do we dare to sing with Mary, Zechariah and Simeon what God has done for us? Do we celebrate with them the arrival of a longed-for Kingdom?

The Magnificat is a commentary on Mary’s status as a feminine servant, in her submission to the word of the Lord as a representative of those characterized by humility. We know that God’s selection of Mary and her submission were not hindered by, but in fact were facilitated by, the lowliness of her condition.[23]

As mentors or servant-leaders, we keep that lowliness in mind. Christian leadership cannot assume the ways of human power for it affects the quality of Christian nourishment at the Lord’s table.[24] Brothers and sisters, having been justified by faith, we ought to do all things freely and cheerfully for others.[25] When we do, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.[26]

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[1] Luke 1:46

[2] Herbert G. May and Bruce M. Metzger, Editors, The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Expanded Edition, Revised Standard Version. New York: Oxford University Press (1977), 1242.

[3] 1 Samuel 2:1ff.

[4] Fred B. Craddock, Luke. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press (2009), 30.

[5] Brendan Byrne, The Hospitality of God: A Reading of Luke’s Gospel. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press (2000), 26.

[6] Byrne, 25f.

[7] Craddock, 30.

[8] Alexander Jones, General Editor, The Jerusalem Bible. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company, Inc. (1966), 93.

[9] Zephaniah 2;3

[10] Genesis 15:1-5

[11] Deuteronomy 7:6-8

[12] Arthur A. Just Jr., Luke 1:1-9:50. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House (1996), 85.

[13] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnificat#Lutheran_Service_Book_.282006.29

[14] Edward M. Plass, What Luther Says. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House (1959), #2094

[15] Plass, #4006

[16] Plaas, #3425

[17] Plass, #4006

[18] Martin Luther and Philip Melanchthon, Christian Freedom: Faith Working Through Love. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House (2011), 74f.

[19] http://www.learningservices.emory.edu/mentor_emory/mentorstory.html

[20] Serena Alexandria Pace, Young Adults Leaving the Church: The Tie to Intentional Spiritual Mentoring Among Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Teens Through Youth and Confirmation Ministry, Portland, OR: George Fox University (2013). See http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1112&context=dmin

[21] Pace, 120.

[22] Byrne, 26.

[23] Just, 83.

[24] Eugene LaVerdiere, Luke. Wilmington, DE: Michael Glazier, Inc. (1980), 23.

[25] Martin Luther and Philip Melanchthon, Christian Freedom: Faith Working Through Love. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House (2011), 74f.

[26] Philippians 4:7. Lutheran teaching on Mary: http://cyclopedia.lcms.org/display.asp?t1=m&word=MARIOLOGY; and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luther%27s_Marian_theology Luther on the Magnificat by Donal Flanagan http://www.esbvm.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/Flanagan01.pdf and Works of Martin Luther, The Magnificat: Translated and Explained 1520-1521  http://www.godrules.net/library/luther/NEW1luther_c5.htm