Holston Daily Devotional December 20, 2020

Focus Scripture

Luke 1:46b-55

1:46b "My soul magnifies the Lord,

1:47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

1:48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

1:49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

1:50 His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

1:51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

1:52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly;

1:53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.

1:54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,

1:55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

Devotion

Of all the seasons of the Christian year, Advent is number 1 when it comes to singing. The stores and the radio start playing Christmas songs immediately following Halloween, most likely to get us in the mood to buy many expensive gifts to celebrate Christmas. We sing because it brings strong feelings of nostalgia: I can still remember my Daddy singing “We Three Kings.” We sing because it lifts our spirits during what CAN be a difficult time of year; and, maybe THIS year we sing because we have had the most difficult year that we can remember. We sing because we love to see the joy in our children and grandchildren’s eyes as they anticipate the gifts they will receive. We SING, and we sing MOST, at this time of year. Even though we can’t sing in church at this time, we can listen, and our hearts can leap for joy!

Mary couldn’t HELP but sing once Elizabeth declared her faith in the coming birth of her son. In Mary’s song we hear about God’s work of restoration. God has pulled the powerful down from their thrones. Those who are already full are sent away empty handed. Those who are “lowly,” the dis empowered and those who have been treated unjustly, are lifted up. Those who are hungry are filled with good things. Mary sings as if these things have already been accomplished. This is, in essence, a resistance hymn.

Mary’s song of joy about her coming son describes the system of oppression, violence, and consumption being OVERTURNED by the norms of God’s kingdom: peace, mercy, justice, love, and hope.

Mary’s song isn’t a new one. It’s a repetition of the Psalms, of Hannah’s song, and of others. It serves as a reminder that the work of God in the world is, in fact, work that sets things right. Mary sees her coming baby as the beginning of the fulfillment of the hope that the children of Israel, and their descendants, had been singing about for many generations.

Mary’s song is a song of hope, a song of joy, and filled with good news: God is looking with favor upon, and working for justice for, the lowly, humble, humiliated, least, last, and lost. Mary sees the possibility that God will establish, through her son, a sense of justice that will make it possible for all people to thrive, reach their potential, and experience the joy and abundant life that God intends.

2020 has been a particularly difficult year for most of us. We are grieving. We are anxious. We are exhausted. We don’t know when things will be better. Advent is a time of waiting, of looking forward to something better than the difficulties around us. One of my favorite Christmas songs to listen to is “Grown-Up Christmas List,” as recorded by Amy Grant. The lyrics of the chorus, much like Mary’s song, express desire for God to make right all that is wrong in the world.

“So here's my lifelong wish,

My grown-up Christmas list,

Not for myself but for a world in need:

No more lives torn apart,

That wars would never start,

And time would heal all hearts.

And everyone would have a friend,

And right would always win,

And love would never end, oh

This is my grown-up Christmas list.”

My hope for us all is that we can focus our attention on working with God to make things right in this broken world. Additionally, I hope that we can look for the salvation God has promised us; and, that we can see and sing praises for what God is already doing. Through our tears and heartache, may we also experience hope and joy enabling us to look past our fears, our hurts, our suspicions, our grief, our anxiety, and instead experience God’s infinite love.