Overflow of the Heart | Luke 1:25-55
This message was preached at Sherwood Community Friends Church on Tuesday, December 24, 2024. You can watch the video in full by clicking below.
Each year, we have the privilege to know that Christmas is coming. We budget for presents to give to our loved ones. We plan our home decorating and holiday parties. We prepare our favorite holiday foods. And some…not me… but some plan their Christmas cards to send out. But what about when the unexpected happens and our plans are thwarted?
We have all received unexpected news.
An unexpected diagnosis.
A surprise pregnancy.
A loss of a job.
And the interesting thing about unexpected news is that it reveals what is deep within our hearts. Does the peace we sing about at Christmas maintain in these moments?
A young woman named Mary had received surprising news herself. News that could have ruined her life. It could have been the catalyst for Joseph, her fiancé, to call off her marriage. It could have made her an outcast in society. It could have brought out feelings of anger or frustration or disappointment because the life she once thought was hers for the taking was now taken away.
Luke 1:26-37 CSB
“In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged, to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
And the angel came to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you.”
But she was deeply troubled by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be.
Then the angel told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.”
Mary asked the angel, “How can this be, since I have not had sexual relations with a man? ”
The angel replied to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. And consider your relative Elizabeth — even she has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called childless. For nothing will be impossible with God.’”
What a mix of a message. In one breath, the angel tells Mary that she has found favor with God. But in the next, this teenager virgin is told that she is going to be impregnated by the Holy Spirit. What?
The truth is, this could be a time for Mary to be crushed, devastated, angry. She has done all of the right things up to this point so she could live a quiet life with Joseph, have kids of their own, and enjoy the inevitable journey of their long life together.
But with this news from Gabriel, Mary’s life just took a sharp turn.
So how did Mary respond? Did she run up to Gabriel and scream at him, beating his chest in defiance and anger? Did she drop to a heap on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably? Did she refuse the assignment until the angel could logically explain all the whys, arguing her fate?
Now, we don’t really know all that went on behind the scenes of this most holiest of moments, but we see her response in Luke 1:38:
““See, I am the Lord’s servant,” said Mary. “May it happen to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.”
How could Mary, this hormonal teenage girl who’s just experienced life-changing news, bring herself to submission so peacefully and so quickly? Well, the truth is, her response is an outflow of her heart.
In fact, when she goes to visit Elizabeth and Elizabeth confirms that Mary is carrying the Lord, Mary’s only response is praise:
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, because he has looked with favor on the humble condition of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed, because the Mighty One has done great things for me, and his name is holy. His mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear him. He has done a mighty deed with his arm; he has scattered the proud because of the thoughts of their hearts; he has toppled the mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly. He has satisfied the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering his mercy to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he spoke to our ancestors.”
Luke 1:46-55 CSB
On its surface, Mary’s song is one full of praise to God, a declaration of his justice, humility as his servant, and an acknowledgment of the history that has led to this point in time. Alone this is enough.
But the reality is that this song is an overflow of what is in her heart. And what is in her heart? It's God’s word that has been passed down generation to generation.
It is reminiscent of Hannah’s prayer of praise in 1 Samuel 2 when she looks upon her son Samuel, a gift of God to this barren woman. “My heart rejoices in the Lord; my horn is lifted up by the Lord.” (1 Sa 2:1)
It echos Habakkuk, after he sees the destruction coming and the barren land that is before him, he still declares, “yet I will celebrate in the Lord; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.” (Ha 3:18)
It drips with verses from the psalms.
”Our mouths were filled with laughter then, and our tongues with shouts of joy. Then they said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ The Lord had done great things for us; we were joyful.” (Ps 126:2-3)
“For the Lord is good, and his faithful love endures forever; his faithfulness, through all generations.” (Ps 100:5)
”There are shouts of joy and victory in the tents of the righteous: ‘The Lord’s right hand performs valiantly!’” (Ps 118:15)
Her song echoes Zephaniah, Isaiah, Leviticus, and 1 Chronicles.
And even with her reference to Abraham, she recognizes this part she has been given to play as just another cog in the plan of redemption and restoration for Israel, and, as we know today, the world. It’s no small thing that God used not one but two barren women to speak to Mary during this time, especially in her conversation with the previously barren Elizabeth.
