Sermon for November 27th, 2016

Luke 1:46-55

46 And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
    Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
   and holy is his name.
50 His mercy is for those who fear him
    from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
    he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
    and lifted up the lowly;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
    and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
    in remembrance of his mercy,
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
    to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

Mary's Song of Praise: Call Me Blessed

On December 12, in the year 1531, an image of the virgin Mary was said to have appeared in the fabric of the coat of a devout Mexican peasant, Juan Diego. The image was verified by several witnesses. Soon a shrine and then a basilica were constructed to house the sacred cloth with Mary's image. Today, Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City has become the most visited religious destination in Roman Catholic tradition, and the third most visited religious site in the world.

Fast forward almost 500 years, to November 26, 2011 (that's exactly five years ago, yesterday) to Princeton Theological Seminary--arguably the heart of Presbyterianism in the United States--where a young, devout, Presbyterian seminary student (that would be me) is brushing his teeth one day, when he sees the image of the great reformer, John Calvin, appear in the swirling, pink marble tile of his bathroom sink in his seminary apartment. This really happened. Amy was my first witness, but there were several others. I even put the image of sink-Calvin on twitter and facebook, side by side with an actual portrait of the historical Calvin just in case there was any doubt. I'd be happy to show it to you sometime.

What happens next? A shrine dedicated to Calvin's image? Mass pilgrimages of Presbyterians the world over to see it? Hardly. A little less than a year later, the seminary demolishes the apartments, relegating sink-Calvin to the rubble heap of relic history (something the historic John Calvin would have been just fine with!).

Magnificat in three parts:

Focus on Individual (46-48) Focus on God (49-51) Focus on others (52-55)