阅读经文 

我从来没有兴奋到唱歌或写诗。但我记得圣诞节的早晨，我是多么兴奋，以至于迫不及待地要打开礼物。当我妻子和我刚开始约会时，我发现自己真的很难专注于课业。但我从来没有像马利亚那样开口歌唱，就如我们在路加福音第一章所看到的。

想像一下马利亚的兴奋。她怀了神的儿子，而且刚刚得到她的亲戚伊利莎白的祝福——她成了施洗约翰的母亲。（参路 1:57-80）马利亚在歌中欢呼，就是我们今天在路加福音第一章中读到的那首歌。在那首歌的中间，马利亚唱到，主怜悯敬畏（惧怕）祂的人。这可能使我们感到困惑。惧怕不是一件坏事吗？

在圣经的许多地方，惧怕等同于敬畏、虔诚，甚至与神有关的崇拜。神做了令人惊奇的事情——这些事情远远超出了我们的理解范围，惧怕可能是唯一合适的反应。毕竟，神创造了宇宙，也创造了你和我。即使我们背弃了祂，祂也没有离弃我们。祂引导所有的历史，使祂对我们的美好计划得以完成。祂差祂的独生子降生为人，像我们一样生活，并为我们而死——为我们所有的罪付上代价。而且祂今天仍然爱我们。对这一切最好的反应莫过于敬畏、崇敬、崇拜——是的，甚至惧怕。

I’ve never been so excited that I broke into song or poetry. But I can remember Christmas mornings when I was so excited that I couldn’t wait to open gifts. When my wife and I started dating, I found it really hard to focus on my homework. But I’ve never broken into song like Mary did, as we can see in Luke 1.

Imagine Mary’s excitement. She was pregnant with the Son of God and had just been blessed by her relative Elizabeth—who became the mother of John the Baptist (Luke 1:57-80). Mary rejoiced in song, the song that we have read today in Luke 1. In the middle of that song, Mary sings that the Lord extends mercy to those who fear God. This might make us confused. Isn’t fear a bad thing?

In many places in Scripture, fear is equated to awe, devotion, and even worship in connection with God. God does amazing things—things that are so far beyond our comprehension that fear may be the only appropriate response. After all, God created the universe—and you and me too. And he didn’t abandon us even when we turned our backs on him. He guided all of history to bring his good plans for us to completion. He sent his only Son to be born a human being, to live as we live, and to die for our sake—paying the price for all our sins. And he still loves us today. There’s no better reaction to all of this than awe, reverence, worship—and yes, even fear.