“God said to Abraham, ‘As for your wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai, for Sarah will be her name. I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will produce nations; kings of peoples will come from her.’” (Ge 17:15-16)
Indeed even the ultimate King would come from Sarah, through the womb of Mary.
Mary was able to embrace this unexpected news from Gabriel because her foundation was solid. She was raised with scripture embedded deep in her heart and her mind. In fact, it was buried so deep within her that it formed and shaped her character that when she gave praise to the Lord in her conversation with Elizabeth, it was a mashup of all the Old Testament. Jesus himself says later, “For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.” (Mt 12:34b)
For the last 4 weeks, we have been studying Psalm 23 in preparation for Advent, the celebration of Christ's coming to earth. And while Mary’s song does not make reference to this particular passage, based on her entanglement with other scriptures woven into her heart, it would be a safe assumption that Psalm 23 would be as well.
Imagine Mary reciting this as she has the Messiah growing in her womb.
As she is unsure of what Joseph will do with her.
As she faces uncertainty of her own future.
Yet also as she submits as a humble servant of the Lord.
”The Lord is my shepherd; I have what I need. He lets me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters. He renews my life; he leads me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff-they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.” (Ps 23)
Mary acknowledges that it is God who guides her, provides for her. It’s him who blesses her. God is the one who, when she goes through the darkest valley, has proven victorious, and she knows it is him by her side, not because of any life experience but because of knowing God through the Word passed down to her. He is the one who has shown mercy to Israel throughout the generations, speaking to them in the places of wilderness.
Indeed, Mary is aware of the gravity of what she faces in the midst of her circumstances. But as she faces that dark valley, she can confidently exclaim,
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” (Lk 1:46b-47)
If you wonder today where your heart lies, reflect on when the last time you received unexpected news that hijacked your day, your year, or your life? What was your response?
Like Mary, did you respond with poise, grace, acceptance, humility, and strength? Did you give voice to how God might be in this holy disruption?
Or did you respond with tears? Anger? Denial? Did you respond by grasping at the straws slipping from your hands even tighter to keep your life in control?
But we know we can’t go back and change the past. So I guess the real question is: what would make the difference for the next unexpected challenge you will inevitably face?
Is God’s word embedded so deeply inside you that you cannot help but to declare, like Mary,
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,” or like David, “The Lord is my shepherd; I have what I need.”
What happens when we, like Mary, acknowledge our trying and impossible circumstances and yet respond with “I am the Lord’s servant.”
I think this might be when we can finally have this elusive peace we strive for. Thirty-three years after his birth, Jesus is hours away from the cross. In these final moments, Jesus, knowing what is before him, is able to give words of comfort to his disciples. Words of comfort they do not yet know how desperately they will need.
“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.” (Jn 14:27, CSB)
The next day, these followers of Jesus watched the man who taught them what it means to live in the kingdom of God today, die a brutal death, be taken from the cross, and be buried to rest. The peace that Jesus had offered them seemed to slip away when the certainty of their good circumstances were taken away. The path they thought they were on just took an unexpected plot twist.
Yet, when Jesus visits them after his resurrection, we read this in John 20:
“When it was evening on that first day of the week, the disciples were gathered together with the doors locked because they feared the Jews. Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ Having said this, he showed them his hands and his side. So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you.’” (Jn 20:19-21, CSB)
Twice Jesus says to them ‘Peace be with you.’ And even as Jesus is about to ascend to be with the Father, even as he is sending out the disciples out to the ends of the earth, with the commissioning to multiply disciples of him, he reminds them where this peace comes from:
“Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Mt 28:20b, CSB)
When life takes unexpected turns, when plans unravel, or when challenges shake us to our core, the source of our peace, or lack of it, is revealed. Mary’s response to life-altering news wasn’t born from a moment of extraordinary courage but from a life deeply rooted in God’s Words. Her heart, steeped in the stories and promises of scripture, allowed her to declare with confidence, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”
To be clear, Mary’s peace was not the absence of fear or uncertainty but the presence of a foundation that could not be shaken.
This Advent season, as we reflect on the Prince of Peace who came to dwell among us, may we cultivate the same deep well of truth so when the unexpected comes, we too can stand firm in peace.
