My soul magnifies the Lord

As a Christmas greeting to readers of this blog, I'd like to share a small something from Martin Luther's commentary on the The Magnificat.  "Magnificat" is Latin for "magnify" or "glorify" -- to honor with praise.  When she was carrying the Christ-child in her womb, the virgin Mary praised God with poetic words we refer to as "The Magnificat," saying, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior" (Luke 1:46-47 NKJV).

Martin Luther published a commentary on Mary's words in 1521.  For this Christmas edition of The Electric Gospel, we'll focus on Luther's thoughts regarding the second line of Mary's inspired song.

Mary also says:  “God has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed” (Luke 1:48).

St. Paul teaches us, in 1 Corinthians chapter 1: “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are.”  Thus God turns the world with all its wisdom and power into foolishness, and gives us another wisdom and power.  ... So this is what Mary means: “God has regarded me, a poor, despised and lowly maiden, though He might have found a rich, renowned, noble and mighty queen, the daughter of princes and great lords. He might have found the daughter of Annas or of Caiaphas, who were the first folk in the land. But He let His pure and gracious eyes land upon me, and used so poor and despised a maiden, in order that no one might glory in His presence, as though any person were worthy of this, and that I must acknowledge everything to be pure grace and goodness and no part whatsoever my merit or worthiness.”

How lowly was the estate of this tender virgin, and how unexpectedly this honor came to her, that God should regard her in such abundant grace.  Hence she does not glory in her worthiness nor, for that matter, in her unworthiness, but solely in the divine regard. ... When a prince takes a poor beggar by the hand, it is not the beggar’s lowliness, but the prince’s grace and goodness, that is to be commended.

Luke tells us, in his first chapter (Luke 1:29), that Mary was troubled at the angel’s saying, and cast about in her mind what manner of greeting that it could be, seeing she had never expected anything like it. Had it come to a prince’s daughter, or the high priest Caiaphas’ daughter, she would not have cast in her mind what manner of greeting it was, but would straightway have hugged it to herself, and thought, “Oh, how wonderful! This is just as it should be for me.”

Mary confesses that the foremost work God wrought for her was that He regarded her, which is indeed the greatest of His works, on which all the rest depend and from which they all derive. For where it comes to pass that God turns His face toward one to regard her, there is nothing but grace and salvation, and all gifts and works must needs follow. ... Here is the origin of the many prayers in the Psalms — that God would lift up His countenance upon us, that He would make His face shine upon us. And that Mary herself regards this as the chief thing, she indicates by saying, “Behold, since He has regarded me, all generations shall call me blessed.” 

Note that she does not say men shall speak all manner of good of her, praise her virtues, exalt her virginity or her humility, or sing of what she has done. But for this one thing alone, that God regarded her, will men call her blessed. That is giving all the glory to God as completely as it can be done.  Mary is not praised, but God’s grace toward her is praised.  

Many empty chatterers preach and write many vain things about Mary’s merits. They spoil the Magnificat, make the Mother of God a liar, and diminish the grace of God.  For, in proportion as we ascribe merit and worthiness to her, we lower the grace of God and diminish the truth of Mary’s song. Hence all those who heap so great praise and honor upon her head are not far from making an idol of her, as though she were concerned that men should honor her and look to her for good things, when in truth she thrusts such attitudes away from her, and would have us honor God in her and come through her to a good confidence in His grace. 

Mary should be, and herself gladly would be, the foremost example of the grace of God, to incite all the world to trust in this grace and to love and praise it.  Mary is an example in this way: how the exceeding riches of God joined in her with her utter poverty, the divine honor with her low estate, the divine glory with her shame, the divine greatness with her smallness, the divine goodness with her lack of merit, the divine grace with her unworthiness.  

A blessed Christmas to all -- for all of us benefit from God's great mercy as did Mary.  "Glory to God in highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests" (Luke 2:14).  

An unchanging mission

by John Wenzel

           Much has happened in the last two millennia. Empires have risen from ash and then returned back to dust. Kings and lords have reigned, only to be burned in the fires of revolution. A new world was discovered and made into a land of the free. Wars have been instigated, fought, and ended, only for new ones to begin. Great feats of engineering have been constructed and marvels of science discovered. Humanity has taken its first steps off our planet. Indeed, much has happened. But one thing has remained constant through these great ages of war and discovery. Under the providence of the all-powerful God, the Christian church has remained ready to continue her great endeavor: to tell the world about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

           Since Jesus ascended to claim his rightful throne in heaven, this has remained the mission which he assigned to the church. Indeed, this arduous task has been our chief purpose in this world. There is no greater deed, in difficulty or satisfaction, than bringing unbelievers into the kingdom of heaven. It is difficult, because the entire world is aligned against your goal, yet it is easy, for we are only the messengers and the Holy Spirit is the true inspirer of faith. Likewise, there is nothing more satisfying than sharing the joy of Jesus with someone just saved from hell.

The apostle Paul understood this great task, as he traveled upon the dusty roads of Asia Minor, traveling village to village, preaching to unbelievers and encouraging congregations in their efforts. He valiantly preached and confessed the message of Jesus, under threats of violence and persecution, because he knew this was all that mattered – for to live or die in Christ is a victory.

Although the mission of the church has remained the same over all these years, her face has changed much. At the beginning, the small congregations of Asia Minor were atypical of their society. They were a small and extremely active community that practiced what it preached, helping the poor and the widows in this life but also preaching the message that would save you in the next. They recognized that their church must be a part of the community. If not, others would just see them as a cult. And so the churches’ secondary mission has been established. This mission is to adapt to best reach out to the community without betraying the word of God.

