1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,240 If you have your Bibles with you, I'd encourage you to turn 2 00:00:02,240 --> 00:00:06,800 to Luke's Gospel Chapter 1. Luke's Gospel Chapter 1. 3 00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:11,680 It's where we'll be this morning. 4 00:00:21,070 --> 00:00:27,390 This can be a very happy time of year, but it can also be a very 5 00:00:27,390 --> 00:00:33,230 difficult time of year if you experience loss. 6 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:40,040 And when you are around a lot of people joyfully celebrating, 7 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:44,960 sometimes their joy can make your pain harder and worse. 8 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:52,880 So as we enter into this Advent sermon this morning and we 9 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:58,320 consider joy, when I talked this morning about how our joy is 10 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:02,360 commingled with grief and loss during this time, you notice 11 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:07,600 there's only one pink candle. There are three purple candles. 12 00:01:08,320 --> 00:01:13,600 An Advent comes during the darkest time of the year, when 13 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:19,960 we are thinking the most perhaps about our sin and the darkness 14 00:01:19,960 --> 00:01:25,720 of ignorance, the darkness of pain and loss and the people of 15 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:35,040 faith in hope light, a candle as an act of resistance to push 16 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:40,240 back against all of the even satanic darkness that we 17 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:44,520 experience in this in this life. And certainly this. 18 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:47,440 Haven't many in our congregation, our church family, 19 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:50,120 and those that we know are suffering greatly? 20 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:55,200 And our prayer for them and for ourselves is that we may light 21 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:59,400 the joy candle today and even in the midst of suffering and loss, 22 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:02,960 experience the consolation that comes from the gospel. 23 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:08,639 Even as we rehearse these stories together, we have 24 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:12,280 profound need for the consolation that comes through 25 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:19,160 the gospel by the Holy Spirit. We need purpose in a time of 26 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:22,400 madness, when we experience senseless loss. 27 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:30,320 We need provision for our needs, some of whom even have physical 28 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:32,720 needs, whether they are cold or hungry. 29 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:39,560 We need freedom from oppression. We need forgiveness of sins. 30 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:45,200 And all of these themes come together during Advent, 31 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:52,960 propelled and powered by the words of the text, but also by 32 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:56,360 the songs that we sing. And I don't know if you've ever 33 00:02:56,360 --> 00:02:58,880 noticed this before, but particularly in the words of the 34 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:02,640 text, there are songs embedded in the Nativity stories. 35 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:08,520 We're going to talk about one of those songs this morning as we 36 00:03:08,640 --> 00:03:13,160 highlight and focus on Mary, the mother of our Lord. 37 00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:18,720 She sings a song. The fancy Latin term for her 38 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:22,720 song is the Magnificat comes from the Latin version of her 39 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:26,000 song. We'll explore the themes of her 40 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:31,640 music as we think also about the scenes from her life, explore 41 00:03:31,640 --> 00:03:34,200 them and wonder what it means for us to have joy in the midst 42 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:39,240 of our sorrow and pain. So if you're in Luke's Gospel, 43 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:41,760 chapter 1, we'll begin with the Annunciation. 44 00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:46,480 This is the scene when Gabriel the Angel comes to give Mary 45 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:50,560 some amazing news. Luke's Gospel chapter 1, 46 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:53,520 beginning in verse 26. In the sixth month, the Angel 47 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:58,240 Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth 48 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:02,040 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the 49 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:05,200 House of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 50 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:09,160 And he came to her and said, greetings, O favor one favored 51 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:10,320 one. The Lord is with you. 52 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:20,480 How would you react? Somebody shows up, a stranger 53 00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:22,800 you don't know, claiming to be an Angel from God. 54 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:25,680 You're going to believe him or you're going to think you're 55 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:27,360 crazy. There's lots of options here, 56 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:32,480 Verse 29 says. But she was greatly troubled. 57 00:04:36,280 --> 00:04:38,960 She was greatly troubled at this saying, and tried to discern 58 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:40,640 what sort of greeting this might be. 59 00:04:40,840 --> 00:04:44,760 And the Angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you 60 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:47,280 have found favour with God, and behold, you will conceive in 61 00:04:47,280 --> 00:04:51,280 your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 62 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:56,200 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, 63 00:04:57,160 --> 00:04:59,160 and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father 64 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:02,440 David, and he will reign over the House of Jacob Forever. 