Luke 1:46-56
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 for ever.”
And Mary remained with her for about three months and then returned to her home.
Make no mistake, Mary’s song is a rebel song.
But I wonder if we can hear that. I wonder, that is, if we have heard so many beautiful renditions of Mary’s song of praise – typically called “the Magnificat” because of how it starts – that it makes it hard hear the import, even the threat, of her words.
Yes, it starts out with the beauty of Mary’s pronouncement that her soul magnifies the Lord and her spirit rejoices in God. And it continues with an acknowledgment of how God has looked on her with favor, echoing Gabriel’s words to her.
But then notice the turn it takes. God doesn’t just look with favor on her, but rather on her lowliness. God, according to Mary, notices her – her station and her struggle –and, more even than that, takes her side.
All generations will call her blessed because God – the Mighty One of Israel – has done great things for her and, we will soon discover, for all who are like Mary – poor, lowly, of little account in the world, and who trust God for their redemption.
And what it is that God is doing for Mary and all the lowly of the world? Scattering the proud, bringing down the powerful, lifting up the lowly, giving those who are hungry plenty to eat and sending the rich away with nothing.
Mary’s song reverberates with notes of justice and reversal and judgment. It is, as I said, a rebel song.
Which is nothing new in the Bible. Prophets of all stripes have sung the same: that God cares for all people but has a special interest in the poor, the weak, and the vulnerable. Hannah’s song, in particular, which many feel inspires Luke’s description of Mary’s song, testifies to the same. The Lord, Hannah sings, “raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor” (1 Sam. 2:8).
What are we to do with these songs, these words of hope and threat, promise and judgement?
The temptation is to reconcile them with an acknowledgment that we also are poor, at least in spirit. That we have need, particularly for mercy and forgiveness. That we are lowly, especially when compared with God.
And all of that is true. Yet just for now, for these few moments, let’s not try to fit ourselves into this song and imagine that Mary sang for us. Instead, let’s imagine what it would be like for those with so very little – power, wealth, privilege, hope – to hear Mary the mother of our Lord sing this rebel song of justice and hope and to know that they, too, are blessed, favored, and folded into God’s promise to change the world.
It would be, I think, awesome.
Prayer: Dear God, let us never forget that you love all your children but care particularly for those who are poor. Open our eyes to see the vulnerable around us and the hearts to stand with in faith, hope, action, and trust. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
How appropriate you made this devotion on the passage from Luke that contains the Magnificat on the Day the Virgin de Guadalupe is remembered. Thank you!
I didn’t even know – thanks for teaching me! 🙂
Thank you for the Magnificat and for your commentary. I wonder if “My soul magnifies the Lord” suggests that we contribute to God’s goodness and maybe expand it in addition to participating in it.
I serve a congregation of just such people. Those who are rejected by our society and have so very little – no power, no wealth, no privilege and very little hope. Mary the mother of Jesus is identified for them by the Virgin de Guadelupe. I search always for ways to help them hear the message of justice and hope that is in this “rebel song” and in the radical message that Jesus preached. My prayer is that one day they will really know that they are blessed and that they are God’s promise that God will change the world. Thank you for sharing this reflection – it comes at a time when it is truly needed.
Thanks, Sandy. I admire your courage, and that of the people you serve.
I will be preaching this Sunday to a middle class congregation of largely retired folk. Economicly they are secure. On the other hand we have people at the street corners seeking money. When I read the Magnificat I feel like someone who listened to John the Baptizer. “What should I do?” God is going to turn everything upside down. I live in the richest country in the world, what does this text mean for us? I would welcome responses to my dilemma.