Readings: Revelation 11:19-12:6, 12,
Luke: 1:46-55
Here be dragons is something that can sometimes be found printed on old maps, it can also be said of our reading from revelation today.What are we to make of this weird, fantastical passage?
Well, the first point I would like to make is that the book of revelation is a form of writing known as apocalyptic. It deals with the end of the world and therefore we should not be attempting to read it as a factual account. Apocalyptic writings by their very nature are a mix of prophecy, symbolism and imagery used to write about cataclysmic events. By their very nature these writings are not easy to understand, indeed they can have several layers of meanings.
Scholars have often interpreted the writings of revelation as being about Nero’s persecution of Christians and the impending collapse of the Roman empire. Indeed the author and original readers of the text may well have understood it that way. But what about us two thousand years later?
The text can still speak to us in our time and place and be reinterpreted to our times. There is a seven headed dragon that seeks to destroy heaven and earth and the mother and child that will bring God’s redemption to the world.Mary is the mother and Jesus her child. But what then does the dragon represent? The dragon is the power of evil, the force that works against the goodness of God, as he sweeps down the stars from the sky so he attempts to persuade us away from the path that God sets before us.
I remember as a child standing in the assembly hall at school singing the hymn when A Knight Won His Spurs, which includes a line about fighting against the dragons of anger, the ogres of greed. Whilst dragons as actual scary reptiles may not exist, the evil that they represent in Revelation most definitely does. Dragons can be found both in the world around and also inside us, tempting us to act in ways that are not of God.
It is in Mary’s speech to Elizabeth that we heard as our gospel this morning, that we can start to discover not only what the dragons we may face are, but also the power to defeat them.
Mary says he has scattered the proud, pride is known as one of the deadly sins, and it is one we can all be guilty of. A quiet pride in a job well done is not a sin, but the problem comes with the pride that says look at what I’ve done, look at how great I am, people should respect me now, I’m so great people should all do as I say! That pride can creep into people and communities very easily and ultimately lead to conflict.The dragon of anger as the hymn says, let loose.
There are other dragons too in our day and age, those that seek power for their own glory and reward, instead of wanting to use it to improve things for all people in society. The rich that hoard their wealth and use their talents only for their own gain.
It’s easy to think but those sins don’t apply to me. I’m not rich or powerful. However, a lot depends on where you’re looking from. For many people in the poorer parts of the world we living in the UK are rich, for those living without democracy we have the power of the vote. Are we using it to try and push society as a whole onto a better path or just to improve things for ourselves?
Mary’s Magnificat shows us how to defeat the dragons, it starts with praise and joy, if our souls are busy magnifying God’s goodness and rejoicing in the joy of our relationship with him, then there is nothing to feed the dragon. Mary remembers all of God’s goodness, not just to her but to her ancestors as well. Mary is rooted in God’s long relationship with the earth and us humans. Mary was a young woman, facing a difficult journey to do the task that God has called her to, to be the mother of Christ, the bringer of redemption to the world, at a time when a young unmarried pregnant girl had little power in society. Yet she remains strong, well rooted in her faith and her relationship with God. Whilst we may not have been given a task as great as Mary’s her example shows us how to walk the way of God and fight the dragons that seek to destroy God’s kingdom. We too need a faith that is well rooted in the faith of those who have gone before us.
Strong roots support a strong faith. A faith that can rejoice in God even when faced with the great challenges and dangers of the world today. I came across a post on X recently. It was from a Christian Lord of the Rings fan account. They were writing about Frodo in the lord of the rings. They made the point that everyone wants the peace of the shire but no one wants to walk to Mordor.Frodo’s willingness to give up his cosy life in the shire to safeguard it for others is at the heart of the Lord of the Rings.
In the same way Mary is willing to give up the safe normal life she could have had to walk to Mordor and fight dragons for all of us.It is through Mary fully human as she is that the world receives redemption. However, Mary understands that this is an ongoing task, from generation to generation until the apocalypse truly does come. We can talk to Mary in prayer asking for her help and protection as we fight our own dragons on our own road to Mordor as we work to bring about the peace of God’s kingdom for all.
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