Merri Dennis

“And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.” – Luke 1:46-47

The Magnifying Soul

Mary does a lot of singing after she hears from the angel. Her womb is filled with divinity and her heart is filled with praise.

The scripture says that, “Mary said,” but it is hard to her imagine that she did not say it in melody.

She said that her soul magnified the Lord. Soul is life, the totality of life, all of it. It is one’s body and mind in complete integration with one’s energy, personality, motivation, and action. Mary gave everything she had and everything she was to magnifying the Lord.

Not only did her soul magnify God, but her spirit rejoiced in Him. Joy is the very heart and soul of the Christmas mood.

“Merry Christmas!”

“Joy to the world! The Lord is come!”

“God rest ye, merry gentlemen!!

Mary got it and she carried that spirit to Bethlehem and beyond as she kept her memories and pondered them in her heart.

Why the songs of Christmas in the heart of Mary? Why the magnification of the Lord? Why the rejoicing?

Mary answered the question herself. He, God, had regarded the low estate of His handmaiden.

In the coming of Jesus, God regards our low estate and takes on our humanity. He walks with us and He identifies with us. He dies for us and leads us from death into a procession of life.

How can we keep from joining Mary in her song? Let us gather around the manger with rejoicing and magnify the Lord this day!

“Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.” – Isaiah 12:5

Candle Song

There are several sounds, sights, and smells that characterize Advent and Christmas.  Christmas music stimulates the senses to remember the celebratory nature of the season. Whether it is sacred or secular, the music of the Christ-fest evokes joy and nostalgia along with warm feelings of love and peace.

Couple that with the sensual aromas of cinnamon, cookies, and greenery. The whole body starts to be engaged in the process along with the spirit. The invitation of music and smell becomes an invocation to sing unto the Lord.

We are reminded of the excellent things He has done which are known in all the earth.

They are indeed known in all the earth. There is something universal about the witness of Christmas, even among non-believers. There is a universal visual component to the celebration. It can be represented by the candles of Advent.

The Advent candle and wreath came into the culture of Christmas before the Middle Ages and was being observed by Catholics and Protestants by 1600. The candles remind us that light has come into the world in Jesus Christ.  He has come to dispel the darkness and radiate the truth.

There are four Advent candles. Each one represents a thousand years of the redemption story from the time of Adam and Eve to the birth of Jesus. In many churches and homes, three candles are purple and one is rose, but there are variations and no particular rules for how things are to be done. All Christmas candles grow out of the Advent candle tradition.

The lighting of the candles in a progressive manner symbolizes the expectation, hope, and growing anticipation of Jesus coming into the world as well as our anticipation of His second coming to bring history to a righteous completion.

In the middle of the wreath is yet another candle. It is white and it is the Christ candle, lit on Christmas Eve. It is the brightest of the lights. It is the culmination of all that has come before. It is the beginning of God’s redemptive climax to the history of salvation.

So, whenever you light a candle for the Christmas season, remember this. You are singing a song of praise to the Lord who has done excellent things and, as a witness, you are making Him known in all the earth.

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,  And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.” – Luke 1:68-69

The Visit

One of the welcoming symbols of the Advent and Christmas season is a decorated tree. It is often visible from the street because it is carefully placed beside a window and, sometimes, outside the house. It is a reminder that an entire culture stops what it is doing to welcome Jesus and, in welcoming Him, to welcome each other into a circle of celebration and love.

We see trees in hotel lobbies, hospitals, parks, and even churches. Trees point upward. One might say that they are raised up like a horn of salvation declaring God’s redeeming power and love.

Christmas trees have roots in cultures that predate Christianity, but so do many other symbols of faith that have been incorporated into the message of the gospel. That is the nature of the message itself. Jesus’ coming is about redemption. He redeems people. He redeems symbols. He redeems entire communities. He redeems everything possible for His own purposes.

It is for redemption that He has visited us and it is because of that, we bless and welcome Him.

“Blessed be the Lord God” is song of celebration and worship. It is a song of joy. It is a Christmas carol for every day of the year.

God loves for His people to celebrate. He calls us to a life of celebration. We celebrate with our music, our movement, and our art. We celebrate and worship Him with whatever is at our disposal – our food, our decorations, pour poetry, and the work of our hands. Anything we can create or do can be an act of celebration and worship that welcomes Jesus and makes each day Christmas.

It just needs to be dedicated to Him and to His glory.

The blessed God of Israel, who has visited us with redemption, who has raised up a horn of salvation, this very God of grace and glory, is pleased, delighted, and welcomed by our celebrations of His coming – even our trees.

In other words, God must surely love Christmas!