Luc. 1, 39-56.
And Mary arose in those days, and went up into the mountains to the end of the city of Jude, and came into the house of Zacharias, and greeted Elizabeth. And it came to pass, when Elisabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and cried with a loud voice, saying, "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And
How is it that the mother of my Lord comes to me? Behold, when I heard the voice of thy greeting, the child leaped with joy in my womb. Blessed art thou that hast believed, for that which was spoken unto thee of the Lord shall be fulfilled. And Mary said, My soul exalteth the Lord, and my spirit rejoiceth in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the lowliness of his handmaid. Behold, from henceforth all the children shall call me blessed. For he has done great things for me, who is mighty, and whose name is holy. And his mercy endureth for ever unto them that fear him. He wieldeth violence with his arm, and scattereth them that are arrogant in their heart. He pushes the mighty from their seats and lifts up the lowly. He fills the hungry with goods and leaves the rich empty. He remembereth mercy, and restoreth his servant Israel, as he spake unto our fathers, unto Abraham, and to his seed for ever. And Mary abode with her three months; and after that she returned again.
I. This gospel we want to run over recently. Lucas describes here a history, which is bad to look at, but otherwise concludes much in itself. It is bad to look at because nothing more is described than Mary's ministry, that she went to visit her mother Elizabeth. But if one looks at it rightly, it contains all kinds of miracles and works of love. Let us see this; and first of all, how it happens with Elizabeth in this history.
2 Elizabeth did not know before that Mary, her mother, was pregnant; nevertheless, when Mary comes to her, she realizes that she is with child. It is one and it is great. But this is even greater, that she recognizes that Christ is in the womb of the virgins; for she could not see it in the womb; for Mary had been with child only a short time and a few days: she still recognizes it. This must have been a sharp face. This shows the nature and character of Christian faith, and that nature can never grasp any article of faith: the Holy Spirit alone must do and work in the heart; as He does here with Elizabeth, who felt in her heart that Mary was the mother of God, and even if all the world had said otherwise, she would still have remained. It must be the same with us, everything must be so deeply buried and so concealed that no reason can grasp it; and yet faith can see finely brightly. We will also see this afterwards in the Magnificat through and through.
3 So you see here how strong Elizabeth's faith is. Reason has completely blinded her. For if she had had to judge by reason, she would have said, "Well, she cannot bear a child, she is still too young.
Even if she had come to believe that she was with child, she could never have come to say that this is God, my Lord. Yet still faith stood, as she said, "Whence cometh it unto me, that the mother of my Lord cometh unto me?" There one learns the nature of faith, that it may well be called argumentum rerum non apparentium, that one should see what one does not see, hear what one does not hear; Summa Summarum: to understand everything differently than it is before the eyes and ears, and as it grasps or understands the need*); as the epistle to the Hebrews describes faith, since it speaks: "Faith is a certain confidence of that which is to be hoped for, and is directed to that which does not appear", Heb. 11, 1.
4 In the same way, in death and in all other afflictions, nature will grope and look around; and when it has nothing to grope about and can never see how things are going, it will fall back and despair. Then I must be so skilful that I say: "In the midst of death I will find life; I will die here, I know my Lord is with me; as also the prophet says in the 4th Psalm v. 9: "I will lie down in peace and sleep. For thou alone, O Lord, dwellest safely with me." So the little song is turned around, which one sings: "In the midst of life we are surrounded by death; and sing: In the midst of death we are embraced with life.
(5) It is the same with all other troubles. When I have sinned and feel an evil restless conscience before God's judgment and wrath, then I must say: Under the sin
*) Instead of "Nothdurft" have c d "nature". D. Red.
Under the evil conscience there is peace and blessedness; under the wrath of God there is the goodness and mercy of God. Summa Summarum: everything must be looked at differently than it can be looked at. Behold, this is the nature of faith.
6 Therefore it follows that Elizabeth was full of joy, so that she is completely filled with joy and becomes full of the Holy Spirit. Therefore from her goes out praise and glory, that she breaks forth and says: "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Behold, when I heard the voice of thy greeting, the child leaped with joy in my womb. And blessed is she that believed; for that which was spoken unto her of the Lord shall be fulfilled." These are all joyful words. Behold, these are the fruits of faith, so that if one believes, he is found righteous in heart; which certainly does not remain outside, where otherwise faith is righteous in heart. Therefore, Elizabeth is an example of the faithful, for as she feels and does here, so it is with all believers.