And so the church has changed much in physical form. From small vibrant congregations to secret enclaves, from majestic, splendid basilicas to rustic hardy wood buildings in the outposts of the frontier, the church has seen it all. Yet her duty remains true. Whether she is under persecution of state or atheism, or whether endorsed by the state itself, nothing has changed at all. Paul’s urgings for congregations to be bold in proclaiming the message of Jesus echoes only louder as the Last Day draws ever closer. Although the church has physically changed much, her spiritual mission stays constant.

With this on our hearts, we can only be encouraged to perform the mission of the church with more vigor than ever before. We do what martyrs have died to do and proclaim what people of all ages have proclaimed. The endless cycle of war shall continue. Civilizations will rise and once again fall back into oblivion. Generations shall live and die. But in a world of change, the mission of church under the omniscient God will never change.  

Mission advice

by Elsie Koutia

Students in my current religion class were asked to write on the following theme, after our study of the Acts of the Apostles:  "Imagine the apostle Paul were to address our churches today.  What advice might Paul offer about our efforts at mission work in the 21st century?"    Elsie offered the following observations, which I thought worth sharing here on The Electric Gospel blog.

              Paul’s missionary journeys were filled with joys, dangers, failures, and triumphs. His unprecedented career has become a model for spreading the word of God for people throughout the ages. If Paul were to come and speak to us today, about how we could improve our missionary efforts, he might touch on the following aspects of outreach:

              Paul would encourage our outlook to be simpler. Sometimes we may be caught up in the act of witnessing and the logistics that go with expanding the mission field and lose focus on the true reason for all our efforts.  We preach Christ crucified for the salvation of souls.  This simple mission statement will keep us focused on the true reason of outreach.

              Paul also would urge us not to alienate our audience by conveying the message in ways that are not understandable or relatable to those to whom we witness. It is so easy to just “spew” what we have learned in an attempt to witness. However, we do well to keep in mind the people we are speaking to—their backgrounds, their language, their experiences. Sometimes going at witnessing in an unconventional way will help get our point more clearly across.

              Paul might also speak about making a persuasive argument with our words, but also not trusting in human logic. It might be easy to feel pressure as a missionary to try to persuade and convince everyone you why they should believe in what God has put in his Word. However, we must remember who truly plants the seed of faith and helps it grow: The Holy Spirit.  We can help spread the Word of God and witness to others, but in the end, the Holy Spirit is the one creating faith. There is not enough human knowledge that we can give to convince someone to believe in Jesus. Human reason can do nothing compared to the power of the Holy Spirit.

              Missions are maintained when strong leaders oversee their growth and nurture the souls of the congregation.  It can be tough for congregations to stay focused without strong leaders guiding them in the Word.  Paul provided a great example of mission leadership, even continuing to nurture the missions from afar. He also encouraged mission leaders to train others to become future leaders of the church, continuing to build on the strong foundation in Christ.

              Finally, Paul would explain how being flexible in the itinerary of a mission project is essential. Sometimes we might have our sights set on certain region or a project that seems best to us. However, God knows best and if another opportunity is put in our way to spread the Word, we will want to jump at the chance. After all, God’s Word is needed EVERYWHERE!

Forgive and forget

by Annalisa Schuette

            How long can you hold a grudge? If you’re anything like me, a grudge can be held for a long time. Some grudges are even held so long that the people involved have forgotten what it’s about.

You hear the phrase “forgive and forget” everywhere, but what does it mean? You might wonder how you can do this. God’s Word tells us how; he responds: “I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (Jeremiah 31:34). God is speaking about the Israelites in this passage. God continually forgave the Israelites, even after they turned away time after time. Yes, he disciplined them, even sending them into exile.  But his aim always was loving and caring for them.  He promised to forget their sin. The same God who is omniscient somehow forgets sin. We, as Christians, ought to follow this example, but it is so difficult for us as sinful human beings to forget the sins of others. We enjoy the feeling of power that we have dangling someone’s sin in front of them. We hold people’s sins against us over them. We feel better about ourselves comparing our sins to theirs.

This is not what God wants us to do. In Ephesians, Paul tells us, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).  If we truly forgive someone, we have already forgotten the sin. There is no more bringing up of past offenses. No revenge is planned. You no longer feel anger towards the person or about the event. Forgiveness is a gift from God, so precious that Christ died on the cross to give it to us. We will treat it as the precious gift that it is and not take it for granted. Jesus said, “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-15). God wants us to forgive others.

This is does not mean however, that we should allow ourselves to be taken advantage of. In Genesis, we learn about Joseph. Joseph was abused by his brothers. Yet when they came to him for help, he gave them the aid they needed, but he did not tell them who he truly was. He tested them first. He made them prove that they cared for Benjamin, the youngest brother. When Joseph’s servants found his silver cup in Benjamin’s bag, Judah begged that he be taken as a slave instead of Benjamin. The brothers proved their repentance with actions. Then Joseph had a joyful reunion with his brothers. He forgave them for their sins against him and provided for them.

            God does not want us to be abused and walked all over because we forgive and forget when the offender is not truly repentant of his or her sins. We want to bring offenders to repentance so that they change their ways. We deserve to be respected. We want to see a change of heart. But when we see that others are truly repentant and have changed their ways, then we will forgive and forget.

            Stop holding grudges and ask God to help you forgive. He has forgiven you for so many sins, so you can forgive those who have sinned against you. Don’t allow yourself to be taken advantage of, but don’t hold sins against others. Reflect the love that God has shown you.