SERMON SAMPLING

“A Song for All Seasons”
Luke 1:46b-55 (1 Thessalonians 5:16-24)
3rd Sunday of Advent Calvary Baptist Church 14
December 14, 2008
Calvary Baptist Church of Denver
by Anne M. Jernberg

"Mary’s voice was probably as tender as Vismaya’s. And even though these verses were most likely a song—we have no reason to believe that it was typical for this fourteen year old girl to break into song when she got good news—or when she was happy or full of joy. She might have hummed to herself as she did chores or sung along to the songs at Temple. Or—heaven forbid—Mary, the one to whom we attribute this beautiful song —the Magnificat— the muse of composers and performers across the ages— might have been tone deaf.

But for the sake of tradition and of preserving the beauty of Christmastime that we imagine and create for ourselves—let’s say Mary had an angelic voice, that wasn’t perfect perhaps, but was strong and uninhibited. Not strong and uninhibited like the Salvation Army volunteers who sing Jingle Bells in an off key sort of shout (no offense to them—I couldn’t sing all day in the cold ringing the same bell over and over again). And not strong and uninhibited like the incessant holiday carols that follow you into every store and coffee shop this time of year..."

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