Luke 1:46-55 BibleGateway.com
Dietrich Bonhoeffer believed the Psalms are of particular value when we pray them, not because they express what we feel in our hearts, but because they often make us pray against our hearts. This is an aspect of faith that we sometimes forget. I recall the shock on a church member’s face who “complimented” at the door one Sunday: “That sermon came straight from your heart.” I answered, “I hope not, because if it did, and the Prophet Ezekiel is right, then I’m a false prophet.” Ezekiel, like Bonhoeffer, believed that the human heart is a confused organ of sentimentality and self-interest, and it needs the correction of the Word of God.
Mary’s song, the Magnificat, is one of the Psalms of the New Testament. No other passage in the New Testament so perfectly blends the praise of God from the Psalms, the message of justice from the Prophets, and the confidence in God’s faithfulness incarnate in Jesus Christ. Yet we must admit: Mary’s song speaks against our own hearts, threatens our self-interests, and challenges our assumptions about what it means to be important, valuable, even good. The Magnificat is Jesus’ parables of the kingdom in song. It is appropriate that in some Christian traditions, along with the Lord’s Prayer, this is the one biblical text that is prayed every day.When it becomes our prayer, we can hear in the way it speaks against our hearts, in its stern “No!” of judgment, God’s ultimate “Yes!” of grace.
Knowing the first shall be last, and the last first; the proud scattered in the thoughts of their hearts; the powerful brought down; the lowly lifted up; the hungry filled with good things, and the rich sent empty away, we entrust ourselves to you, O Lord, in grace and in judgment. Amen
Dietrich Bonhoeffer believed the Psalms are of particular value when we pray them, not because they express what we feel in our hearts, but because they often make us pray against our hearts. This is an aspect of faith that we sometimes forget. I recall the shock on a church member’s face who “complimented” at the door one Sunday: “That sermon came straight from your heart.” I answered, “I hope not, because if it did, and the Prophet Ezekiel is right, then I’m a false prophet.” Ezekiel, like Bonhoeffer, believed that the human heart is a confused organ of sentimentality and self-interest, and it needs the correction of the Word of God.
Mary’s song, the Magnificat, is one of the Psalms of the New Testament. No other passage in the New Testament so perfectly blends the praise of God from the Psalms, the message of justice from the Prophets, and the confidence in God’s faithfulness incarnate in Jesus Christ. Yet we must admit: Mary’s song speaks against our own hearts, threatens our self-interests, and challenges our assumptions about what it means to be important, valuable, even good. The Magnificat is Jesus’ parables of the kingdom in song. It is appropriate that in some Christian traditions, along with the Lord’s Prayer, this is the one biblical text that is prayed every day.When it becomes our prayer, we can hear in the way it speaks against our hearts, in its stern “No!” of judgment, God’s ultimate “Yes!” of grace.
Knowing the first shall be last, and the last first; the proud scattered in the thoughts of their hearts; the powerful brought down; the lowly lifted up; the hungry filled with good things, and the rich sent empty away, we entrust ourselves to you, O Lord, in grace and in judgment. Amen
Michael Jinkins, Academic Dean, Professor of Pastoral Theology
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
For the glory of God and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a seminary in the Presbyterian-Reformed tradition whose mission is to educate and equip individuals for the ordained Christian ministry and other forms of Christian service and leadership; to employ its resources in the service of the church; to promote and engage in critical theological thought and research; and to be a winsome and exemplary community of God's people.CLICK HERE to learn how you can support the mission of Austin Seminary
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