65 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:05,360 And of his Kingdom there will be no end. 66 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:07,320 Sounds like great news, doesn't it? 67 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:11,240 The Messiah is coming. And Mary, you're the one that's 68 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:14,280 been picked by God especially to be his mother. 69 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:17,680 All sounds great until you're thinking about it from Mary's 70 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:23,080 perspective. Wait a second, wait a second. 71 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:29,080 And so she asked the question that you all have in your minds. 72 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:32,520 Verse 34. And Mary said to the Angel, How 73 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:35,360 will this be, since I am a virgin? 74 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:39,360 And the And the Angel answered her, The Holy Spirit will come 75 00:05:39,360 --> 00:05:41,680 upon you, and the power of the Most High will over shadow, 76 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:45,000 shadow you. Therefore the child to be born 77 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:47,840 will be called holy, the Son of God. 78 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:50,920 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has 79 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:54,600 also conceived a son. And this is the 6th month with 80 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:59,840 her whom was called barren. For nothing will be impossible 81 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:05,320 with God. Interesting answer to the 82 00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:08,640 question. There will be no Father. 83 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:17,640 OK, how does she respond? Verse 38 And Mary said, Behold, 84 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:22,320 I am the servant of the Lord, let it be to me according to 85 00:06:22,320 --> 00:06:25,760 your word. And the Angel departed from her. 86 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:31,400 Lest we be too quick to think that this is all good news of 87 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:37,840 special honor and glory to Mary, let us first remember how 88 00:06:37,840 --> 00:06:43,320 devastating this is to her status as a young virtuous 89 00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:50,440 Israelite maiden. Yet we find this stunning 90 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:53,000 response. Behold, I am the servant of the 91 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:55,520 Lord. Let it be to me according to 92 00:06:55,520 --> 00:07:00,120 your word. Thy will be done, O Lord, on 93 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:05,440 earth as it is in heaven. First point this morning is the 94 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:11,360 heart of faith is open to God. The far the heart of faith is 95 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:16,320 open to God. For Mary, this may mean 96 00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:21,200 eventually profound glory and privilege, but right now what it 97 00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:25,920 means is having to come back home and tell an unbelievably 98 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:30,000 scandalous story to her mother, to her father, and to her 99 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:31,920 betrothed, and to their neighbors. 100 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:35,440 How are they going to believe me? 101 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:41,280 How will any of them believe me? Do I even believe me? 102 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:48,240 And it's not just the shame of being looked at like you're 103 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:51,480 crazy. It's offensive. 104 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:55,160 It's scandalous. If these are faithful, God 105 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:58,640 fearing Jews, they may pick up stones to stone her. 106 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:06,160 And yet she answers, Would it be to me according to your word? 107 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:09,520 And then you have this, this openness, this willingness to 108 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:15,960 enter into this shame, this scandal, this loss of status. 109 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:24,280 The story continues. And we learned that she goes to 110 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:29,120 visit Elizabeth. I'm in verse 39. 111 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:33,200 If you're following along in those days, Mary arose and went 112 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:35,880 with haste into the Hill Country to a town in Judah. 113 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:39,919 And she entered the House of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 114 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:44,360 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby 115 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:47,080 leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with 116 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:49,320 the Holy Spirit. And she exclaimed with a loud 117 00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:51,560 cry. Blessed are you among women, and 118 00:08:51,560 --> 00:08:53,320 blessed is the fruit of your womb. 119 00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:56,680 And why is this granted to me, that the Mother of my Lord 120 00:08:56,680 --> 00:08:59,240 should come to me? For behold, when the sound of 121 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:02,840 your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my loom, my womb, 122 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:07,680 leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed 123 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:11,480 that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken 124 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:16,000 to her from the Lord. At this point, we don't know who 125 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:19,560 believes Mary's story or not, but it's certainly in this 126 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:22,400 telling. In Luke's telling, it must have 127 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:25,440 been so comforting and reassuring to be met with the 128 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:31,120 faith of her older, wiser cousin Elizabeth, to experience the 129 00:09:31,120 --> 00:09:36,440 sign of fertility in their long, barren infertility, and to be 130 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:39,680 greeted with such warm enthusiasm and a filling of the 131 00:09:39,680 --> 00:09:42,600 Holy Spirit, even to the point of John the Baptist within the 132 00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:45,400 womb of Elizabeth, her mother, to leap for joy. 133 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:53,960 It's tremendous, tremendously encouraging to Mary in this time 134 00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:57,880 of her need. And at this point, at this point 135 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:03,000 in the story, is when Mary's song breaks forth. 