Regard

I will always remember one of my first pastoral conferences in the Atlantic District.  These were the old days when giants roamed the earth.  They were big name individuals who had been everywhere and knew everyone.  My wife and I walked into the Fallsview (I think it was or may be the Nevele) and immediately encountered a lofty ceiling, a giant fireplace, tall backed leather chairs, and older men speaking and laughing together.  My wife and I were outsiders.  We were new to the District (although I had vicared on Long Island).  This was a Tri-District Conference -- like the old Atlantic District before it was carved into 3 districts in 1972.  I looked over and recognized a familiar face.  It was the pastor of Bethlehem, Ridgewood, NJ.  A friend of ours had vicared there and we had been introduced through him.  Pastor Ewald H. Mueller was well known and well connected.  As we walked into that resort, he looked our way and noticed us.  Let me rephrase that.  He regarded us.  Soon he was introducing us to all of his cronies and we were glad handing as if we really belonged.  It was one of the profound moments you never forget.

There is that same word in the Magnificat of Mary. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.  The Lord noticed Mary and that was a gracious act for which blessed Mary was forever grateful.  Luther commented on this as well. 

Mary confesses that the foremost work God did for her was that He regarded her, which is indeed the greatest of His works, on which all the rest depend and from which they all derive. For where it comes to pass that God turns His face toward one to regard him, there is nothing but grace and salvation, and all gifts and works must follow. Thus we read in Genesis 4:4, 5 that He had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering He had no regard. Here is the origin of the many prayers in the Psalter—that God would lift up His countenance upon us, that He would not hide His countenance from us, that He would make His face shine upon us, and the like. And that Mary herself regards this as the chief thing, she indicates by saying: “Behold, since He has regarded me, all generations will call me blessed.”

Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 21: The Sermon on the Mount and the Magnificat, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 21 (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1956), 321.

To regard someone means to respect that person, to acknowledge them as a person of worth or esteem.  It does not mean that God was impressed with Mary but she did make an impression upon Him.  The Lord was moved regard her and to uplift her.  In that moment years ago, Pastor Mueller regarded my wife and I and our estate was uplifted along with our countenance.

The Church is probably the one place left where the stranger and first-time visitor is shown the high regard of those already belongings.  Indeed, the Church is the one place where God's regard is mirrored in our regard of those on the fringes of our fellowship and of life itself.  Like the regard of Pastor Mueller opened the door for me and my wife to belong and become a part of this new place among so many new people, God had high regard for blessed Mary.  God's regard was not something trivial but profound.  Our regard for the lowly and ordinary is not something trivial but something profound.  I fear that sometimes we forget this.  The relationships become mechanical.  Screens do not help.  We begin thinking in terms of what we are owed instead of the opportunity to regard others first.  God's regard is echoed in the way we in the Church value and esteem each other -- from the baby in the womb to the aged and infirm and all along the way.  We are not doing anything but echoing the great regard God has for us.  It is something worth remembering and doing.  To be regarded such is to be blessed.  Learn the names of those around you.  Break the ice.  Introduce them to others within your circle.  It is not the whole gift but it is a pretty important part of that whole -- God's regard for us and our regard for each other.  It is not based on our worth or the worth of others but solely an act of grace as is the Father's regard for us.