Oh, Mary don't you weep, don't you mourn

Luke 1:39-56

In bible college, we had a speaker come to a conference we held.  His name escapes me, and I latter heard some unflattering things about him that may or may not have been true.  But he said some things that have stuck with me.  It's not often that I hear someone speak, and I can remember what they said ten years later.  Maybe it's because what he said was associated with a song.  I'm good with songs...

Anyway, the song went;
Oh Mary don't you weep, don't you mourn
Oh Mary don't you weep, don't you mourn
Cuz Pharaoh's army got drown-ed
Oh Mary don't you weep

Apparently, it's a spiritual, sung by black slaves in America.  There are three connecting points.  Pharaoh's army got drown-ed way before Mary was born.  But she can rejoice, knowing that her God is faithful in defending her people.  But why would slaves, almost equally distant from Mary as pharaoh was, take comfort in this as well?  They were a poor, oppressed people, just like Mary's people were.  And they understood something better than their masters did...  or at least they experienced it in a way their masters never would.  God is on the side of the oppressed, not the oppressor (now, you could make the argument that the roles were reversed for a time while Israel conquered and occupied the promised land, but you'll note that in the end, Israel was punished for it's unfaithfulness).  Pharaoh was defeated.  Mary's child defeated sin and death.  And  the slaves of the south knew God would ultimately deliver them (just ask someone like Martin Luther King).

Anyhow, my point is drawn from Mary's words in verses 46 to 53.  God is the defender of the poor and oppressed.  Mary will be remembered not because of the mighty and powerful works that she performed in her lifetime, like Kings and Caesars were.  Mary says, "He has seen the humble state of His servant and all generations will call me blessed because He has done great things for me".  That's how it is with God.  The least are the greatest, and the greatest are the least.  Perhaps, as we sit in our comfy church seats we would do well to ponder which end of the spectrum we are at.