The Spiritual Life – Transformation

Luke 1:21-50

The joy and stress-free spiritual life

These three devout Jewish people Zechariah, Elizabeth and Mary lived by God’s word, freed from sin or worry, a life of poverty, unworthiness and dependency on God’s mercies. No tongue can explain.

And so, the extraordinary promises to the above, given the circumstances simply required faith – for no command, no ingenuity, no physical strength could bring about what had been promised.

Their bodies well beyond ability to do what had been promised

• As for Mary, to be the mother of the Messiah was beyond imagination from such a slave girl.
• (The Messiah), and the forerunner (the Baptist) were born as promised.
• The great king had come into the world together with the front runner.

This great king was the great hope of the three and was all they were waiting for in life – a life dependent on God or the spiritual life.

Spiritual Life

A spiritual life is invisible but greatly manifested in the heart of a believer.

No fear of sin and death due to spiritual baptism(gift) is what in turn generates a totally different direction in life.

Much more the hope of resurrection results into Joy which may be visible, unity will also be very visible.

 What speaks most eloquently is the content and praise in the Heart of the three people above – revealing the depth of their inner spiritual life.

Hear out Mary’s utterance, the real anti-dote of fear, the praises of God and dependence. Mary, the mother is the best example of a maiden girl in expressing the perfect condition of her spiritual life as she lived in this world.

“My spirit has rejoiced in God my savior, ‘’ this is even before her Lord the Savior is born – Mary had been born in the House of David with knowledge of scriptures centered on “Faith in God’s promise of the Savior” the source of life – which she now puts in her own words.

Mary Is introducing what the Lord Christ does in our hearts – the riddance of fear. This was a slave maiden girl. In her thinking, she is very much aware that the conception is by the Holy Spirit.

So she affirms “His mercy is on all that fear him from generation to generation including ourselves

“He has raised the horn of salvation” – described in Psalms as my rock and my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my strength from the Old Testament scripture.

God’s prophecy became her soul’s anchor.

Now we have the scripture (prophecy and fulfillment) the months of the prophets and the utterance of Christ, our Lord, to put the same song (spiritual lie) into our hearts.

Mary continues:

We have been saved from our enemies the greatest of which is our sin and death, or the devil who always aims at destroying believers by rejecting the Word, misinterpreting, misusing and finally creating a life of formalism adherency.

•  “Christ” is the covenant of salvation, The mercy from God to his human creation.

This is the only reason why you and I were born, that is to come into the presence of the creator by his own means faith (or spiritual birth) in Christ our Lord and King.

And she concludes – “ We having been delivered from the hand of our enemies (sin and death, the devil) – so that we may serve without fear” This was a young girl to talk like this was an extraordinary life in her heart from t he thoughts of our youth today.

The one thing that cripples all of us, makes us depressed constantly, isn’t really hunger, loneliness, sickness as such but ‘FEAR’ of sin and death because we are deceived by making here below our everything.

This young lady, centuries ago really gives us a snapshot of what our new spiritual lives should be. She did not dwell on having received a husband or a child but the spiritual life.

• God puts down the mighty from their seats and exalts those of Low estates those who have put trust.
• The hungry are filled up.
• Those of Faith are his servants whom he lifts up.

Mary perfectly presents David’s sons and daughters transformed from fear to the joy, hope and unity in this world below.

The greatest of the inner souls’ activity is what Zechariah reveals; Christ is our righteousness, which is our baptism of fire.

Justification – (Free gift of Righteousness)

•   Righteousness is the blessedness to those with Faith of low estate, unworthiness which the son of Zechariah was to reveal in his ministry in the Jordan valley.

Christ alone brings righteousness by His work which removes the crookedness, valleys, and Rocky Mountains from every human heart from birth.

This is Zechariah’s prophecy regarding his sons, the Baptist’s purpose of introducing the Savior.

Here, Zechariah utters the scripture as work already done. God spoke through the prophets; about the straight road already built in the hearts of believers from the foundation of the world.

• A work which only the Savior did,
• The Baptist himself stated what sinners could do to accept this work already done for us – acceptance Baptism of Fire.

This is the true repentance – turning to Christ, from our low estate. (Sinfulness, crookedness, rocky valleys of our hearts) – True repentance is the reception of the gift of the Spirit through faith in Christ sacrificial death as sacrament(gift) for Baptism for the remission of sins of the world. So simple yet so difficult to receive into our hearts because of our love for the world.

Repentance is simply receiving the new spiritual life or the salvation from our enemies, now we can serve without fear in Holiness and righteousness for the rest of our days.

It is a big mistake, error, rebelliousness, and crookedness to preach Law upholding the commandments as a way of Salvation with a few behavioral changes – such is all flesh and not God’s Kingdom.

It is always the tender supreme act of mercy – lifting us from our earthly life, wretchedness, crooked hearts and enmity graciously compelling us to accept these mercies as the light which takes us from our darkness, shadow of death to a new living which gives rise to peace, joy and hope in the New life.