136 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:05,760 Now I don't think that we're necessarily supposed to imagine 137 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:10,160 her singing, but in the telling of this, we have poetry, we have 138 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:15,040 music. And though Mary meets the angels 139 00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:18,120 and announcement with a question, now she's ready to 140 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:23,320 magnify the Lord here and praise verse 46. 141 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:28,480 And Mary said, my soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit 142 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:30,200 rejoices. There's that word again, 143 00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:34,920 Rejoices in God my Savior. For he has looked on the humble 144 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:38,320 state of his servant. For behold, from now on all 145 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:40,000 generations will call me blessed. 146 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:42,800 For he who is mighty has done great things for me. 147 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:46,600 And holy is his name, and His mercy is for those who fear him. 148 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:50,520 From generation to generation. He has shown, He has shown 149 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:53,760 strength with His arm. He has scattered the proud in 150 00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:56,200 the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the mighty 151 00:10:56,200 --> 00:10:59,600 from their Thrones and exalted those of humble estate. 152 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:02,680 He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has 153 00:11:02,680 --> 00:11:06,160 sent away empty. He has helped His servant Israel 154 00:11:06,160 --> 00:11:10,080 in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to 155 00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:13,400 Abraham, and to his offspring forever. 156 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:18,960 And Mary remained with her about 3 months and returned to her 157 00:11:19,160 --> 00:11:23,160 home. The song of faith rejoices in 158 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:26,160 God. The song of faith rejoices in 159 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:31,680 God, often in spite of very difficult circumstances. 160 00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:38,240 Song of faith rejoices in God. We can look at this song and 161 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:40,680 just notice a few things. We don't have time to go into it 162 00:11:40,680 --> 00:11:44,640 in a lot of detail, but some things to notice from the song 163 00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:49,480 of Mary 1st, we see that she magnifies in the Lord. 164 00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:54,600 Her adoration is to the Lord in His person before she mentions 165 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:59,240 any of His deeds. Obviously, that should be how it 166 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:02,600 is with us that we worship and love the Lord for who He is 167 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:04,840 before we think about what He's done. 168 00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:08,000 If you're giving gifts at Christmas, you're hoping that 169 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:11,360 your kids love you too and not just the new toy that they got. 170 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:18,440 The mark of faith is to adore before we bring our requests. 171 00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:24,360 My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God and my 172 00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:25,960 Savior. And you're going to notice that 173 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:28,920 if she's going to talk about things that He has done 174 00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:35,560 specifically for her, He has regarded her in favor. 175 00:12:35,560 --> 00:12:40,120 His grace comes out of who He is as a person to save her and to 176 00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:43,320 raise her up from her humble estate, which has been brought 177 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:47,640 down even further by the whisper of scandal. 178 00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:51,640 He has looked on the humble state of His servant before. 179 00:12:51,640 --> 00:12:54,680 Behold, from now on, all generations will call me 180 00:12:54,680 --> 00:12:56,960 blessed. Me, the one that has scandal 181 00:12:56,960 --> 00:13:00,320 painted all over. I will be blessed, for he who is 182 00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:04,560 mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 183 00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:08,760 So she talks about her personal benefits for being the favored 184 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:13,160 one that got his picked for this part of his story that that will 185 00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:18,600 give her honor in perpetuity from generation to generation. 186 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:22,440 But she also zooms out a little bit and talks about His mercy. 187 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:26,560 Now for all the God fearers, all who have put their faith in Him 188 00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:29,320 will experience His mercy. Look again at verse 50. 189 00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:32,880 And His mercy is for those who fear Him from generation to 190 00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:35,360 generation. That has to do with faith and 191 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:38,320 trust, honor and reverence for God. 192 00:13:39,560 --> 00:13:41,240 He has shown strength with His arm. 193 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:44,600 He has scattered the proud and the thoughts of their hearts. 194 00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:47,640 He has brought down the mighty from their Thrones, and exalted 195 00:13:47,640 --> 00:13:50,640 those of humble estate. He is filled the hungry with 196 00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:54,440 good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. 