"Mary's Prophetic Voice"
Micah 5:2-5a; Luke 1:46-55
We've heard from a few prophets over the season of Advent - Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Micah today. What exactly was a prophet? A Prophet in the online dictionary is described as "a person regarded as an inspired teacher or proclaimer of the will of God." Synonyms include seer · soothsayer · forecaster of the future · fortune teller · clairvoyant.
Like the prophecies in Isaiah we have looked at over the last few weeks, this prophecy in Micah is another one of those passages that carry a double meaning- an expectation of a king to come and be a righteous ruler, as well as an expectation of a future Messiah in Jesus. What was going on in Micah's time?
Micah lived during the 8th century B.C. during the Assyrian Empire, flexing their military might with many nations, including Judah. The northern kingdom (Remember, Israel was split at the time) had fallen to the Assyrians and many other surrounding countries. The current situation Micah is addressing is dire- Assyria has surrounded Judah, and they are under siege. The king, possibly Ahaz, but more likely his son, King Hezekiah, has been humiliated in public, struck with a rod upon his cheek. It is a rough time for sure.
Yet the prophet speaks of a future with good news. A new King will be born who will treat the people as a good shepherd treats the sheep. His origins will be as of old. In other words, he will be like David some 200 years ago- a good and just king, like a good shepherd who cares for all the flock, including the poor. A new King will arise from the backwater town of Bethlehem, which is also where David was born. 1 Samuel 17:12 tells us of David's origins. He was the youngest son of Jesse, a member of the clan of Ephrathah of Bethlehem.
Shepherding imagery evokes memories of David's humble origins and exemplifies the ideal ruler's traits. In the ancient world, shepherding was a significant metaphor of kingship, which indicated that the king's proper role was caring for and defending his subjects. Modern-day examples include the Oregon state legislature's acquisition of $65 million in funding to pay for hotel conversions into shelters and transitional housing. Another example would be Washington Governor Jay Insley's announcement last week of setting aside funds to help keep people in their homes and working to find accommodation for those on the streets in his state. Biblically, these folks are being good shepherds. These kinds of examples of shepherding are Micah's wish as well.
Under this new ruler's care, families are reunited as "brothers" return from exile (verse 3) and settle on the land in security (verse 4). The reign of this Messiah or son of God is summarized in the final line, "and he shall be the one of peace" (Micah 5:5a), echoing Isaiah's prophecy if a son of God who will be the "Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6).
Did Micah have a specific person in mind when he made this prophecy? Unlike Isaiah 9:1-7, which is about the birth of King Hezekiah, the reference to childbirth in Micah 5:3 is metaphorical. So no, although as we talked about a couple of weeks ago, Hezekiah pretty much fits the bill.
This prophecy is doubly interesting in that not only does it mention this expectation of a Messiah - a son of God to rule; it also mentions she who is in labor, who will bring forth this son of God. The woman in labor ending in childbirth is in part intended to suggest a limited period of suffering. God has consigned Zion to suffering, but even this travail will come to an end. Yet, we cannot help but think this part of the prophecy also relates to Mary.
So, we have this passage of expectation of a new son of God, much like the ones we have gone through these past few Sundays. Like the others, it points to the birth of Christ, and only in this prophecy also highlights the one to give birth, Mary. This prophecy is even quoted in the story of Christ's birth in Matthew 2:6. "And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel."
Now to our primary focal point for this morning: the voice of a new prophet who will give birth to the Messiah. As Luke tells the story of the birth of a new king, he also must deal with the gritty reality of political and military power. That power is reflected in Mary's Magnificat - her magnification of God's kindom, which is a vision of the "not yet." Mary's prophecy draws our attention to an utterly new possibility of a different kind of world. Let's take a closer look at Mary's song and prophecy to see what it holds.
Mary begins by focusing upon God's actions in her life, by asking her to become the mother of the Messiah. God has done great things for her and realizes in awe that all generations shall call her blessed. Being blessed or feeling blessed is a phrase I have seen recently on Facebook posts. There are lots of memes circulated on the internet about being blessed. For those of you who aren't spending much time on Facebook these days, a meme is an image, video, piece of text, etc., typically humorous, copied, and spread rapidly by internet users, often with slight variations. For example, someone sends you a phrase like, "I'm too blessed to be stressed! " with a picture of a dog sleeping on the couch - that kind of thing.
I often see memes of folks feeling blessed while on vacation or enjoying a wonderful meal with a significant other. Using the term "Blessed" has become a way of celebrating times when all is well with the world and life is excellent.