Now we must also say about the virgin. Lucas says here that she got up and went over the mountains to her mother Elisabeth. With this he indicates a fine honorable gesture that she led. As if to say: Love forced her to make the journey, and yet she kept herself so well behaved and chaste on the way with the gesture that no evil example would be made of her. Now when she comes home, and has greeted Elizabeth, and hears again the great prize, she lifts up and throws everything from her, and teaches how she wants to be honored, and says:
My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
(8) This is the joyful song called the Magnificat, which we have dealt with in a special booklet according to its length; therefore we will speak of it here a little and go over it in brief. Behold, the virgin does not take on any of the goods here, that she is a
Mother of the Lord, that she may be blessed among women; keeps herself so fine in the means, does not cling to the goods: so that she would also be ready if it were taken away from her again; keeps nothing more than a fine joyful heart towards God. Therefore she lifts up on the same and praises God, and does not fall on the goods, so she lifts up and says: "My soul lifts up the Lord"; as if she wanted to say: I have such a kind, gracious God, my soul burns completely in him; and this delights me, not the goods. Thus one must cling to God alone, not to creatures and goods; for this is called courting God's creatures.
Behold, how pure a spirit the pious virgin has, that she does not take upon herself the high honors and goods of any. What greater honor could there be than that a woman should come to be a mother of God, and should not exalt herself to anything? As Mary does here, she does not exalt herself of the gifts and these goods, yes, she would have been satisfied if it had been taken away from her right away. And we poor people grieve so much when a florin or two, or even a penny, is taken from us; item, we grieve when health, strength, and the like are taken from us. What is the matter? The unclean spirit that is in us, that is attached to creatures and does not merely cling to God's grace and mercy, makes it so that we do not cling to God so merely and freely. That is why we cannot so exhilarate our soul and heart that we throw ourselves completely up into God; as Mary does here, she leaves such great goods, does not look at them, but swings freely in God, and says with joy: "My soul exalts the Lord," namely, He who has given me such gifts. This is the true purity or virginity of Mary, that she looks only to the Lord and praises Him alone. Hence Christ says: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God", Matth. 5, 8. But she takes the goods as a sign of divine favor and love; as she will say afterwards. A fine spirit knows how to speak of God and His gifts.
For he who has known God can also know and need all his creatures.
(10) Zero lifts them up by their goods, and spreads out God's goodness through all creatures, and paints us what kind of a man God is with great sweetness, and so lifts them up:
For he has looked upon the lowliness of his handmaid.
(11) Here it is not called humility, but lowliness, as if to say, He did not look upon a great and noble damsel, as if she were the daughter of Caiaphas, who went about with great and heavy splendor in the midst of maidservants; but a poor, lowly, little maid, of whom no one thought much, of whom no one knew anything.
(12) Now, here we have a special illustration of God's way of seeing, namely, that He sees down. He cannot see above himself, for he has nothing above him; nor can he see beside himself, for he has no one like him: therefore he sees only below himself. Therefore, the lower you are and the lower you are, the brighter God's eyes look upon you. Thus the Scriptures everywhere praise him, and especially in the 113th Psalm, vv. 5, 6, 7, when he says: "Who is like the Lord our God, who sits so high, and looks down in heaven and earth; who lifts up the lowly from the dust, and lifts up the poor from the dirt? And in the 138th Psalm v. 6. David says: "The Lord is high, and looketh on the lowly, and knoweth the proud from afar." Therefore, what he wants to rise above his head, he sees as soon as he sees it. And praise is given to him everywhere in the Scriptures, which Mary gives him here; for he can neither art nor violence, nor suffer anything to be built upon it; he is hostile to all who hope. Therefore Mary says here, "He has looked upon my lowliness." And speaks further:
From now on, all children's children will call me blessed.
