Luke 1:46-55 NIV
46 And Mary said:
“My
soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my
spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his
servant.
From now on all generations will call
me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great
things for me—
holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to
generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are
proud in
their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the
humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant
Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”
Mary’s Song, also known as the Magnificat, is a powerful expression of praise during her meeting with Elizabeth. It reminds us of God's greatness and power. The opening line, "magnificat anima mea Dominum," translates from Latin to "my soul magnifies the Lord." The phrase "Magnificat" comes from the Latin word for "magnify," which is why this hymn is called the Magnificat. The Greek equivalent of "magnificat" is "Μεγαλύνει" (Megalynei). The root here is megas meaning “great.” Just think megaphone—an instrument that makes the voice greater. Mary’s soul is glorifying or making great the Lord.
God is Great! Good is good! God is powerful! God is merciful! God is Just! He is and was and forever will be greater than any human power, empire, any catastrophe, any crisis, any worry, obstacle, any fear, any conflict, any health concern that you have. God has always been bigger!
The greatness of God is quite literally embodied in Mary’s womb. The Incarnation is at the heart of the Christmas story, it is the heartbeat of the Good News. Love came down and walked among us. Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us.
The use of the words generation(s) (v48;50), descendants, and ancestors (v55) relay Mary’s sense of connection to the past and the future, to the family story. A connection to the covenant with God. The importance of the meta-narrative. Mary is grafted into something larger than herself. It is the story of God’s people. It is the Salvation story, that we now get to be inheritors and participants in. We participate in God’s story of redemption, renewal, and reversals in the world. A story where the proud are scattered, despots are deposed, and the greedy are sent away empty-handed. It is a story of hope for the humble, the hungry, and the servant. It is a story for all of us. This story could be a mere fairytale for us or cast aside as wishful thinking if not for the baby respirating amnionic fluid within Mary. If not for John leaping for joy in Elizabeth’s body. The Word enfleshed, gathered and coiled, ready to be birthed into Creation to embrace humanity with open arms.