In the Kingdom

The Rev. Joseph Winston

August 15, 2010

Grace and peace are gifts for you from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ.1
Children love to play games like, “Let’s pretend.” Bring together some chil-
dren in a room and see what happens. In a short while, you might hear one shout
out to the other, “Let’s play Mommy and Daddy. I’ll be the Mommy, you the
Daddy, and all the rest will be our children.” What comes next are the rules for
the drama, “In our home, we’ll be rich and happy.” After a brief protest over who
actually gets to portray what roles, the actors soon will play out exactly what they
see in the world of adults. Those with money do not have a care in the world.
Another popular version of the same game has a slightly different setting. Now,
imagination transports the children to a far away time and place. One yells to no
one in particular, “I’ll be the king of the world.” The instructions quickly follow,
“And I’ll rule over you!” Some may squabble over the selection of the leader, but
1
Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians
1:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 1:3.

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they will quickly fall into line and obey the orders brought from on high. After all,
this is what their parents do.
The games continue in cafeterias around this nation. It is lunchtime and the
high school students have already divided themselves into tribes. Over there are
the ones obsessed with science and math. Further out still are the ones that do
not look like the rest of the boys and the girls. Closer in are the athletes and the
cheerleaders. From where they sit, it is clear they are in charge of the room. No
one comes or goes without their tact approval. Someone might try to move from
one table to another but it just does not happen. This is the way society works and
the teenagers know it well.
Adults never really outgrow their love for games like these. Turn on the TV
some night this week and you soon will see that this is true. Most advertisements
tell you that money makes the world go round. Buy something today and you
will be satisfied. Shows with many different titles constantly remind you of the
privilege that comes with power. What passes for entertainment is actually nothing
more than a mirror of our daily life.
If this were all you knew about life in the United States, you soon would
believe that the rich and the powerful are all that matter in this world. In some very
important ways, you would be right. After all, this is how we structure society and
we permanently reinforce their place by the games we play.
The results from this way of thinking work its way into Sunday mornings
at places of worship all around this country. This causes strange sayings like,
“Because I am rich, I know that God loves me.” Another very popular variation of

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the same theme is, “My power proves God’s love for me.”
Perhaps if people who believe this stuff came to worship the Lord around sun-
set, they would hear the lyrics from Mary’s hymn during the traditional evening
service known as Vespers and think something else. Maybe if they read the entire
Gospel according to St. Luke from the beginning all the way to end instead of
just picking out their favorite bits and pieces, they would realize that the Christ’s
blessings to the crowd assembled on the plain, sometimes better known as the
Beatitudes, echoes today’s Gospel lesson and reach a completely different con-
clusion.
This is the challenge that faces us in this part of the country. People need to
carefully listen to what Mary has to say about the kingdom of God and to stop
reaching their own personal conclusion on what God does in the world.
We normally hear a large portion of today’s Gospel Lesson, also known as
the Magnificat, in the hustle and bustle of the Advent Season. It is very difficult
during that part of the year to spend time on anything besides the upcoming birth
of our Savior and Lord. By taking this Sunday out of Pentecost and dedicating it
to Mary and her song, we have the opportunity to reflect on this lesson and what
it means for us.
A short commentary on the state of the first century world is in order since
Mary speaks of her lowliness (Luke 1:48). No matter their rank, women during
this time in history were not to speak to any males outside of their husband, father,
and any children they might have. Additionally, their movement from one place
to another was generally restricted to the locations where other females could be

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found. That is why Mary travels to her cousin’s house. They are related. There
without any other men present, she sings her song to Elizabeth.
At this time, Rome is a superpower. They rule the known world with an iron
fist. Judea is an insignificant conquered kingdom. They have no resources Rome
needs. They possess no skills that the Empire desires. None of the important trade
routes Rome wants crosses their boundaries. They simply were in the wrong place
at the wrong time.
Our view of the world seen in the games we play would have the title Savior be
given to the most powerful man in the world, the emperor. Just like politicians of
all ages, the emperor already uses that name in propaganda. Notices that God pays
no attention to any of these realities found in the world that directly contribute to
Mary’s low state. Through a miracle, she conceives and gives birth to our Savior
Jesus.
Mary’s song is not finished nor is God’s work with those the rest of the world
considers humble. Listen how the women the rest of the world ignores continue
to be important in the Gospel according to St. Luke. First of all, Jesus heals them.
This means He sees those women that He should not and then He takes care of
them. Next according to Luke, no men receive the honor of funding Christ’s work.
Women with names like Joanna and Susanna are solely responsible for this im-
portant task (Luke 8:3). Even today, accepting money from a woman is seen as a
sign of weakness. Jesus lifts females that have no legal way to earn money above
the traditional male patron that Rome so admires. Most importantly of all, the
first ones to witness the resurrection and bring the Good News to the men are

