God was up to something big at Christmas. Elizabeth and Mary were chosen to participate in very important ways. Why were they chosen?

We might write a sermon on how they earned their special place in the Christmas story. Elizabeth has a fine resumé:

In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. — Luke 1:5-6 (NRSV)

Elizabeth is a descendant of Aaron, so has a good family lineage. She is righteous and blameless according to the Old Covenant law. She is also married to a priest, which as anyone married to a pastor will know, means she must be a saint. Elizabeth is a very good woman. She ticks all the boxes for being top of the list for earning God’s favor.

What about Mary? Mary does not get the same build-up from Luke in his Gospel account as Elizabeth, but we can point to her humble character and her willingness to follow God’s lead: “Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).

We might therefore write a sermon about both Elizabeth and Mary earning their special place in the Christmas story and encourage everyone to earn divine favor. But I won’t. Why? The message “we are good, therefore God was good,” was not a sermon Elizabeth or Mary would preach.

God Does Good Because He is Good

Consider Elizabeth’s response when she conceived: “This is what the Lord has done for me when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people” (Luke 1:25).

Notice what she did not say: “Being good has paid off. I was good, so God was good.” Elizabeth does not put the spotlight of her own goodness, she highlights God’s goodness. Notice further her response when Mary comes to visit: “She exclaimed with a loud voice, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child in your womb! And who am I that the mother of my Lord should come and visit me?’” (Luke 1:42-43, NET).

Elizabeth’s attitude is not, “I have earned this privilege,” but, “Who am I that I should have such a privilege?”

Let us also consider what Mary has to say:

And Mary said,
    “My soul magnifies the Lord,
        and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
    for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
        Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
    for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
        and holy is his name.
    His mercy is for those who fear him
        from generation to generation.
    He has shown strength with his arm;
        he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
    He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
        and lifted up the lowly;
    he has filled the hungry with good things,
        and sent the rich away empty.
    He has helped his servant Israel,
        in remembrance of his mercy,
    according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
        to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” — Luke 1:46-55 (NRSV)

Mary praises God, not herself. She does not say that “he looked on the goodness of his servant,” but that “he looked on the lowliness of his servant.” Throughout the song, God is spoken of as doing great things for others, especially the “lowly” and the “hungry.” He acts according to His promise, and not according to Mary’s perfection. In this song, Mary sees herself as being an example, not of perfect obedience and righteousness, but of weakness. In this song God does something special, not because people are perfect and deserve better, but because people have needs and God is good.

Truth Versus a Religious Spirit

Neither Elizabeth nor Mary get overly religious. We are being very religious when we think that our own goodness leads directly to the experience of God’s goodness. When we experience blessing, we think it is because we earned it. When we don’t experience blessing, we think we have failed to earn it. Mere religion puts the focus on us, and what we do or don’t do. Truth is more important than religion. Truth is: God is good. His goodness to us does not flow from the building up of our merit, but the outpouring of His love. Our goodness follows from the goodness of God, it does not lead to it.

Religion has a nasty habit of putting the spotlight on us. We humans have a nasty habit of enjoying that spotlight. Christmas puts the spotlight on God. God has done something amazing, regardless of the goodness of the people involved. Neither Elizabeth nor Mary focus on their own goodness, or their lack thereof. Both point instead, to the goodness of God. Christmas causes us to stop thinking of ourselves for a moment, of how good we are, and instead to focus on God, how good He is.

A spirit of entitlement comes from one’s religiosity. “I am so good, therefore God must be good to me.” Elizabeth and Mary don’t say that. A spirit of humility comes from one’s grasp of reality. “God is so good! Who am I to receive a blessing?” Elizabeth and Mary do say that. Do we, through our goodness, earn a place in the story of God? A spirit of truth will bring our focus where Elizabeth and Mary’s was, on the goodness of God. God makes a place for us in His story because God is good.

Clarke is the pastor of Calvary Baptist in Cobourg, Ontario. He blogs at clarkedixon.wordpress.com.

Originally published on Clarke’s blog. Reprinted with permission.