Sunday Summary: The Advent Conspiracy - Part 2 : Upside Down

We picked up our reading of the Christmas story with Luke 1:39-56 (The Voice). Mary has just learned that she is pregnant with Jesus (who will be the Messiah). She travels to Judea to be with her cousin, Elizabeth, who is also pregnant with a son (to be known as John the Baptist).

Upon entering the house, Mary greets her cousin. When she hears Mary's voice, the child in Elizabeth's womb leaps, and she is overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit. She praises Mary for her faith. Mary, who is deeply moved, responds in song:

My soul lifts up the Lord! My spirit celebrates God, my Liberator!

For though I’m God’s humble servant, God has noticed me.

Now and forever, I will be considered blessed by all generations. 

For the Mighty One has done great things for me; holy is God’s name!

From generation to generation, God’s loving kindness endures for those who revere Him. 

God’s arm has accomplished mighty deeds.

The proud in mind and heart, God has sent away in disarray. 

The rulers from their high positions of power, God has brought down low.

And those who were humble and lowly, God has elevated with dignity. 

The hungry—God has filled with fine food. 

The rich—God has dismissed with nothing in their hands.

To Israel, God’s servant, God has given help,  as promised to our ancestors, remembering Abraham and his descendants in mercy forever.

Mary's song, sometimes known as the Magnificat, isn’t just religious; it has strong social and political overtones. It speaks of a great revolution to come. The Jews are oppressed by the Roman Empire, and to speak of a king who will overthrow the rich and powerful, and elevate the poor and humble, means God is moving toward setting them free.

Interesting factoid: In the 1980s, in Guatemala, which at the time was mostly Catholic, it was illegal to speak the Magnificat in public. That’s right; the government of Guatemala found gentle Mary’s song so subversive -- so dangerous, that they banned it. The government was in the midst of a revolution and had never been stable. They found something powerful in the way that the people were responding to the song. And they were scared.

There is power in Mary’s song. It is the power of speaking something into existence. Justice is still very much needed in places around this world, even here in America.

Now, changing our tune for just a moment (pun intended), Cody has a bit of a love/hate relationship with Christmas music. He's not a Grinch, just not a fan of the constant drone of Bing Crosby's White Christmas, played on repeat at every coffee house, local boutique, and shopping mall from before Thanksgiving through the end of the year.

Some years ago, Cody was invited (possibly forced) on a post-holiday trip to Garrison, North Dakota for the annual Dickens Village Festival. According the their website, the event turns a community of 1,500 into a quaint Victorian town from the era of Charles Dickens’ "A Christmas Carol." 

That sounds nice, doesn't it? Well, to hear Cody tell of it, not so much. It's basically all the same little shops you'd expect to find in small town, main street ND, but with the names changed to "Ye Olde..." and an English double-decker bus named "Queen Elizabus." Okay, that's a little corny. And from every speaker in town, horrendously loud Christmas music is blaring. Ugh! I see his point.


As Americans, we go a little bit nuts over Christmas. It's almost like a dream sequence. We're frenzied and running around with our blinders on. We shop until we drop, sometimes spending money we don't have. We cook and bake and candy-make the most elaborate and traditional recipes we can find. We rush around, trying to make sure every last detail is perfect. It's a bit over the top.

And when it's all over, what's left? Have we taken the time to appreciate the true meaning of the season?

Getting back to our theme of the Advent Conspiracy: Trust that it can be done. We can re-evaluate and re-prioritize. We need not get caught up in the hype of consumerism. We can enjoy the holiday without getting lost in it. It's important to remember that there are people, closer to home than you might believe, who are going without all those decadent gifts and luxuries this Christmas.

Worship fully. Spend less. Give more. Love all. That is the message we're trying to follow this Advent season. To give ourselves to something bigger than any of us... and to turn our heads, tune our hearts and worship a savior whose birth turned this world upside-down.

You're probably familiar with this Christmas carol:

Joy to the World, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King; Let every heart prepare Him room...

Make room in your heart for Jesus this season. Make room in your life for him. Live out that joy! When Jesus shows through the hearts of the people on earth, peace and justice are lived out. Mary's song becomes a reality. The kingdom of God is in the quiet hearts of humble, ordinary people who have made room in their hearts for him.

Imagine what the world would look like if we all lived out that joy. Mary's song was just the beginning of something great. Let it live on in you.

Written by Kay Weiss, guest blogger