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Celebrating Advent - December 16

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Sing: Angels We Have Heard On High

Reading: Luke 1:46-56 

And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

Summary (for your preparation): This song of Mary is so rich we can do at least one more day on it. For this one, I would like to point out God's wisdom in selecting Mary as opposed to a princess in power and authority. Even the fact that God took note of Mary (looked on the humble estate of his servant) proves he is the God is transcendent and immanent.

Transcendent: God existing apart from and not subject to the normal limitations of the world. God is exalted and sovereignly has the freedom to do all that he pleases. The opposite of immanent.

Immanent: God intimately involved with his creation, pervading and sustaining all aspects of his creation. The opposite of transcendent.

In most religions, the view of God is one or the other. If he is transcendent he cannot be approachable by humans. If he is immanent, he is limited and cannot be transcendent. Christianity reveals a God who is both. While God is the exalted one who sits in the heavens he is pleased to take note of the very lowly of servants in the world. He knows Mary and is intimately acquainted with her, selecting her as the ideal candidate to give birth to the transcendent and immanent God, Jesus Christ.

If Jesus were of great and noble birth he would be the Savior that is inaccessible to common people. God turns the wisdom of the world upside down and is pleased to reveal his power through those who are considered weak. Jesus was born in poverty, extending the invitation to all sinners. Thus, you don't need any type of status to approach Jesus, only humility for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. The magnificat of Mary truly captures the wonder of transcendence and immanence of God in both Mary's life and the God man, Jesus Christ.


Teaching Tip: Transcendence and immanence are two big words. However, if you explain them your children can understand them and appreciate God who is so big yet pays so much attention to people so small. 

Questions/Responses:

God is transcendent! What does this mean? It means God is great, he is the king in authority over the whole entire world. He is the only one in charge, he can do anything he wants to!

 What would be some things you would do if you could do anything you wanted to? Fly? Eat as much sugar as you wanted without any consequence? Sleep? Play video games? Know everything?

 Imagine having that much power!

God isn't only transcendent, you know! He is also immanent. Do you know wha this means? It means he is really involved with even the smallest and least important parts of his creation. 

 Can you think of things that are small and not important? Bugs, gnats, sand, pebbles.

 Does God know about them and care about them? Yes

 Let's think about people. Who are some kinds of people who are very important? The president, a king, a mighty ruler. Pharaoh. Caesar Augustus. 

 Was Mary important in that way? No, Mary wasn't a princess and she didn't live in a palace. Besides her family, no one would have known her.

 Why would God choose someone like Mary to bring Jesus into the world? Don't you think he would have wanted to choose a powerful person so that everyone could know about Jesus and be impressed with him?  ????

God doesn't do this, does he? What if Jesus were born in a palace to a prince and a princess? Then maybe poor and lowly people would not be able to visit him.

 What does it tell us that Jesus was born to someone like Mary and Joseph, whom nobody knew? God wanted to invite all people to find forgiveness in Jesus, not just the important ones.

 Why is it special that God became a baby and then a man? It tells us that God is almighty who is the ruler over his creation but he is also willing to come and live with us and know us. 

Prayer and Ending

Prayer: Father in heaven, thank you for being so great and exalted but so lowly and willing to come and live with us. We are thankful for how you know and care about people like Mary and how you know and care about people like us. Thank you for becoming a man and living on this earth. We rejoice this Christmas as we consider the wonder of the transcendent and immanent God. AMEN!

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