Getting Ahead of Ourselves?

Last Sunday I spoke on how Mary and Joseph model for us how to receive God’s promise for a better day. They were “favored” by the Lord, which did not end up meaning they got a great parking spot at the mall during Christmas shopping season, but that they sacrificed their personal desires and dreams in order to embrace the strange way that God was bringing his promises to fulfillment. Oftentimes embracing God’s will means that we will need to sacrifice reputation and personal gain in order that others might see the fulfillment of his promises in their lives.

One aspect of Mary’s “yes” to God that we did not spend time discussing on Sunday was the song she sings in response to the whole situation. Traditionally it has been called the “Magificat” after the first word of the song in Latin (“My soul magnifies the Lord…”). The song she sings is a powerful picture of Mary, in the midst of the current struggle, announcing the future glory “ahead of time.” It’s a great example of how we as Christians are to be people who are constantly “getting ahead of ourselves.”

The song itself is found in Luke 1:46-55. Mary has gone to her relative Elizabeth’s house (who will shortly give birth to John the Baptist). Elizabeth’s baby “leaps” in her womb when Mary arrives, and Elizabeth announces a blessing on Mary, who responds by proclaiming a song that has been called “the gospel before the gospel.”

Mary announces that her soul glorifies the Lord because he has done such great things for her. She declares (in the past tense!) that God has knocked tyrants off their thrones and lifted up the humble, that he has filled the hungry with good things but sent the rich away empty-handed, that he has remembered Israel and been faithful to the covenant…

This is remarkable partly because none of this had “actually” happened yet. We are tempted to say, “Whoa, Mary! Aren’t you getting a little ahead of yourself there? Perhaps we should cautiously say (in not so loud a voice) that we really really hope God will do these wonderful things in the future.”

But that’s not what Mary does. She recklessly announces the gospel even before it’s happened. In the midst of her own struggle (teenage pregnancy, shame and misunderstanding from most people) she announces that God has done great things for her. In the midst of Israel’s occupation by a pagan empire, she announces that God has already knocked the arrogant tyrants off their thrones and lifted up the humble poor. She gets way ahead of herself!

But that’s actually how God seems to work. We get in on his work by declaring “ahead of time” what God will do, as if he’d already done it! We can declare with confidence what is to come because we know that life has won the decisive victory over death. In the face of trials, temptations, suffering, and hardship, we can confidently announce the year of the Lord’s favor. In the face of a world filled with violence and war, we can announce “Peace on Earth!” In the face of sickness and disease, we can announce healing for the nations. In the face of poverty and a looming economic crisis, we can announce the provision of God while acting generously with the resources we have.

And this is not some kind of “whistling in the dark” where we turn a blind eye to the real problems of our world. We joyfully announce God’s reign not to ignore the horrors of the world, but in order to declare that the horror will not have the last word, that God will bring his peace and justice and establish his kingdom on earth.

In the meantime, it isn’t necessarily our job to save the world or make sure we eradicate poverty or heal everyone. Our job is simply to announce God’s reign, and act, as a community, in ways that make sense in a world where God reigns. This means we’ll continue to feed the hungry and provide for the poor, as well as preach and celebrate the gospel together, because that is congruent with what we are announcing, that we really are “getting ahead of ourselves,” by following our Lord Jesus in (in the words of Isaiah 61):

proclaiming good news to the poor.
binding up the brokenhearted
proclaiming freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,

proclaiming the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
comforting all who mourn,

providing for those who grieve in Zion -
bestowing on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.