The Monday after Rorate coeli, the Fourth Sunday in Advent
Posted on December 22, 2025 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 1:39-56 (NKJV)
1:39 Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”
46 And Mary said:
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 “and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 “For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
49 “For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name.
50 “And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
51 “He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 “He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly.
53 “He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty.
54 “He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy,
55 “as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever.”
56 And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.
Devotion
“Henceforth all generations will call me blessed.”
St. Luke is the Gospel that gives us historic canticles. Our text for today is Mary’s hymn, rejoicing in God’s gracious selection of her to be the mother of our Lord. She makes this bold declaration that “henceforth all generations will call me blessed.” Indeed, we do, to this day, refer to “the blessed Virgin Mary.” The faithful Church has always revered St. Mary very highly.
Have there been abuses? Absolutely. Against some of these our Lutheran Confessions clarify the matter. We do not invoke the saints. Rather, our reverence is threefold: we thank God that He saved them by grace; we thank God for all the good He has accomplished in this world through them; and we embrace them as examples of faithfulness, especially where their example pertains to us.
And so we do with Mary. We rejoice that she rejoiced in “God my Savior.” We rejoice that she was a faithful mother to Christ our Lord. We can all seek to emulate her faithful submission to the Lord; as she said, “Let it be to me according to your word.” And particularly, she serves as an example to women who have received the gift of motherhood.
Collect: Stir up, O Lord, we beseech Thee, Thy power, and come, and with great might succor us, that by the help of Thy grace whatsoever is hindered by our sins may be speedily accomplished through Thy mercy and satisfaction; Who livest and reignest with the Father, and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