Theologian Judith Jones writes, "By our standards, Mary does not look at all blessed. God has chosen her to be the mother of the Messiah, but in practical terms, what does that mean for her? She is not from a family that can afford expensive food or clothing. She is a nobody, a peasant girl from a small village. Her friends and neighbors see her as a disgrace because she is unmarried and pregnant. Furthermore, as she will soon learn from Simeon if she hasn't perceived it already, being the mother of the Messiah is scarcely an unmixed blessing."
Despite all of these factors, Mary feels blessed and sings praise to God. Her song compares closely to the prayer of another woman who sings a song of praise to God for the birth of her son, Samuel - Hannah, who sings praise to God as she gives her child to be raised in the temple (1 Samuel 2:1-10)
Mary expresses her thankfulness for God asking her to fulfill this role, a poor and lowly handmaiden. The word for "handmaiden" is actually "bondservant," which comes from the Greek word doulos, meaning "one who is subservient to, and entirely at the disposal of his master; a slave." In Roman times, the term bondservant usually referred to one held in a permanent position of servitude. Under Roman law, a bondservant was considered the owner's personal property. Bondservants essentially had no rights and could even be killed with impunity by their owners. At the age of about 13, Mary was already a bondservant, likely working for a wealthy homeowner and family, one of the many working poor of the first century. Mary sings praises to God for blessing such a lowly bondservant as herself to bring the Messiah into the world.
In the second section of the song, Mary sings from the perspective of a poor bondservant in faith. She sings of God's works in the past tense. Because she begins in faith, she prophecies that God has already done these things listed. The proud have been scattered, the exalted have been made low, the poor and hungry have been fed, and the wealthy have been turned away. This is good news indeed for the poor of the world, but perhaps not such good news for the elite wealthy? This prophecy tells us that those who wield their power and status over others will be judged and lose all. Yet by bringing them down from their places of power and status, they can be emptied and humbled. When they turn their gaze from themselves and their accomplishments and instead gaze toward their Maker, they are blessed by God, given mercy, and saved from themselves.
In this second section, Mary sings of her past and present experiences of her faith in God, things she has witnessed. Yet it also, in part, is a vision of the future - It echoes the kindom of God in which there is a complete reversal of fortune.
Mary completes this prophecy of the coming kindom by singing of God's faithfulness with her people and with her nation Israel. In both sections, this song has a common theme- It speaks what God has done and prophecies about what God is doing and God will do- Mary sees God at work in the past, present, future, without differentiation. Theologian O. Wesley Allen Jr. writes, "Thus, we see that the Magnificat is a paradoxical prophecy. It speaks of a future God will bring in through the yet-to-be-born Messiah using past tense verbs- reflecting Mary's confidence in God's activity."
Mary's prophecy is a prophecy of the great reversal. The Elon Musks of the world exchange places with ones who stand in line at the OHRA Center or bed down at the Winter shelter here in town. This reversal of fortunes has already begun, in that God chose Mary, of low estate, to give birth to the Savior of the world. It continues every time a person caught in the grip of poverty is lifted up by those who show their faith in God through their actions. When our church shelters the unhoused, feeds the food insecure, gives a place for someone living in their cars to have a safe place to park, adopts fire victim families and shelter guests for Christmas, helps build a home for a Habitat family, etc. - those in need are uplifted by God's mercy and justice. A glimpse of God's future can be seen.
What then do we learn from today's two prophetic voices? Micah has a vision of something yet to come, both near his own time and long into the future. This future vision speaks of a Messiah who is to come and his mother who will birth him into the world. Then Mary's prophecy also speaks of the present and a future image of the great reversal in God's kindom. Both Micah and Mary envision a future that we can only find glimpses of today. They see through the eyes of faith despite their difficult circumstances. Both are examples for us to follow as we continue to live in a time of the pandemic, awaiting the next viral surge. How do you view this present time? Do you see through the eyes of faith? Do you see yourself blessed only when life is good and easy, or are there blessings from God even in times of struggle and worry?
At least one more thing we can learn from Mary's prophetic voice. She sings a prophecy about the God who saves souls and empowers people. The God she sings of is not content merely with a personal relationship. Mary sings about the God who saves not just souls but also embodies people. God's call to people of faith is to do the work of the coming kindom here on earth. God's people are called to do more than fill the hungry with hope. They also need to be fed, find places to call home, and be treated with God's justice. We do not just comfort the lowly. The God Mary prophecies lift them up and give them a voice at the table in the coming kindom. God calls for the eradication of systemic poverty and empowers us to take part in a vision of what both Micah and Mary saw - the kindom that is both now and not yet. Paul reminds us in Ephesians to work for the kindom because it is in our DNA. Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are what [God] has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life." Thanks be to God for this vision of what one day will be from the Mother of God, the prophet Mary- an image that calls us to what we were created for. Alleluia. Amen.
