Thursday, December 4, 2008

More Than Just Nice Songs

It's important to remember the context in which Mary and Zechariah lived. Their songs weren't just because they were happy about having a son, about God acting according to his ancient promises, or because the Messiah was coming. Their songs are rooted in their revulsion towards the Roman Empire and the Caesars.

In Mary's lifetime a thousand fellow Jews were crucified and staked along the road leading from her Nazareth village to the razed city of Sepphoris. In Zechariah's line of work, the high priests and their ilk were all appointed by Herod - with no regard for lineage, holiness, or piety towards God; the original priests being banished or killed.

Mary's song for revolution was personal; her people were being slaughtered, starved, and subjected to terrible hardships. She wanted God's Son to cast down the proud and mighty, they were tearing apart the world. Zechariah knew what it was like to be hated; pious, observant Jews of his day were mocked and reviled. Obedience to God's way of peace was not popular.

Luke begins his narrative by noting that the story began in the days of Herod. We would use the name Hitler for similar effect. God was finally acting to bring an end to the merciless injustices - it is no wonder that Mary and Zechariah sing and stomp with joy. It'd been too long since they had anything to sing and stomp about...

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