Revolution and Revolutionaries

August 15, 2010

Luke 1:46-55

What do you think of when you hear the word “revolution?” The French Revolution. The Civil War. The Industrial Revolution. The 95 Theses. The Digital Revolution.

Who do you think of when you hear the word “revolutionary?” Nelson Mandela. Martin Luther King, Jr. George Washington. Martin Luther.

As I wrestled with this text from Luke over the past week, I couldn’t help but think of the words revolution and revolutionary. The song Mary sings, the Magnificat, is God’s fundamental principles of the Christian revolution. God has given Mary a mission and a purpose. Mary is the bearer of the revolutionary, the one who will turn things upside down. Jesus will be the one who moves those who are the top to the bottom and those who are on the bottom to the top. Jesus will put people back where they actually belong. Jesus will create a revolution. Mary’s response to this revolution is to sing, because she believes that “nothing will be impossible with God.”

Mary is one of the least powerful people in her society. She is young, perhaps as young as thirteen. It is shameful for her to give birth at this age. She is female in a world that is dominated by men. She is poor in a stratified economy. She is living in Nazareth in Galilee. Nazareth has a population of about 1,600 to 2,000, which makes it significantly less important than a city, like Jerusalem. She is engaged to Joseph, a carpenter, who is also of relatively low social status. Regardless of Mary’s situation in life, God chooses her to bear the Savior of the world. God chooses her to bear the revolutionary, Jesus.

Mary’s response to her pregnancy and the pregnancy of her relative Elizabeth, who was said to be barren, is to sing. She says, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” When has your soul magnified the Lord? When have you felt blessed? When has your spirit rejoiced? My spirit rejoiced when I safely arrived in Washington, DC after traveling for over 1,400 miles to begin my mission as the Vicar of St. Paul’s. My soul magnified the Lord as I walked into the parsonage to find flowers and a cupboard full of food. I have felt blessed from the moment I arrived here and I am certain that I will continue to feel blessed throughout the rest of this year. Along with Mary, I can confidently say, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Throughout my life there have been many occasions when I have met others whose souls magnify the Lord. Let me introduce some of them to you.

His name is Gene. He lives in poverty near New Orleans. Before Hurricane Katrina he had very little and after the hurricane he had even less. He lost all his photos and personal mementos in the hurricane. When I, along with some other college students, helped him with his house (a house none of us would ever find livable), he gave us each a rose from his rose bush. It was the only thing he had to give. His mission was to give back to those who had given so much to him. Gene’s soul magnifies the Lord, and his spirit rejoices in God his Savior.
Her name is Sandra. She lives in a township in South Africa. She lives with her father, mother, and two brothers in a house that is the size of most master bedrooms in our country. She is in high school, but she still has a mission. Someday she would like to go to college and become a doctor so she could help others, but her family cannot afford a college education for her. Yet, she will not stop dreaming of her future. Sandra’s soul magnifies the Lord, and her spirit rejoices in God her Savior.
His name is Eduardo. He lives with his family at the bottom of a canyon in Guadalajara, Mexico. Everyday he walks up the steep canyon to go to school and then back down the canyon to go home. It is a very long walk, but at twelve years old his mission is to become educated. He speaks Spanish and I speak English, but we can still communicate. A smile is universal. Eduardo’s soul magnifies the Lord, and his spirit rejoices in God his Savior.
Her name is Angie. She is in her mid-forties. She is a schoolteacher in Nicaragua. Angie and her family lived in a very small house with minimal electricity. Every day she strives to fulfill her mission by providing the best life possible for her three daughters. Yet, when I visited, Angie gave up her bed and prepared wonderful food for me, while her and her daughters shared a small room and ate very little food. Angie’s soul magnifies the Lord, and her spirit rejoices in God her Savior.

God had a mission and purpose for Mary. She was to bear the revolutionary. She was to bear Jesus. God has a mission for Gene, Sandra, Eduardo, and Angie. God has a mission for me and I know that God has a mission for each of you as well. In addition, I believe that God has a mission and purpose for this congregation. Our mission is to bring down the powerful from their thrones and lift up the lowly. Our mission is to fill the hungry with good things and send the rich away empty. Our mission is to be radical revolutionaries in this city and in our world. This mission is not possible without us and this mission is certainly not possible without God.

Our response to the mission we are given through Jesus Christ should be to celebrate, to sing. Our response should be to let our souls magnify the Lord and our spirits rejoice in God our Savior. Today we are celebrating. Today we are celebrating the work of Christmas, which would not be possible without Mary, the Mother of our Lord. Today we are celebrating the revolution that Jesus, the revolutionary, began many years ago. Today we are celebrating the revolution of Christianity that still exists today. Today we are celebrating our mission to be like Jesus, to be revolutionaries.

In the words of theologian and civil rights leader Howard Thurman,

“When the song of the angel is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The Work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers and sisters,
To make music in the heart.
Then indeed we shall be blessed!”

Then indeed our souls shall magnify the Lord and our spirits shall rejoice in God our Savior. Amen.