013 Whence doth she glory? Not from the goods or the great rich gifts of God, but because he has seen her lowliness. Therefore I advise, if one wants to praise them, that one does not do it with
Salve regina or similar idolatrous prayers and chants, but say: Behold, how a lowly poor maiden this has been; nor has God regarded her lowliness. For there she is stripped completely naked, and God alone is praised. So she will be praised that she has nothing; so we will praise her that she has everything. This would be the right way to honor the mother and all the saints, so that one would say: "This is a great grace, that God has so graciously looked upon the poor little girl and done so much that he has made her his mother. So also of St. Paul: "What a great grace it is that God made the bad boy, Paul, such an instrument to bear His name before Jews and Gentiles. So also with St. John the Baptist and all the saints. Behold, then, God is honored in His creatures; so He alone remains God, and no idolatry comes of it.
(14) To what end will this honor come and serve? That I may be comforted and strengthened also in this, that I may say: Behold, the Mother of God has been quite empty and has had nothing; nor does God do this to her: ei, I hope that he will also show mercy to me poor sinner. Then a fine confidence grows in me that God will also be merciful to me. Now we turn this around and honor the saints in such a way that they would be ashamed in their hearts, blaspheme them more than we honor them, yes, that we ourselves must go to ruin over it. Ah, the miserable honoring that we have done with the saints so far. Mary continues and tells what grace God has shown to the creatures and to all the world, and lifts up from herself and speaks:
For he has done great things for me, who is mighty, and whose name is holy.
15 He alone does it; I have done nothing; he is the doer and does the work; therefore to him alone shall the honor be due. He shows such grace and kindness not only to me, but also to others. This is what the following verse means when it says:
And his mercy endures forever for those who fear him.
16 That is, his grace and mercy are always with those who stand in the terror of God's judgment and wrath; yet with them, in the midst of fear and terror, there remains hope in God's goodness and mercy. For the two, fear and hope, must run together. For as deeply as the child was hidden from Elizabeth in Mary's body, so deeply is it hidden from reason, that it should provide itself with good things for God in the midst of fear: yet still faith does it. Further, Mary tells what God's works are, and speaks:
He wields power with his arm and scatters those who are confident in their hearts. He pushes the mighty from the throne and lifts up the lowly.
(17) This is also a work of faith. For it is seen that those who oppose the gospel make themselves appear as if they were strong and soar upward, but in the midst of their hope God knocks them to the ground. A Christian man sees this freely; but flesh and blood and reason do not see it, indeed, they see the contradiction. But it is certainly so, as Mary sings here, although it does not happen soon. For God lets them grow up a little, so that he may exercise his own a little, and lets them rage so that all the world thinks it is them, all power is with them. But it does not last, before God they are already overthrown. Faith sees this clearly; we would also see it with our physical eyes, if we could see it. Furthermore, Mary says:
He fills the hungry with goods and leaves the rich empty.
(18) He truly does, and it is clearly felt; if you only look at history, you will see how wonderfully God rules in the world: all who rise soon fall; those who have the most are the first to fall short, for they do not hold on to God, but to His goods and creatures. They must fall. For
God cannot suffer it; therefore they must be sick. But the hungry must have enough, even if they have nothing; yes, even if no grain grows, they do not have to die of hunger, it should rather rain bread from heaven, if they alone believe. But our unbelief is so great that we do not see further than what is available, and if there is no bread, we want to despair. At last Mary speaks:
He remembereth mercy, and helpeth his servant Israel. As he spake unto our fathers, unto Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
019 This is the last estate. As if to say, I bear the child he promised, and bear it not only for myself, but also for the house of Israel and the seed of Abraha, that is, for all the faithful. Behold, how fine a song this is; I have recently run over it, whoever wants to have it further deleted, let him read it himself.
Secret interpretation.
20 We should also act the spiritual or secret interpretation, but not all can understand it; but I will tell the summa of it, whoever wants to, may seek it further. Mary means the Christianity, after the synagogue. Elizabeth means the people under the law, in the synagogue. Elizabeth stays at home, that is, the people of the law, however pious they were, they were surrounded by almost many outward statutes. But Mary, who goes over the mountains and yet with discipline, that is, the Christian people goes freely under heaven with no hemming and hawing, and yet is finely drawn in freedom, does good works freely, willingly and without restraint; but does not let freedom be a cover of shame to the flesh, as the false Christians do. And it would be fine to put it into a proverb: Mary goes along finely free under heaven, but nevertheless finely chaste and retracted. This is what we recently learned from this gospel, we want to call upon God for mercy.