Singing ahead of time. A quick search shows the name Mary could mean many things.
The name Mary comes from the Hebrew name Miryam, which has multiple possible meanings:
• Bitter: Some believe the name comes from the Hebrew root mr, which means “bitterness”.
• Beloved: The name may come from a root meaning “beloved”.
• Drop of the sea: Another interpretation of the name is “drop of the sea”.
• Rebellious: The name may come from a word meaning “rebellious,” which could refer to the biblical Miriam’s experience of being enslaved in Egypt.
• Exalted one: The name may mean “the exalted one” (sublime, august).
• Lady of the sea: The name may come from the Hebrew word mari, which means “mistress” or “lady”.

The name carries many meanings as does Mary’s life. She is told by an angel that her relative Elizabeth is going to have a child as well. She goes to Elizabeth and Elizabeth gives her a word that is part of the Hail Mary today – blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb –
Then Mary sings a song. And what a powerful song. She sings it ahead of time. Before the birth of Jesus.

My soul magnifies –[ hence the name “Magnificat”]
The Lord looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant
Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed
For the Mighty one has done great things for me,
Holy is his name [remember the Lord’s prayer – hallowed be thy name]
Indeed, 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 imagination of their hearts
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones
And lifted up the lowly;
He has filled the hungry with good things
And sent the rich away empty.
He has come to the aid of his child Israel
In remembrance of his mercy
According to the promise he made to our ancestors
To Abraham and this his descendants forever.

After singing this song, Mary stays with Elizabeth 3 months – then she returned home.

Mary was a rebel, a prophet and was beloved and exalted.

She challenges the authority, the rich, the powerful. She is a peasant, and she is the mother of God. She knows that the rich get confused and think they have power. She knows God sees the needs of the marginalized and the poor.

She knows the arrogance of the rich will be shown it is an illusion. Just as Simeon said of Jesus when he was brought to the temple at only 8 days old, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed.” Luke 2:34-35

Mary today is revered by so many. At the same time, even today many think money will save us. Many get confused with what is of value to God.

But Mary sang before all of her words came to fruition. She sang before the baby was even born. Let us sing ahead of time. Days ahead will be difficult. Many will be harmed by greed and cruelty. Yet God is still at work and is finding ways to feed the hungry and cure the sin-sick souls.

Sometimes we sentimentalize Christmas as though it is about Santa Claus and for children only. It is a time when systems were toppled. It is about God paying attention to the downtrodden. It is about God coming into the world and letting the poor know they are valued and heard.

Let us keep singing ahead of time.

He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones
And lifted up the lowly;
He has filled the hungry with good things
And sent the rich away empty.

May we sing with Mary, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” The Lord who hears us when we cry, who longs for love to be spread throughout the world. My soul magnifies the Lord who knows the needs of those around us and is giving us hearts of compassion.

Mary, the mother of Jesus whispers words of wisdom to us and we need the reminder. She went to see her cousin. This time of year I think of all the times we gather with relatives. Elizabeth was also pregnant. The connection they had, John leapt in her womb. If your heart be as my heart, give me your hand. Elizabeth gave her words that have become the hail Mary for many traditions. “blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus” Mary sang the Magnificat after this encounter with Elizabeth, this annunciation as the church tradition has called it. Mary sang ahead of time, before the hope came into the world.

Mary connects us to her family, his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. To our past, she connects us – He has helped Israel, according to promises to our ancestors … Abraham and his descendants forever …..

God chose to come into the world through this woman with no pedigree. I know many of you have watched the TV show “The Crown”. I have yet to binge watch, may get around to it. I have been to England and to Scotland and I was amazed at their adoration of the royals as they call them. They have apps to track their every move. They scrutinize their words, their dress, their mannerisms. The royal family is all about the line of the throne, the family is the way into the status for princes, prince, king, or queen.

Yet Mary had no such pedigree or wealth or standing in the community. That first Christmas was with very little fanfare. It seems as if we have been seeking to make up for it ever since.

Mary said, he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. She gives this prophet reversal of the Kingdom. God’s realm is not like ours.

Mary speaks radical, subversive, words of wisdom. When in times of trouble they are just he words we need. God has shown strength with his arm. HE has scatter the proud in the imagination or the conceit of their hearts. Their power is just an illusion, fleeting, meaningless. Seems like forever to us, 2,000 years the powers that be are still damaging lives. But in the timing of God, but a fleeting moment. HE has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly. Filled the hungry with good things.

For what do you hunger this Advent 2024? Happiness? That pursuit is insatiable. For what do you hunger this season?

Several years ago a film came out called: Saving Mr. Banks. It is about the making of the film Mary Poppins and shows the back story of the author: Pamela Lyndon Travers. She had a father who was a dreamer. Many of his dreams never came to fruition with financial hardship and tragedy and all those things that come with that. But he was a dreamer and a great story teller and as a result his daughter who adored him wrote one of the most beloved Children’s stories of all time. At one point in making the movie the producers said Mary Poppins the governess was there to save the children. She said, “No, she was never hired to save the children, she was there to save Mr. Banks” so the title of the back story. We sometimes said, “Christmas is for children, it is for the children.” I understand they have the wonder and the joy, but little ones find wonder and joy with a box to play with. Christmas, or the incarnation of God is for us too. For us grown up kids. As we hear the words of Mary, he has looked on me with favor, that is our story as well. He has looked on us with favor.

Why talk of these other Mary’s? Or Mary Poppins a fictional character from the dream of Pamela Lyndon Travers. Perhaps because Mary is every woman. When Jesus began his ministry and Mary asked him to provide the wine through water, he said, “Woman, it is not my time.” But then did what she said. When he was dying on the cross he looked down at his mother and said, “Woman, behold your son.”

Woman, like other women, who have children who dream dreams for them. Who worry, who see things in them. Who love them. Christmas is a time we embrace the family. The Holy family, and our family.

For what do you hunger this Advent season? Mary is met by the Holy Spirit, how can this be? It reminds me of the another time the disciples faced an impossibility. IT was when Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to end the kingdom of God….. “Then who can be saved?” “With Man, impossible, but with God, all things are possible. Gabriel the angel told Mary, “Nothing is impossible with God.”

The wealth of the world is seductive. Yet Mary the prophet tells us there is a more excellent way and it will be reversed.

Are we hungry for a faith that says God can do more than what I can imagine? You may think that I’m a dreamer, well I’m not the only one and I hope someday you’ll join me and the world will live as one.