197 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:59,480 The people of faith will experience a great reversal of 198 00:13:59,480 --> 00:14:04,400 their fortunes, a great reversal of their sufferings, if not in 199 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:09,080 this life, then in the next. This is amply illustrated by the 200 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:11,400 parable of the rich man in Lazarus, isn't it? 201 00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:18,280 That's possible to have arrogant poor people, and it's also 202 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:21,920 possible to have humble rich people, but it generally runs 203 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:27,040 true that the rich have a harder time trusting God. 204 00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:35,240 Mary experiences the oppression of living in a state that is 205 00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:41,760 controlled by Rome from a poor family, from a throw away, no 206 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:47,080 town village like Nazareth. And she looks past all this to 207 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:52,320 see a great exaltation, a great reversal for the God fears that 208 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:55,160 is generally all people. And then she's going to focus 209 00:14:55,360 --> 00:15:00,800 and specifically mention how God is going to keep his promises to 210 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:03,960 Israel, most specifically to father Abraham. 211 00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:07,720 And I love how this goes so well with our Genesis story as we've 212 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:10,280 been talking about how God is making promises to the 213 00:15:10,280 --> 00:15:13,360 patriarchs that are coming down the generations and that they're 214 00:15:13,360 --> 00:15:17,240 not just for him and his family, but for all of those, the 215 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:21,960 nations who will bow the knee and join his forever family. 216 00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:25,320 And so we have these beautiful sentences about God's grace, 217 00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:27,560 first to the Jew, then to the Gentiles. 218 00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:31,360 He has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy as 219 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:35,360 he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his offspring 220 00:15:35,360 --> 00:15:38,600 forever. So she situates herself in God's 221 00:15:38,600 --> 00:15:41,480 story hooks into the Old Testament. 222 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:45,560 Another most interesting thing about this song is that it has 223 00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:49,800 many parallels to Hannah's song in the Old Testament. 224 00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:54,000 Remember Hannah, Hannah who is barren, infertile for years, 225 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:58,920 begging God for a child and has finally given a son, Samuel, who 226 00:15:59,800 --> 00:16:03,800 becomes a great prophet. And so these you can put these 227 00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:07,360 songs side by side and see how the Bible is one story fully 228 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:12,400 integrated, that Mary. Mary is in a long line of God's 229 00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:15,520 promises. He has regarded her because of 230 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:19,240 his great grace and favor given to her. 231 00:16:20,440 --> 00:16:25,320 So she sings this song of faith. She's rejoicing in God and she's 232 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:28,600 going to have to continue to cling in faith to Him, even 233 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:34,360 though her story is going to go through much sorrow and shame, 234 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:36,960 ups and downs. And So what I'd like to do at 235 00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:40,440 this point in the sermon is to just zoom out and take a few 236 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:45,200 vignettes, some snapshots of her life, to think about the ups and 237 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:50,320 downs of her life as she walks through her story as the mother 238 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:54,560 of our Lord. First, we've already talked 239 00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:57,800 about how her own status plummets initially because this 240 00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:00,600 scandal will live on her the rest of her days. 241 00:17:00,760 --> 00:17:04,000 But we also noticed in the story these highs and lows and Mary's 242 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:06,640 life, but also in the story as a whole. 243 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:10,160 You know, for all of the, the joyous celebrations of the 244 00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:13,440 heavenly choirs and the the shepherds and everybody happy at 245 00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:19,319 the nativity, Matthew's Gospel points out that crazy King Herod 246 00:17:19,319 --> 00:17:22,319 commits genocide on a bunch of little kids. 247 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:27,960 It's right there in the text, right side by side, joy 248 00:17:27,960 --> 00:17:33,120 commingled with genocide and sorrow and senseless madness. 249 00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:39,720 Not only do we have this commingling at the nativity, we 250 00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:43,560 go on and we see Jesus next in the temples. 251 00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:45,760 You know, he's born. It's time to bring him to the 252 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:50,280 temple for him to be presented them to offer a sacrifice. 253 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:52,800 And they meet Simeon there, and they meet Anna. 254 00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:57,200 Very interesting prophetic words coming from Simeon specifically. 255 00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:01,000 And it's a happy time. You know, Jesus is being 256 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:04,680 presented at the temple. But then he they're given sort 257 00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:08,960 of an ominous prophecy that this little kid here, he's going to 258 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:12,120 be the cause of the rising and fall of many in Israel. 259 00:18:12,120 --> 00:18:15,680 And sorry, Mary, but a sword's going to Pierce through your 260 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:18,920 heart, too. I just thought we were here for 261 00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:24,120 the circumcision. What's this sword piercing my 262 00:18:24,120 --> 00:18:26,360 heart, too? What does all this mean? 263 00:18:26,360 --> 00:18:31,320 He's going to be the Messiah. He's going to rise up and get 264 00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:33,160 rid of Rome and usher in the Kingdom. 