August 20, 2015: Luke 1:39-56

Luke 1:39-56

Mary Visits Elizabeth

 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’

Mary’s Song of Praise

 And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
   and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour 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. 

Reflection:

Mary sings this song of praise.  When you begin to break it down. You see how it begins with Mary then moves to third person.  She is relating back to God’s chosen people. 
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour 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.

What are you thankful for? What can you give praise to God for?

Then, Mary shifts to lifting up the lowly.  She is remembering the God of the Hebrew Bible.

 His mercy is for those who fear him
   from generation to generation.
⁵¹ He has shown strength with his arm;
   he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
⁵² He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
   and lifted up the lowly;
⁵³ he has filled the hungry with good things,
   and sent the rich away empty.
⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel,
   in remembrance of his mercy,
⁵⁵ according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
   to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’

Mary’s song maintains inclusion of all people in God’s plan. We can be better friends, spouses, mothers/fathers, daughters/sons, grandmothers/grandfathers, and neighbors as we say yes to the new thing that God is doing with and within us. (Trisha Lyons)

Mary sings of the yes of God that she has learned through her Jewish faith. She knows God can be trusted, and she is therefore willing to say yes to God, even when she does not understand how a virgin like herself could bear God’s Son.   This song flips the norms.  It calls for reversal. The lowly to be lifted up. Our world is need of the norms to be flipped and may we say yes to those that are the victims of rejection, hatred, discrimination.