Less is More: Singing a New Song

Advent is a season of preparation and anticipation. It is the season of preparation for the coming of Christ and the season of anticipating and longing for his coming. At a minimum, preparation entails a change of routine, e.g. "I have to leave work now and go home and prepare dinner." However, when God asks us to prepare for his coming, the change of routine becomes a change of heart, a change of lifestyle, a switch from the mundane to the sanctified. During this season of preparation, we will be looking primarily at the story of the birth of John the Baptist, the consummate man of preparation who "give[s] his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins" (Luke 1:77).

During Advent this year, where do we need to change?

The text today is in two parts, each with its own song. Throughout the Bible, God intervenes in people’s lives, and they respond in song: God parts the Red Sea and Moses & Miriam sing (Exodus 15:1-21); God delivers David from Saul, and David sings (Psalm 18 [1]); the Israelites defeat a Canaanite army led by Jabin & Sisera, and Deborah & Barak sing (Judges 5); Jesus first appears in a vision to John as a lamb, and the response of the angelic beings & the 24 elders is a new song (Revelation 5:6-10); Gabriel comes to Zechariah and Mary with pronouncements of miraculous births and the advent of the Messiah, and their responses here today are songs.

Luke 1:39-56

Commentary

v39 The sense here is that Mary goes almost immediately to Elizabeth. Other evidence: Gabriel says that Elizabeth is in her 6th month (v36); and Mary stays with Elizabeth for three months (v56).

v42 Elizabeth is the one person who can truly believe & affirm Mary. How often do you have a chance to sympathize with people who are struggling with the same issues that you have dealt with?

Note: We are not told that Mary told Elizabeth that she was pregnant. Could it be that Elizabeth’s exclamation is a prophetic sign for Mary? (i.e. Mary is pregnant by only a few days, could it be that Elizabeth’s supernatural knowledge confirms to Mary something that she is not sure of in her own body?)

The Archbishop of Canterbury cautioned missionaries to India to never read these verses in public. When the kingdom of God becomes manifest in a place, everything must change.

Are you ready for everything to change? God is ready. God is for you as much as he is for Mary. What is holding back that change? (Hint: it’s not God!)

Luke 1:57-80

Commentary

v66 All through our childhood, people tell us the stories of our lives—good things we have done, bad things we have done, silly things we done—to the point that the trajectory of our lives are often cast in concrete before we reach adulthood. What chance does the child have who has always heard, "You were a mistake!"? What chance does the child have who has always heard, "You are an angel!"? The question here, "What is this child going to be?" is the same question as for all of us. In John’s case, the hand of God is clear. In our case, the hand is God is ready to either sustain the trajectory that others have put us on, or to alter it.

v67 Zechariah’s song is actually two songs, I think: a hymn of praise to the faithfulness of God and the reality of his salvation; and a commission to his son to prepare the way for the Lord.

Consider how Zechariahs’s and Mary’s songs are similar: they both begin with praise; they both recall the faithfulness of God throughout the generations of Abraham; they both speak of God’s mercy. What words and concepts are in common between the two songs?

Application

Nine places in the Bible use the phrase "new song": Psalm 33:3; 40:3; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9; 149:1; Isaiah 42:10; Revelvation 5:9; 14:3. In each case the new song, or the call for a new song, is a response the mighty saving power of God. It’s as if the composer says, "No words exist for describing what I have seen you just do; therefore, by your grace and by your Spirit, I offer unto you this new song." Mary and Zechariah are certainly singing new songs as well.

Points to Ponder

What is the trajectory you were set on as a child, i.e. what messages did you hear growing up?

Regardless of the trajectory of your life, God is at work in you. Is it to sustain you or to change your course?

When God acts, how do you respond? Apathy? Joy? Confusion? Confidence? Fear? Pleasure? Other?

The whole idea of a new song is that old songs seemed to fall short. If our "song" is our response to God in our lives, are we open to a new song, or are we trying to muddle through singing the same old songs? (I am not talking about hymns, I’m talking about how we live our lives in response to God!) What does the God who says, "I make all things new!" desire to do in your life?

End Notes:

1 - Psalm 18 is just one of many psalms David writes as a response of God’s work in his life. Just for fun, take your Bible and read the superscriptions (the introductions between the chapter number and first verse of each psalm and see when/how David perceives God working in his life.

Less is More: It's Not All About You

Advent is a season of preparation and anticipation. [1] It is the season of preparation for the coming of Christ and the season of anticipating and longing for his coming. During this season of preparation, we will be looking primarily at the story of the birth of John the Baptist, the consummate man of preparation who said of Jesus, "He must become greater; I must become less" (John 3:30).

During Advent this year, where do we need to become less and let God become greater?

Luke 1

Commentary

v27 Technically, parthenos, the word translated twice in this verse as "virgin," can also refer to a young, unmarried woman (i.e. a woman of virginal characteristics). Likewise, alma, the word used in Isaiah 7:14 and translated as virgin, can also refer to a woman before the birth of her first child.
v28 The verb tense here is significant, meaning literally, "Hail, one favored continually now [by virtue of] having been favored in the past!