265 00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:34,360 What? What is this? 266 00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:38,600 Later, Luke gives us another scene. 267 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:42,000 Several years have gone by. Jesus, probably 12. 268 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:43,440 They're taking them to the temple. 269 00:18:43,840 --> 00:18:50,040 This time, there's a missing child story commingled with the 270 00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:55,920 celebrating time in Jerusalem. As a parent, I can admit to you 271 00:18:55,920 --> 00:18:58,800 that the closest I've ever been to outright panic is when I 272 00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:01,240 didn't know where my where my kids are. 273 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:05,960 The worst, The worst story we have is when we lost Johnny for 274 00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:11,120 about 30 minutes in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 275 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:18,160 Just so you know, that's not the mall, y'all 30 minutes. 276 00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:24,200 No idea where he was. So what's it like for Mary and 277 00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:25,560 Joseph? Oh, he must be in the caravan 278 00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:26,200 somewhere. Where is he? 279 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:26,880 Where is he? Where is he? 280 00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:30,080 Where is he Finally they finally they finally found him and we 281 00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:37,040 obviously finally found Johnny too finally find him and it's 282 00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:40,200 kind of mingled again and they're amazed by his wisdom. 283 00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:43,960 But he only young man says to them, didn't you know I was to 284 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:46,600 be about my father's business? And as your mom, as his mom, you 285 00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:50,400 got to be like, what does that even mean? 286 00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:58,520 Let's go. So this commingling continues. 287 00:19:58,520 --> 00:20:03,040 We have this wonderful high point, Jesus making the wine for 288 00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:08,840 a wedding in Cana in Galilee. John 2, his mom's there and 289 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:13,040 they're out of wine. And Mary's like, do something. 290 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:14,640 Won't you do something about this? 291 00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:17,680 Mary's like, well, it's not my time yet. 292 00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:22,160 But OK. And he makes the most amazing 293 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:24,720 wine probably the world has ever tasted. 294 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:30,160 What does it mean here? Probably has to be a high point 295 00:20:30,160 --> 00:20:31,480 for Mary. That's my boy. 296 00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:33,640 This is the good wine. Use the masala. 297 00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:41,040 But then you find other confusing texts where she seems 298 00:20:41,040 --> 00:20:44,240 confused about his mission. And maybe is we know that his 299 00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:46,560 brothers and sisters didn't believe in him and there's a 300 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:49,880 division even within the family. And they they go to him and they 301 00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:51,840 try to pull him aside to talk to him. 302 00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:56,440 Excuse me. Jesus, your your mom's here. 303 00:20:56,440 --> 00:20:59,600 She wants to talk to you. And he doesn't say, OK, you're 304 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:00,640 right, just a second. Let's go. 305 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:06,520 He says, my mom, these folks are my family. 306 00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:09,920 This, these are my brothers and my sisters and my mother. 307 00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:14,480 That's another head scratcher. What am I supposed to make of 308 00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:20,040 this boy now, man, this Messiah, my Lord, whom I brought into the 309 00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:25,160 world, What is he doing? Then we finally get to the 310 00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:30,360 lowest of the lows. She is pictured at the 311 00:21:30,360 --> 00:21:37,720 crucifixion. She is there, the most shameful, 312 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:41,320 impossible tragedy in the history of the world. 313 00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:46,080 What was that like for her? What kind of disillusionment, 314 00:21:46,080 --> 00:21:51,440 what kind of devastation, what kind of maternal agony must that 315 00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:55,160 be like? If you've ever walked with 316 00:21:55,160 --> 00:22:00,640 parents through the suffering of a child or through the burial of 317 00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:08,120 a child, you get just a glimpse of unspeakable suffering. 318 00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:14,680 I am profoundly moved by Michelangelo's masterpiece. 319 00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:17,680 Now, you may be thinking of the Sistine Chapel that is a 320 00:22:17,680 --> 00:22:20,360 masterpiece, but that's not what I'm thinking of. 321 00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:25,640 I'm thinking of his sculpture named the Pieta. 322 00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:28,320 Not going to show it to you. You can look it up later. 323 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:38,480 It's massive sculpture of G, of Mary holding her adult son dead 324 00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:41,640 in her lap with her head bowed and sorrow. 325 00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:46,760 I think that I could just stare and stare at it because it steps 326 00:22:46,760 --> 00:22:51,720 into the maternal grief. What does it mean for Mary's 327 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:58,320 soul to be pierced? It means that her son's body was 328 00:22:58,320 --> 00:23:04,480 pierced for our transgressions and our iniquities, and she bore 329 00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:11,200 a significant aspect of the sorrow as his very mother who 330 00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:16,240 raised him. So we get this low point, this 331 00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:20,520 lowest of lows when the sword pierces her heart to. 332 00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:24,840 But then she's also mentioned mentioned one more time in Acts 333 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:29,200 chapter 1, where she is with the church praying. 