Learning to Worship with Mary, Jesus’ Mother

Luke 1:26-56
   "And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

   Then said Mary unto the angel, how shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
   And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah; and entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.
   And Mary said, my soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; as he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever. And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house."

This story takes place in the countryside of Israel; first in the small town of Nazareth, Mary’s home town, and later in the hill country of Hebron [Joshua 21:8-11] and the home of Zacharias and Elisabeth.

Mary was a young lady in Nazareth. She was betrothed to Joseph, a carpenter who also lived in Nazareth. The Bible says that Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel in the sixth month; this would be the sixth month of the Jewish calendar [civil] – the month of Adar. He entered the house and said to Mary; "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."

When Mary saw him, she was troubled by his greeting and wondered at what it meant.

But Gabriel said to her; "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a Son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

He answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elisabeth your cousin is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God."

Mary said to the angel, "I am the Lord's servant, may it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

After this conversation with the angel Gabriel, Mary hurried off to Hebron to visit her cousins Elisabeth and Zacharias. When she arrived and was greeted by Elisabeth, the baby inside her leaped for joy and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit when she heard Mary’s greeting.

And Elisabeth said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

At hearing Elisabeth’s greeting Mary began singing in worship to God. Here is her song:

"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, even as he said to our fathers." Verses 46b-55 NIV


Mary stayed in the home of Elisabeth and Zacharias for three months and then returned to her home in Nazareth.






Learning to Worship:

Memory Verse: O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. Psalms 95:6 KJV

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. Psalms 95:6 NIV


So what does it mean to ‘worship’ God? www.dictionary.com has the following definitions:
Noun [person, place or thing]:


1. Reverent honor and homage paid to God or a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred.

2. Formal or ceremonious rendering of such honor and homage: They attended worship this morning.


3. Adoring reverence or regard: excessive worship of business success.


4. the object of adoring reverence or regard.


5. British, beginning with a capital W; a title of honor used in addressing or mentioning certain magistrates and others of high rank or station (usually prec. by Your, His, or Her).


Verb [action word]:


1. to render religious reverence and homage to.


2. to feel an adoring reverence or regard for (any person or thing).


3. to render religious reverence and homage, as to a deity.


4. to attend services of divine worship


5. to feel an adoring reverence or regard.

While these definitions are accurate, they do not explain well what it means to worship. When we go to church we have a part of the service called the ‘worship service’, it is a time dedicated to ministering in music and singing songs of praise and adoration to Jesus. This time of music puts us in the right frame of mind for listening to the message the pastor is going to share. Worship can also be sharing the deepest feelings from our hearts with words of poetry or stories. To simplify, worshiping God is doing anything that shows Him how much we love Him. I often sing to Jesus throughout the day, write Him poetry and stories, and sometimes share my thoughts in a journal; writing love letters to Him. In journaling, I feel more like I am talking to God than when I speak or pray. My letters are very intimate and personal. I feel like I am really touching His heart with my own. This is what worshiping Him is all about – touching the heart of God with ours. And that is what Mary was doing when she broke out in song when she met her cousin Elisabeth and heard her greeting.


Mary’s heart was exploding with joy to the Lord, and for good reason. She had been visited by the angel Gabriel and told she would be having God’s baby – the Messiah that had been told about since Adam and Eve had been removed from the Garden of Eden. The angel had also told her she was highly favored and blessed by God. Now I don’t know about you, but to me having an angel stand in my house and talk to me doesn’t happen every day. This would have been scary and exciting all at the same time. And then to be told that you were the girl GOD had chosen to bring His Son, His Salvation for the world, to life would be even more frightening. Another thing that might have been scary to Mary was the fact that Gabriel knew that her cousin Elisabeth, who was old and thought unable to have children, was already in her sixth month of her pregnancy. These things had been sitting in her mind for days as she walked [or rode a camel or donkey] into the hills of Hebron to visit her cousin Elisabeth.

By the time she got to Elisabeth’s home, she had overcome her fear and her heart was exploding with love and joy to God for all He had told her. So when she heard Elisabeth’s greeting Mary couldn’t hold her feelings inside any longer and she sang them to God from her heart. What a great example of how we are to worship God.

So if you ever feel like singing to Jesus, writing Him stories or poetry – or even love letters, feel free and belt out a good one! He is ready and waiting to hear from you at ANY time. And remember, God told us to ‘Make a JOYFUL noise’ [Psalms 100:1] not a perfect one!

Until Next time!
 
Leigh