Well, we appreciate that Mary, the mother of Jesus said Yes to God. Mary said yes to a request from God. Mary says yes to becoming a revolutionary. Jesus was our first revolutionary and Mary was His first follower. She became a revolutionary, willing to do what God would have her do for His Kingdom.

A revolutionary is someone who supports abrupt, rapid, and drastic change.

A revolutionary turns the world upside down. Things do not remain the same as the revolutionary looks for justice and a means to make things right. The revolutionary turns the status quo upside down. I have a photo of something that is upside down that I thought you might be interested in. (Show Upside Down Christmas Tree)

Christmas, the birth of Jesus, turns our world upside down and Christ begins a revolution and changes the structure of the world.

His presence caused abrupt, rapid and drastic change. It is in His presence that a revolution was born. He was the first revolutionary. He came to save humanity. He came that all people might know and see the love of God. Jesus began a revolution of love and Mary was the first revolutionary to follow.

During the Nazi occupation of Paris, a husky storm trooper stepped onto a subway car and tipped headlong over the umbrella of a little old lady sitting next to the door. After picking himself up, the bruised Nazi launched into a tirade of abuse, then bolted from the car at the next station. When he was gone, the passengers burst into spontaneous applause for the little old woman. "I know it isn't much," she said, graciously accepting the compliments, "but he's the sixth one I've brought down today."

There are a lot of things that revolutionaries need to have before beginning a revolution. They need great courage. That Nazi antagonist had courage. Being a revolutionary is dangerous work. Look at Jesus, he was killed for the changes He made.

It not only takes courage to become a revolutionary it takes someone who loves and believes.

A revolutionary loves and believes in their leader. Mary loved and believed in her leader. Listen to what verse 45 says: “Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

Mary knew her God. Mary believed her God. Mary loved her God. The words from her song tells us that she knew and loved her God. Her words tells us that she is a woman of great faith.

She sings, “My soul does magnify the Lord.” Her souls is so filled with the love of God that it is larger than life. It is magnified.

A revolutionary has to love and believe in their leader because what they give up is far greater than any thing that they have ever done. She says, “He is mighty and has great things, His arm is our strength.” When God calls us into something more than we think we can handle, we too become revolutionaries and we know the life we knew might not be the same. But we know our God and we believe the promises He gives to us.

Mary was so overwhelmed in her belief that she broke out in a praise and a song. We know that when we are delivered from God that we have songs and praises to give to him. We know that when God is for us who will be against us. We know as Mary knows and we love and believe.

There is a silly story going around that makes a powerful point about where many of us are right now. According to the story Pope John Paul II was needing a heart transplant. There was much concern throughout the Roman Catholic world. Everyone gathered around outside the Vatican screaming and waving their hands. “Take my heart, Pope, take my heart!”

Well, the Pope didn’t know what to do, so an idea popped into his head. He asked everyone to please be quiet for a few minutes and he told all of them that he was going to throw down a feather. Whoever the feather landed on, he would take their heart for the transplant. Pope John Paul II then threw the feather down upon the people. Everyone was still screaming and waving their hands. “Take my heart, Pope,” but with one difference: they were leaning their heads back and blowing the feather back into the air. “Take my heart, Pope (blow), Take my heart (blow).”

In Edward Bellamy’s nineteenth century classic, LOOKING BACKWARDS, the hero, Jeremy West, goes to sleep in 1887 and wakes up abruptly in the year 2000. He finds himself in an advanced, high-tech society. But the most remarkable thing about this society isn’t its technology, but its humanity; it has been planned as if people mattered. Edward Bellamy envisioned a future in which all people are treated with dignity and equity in a future in which everyone has an opportunity to participate in the society.

A revolutionary loves and believes in their cause. This was Jesus’ cause. That is how Jesus loved. Mary also loved and believed in the cause. A revolutionary has a passion and a love for the cause. She believed and loved the kingdom of God. She came from a Jewish home and was a woman of great faith. Her people were under Roman oppression. They were waiting for a Savior to set them free.

So were the San Salvadoran people. They needed someone who believed in the cause of Jesus.

What are your great causes that magnify the name of the Lord. Church Community Services is one of them or maybe the Center for Hope and Healing. We are passionate about our causes. Some people have a heart for the homeless, some have a heart for the immigrants, some people have a heart for the lonely, the hungry, the imprisoned, the shut-ins, children. What is your passion? What place stirs you up? What moves you to action?

That Mary also believed that greater good can come in no other way. A seminary student remembered a a choice man of God named Harry Ironside who would come and teach. I remember on one occasion somebody came up and said, "Dr. Ironside, I understand you get up early every morning to read and study your Bible." "Oh," he said, "I've been doing that all my life." "Well how do you manage to do it?" the inquirer asked. "Do you pray about it?" "No," he replied, "I get up."

A revolutionary knows that in order to make a change, we have to initiate it or it won’t be done. How was Church Community Services started? How was Mother’s Against Driving?

We have to love humanity so much that the greater good is the revolution that moves us into action. Mary was moved to act. She said Yes to God and a love revolution was born.

When God implants a seed of love in us, we can’t help but become a revolutionary. As we grow in Jesus, we begin to see the world as Jesus sees it. As we are impregnated with the Holy Spirit we are moved into action. When we say yes -- We have joined the revolution. We are revolutionaries -- We love and believe in our leader. We love and believe in His cause. We love and believe in the greater good that can come in no other way.

God is calling us to revolt. Won’t you say yes.