334 00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:33,680 She's experienced something of the resurrection of her Son and 335 00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:36,680 she knows that the glory is yet to come. 336 00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:44,680 And So what we learn from Mary is not only this open 337 00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:47,360 heartedness to God, even if it means the suffering. 338 00:23:47,360 --> 00:23:51,040 What we learn from Mary is not only sort of the the rejoicing 339 00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:53,880 that comes commingled with sorrow and pain, but she she 340 00:23:53,880 --> 00:24:01,280 points us to her son because her son too is a sorrowing, joyful 341 00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:05,080 person, a joyful, sorrowful person. 342 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:12,400 He's named as a man of sorrows. This Advent's been particularly 343 00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:16,680 hard on us. And the line from a hymn that 344 00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:20,240 just keeps turning in my mind as I walk day by day with you all 345 00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:22,240 through this time as Man of Sorrows. 346 00:24:22,240 --> 00:24:26,560 What a name for the Son of God who came. 347 00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:32,320 Man of Sorrows, What a name for the Son of God who came. 348 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:34,080 Do you feel it? Do you bear that burden? 349 00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:35,800 Do you walk with some of that sorrow? 350 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:42,000 Man of Sorrows, what a name. But then it goes on to say ruin 351 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:46,360 sinners to reclaim Hallelujah. What a savior in the hymn sort 352 00:24:46,360 --> 00:24:49,760 of opens up with this, this Hallelujah exclamation point. 353 00:24:49,960 --> 00:24:55,200 And that's what Evan's like, suffering and exile and 354 00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:58,680 loneliness and despair. The blackness of night. 355 00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:03,800 But then the belligerent face that lights a candle anyways and 356 00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:07,520 pushes back the darkness. It's the darkest point of the 357 00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:09,800 year. And yet we put these little tiny 358 00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:12,320 lights on the trees to remind us there's hope. 359 00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:18,520 There's even joy in that kind of pain and that kind of sorrow. 360 00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:20,440 Man of Sorrows. What a name. 361 00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:23,800 And in the Advent Carol that we sing over and over, oh, come, 362 00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:27,560 oh, come, Emmanuel. We're in lonely exile. 363 00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:30,160 Mourning, mourning. The song is a dirge. 364 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:31,720 And then you get to the opening part. 365 00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:33,600 It's just flowers opening. What does it say to you? 366 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:35,920 Rejoice. Rejoice. 367 00:25:40,520 --> 00:25:42,200 Like, well, what if I don't feel like it? 368 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:45,240 That's OK. I don't feel like it either 369 00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:48,400 sometimes. But we sing the song anyways, 370 00:25:49,280 --> 00:25:53,560 and sometimes what happens is a candle is lit and it spreads 371 00:25:53,560 --> 00:25:57,760 through the room and you hear the faith of somebody else 372 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:00,320 coming through in a moment of joy, and it brightens a little 373 00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:02,760 bit and you just take one more step with God. 374 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:06,440 Nana Sorrows. What a name. 375 00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:09,680 He's not just a man of sorrows, though. 376 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:13,880 He is a man of joy. Underneath that sorrow is a well 377 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:19,480 and infinite well of profound joy, the joy of the Holy Trinity 378 00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:24,520 itself. Endless fountain of joy. 379 00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:31,760 GK Chesterton and one of my most favorite quotes from Orthodoxy 380 00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:36,400 says this. There is something that he hid 381 00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:41,160 from all men Jesus, something that he hid from all men when he 382 00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:44,640 went up a mountain to pray. There was something that he 383 00:26:44,640 --> 00:26:49,120 covered constantly by abrupt silence or impetuous isolation. 384 00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:52,560 There was something that was too great for God to show us when he 385 00:26:52,560 --> 00:26:56,600 walked upon our earth, and I have sometimes fancied that it 386 00:26:56,600 --> 00:27:00,120 was his mirth. You notice that about the 387 00:27:00,120 --> 00:27:03,440 Gospels. Maybe get the wrong idea about 388 00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:05,280 the guy. There's no jokes. 389 00:27:06,120 --> 00:27:09,960 He's not kicking it with his Bros, ha ha ha, funny time. 390 00:27:10,360 --> 00:27:14,280 But there must be underneath this man of Sorrows, A profound 391 00:27:14,440 --> 00:27:21,040 and important wellspring of joy that is infinite, so much 392 00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:24,720 greater than all of our pain and sin and death and madness and 393 00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:29,280 despair. And indeed, He not only had that 394 00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:34,080 within himself, He also had that in His view of His own future. 