This prompts the question: If God favored you in the past will he continue to favor you as well?

v34 The NIV softened the sense of Mary’s question, which is literally, "How will this [be] since a man I am not knowing [i.e. having sexual relations with]?" We can quibble over the various meanings of words, but Mary’s question is unambiguous.

v35 The first 2 of the verbs of Gabriel’s answer sound ominously irresistible. Compare the other instances of "come upon" (Luke 11:22; 21:26; 21:35; Acts 1:8; 8:24; 13:40; and James 5:1) and "overshadow" (Luke 9:34; Acts 5:15). When the Spirit acts, how often is the human response fear and awe?

v36 I mentioned prophetic signs last week. It’s a bit of a stretch, but I guess one can view Gabriel’s revelation of Elizabeth’s pregnancy as such a sign.

Application

In the mythologies of the time, the coupling of heavenly beings—gods, angels, or demons—with humans was a common theme. [2] For example, many Greek epic heroes—Achilles, Hercules, Perseus, Theseus, et al—were alleged to be the offspring of gods. However, the mythic coupling of humans with heavenly beings was usually savage—frequently rape—and often had dire consequences for the human mate and/or their families. Paramours of Zeus were frequently victimized by Zeus’ wife, Hera. The heroes themselves were frequently involved in prophecies that brought death and destruction to the family.

Perhaps the most famous mythic rape of a mortal is portrayed in the William Bulter Yeats poem Leda and the Swan. Zeus assumed the form of a swan and raped Leda, wife of Tyndareus, King of Sparta, thereby conceiving Helen (later known as Helen of Troy).

Is that what happens when God enters into our lives? Does God, our Creator, Lord of the universe, to whom all will eventually bow (Philippians 2:9-11) force his way into our lives? Do we have any say, any right of refusal, to what God does in our lives? The Bible says:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30)

What, then, shall we say in response to this? Do we have the power to tell God, "No thanks, I’ll pass for now."? Do we have the right to tell God, "Not today, but ask me again tomorrow."?

"What, then, shall we say in response to this?" This is Paul’s exact question in v31! He answers his question with another question: "If God is for us, who can be against us?" The answer is: ourselves! We want God to work in our lives ... but only so far. We want God to fix the things we want fixed ... but leave the rest alone. Frequently we are scared to let God loose in our lives. Even if God is for us, we can be against ourselves!

But consider the difference between the story of Mary and the myths of Leda and others: The story of Mary begins with a proclamation of favor—great favor, continual favor. The God that loves Mary—and you, and me—loves with a sacrificial love:

I love you so much I will put my godhead aside for a bit. I will come to earth as a normal human being. I will live with you. I will suffer with you. And I will die with you. But my death will be for you, and because I die in your stead, if you give yourself to me, you will live with me forever.

No other god in the panoply of religions makes an offer like this! No other god in the panoply of religions loves as the god of Mary loves. The gods of other religions mirror human love. Love is legal tender that is demanded from those who owe you something; love is an egocentric emotion related to how good another makes you feel; love is the polite face for lust, vanity, pride, and envy. The "lover" often hurts the "beloved."

However, God loves us before we ever think of loving him (Romans 5:8). God pours out his love on those who never love him in return, who never even think of him. God never demands that we love him back. What a self-effacing love, for the Creator of universe to create you, to love you, and never to demand that you do anything for him. However, when we turn to God, when we respond to God’s favor, as God’s children made in his likeness there is only one response that works: surrender. Complete surrender. We don’t surrender because he forces us to; we don’t surrender because it is our duty; we surrender because anything less is not loving him in kind. Anything less than surrender is loving the way the world loves—not the way that God has loved us.

In v38, as Mary surrenders herself to God, one may imagine her still fearful, one may imagine her confused, or worried. However, one must imagine this child of God responding with a love that mirrors her Father’s sacrificial love for her.

Points to Ponder

You will never know the full power of God in your life, you will never know the joy of full surrender, until you know the reality of God’s love for you. Do you know in your heart that God loves you?

If you are not sure that God loves you, are you holding on to something—some past secret, some private sin—that you think is keeping you from God? God knows you better than you know yourself, and he still loves you. Can you admit to God what you’re holding on to and ask him to take it away and give you love in its place?

Can you let go & trust in God to care for you?

End Notes

1 - How is your preparation going? (I don’t mean the shopping; I mean the preparation of your heart for God!)

2 - Curiously, of the Ancient Near East religions, Judaism was perhaps the only one with no myths of conjugal visits by deities. This is a big deal! When one religion stands in stark contrast with all other religions, one needs to examine what’s going on. Judaism testifies to the holiness, transcendence, and one-ness of God; the God of the Jews would never be confused with Zeus! (Curiously, though, Jewish folklore does contain stories of fallen angels mating with humans to form the Nephilim.)

