God’s grace, peace
and mercy be with you. My sermon title is Magnificat, Martin and Mentor
and my focus is our Gospel (Luke 1). Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist
wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the
Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear
your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our
hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity.
Amen.
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 1st 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.
Martin. Among
other things, Martin Luther criticized the Catholic Church in the 16th
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 the 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.
Mentor. 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, the
Director of Christan Education at Grace Lutheran Church in Arlington, Texas,
addressed spiritual mentoring 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 Magnificat. 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.
After high school,
I was not sure what I wanted to do. I attended Penn State for a year, and then
a vo-tech school before getting a job at Babcock and Wilcox where I worked for
four years. During that time, I discerned my call to ministry. I could see myself
as a preacher, but was not sure how to get there. Mentors guided me to finish
college with a degree in Philosophy, and then Masters degrees from Christ the
King Seminary, Duquesne University and the University of Pittsburgh. The last
landed me positions as a professional development director.
Throughout my
years in the seminary and ministry, I sought spiritual guidance and counsel
from men and women who practiced and pondered their faith. More than a decade
ago, I realized this truth: older people are much more interesting than younger
people. Why? Because they have more life experiences.
I have spent more
than 40 years listening to people in their 80s and 90s tell me about their life
experiences. Now, I benefit not only by listening to seasoned men and women who
walked with God, but also by reading about sinner-saints who journeyed with the
Holy 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, and sanctified by the Holy Spirit, 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]
[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.
[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.
[8] Alexander Jones, General Editor,
The Jerusalem Bible. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company, Inc. (1966), 93.
[12] Arthur A. Just Jr., Luke 1:1-9:50.
St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House (1996), 85.
[14] Edward M. Plass, What Luther Says.
St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House (1959), #2094.
[18] Martin Luther and Philip
Melanchthon, Christian Freedom: Faith Working Through Love. St. Louis:
Concordia Publishing House (2011), 74f.
[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.
