This is a talk I gave last Christmas and I thought I'd pass it on.
In Section 25 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord gave Emma Smith an important assignment:
And
it shall be given thee, also, to make a selection of sacred hymns, as
it shall be given thee, which is pleasing unto me, to be had in my
church
For
my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the
righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing
upon their
heads.
At
this season of sacred music and beautiful carols, what a wonderful gift
we have from these verses—to know that we can delight the soul of the
Lord with
the songs of our hearts and that the result of that singing will be
blessings on our heads.
Today,
I’d like to talk about Christmas songs. One is by a young woman who
spoke according to ancient traditions. The other is by an older man who
lived in
our dispensation.
The
song of the young woman begins with praise, yet many distressing trials
were to follow in her life. The song of the older man gives praise and
testimony
after a very long series of painful afflictions and deep heartache.
The
young girl’s words have their roots in teachings handed down faithfully
from generation to generation. It was only in 1994 with the translation
of the
first fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls that we learned the cultural
context of Mary’s song found in Luke 1:46-55. Like the
Magnificat—the name given to Mary’s song of praise—the song from
the scrolls at Qumran also began with the words, “my soul doth magnify
the Lord.” Scholars believe that Mary’s reflections ended up as a hymn
in the early church.
Mary’s
poem began in a manner traditional to her faith—she wanted to honor her
Heavenly Father in the eyes of others. She wanted to magnify and bring
glory
and credit to God with her soul, her heart, and her life. It would be a
very safe guess that from his earliest childhood, Jesus would have
often heard his mother say, ‘Great is the Lord!” She probably sang it as
a lullaby.
In
the Gospel of Luke, this desire to honor God informed Mary’s thinking
even before the baby was born. Her song included many insights gleaned
from a long
history with the God of Israel.
Today there are al least 1,200 versions of the
Magnificat written in several languages—everything from an
energetic clapping and foot stomping gospel music version performed by a
Japanese group to Bach with his traditional style using a full
orchestra and classical choir.
On YouTube, you can find over 22,600 performances of the
Magnificat. There’s something for every possible musical preference. John Rutter’s arrangement is my favorite.
Mary’s
words to her cousin Elizabeth honor that God who remembers the poor,
the lowly and a young innocent teenage girl from an insignificant
village, and
it reminds us that the proud are finally humbled and made low.
The
verses in Luke are the only evidences we have of Mary’s actual thinking
and thoughts. We know about some of the things she said and did, but
this is the
only text that reveals to us something about her innermost ponderings.
Mary’s song reflects a perspective that Biblical scholars call a
“reversal of fortune” pattern. As an example of this, we could say that
at times, the wicked prosper, but in the end, Satan
does not support those who follow him. And while the righteous may
suffer for a time, through faith, the Lord will eventually restore them
to great blessings.
We can listen to Mary’s words and notice this pattern of reverses. But first her praise:
Luke 1:46
My soul doth magnify the Lord and my spirit hat rejoiced in God, my Savior
V. 48 Low estate of handmaiden (no status in society)
All generations shall call me blessed (very high station)
v. 51
He hath scattered the proud (high then reversed)
v. 52
He hath put down (humbled) the mighty and exalted them of low degree.
v. 53
He hath filled the hungry with good things and the rich he hath sent empty away. (Because they are rich, they think his gifts are not needed.)
v. 54
He hath holpen (helped) his servant Israel (very unexpected for a servant to be helped by his master. But God’s ways are different from man’s ways.)
The
Lord esteems the humble and lowly and remembers them—taking action to
bless them. People admired in human society are not necessarily great in
the eyes
of God. Of course, God loves and values all people, but the
characteristics he prizes are very different from those held up as
desirable in our culture today. His thoughts are definitely not our
thoughts.
We
can hear possible echoes of Mary’s words in some of Christ’s teachings.
The Beatitudes taught by Jesus reflect the same pattern spoken of in
Mary’s hymn.
Blessed are the _______ and Jesus chose to fill in the blank with illustrations of people
who did NOT feel blessed or happy. Blessed, he said, are the poor in spirit, the meek, and the persecuted. Blessed are the spiritually hungry and those who thirst after righteousness.
All who seek him will be helped and filled with good things. Our sadness will not last forever.
Joseph
Smith bore a similar testimony to his cousin, George A. Smith, who was
experiencing a time of great difficulty. George said,
“He
told me I should never get discouraged, whatever difficulties might
surround me. If I was sunk in the lowest pit in Nova Scotia and all the
Rocky Mountains
piled on top of me, I ought not to be discouraged, but hang on,
exercise faith, and keep up good courage and I should come out on the
top of the heap at last.”
Christ
had learned from his mother’s example and by his own experience that
there was help and consolation for all of the sorrows found in this
world, and
that the source of our consolation is a knowledge of our Father in
Heaven and his ways (which are not man’s ways!) Jesus was willing to
descend below all things in order to ascend to the Father.
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