395 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:35,920 For the book of Hebrews tells us this. 396 00:27:36,160 --> 00:27:41,080 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud 397 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:44,960 of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which 398 00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:49,160 clings so so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that 399 00:27:49,160 --> 00:27:52,880 is set out before us. Look closely looking to Jesus, 400 00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:57,840 the founder and perfecter of our faith, Who for the joy that was 401 00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:02,400 set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and 402 00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:05,080 is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 403 00:28:05,840 --> 00:28:07,520 And that's what Mary is singing about. 404 00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:15,040 She despises the shame and says, let it may it be unto me. 405 00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:18,680 As you have said. Christians, we say the same 406 00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:22,560 thing when we say not my will but yours be done, or we say 407 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:28,160 your will may be done on earth as it is in heaven, which brings 408 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:30,680 us to our applications. And the first thing that I want 409 00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:34,880 to talk about is openness to God, openness to God. 410 00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:39,160 The heart of faith is open to God. 411 00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:43,560 It's receptive. Hands like this instead of hands 412 00:28:43,560 --> 00:28:49,560 like this. Bible has a very powerful verse 413 00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:52,240 in Revelation chapter 3 verse 20, when Jesus is saying, 414 00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:58,400 behold, I stand at the door and knock, and if anyone opens a 415 00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:02,960 door, I will come in to be with him and he will eat with me and 416 00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:06,560 I with Him. This beautiful image of a closed 417 00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:14,880 offness and an opening that is the spiritual story of every 418 00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:20,320 converted believer, but also the ongoing story of a believer's 419 00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:23,560 trying to walk with the Lord and has to keep their ears open and 420 00:29:23,560 --> 00:29:29,320 their heart open to God, their hands open to God, their feet 421 00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:33,400 open and willing to go where He has us to go. 422 00:29:34,160 --> 00:29:36,960 You know, in these sermons, preachers love and we're no 423 00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:40,400 exception to talk about our favorite Christmas movies. 424 00:29:40,400 --> 00:29:42,320 It's a nice and easy way to connect with you. 425 00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:44,560 What's your favorite Christmas movie? 426 00:29:45,080 --> 00:29:47,480 One of my favourites, one that we watch every year, is called 427 00:29:47,480 --> 00:29:50,880 The Nativity Story. The Nativity Story is a dramatic 428 00:29:50,880 --> 00:29:53,560 reenactment of these of these stories. 429 00:29:55,160 --> 00:29:57,760 And one part of that film that just always kind of has me by 430 00:29:57,760 --> 00:30:03,400 the throat, especially as a dad and a husband, is when Joseph 431 00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:09,000 and Mary are entering into Bethlehem and Mary is in 432 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:14,200 pressing labour. The scary part of Labour and 433 00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:17,080 Joseph is trying to do everything that he can to help 434 00:30:17,080 --> 00:30:21,600 her to the point at one point he's he's carrying her, running 435 00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:25,160 through the town screaming out for help. 436 00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:29,640 Won't anybody help me? Pounding on doors and everything 437 00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:33,080 is just shut off to them, closed. 438 00:30:34,360 --> 00:30:39,440 And you're thinking about the idea that they can't get in, 439 00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:44,640 that Jesus is on the outside. Even when he's in the womb, he 440 00:30:44,640 --> 00:30:49,160 can't get in. And then later he's standing at 441 00:30:49,160 --> 00:30:53,120 the door and he's knocking. And we sing about this idea in 442 00:30:53,120 --> 00:30:55,200 Christmas when we refer to our own hearts. 443 00:30:55,200 --> 00:30:58,000 Is there room in our hearts for the Lord Jesus? 444 00:30:58,000 --> 00:30:59,480 We all think we would open the door. 445 00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:03,440 Sure, come on in, have your baby right over there. 446 00:31:04,120 --> 00:31:06,760 Sure, come on, Jesus, let's eat together. 447 00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:09,680 But what if it means shame and suffering and hardness and 448 00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:13,080 despair sometimes? Are we going to shut the door in 449 00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:17,840 his face or are we going to open it and say, come inside, your 450 00:31:17,840 --> 00:31:20,080 will be done? I don't even know what that 451 00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:22,400 means, but it's better than leaving you outside. 452 00:31:25,080 --> 00:31:26,240 So I don't know what your story is. 453 00:31:26,240 --> 00:31:29,120 Maybe you need to open the door for the first time and let Jesus 454 00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:33,120 in and become a Christian. You can say, Lord, I open the 455 00:31:33,120 --> 00:31:36,640 door, come in. I give my life to you, let it be 456 00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:39,120 done unto me according to your word. 457 00:31:40,320 --> 00:31:42,480 But maybe you're closed off in other ways right now. 458 00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:44,360 There's a relationship and you've just got the door 459 00:31:44,360 --> 00:31:47,400 slammed, or the Lord's trying to get through to you in your 460 00:31:47,720 --> 00:31:50,560 devotional life or through a persistent friend that's saying 461 00:31:50,560 --> 00:31:52,160 there's a problem, there's a problem, there's a problem, and 462 00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:59,400 you're just like this. So let us, let U.S. 463 00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:06,680 Open our hearts to Him, open our ears to Him, open our hands to 464 00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:09,920 Him, that we may experience His joy even in the midst of 465 00:32:09,920 --> 00:32:12,840 suffering. Second move has to go along with 466 00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:16,080 the musical themes, Sir. One of our favorite times of the 467 00:32:16,080 --> 00:32:18,400 year, We bring out the good songs. 