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the women, people who cannot present testimony in any Roman or Jewish court
(Luke 24:10).
The blessings that Mary sings of are not limited to one group or another. That
is one of the major problems seen in the games we like to play. We want to limit
power or riches to those few people we favor. Christ’s life provides many different
examples of helping people that we would rather walk right by.
The unclean are one group that fits this definition. Something in their life
caused them to move into this state. Moving back into everyday life with your
family can be difficult or even impossible if the issue never resolves itself. Your
natural inclination is then to stay away from these people because their situation
might take you away from those you love. Jesus helped the people least likely
to return home. He removed unclean spirits (Luke 4:33; 6:18; 8:26-39) that de-
fied others. He healed the lepers that many feared (Luke 5:12-14; 17:11-19). He
cured the sick, even a woman that spent all of her resources trying to find a cure
(Luke 8:43-48). He touched the dead and brought them back to life (Luke 7:11-18;
8:49-56).
Children are a second group that most people of this time would rather ignore.
On the whole, they are uneducated, tend to be in the way, and cause all sorts of
problems. It is normal for male contemporaries of Jesus to have almost no interac-
tions with children at all. Jesus disagrees with the way society treats children. He
reaches out to them (Luke 18:16). He raises them from the dead (Luke 8:41-42,
49-56; 9:37-42). He welcomes them.
It is never easy to have a good relationship with a soldier occupying your

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homeland. This is the third group Jesus reaches. A soldier has power over you
and it is very unlikely that anyone will punish him for mistreating the locals. The
time-tested way for a soldier to escape incrimination is to say he felt threatened
and he acted out of self-defense. Common sense tells you leave these people alone.
Jesus took the time to teach soldiers how they should act (Luke 3:14). Leaders of
these men fall into the same category with one important exception. They can
bring down even more death and destruction on those you love. Jesus gives a
commander of one hundred battle hardened men a gift that brings life to someone
we see as only bringing death (Luke 7:1-11).
There still is one more major category where you can see Mary’s Magnificat
in action. Jesus weaves it into the fabric of the parables. Three stories stand out
as examples of Jesus teaching the entire world through story of what Mary sings
in her song. One is the parable about the extravagant farmer (Luke 8:5-15). Over
the entire earth, this farmer plants seed. In the areas of town that no one visits, he
scatters. On the road packed down by the foreign laborers that no one really likes,
he sows. Through the parts of the world that are unfit for anyone, he plants. He
does this because He hopes for new life in the midst of death. The second example
of how God’s world is different from the games we like to play is told to us in
the parable of the good enemy, better known today as the good Samaritan (Luke
10:30-35). A man that everyone loved to hate because of their interpretation of
the Bible is the one who actually stops, helps, and then pays dearly for the other’s
recovery. This is who we are to be: ones who act just like this. The third illustration
of how the poor are lifted up is seen in the parable about Lazarus and the rich man

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(Luke 16:19-31). There was this invalid, so hurt was he, that he could not even
make it under his own power to the gates that kept out all the uninvited. There he
lay, brought by his friends, he waited for something to make it through the day.
The rich man who acted just like a king saw all of this. He did absolutely nothing
at all. In fact, he let the filthy, dirty animals torture poor Lazarus. Death came for
the both of them. The one with nothing was given healing and eternal life. The
one with everything now has nothing but pain.
Yet despite what Jesus does for us and what He teaches us, we keep playing
games that say something else altogether. Children of all ages honestly believe
money brings happiness. We still line up to be rulers of the world and if that
happens to fail for some reason or another, rulers of our own little kingdom. We
keep dividing the world into neat little groups and we really want to decide who
gets to be placed where.
Jesus disagrees with each of these time-tested games. Satisfaction does not
come from money. It is a gift to those people who do not scandalized by the
message Jesus brings (Luke 7:23).2 Followers of Jesus do not wield powers over
others. They serve and do not use their age, rank, financial status, or even gender
as a way of getting what they want (Luke 22:25-26). Our calling is not putting
people into categories. We are here to help.
It is hard for us to experience any part of the Magnificat as Good News. We
listen to Mary’s song and nothing appears to be directed toward us. We watch her
2
Luke 7:23 reads, ”καὶ μακάριός ἐστιν ὃς ἐὰν μὴ σκανδαλισθῇ ἐν ἐμοί” – ”And blessed is
the one not scandalized by me.”

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Son, our Lord, live out the Magnificat in words and deeds but they stand in direct
opposition to the games we play. This all looks like what Lutherans call Law:
something that we must do or an action that drives us to Jesus. That understanding
of the Magnificat and Christ’s actions here on earth is missing one key fact. Jesus
came for you.
This is the heart of the Gospel begun in the Magnificat and then played out in
all that Jesus does. He comes to save you.
When all is said and done, everyone knows that no amount of money can buy
you life. You can try as much as you want, but it just will not work. That is why
the Magnificat speaks to you. Your riches cannot help in the end. Jesus can. He
comes to save you.
You might have some power in this world. It might come from age, reason, or
just plain luck. Nothing you have is strong enough to force God to do anything at
all. This is a fact of life. Here is another one. You will die and you are powerless
to stop this from happening. You are the lowly that need lifting up. Jesus can raise
you from the dead. He comes to save you.
You can try all you want to be at that place where everything is perfect but you
know that something is keeping you away. You need some help. Jesus can remove
whatever is preventing you from living. He came to save you.
Our games we play completely disagree. They say money, power, and prestige
are important and if you cannot get all three then you are a nobody.
Even a marathon session of Monopoly comes to an end. All games do. That
is when you get to decide if you will play another round. Life does not give you

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a second change. When it is over, it is finished. Jesus comes for all those people
who are tired of games.
“The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.”3

3
Philippians 4:7.