Bloghardt's Reflector

St. Luke 1:39-56 – Advent 4 (Rorate Coeli) – December 24, 2006
Rev. George F. Borghardt III – St. Mark Lutheran Church, Conroe, TX

In the Name of Jesus. Amen. “What Child is this who, laid to rest On Mary’s lap is sleeping? Whom angels greet with anthems sweet, While shepherds watch are keeping?” ( v.1)

That's tonight. This morning is Rorate Coeli, as in, “Rain down, you heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down the Righteous One;”

The Righteous One rains down from the heavens. What comfort for us who never have white Christmases! Today, Jesus comes to us! He is poured down from the skies!

“This is Christ the King, Whom shepherds guard and angels sing. Haste, haste, to bring Him laud, the Babe, the Son of Mary.”

They will find the Righteous One tonight – in such mean estate, where ox and ass are feeding. They'll follow the angels to the manger.

This morning, no shepherds. We miss the angel Gabriel talking to the Blessed Virgin Mary by a few verses. But, the Babe is there – not wrapped in swaddling clothes, not lying in the manger, but inside Mary.

We'd not even know He was there if it wasn't for Mary's cousin Elizabeth! She points us to Him – in Mary's womb. More specifically, John from Elizabeth's womb points Elizabeth to Jesus in Mary's womb. Wew! Still with me?

And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”

Mary is blessed, not because there is some quality inside her that is better than you and me. Mary's got sins. She knows she does.

No, Mary is blessed because He is in her womb. In fact, everything that is said about her in today's text is said because of Jesus.

Elizabeth calls Mary the Mother of the Lord, the Mother of God. That's does magnify Mary, but it magnifies more Him – the Lord, the Babe, her Son.

Now we Lutherans get a bit concerned when Mary is magnified, don't we? Mary evidently gets a bit concerned too. In fact, she will have none of it! Her soul magnifies the Lord and her spirit rejoices in God her savior.

Her Savior. She needs one. You need one too. I need one. A Savior from our sins.

But, what Lord? What Savior? The same Lord John pointed to with his little hippidy-hop in Elizabeth's belly. The only God there is - Jesus. Mary is the mother of the Lord God.

That was Dr. Luther's Christmas joy – He wanted no other God than Jesus. No other One than the One in the arms of the Virgin.

That's tonight. We'll celebrate the Lord God wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed where animals eat, in a manger this evening.

In a bit, the Lord God will put Himself in your mouth at His Supper.

And right now this morning the Lord God is inside her womb. Lowly Mary - His handmaiden. The Lord regarded her – not to magnify her, but that we might be saved through the fruit of her womb, Jesus. That's the blessedness of the blessed Virgin.

So, she sings and magnifies the Lord. Her spirit rejoices in God her savior. She sings to her Son.

In fact, her whole song is about her boy, about Jesus! If you doubt, just listen to the words!

Jesus is the mercy of God upon those who fear Him from generation to generation. He is the strength of God's arm. Jesus is the mighty one who had done great things for her. God her Savior, that's Jesus too. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Mary points us to Jesus.

The proud, the rich, those who have other things going on other than the Lord are excluded. Is that you? What do you have going on that separates you from Jesus? What thing is more important to you than Him?

Now, you'd never say that, would you? But, look at your life. Do you use your hands, your mouthes, your eyes, and ears show to show that God is your Savior? Or do they show that you are your own God, doing whatever you want to do.

Mary calls us to repent. The proud in the imagination of their hearts are shut out. The mighty are brought down from their thrones. The rich are sent away empty handed.

Repent, Today, not tonight. Turn from your sins here now in the last few hours of Advent. Empty your hands of what fills them and what you think you can hold up before God. Stop going about things your own way – stop this morning on Rorate Coeli.

Good Christians, fear, for sinners here The silent Word is pleading.

He fills the hungry with good things. He exalts, brings high, the humble. For those who have nothing, who can claim nothing before God, for those who have no hope, He comes. He saves. They are filled.

He even shows His grace to a nobody girl, in a nobody place, at just the right time. And from now on, all nations shall call her blessed!

He remembers His promises. He remembers His mercy to Abraham. The promise made Abraham and to His seed. That's what Advent has been all about – the Lord coming and keeping His promises to save us!

That promise is fulfilled in Christ, in the Babe, the Son of Mary. He comes – He comes to save.

And Mary...Mary will experience it all first hand. She'll see the shepherds. She'll hear about the angels. She'll hear pious Simeon sing about her Son, the same we sing after communion every Sunday.

She'll be there they when Magi “bring Him incense, gold and myrrh, when peasant, king come to own Him;”

But most painful for her – more painful than even giving birth – will be watching the Lord God, her Son, be our savior on the Cross. She'll be there as He dies – as He shows that God is Her Savior, our Savior too.

This is God her Savior– not mighty and powerful and full of shining glory. But, in her arms tonight. Dying on the Cross before her eyes. And in her arms again when she holds him after He had died for her sins, your sins, and mine.

“Nails, spear shall pierce Him through, The cross be borne for me, for you. Hail, hail the Word made flesh, The Babe, the Son of Mary.”

As Luther says, I know of no other than this One... nor do I want any other.

But that's Good Friday. Today is Rorate Coeli, where the heavens rain down the Righteous One, where the skies pour down our salvation.

Our text ends today with Mary returning home. What a great way for Advent to end for us! She's going home to prepare and get ready to have birth. We're going to celebrate a bit more and then head home and make ready for the Lord's coming this evening.

“Raise, raise a song on high, The virgin sings her lullaby. Joy, joy for Christ is born, The Babe, the Son of Mary.” In the Name of Jesus. Amen.