468 00:32:18,800 --> 00:32:21,080 We have good songs all year long, don't we? 469 00:32:21,680 --> 00:32:24,880 But there's something particular about the Advent songs and the 470 00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:27,280 Christmas carols. And if you notice, and you 471 00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:30,840 continue to think about it, how often sorrow and joy are 472 00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:34,160 commingled in those songs. They're just so deeply honest. 473 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:38,800 They're just loaded with all kinds of theological truths 474 00:32:38,800 --> 00:32:40,640 about our resources in the gospel. 475 00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:46,320 As the God of grace has regard for you and regard for me, maybe 476 00:32:46,320 --> 00:32:49,960 you don't feel like singing. Maybe singing is hard right now, 477 00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:54,200 but one of the ways we can continue to keep our openness to 478 00:32:54,200 --> 00:32:56,160 God is to sing even when it's hard. 479 00:32:58,560 --> 00:33:02,000 Because through the rehearsal of those words, sometimes even 480 00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:07,680 lamenting reward words, we are amazed at how often a a candle 481 00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:10,760 is kindled. We're given hope for one more 482 00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:13,840 day, light for one more dark night. 483 00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:21,760 Let us sing and sing together. And the third move has to do 484 00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:26,760 with rejoicing. And that that could be hard too. 485 00:33:26,760 --> 00:33:30,080 You don't want to tell somebody who's grieving to just be happy. 486 00:33:30,080 --> 00:33:38,200 Now we lit the pink candle. That's unhelpful, but it is very 487 00:33:38,280 --> 00:33:44,520 telling and helpful when you walk with somebody in a way that 488 00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:51,400 they understand and experience as a cons, A consoling presence. 489 00:33:51,880 --> 00:33:57,480 When that person blesses you with an embedded joy through 490 00:33:57,480 --> 00:34:00,920 their profound suffering, you'll be like, oh, that's that's what 491 00:34:00,920 --> 00:34:04,920 that means, to grieve with hope. That's what that means when the 492 00:34:04,920 --> 00:34:08,639 gospel comes through horrible shame and sorrow and suffering 493 00:34:08,639 --> 00:34:12,920 and despair and refuses to be snuffed out. 494 00:34:14,400 --> 00:34:17,480 As a pastor, I've gone and through hard things with people, 495 00:34:17,480 --> 00:34:20,120 and I've been with them through very difficult moments. 496 00:34:20,840 --> 00:34:24,159 And you kind of go in full of like, fear and trembling and 497 00:34:24,159 --> 00:34:26,080 you're nervous. I hope I don't say anything 498 00:34:26,080 --> 00:34:30,280 wrong and make it worse. And so often you go in there and 499 00:34:30,280 --> 00:34:34,960 just plan to be with them, perhaps have a word of Scripture 500 00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:37,520 or a prayer. And I'm amazed at how often 501 00:34:37,520 --> 00:34:45,639 these believers turn the tables on Pastor Dan and give me a gift 502 00:34:45,639 --> 00:34:50,719 of consolation. I went in there intending to say 503 00:34:50,719 --> 00:34:53,000 something to you and you blessed me. 504 00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:56,920 And I will come away from another hospital drive or 505 00:34:56,920 --> 00:35:00,640 Funeral Home thinking, do I have any faith at all? 506 00:35:00,640 --> 00:35:03,680 Because those people are are true believers. 507 00:35:03,680 --> 00:35:07,440 Because look, look at how the Lord meets them in their deep 508 00:35:07,440 --> 00:35:11,400 need. They are still honestly crying 509 00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:15,840 and dealing with their grief and allowing it to go through the 510 00:35:15,840 --> 00:35:17,920 lament and the cry of the heart, even the anger. 511 00:35:17,920 --> 00:35:19,840 But yet they still like the Psalms. 512 00:35:20,040 --> 00:35:24,600 They turn the corner often and say, and yet, Dan, you know, I 513 00:35:24,600 --> 00:35:26,840 just have to tell you. There's all these little graces 514 00:35:26,840 --> 00:35:29,040 that I'm noticing. Can I tell you about? 515 00:35:29,520 --> 00:35:34,520 And I'm just like, yes, thank you. 516 00:35:36,600 --> 00:35:41,520 And I don't want to stand up here and sort of prescribe that 517 00:35:41,520 --> 00:35:46,360 to y'all as totally normal. I think it's a miracle of divine 518 00:35:46,360 --> 00:35:50,040 love and it's a testimony that it happens often. 519 00:35:50,600 --> 00:35:53,720 But I don't want to be like the jerk friends in the Book of Job 520 00:35:54,040 --> 00:35:57,000 that press people too hard into that space before they're ready. 521 00:35:57,760 --> 00:36:01,520 So there's this right way to walk with people in their grief, 522 00:36:01,520 --> 00:36:02,720 and you're going to get it wrong. 523 00:36:03,120 --> 00:36:09,120 I do. And yet we can admit and learn 524 00:36:09,160 --> 00:36:14,360 from Mary and from Jesus and from countless Saints that have 525 00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:18,200 gone before, that we are a people of sorrows. 526 00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:25,080 But underneath our sorrows is a an infinite fountain of 527 00:36:25,080 --> 00:36:29,760 unquenchable joy, and it will burst forth like a geyser when 528 00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:34,560 the Lord Jesus returns and finally wipes away all the tears 529 00:36:34,560 --> 00:36:39,840 from our eyes and settles once and for all the sin question. 530 00:36:40,120 --> 00:36:47,440 And we live forever with him as the light radiating into our 531 00:36:47,440 --> 00:36:50,040 existence. Perfect love. 532 00:36:51,360 --> 00:36:52,760 That's our story, that's our song. 533 00:36:54,360 --> 00:37:00,080 So to conclude, we see in Mary that Mary teaches us to receive 534 00:37:00,080 --> 00:37:05,840 God's grace with faith and joy even when it means suffering as 535 00:37:05,840 --> 00:37:08,720 well as glory. Will you pray with me? 536 00:37:10,280 --> 00:37:14,800 Father in Heaven, we thank you for Holy Scriptures that are 537 00:37:14,800 --> 00:37:19,960 able to make us wise and godly by the miracle of redeeming love 538 00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:22,120 in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. 539 00:37:23,040 --> 00:37:26,800 We pray, Lord, that it would go down deep into our hearts and 540 00:37:26,800 --> 00:37:33,440 continue to bear much fruit. We pray for a joy that's 541 00:37:33,440 --> 00:37:37,320 underneath it all, especially for those in our communion who 542 00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:39,680 are going through very hard time. 543 00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:42,400 Lift them up, bless them, we pray. 544 00:37:42,800 --> 00:37:44,880 It's in Jesus name We pray by the Spirit. 545 00:37:45,440 --> 00:37:45,920 Amen.