Less is More: Return & Hope

Advent is a season of preparation and anticipation. It is the season of preparation for the coming of Christ and the season of anticipating and longing for his coming. During this season of preparation, we will be looking primarily at the story of the birth of John the Baptist, the consummate man of preparation of whom Jesus said:

This is the one about whom it is written:"I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you." (Luke 7:27)

In Luke’s gospel, the birth of John is intimately tied into the story of the birth of Christ. For there is no coming of Christ without prior preparation; there is no life in the Spirit without a prior quickening of our spirit; there is no meeting God face-to-face without a prior turnabout in our lives to face him.

We consider John the Baptist to be holier than ourselves, but Jesus says otherwise. "I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he" (Luke 7:28). You belong to God, now live the consecrated life to which you have been called.

Luke 1

Commentary

v5 "Zechariah" means "the Lord remembers" and Elizabeth means "my God is an oath," or, in other words, "God is absolutely faithful."

v5-7 Miraculous births abound in the Bible, e.g.: Sarah (Gen. 18:11); Rebekah (Gen. 25:21), Rachel (Gen. 29:31); Samson’s mother (Judges 13:3); Hannah (1 Sam. 1:19); Ruth (Ruth 4:13); Isaiah 7:14 (& Jesus!).

v11-17 The angel says, "Your prayer has been heard." Which is more likely: (1) that an aged Zechariah was praying for an inconceivable answer to a personal need "on company time" in the temple, or (2) that the angel is saying, in essence, "That prayer you prayed years ago and gave up on was heard and has never been forgotten."?

Based, in part, on the command to abstain from alcohol, some scholars believe that John was a Nazirite, i.e. wholly consecrated for God.

The heart of preparation is proper orientation: people to God, parents to children, and the disobedient to wisdom.

The reference to Elijah is a fulfill-ment of prophecy (Malachi 4:5-6).

v19-20 The superficial interpretation is that Zechariah is being punished for his disbelief. However, Zechariah’s enforced silence is also a prophetic sign—a miracle given at the time of a prophecy as evidence of the veracity of the speaker. The miracle is nonetheless full of irony; the one who did not believe is now incapable of confessing belief.

Application

"The Lord remembers." For this reason alone, we can have hope:

We head into the bleak winter season when everything looks as good as dead. But the Christmas wreaths symbolize the promise of eternal life, for God has not forgotten us.

By ourselves, our lives are barren, busyness without purpose. Sometimes we simply stop, feeling that we have failed, that our opportunity has already come and gone. Perhaps we no longer even pray, feeling that progress is no longer possible. But the touch of God can make all things new, and God has not forgotten us.

We may be busy, or living in darkness, or living in despair, but God has not forgotten us. At just the right time (often that’s when life seems darkest) he comes to us. He comes to us, and like a flower turning to face the warming sun, we turn towards him. We turn towards him and wait in joyous expectation for him to act.

This Christmas story is received with great joy by the misfits, the miscreants, and the mistreated. They receive the good news from angels, stars, and prophecies, and they are changed. The circumstances of their lives may not have changed (e.g. the shepherds) but everything has changed as they turn back to God with hope for the future. The circumstances of their lives may have turned upside down (e.g. Zechariah and Elizabeth) but they continue to live day-by-day until the time when God chooses to act again. This is what it means to live in hope—you wait with without despair until the Lord acts.

Points to Ponder

In looking at miraculous births, I am struck by similarities between the story of the conception of John the Baptist and the conception of Samuel. Later in life:

both will become life-long Nazirites,

both will have to deal with obdurate kings (Saul for Samuel, Herod for John), and

both will herald the coming of God’s anointed (David for Samuel, Jesus for John).

What similarities can you find between the stories of their conceptions?

More to the point:

Where have you given up waiting for God to act?

Do you think that God has forgotten you?

What if you gave this season of preparation unconditionally over to God? What would have to happen for you to turn to God and make him top priority for the season?

Zechariah was speechless during his season of preparation for fatherhood. John was a Nazirite during his season of preparation for the Christ. What could you change for this season—what could your "Nazirite vow" be?

At this church, we sing Christmas carols with gusto from the first day of Advent on. However, some churches don’t sing any carols until Christmas Eve; they claim this type of "fasting" heightens the anticipation. What does this type of "delayed gratification" remind you of in today’s story?

I Will Remember You (Sarah McLachlan © 1999)

I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don’t let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories

See in this song a picture of God’s faithful love & remembrance of us.

End Notes

1 - I fear that Advent has been subverted and as preparation has become synonymous with shopping and anticipation has become synonymous with waiting for Santa to bring us gifts. And we who know better have let it happen by going along with the culture and rarely trying to elevate the discourse!

2 - Oddly, we are never told her name!

3 - Although theories abound, best guess is that this virgin (or young maiden—the Hebrew being a bit vague) is Hezekiah’s mother, given: (a) Hezekiah is a big part of the first half of Isaiah, and (b) the interpretation of the prophecy given in Isaiah 7:3-16.