And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.” Luke 1:46-55
When Christ is formed in you
• Envelops Us
• Expressed through us
• Exalted by us
It’s the most wonderful time of the year; we’re often reminded to remember Jesus is the reason for the season. Our eyes are treated to various displays of lights, our ears are lavished with the sounds of the seasons, our bellies are filled with the delicacies of the holidays, and all too often our wallets are emptied of dollars as we spend to get presents for those we love and those we like, just a bit.
The pulpits echo the refrain “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and he shall be called, wonderful counselor, the mighty God, Prince of Peace.” “And there were at the same time shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night, and lo an angel of the Lord appeared before them and they were sore afraid..” “And she brought forth her first born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.” “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace good will towards all men.” We know these verses, we can almost recite them from memory, and they stir up fond memories of our childhood; our first Christmas pageant, the time we played the sheep, or the time we were one of the wise men, or the time we were Mary, or seeing a nativity scene with real animals and real people. We know Christmas-time, we celebrate Christmas, we honor the traditions and we welcome Christ into our lives on this special holiday season.
But, what of Mary? We read her story in the book of Luke the first chapter concerning the birth of Christ. We know she was a virgin, who was engaged to Joseph. We know the angel of the Lord greeted her with the unexpected news that she was to bare the Savior of the world in her body. Her question answered as to how this would take place, Mary accepts the prophecy from the Lord, and readies herself for the visitation of Hoy Ghost.
When she comes to her Cousin Elizabeth’s house, her cousin greets her with such joy when she heard Mary’s voice. Elizabeth declares that as soon as she heard Mary’s voice, her own baby leaped for joy. How amazing! Elizabeth commends Mary for believing the prophecy from the Lord.
Mary responds with her own song, “My soul doth magnify the Lord and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior”. What a song of praise from a young woman who had every right to be terrified and apprehensive, but because that which was growing inside her was holy, she was filled with praise and adoration of God.
When Christ is formed in you, His presence has the power to cast out all the fears and apprehensions that come in living. In exchange for all of those things, He gives us songs of praises that come from deep within. These songs do not detail our rough roads, they do not amplify our misdeeds but they magnify the Lord and they exalt the great things He does!
Christmas is the time when we as Christians celebrate Christ’s mission. His mission was to save us from the powers of sin. “He breaks the power of cancelled sin and sets the prisoners free.” He came to restore God’s people to right relationship with Him. He came to us, because we couldn’t get to Him because of the mighty gulf sin created between humanity and the Holy One. He came to transform us from sinful creature to new creations. He invites us today to come to Him with opened hearts. We must be willing to let Christ be formed in us. I must let Him be formed in me. Why? I am glad you asked.
When Christ is formed in us, He changes us internally and eternally. He envelops us – not an envelope – but He envelops us. Envelop mean to enclose or enfold completely with or as if with a covering. It also means to mount an attack on (an enemy’s flank). Mary had no idea how she was going to conceive, since she had not been with a man. The angel said “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee:” The word overshadow means to envelop; Christ is formed in us as His precious blood completely covers us, and it is that blood that attacks the enemy of our soul. What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! That blood, that precious blood, shall never lose its power. Can you feel the love of Christ covering you at this very moment? Think about all the things His presence has kept you from! Think about how Christ presence has kept the enemy from taking you under. Praise Jesus for the way His protective mercy has kept you safe from all hurt, harm and danger. Thank the Lord, even right now, for the things that should have killed you but because He covers you, He has protected you and kept you alive even until right now, that He may get the glory, honor, and praise! He covers, praise God, He covers.
He covers the stain of sin that should have banished me from the Lord’s sight, but when God looks at me, He doesn’t see my sin, nor does He deal with me according to my sins – but the blood covering me allows God to see me through the sacrifice His Son as made for you and for me. We’re covered by the blood of Jesus, when we let Christ be formed in us.
When Christ is formed in us, He is expressed through us. When Mary came to Elizabeth’s home and as she was simply greeting people, the sound of Mary’s voice caused Elizabeth’s baby to leap for joy in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Isn’t that something? When Christ is formed in us, who He is, is expressed through us. Our language changes, our voice carries the Anointing. Have you ever thought that Christ could be heard in your hellos? Christ changes our very nature and that change comes through the things we say. We have the power to expose others to Christ simply by saying hello. It’s not us, but it is Who is in us. When Christ is formed in us, His power comes out in all forms of expression. Oh, we know the power of life and death is in our tongues, but how different would we speak if we recognized that Christ is being expressed in every word we say? The old hymn “Take my life and let it be” says
Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in endless praise.
Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee.
Take my voice and let me sing,
Always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee
What a praise, take my lips and let them be filled with messages from Thee. Imagine the people’s lives we could change if we just let Christ be expressed in all the things we say. Imagine coming to worship service and setting the place on Holy Ghost fire, with a simple greeting.”No it’s not I, but it’s the Christ that lives in me!”
Finally, when Christ is formed in us, God is exalted by us. Mary understood that none of this was her doing. She never claimed to be anything but God’s handmaiden, His servant. When she heard the praise of God from Elizabeth, her very being was stirred to exalt God. She said, “my soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoice in God my savior..” When Christ is form in us, God is exalted – It is His doing and it is marvelous in our sight. When Christ is formed in us, we know better than to take the credit for anything that is good in us. To God be the glory for the things He has done. When Christ is formed in us, God is exalted, for it is He who looks beyond our faults and sees our need. When Christ is form in us, He causes us to open our mouths and He will fill it with praise. Christ is formed in us, God is exalted, and He is ever praised, just as Christ praised God while He walked these dusty roads on earth. When Christ is formed in us, God is exalted, just as Christ exalted God when they carried Him from judgment hall to judgment hall. When Christ is formed in us, God is exalted, just as Christ exalted God, when they beat Him, yet He opened not His mouth. When Christ is formed in us, God is exalted, just as Christ exalted God, when He let them nail Him to an old rugged cross for the sins of the world. When Christ is formed in us, God is exalted, just as Christ exalted God, when He was buried in a borrowed tomb, but rose early on Sunday morning with all power in His hand. When Christ is formed in us, God is exalted, when we accept the finished work of Christ on the cross.
This Advent season, let Christ be formed in you! Let Him envelop you and cover you with His blood. This Advent season, let Christ be formed in you! Let Him be expressed through you, in the words you say let the love of Christ burst forth and spread joy to all who would hear. This Advent season, let Christ be formed in you! Let God be exalted in you,! Let you soul magnify the Lord – make know His deeds among the people. Oh magnify the Lord with me and let us rejoice in the God of our salvation. Let our souls make their boast in the Lord for He has done great things, whereof we are glad.
