Magnificat

Introduction

Luke 1:51–55 ESV

He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

Psalm 19:14 BCP1928:P

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be alway acceptable in thy sight, * O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

We are now only a few days from the Christmas season

Our lectionary sets the stage and builds anticipation for the Feast

Today we hear about Mary’s own anticipation and wonder as a way of guiding our own

Mary Visits Elizabeth

Gospel lesson begins right after the Annunciation

Mary went to visit her Elizabeth, a relative of hers

She goes “in haste”

She wants to visit her cousin, to share Elizabeth’s wonder and joy

It is also reasonable to think she wants to share her own emotions and reactions from Gabriel’s news

Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit as soon as Mary greets her

The unborn John the Baptist leaps inside her

She is inspired to sing a song of blessing over Mary

She pronounces Mary “blessed” three times

She is the most blessed among women

She is blessed through the child that she will give birth to

She is blessed by her faith that the words she heard from the angel were true

She says that it was “for joy” that her baby leaped inside her

This is why we do not deny even young infants baptism, because we have scriptural evidence that even unborn babies are capable of belief in Jesus and showing love for him

Elizabeth’s response causes Mary to sing her own song of praise

The Magnificat

Mary’s song recalls Hannah’s song from 1 Samuel

Hannah was barren and tormented by her husband’s other wife, who had children

After Hannah gave birth to Samuel, she gave him to the Lord’s service at Shiloh, under Eli the chief priest

The song starts out with personal praise

Mary rejoices in the salvation of God, and in showing favor to her even in her humbleness

She prophesies that “all generations” will call her blessed

Her blessing is founded on the fact that God has “done great things” on her behalf — chosen her to bear the Messiah

She continues by reminding us that those who remember and acknowledge the Lord will always receive mercy from him

The Lord grants his mercy to “those who fear him” by showing his might, and especially in who he wields his might against

The proud and arrogant are scattered — they are run off, humiliated, their arrogant thoughts shown to be vain and useless

The rulers who wield power wrongly and based on their own might are brought low, unseated from their thrones, denied the place of power

The rich, who the world shows favor and treats well, are left empty — their riches fail, those who favored them desert them, and they have no satisfaction or comfort

The Lord’s strength is also shown by filling “the hungry with good things” and helping “his servant Israel”

The hungry are in contrast to the rich — the beggars, the servants, the lower classes who the rich look down on; they will be filled with gladness, fed with the abundance of God

Israel was the least of the nations, and the Lord saved them again and again from oppression, preserving a remnant even in exile and dispersion

Mary ends the song by reminding us that this is the story of God’s favor and love for his people going back to Abraham

God has been acting throughout the history of Israel, each episode of triumph, each rebellion and correction, every event a movement towards the Incarnation, where God walks among his people again

Our lesson ends on Luke’s narration that Mary stayed in Elizabeth’s house for the last trimester of her cousin’s pregnancy

We don’t know whether Mary was there for John the Baptist’s birth; the sequence of events may include some overlap, or Mary may have left shortly before he was born

Either way, Mary spent about her first trimester with her cousin as the older woman came to the end of her pregnancy

Application

In thinking about how to take this Gospel lesson and understand it for our lives in Opelika and Auburn, AL, I kept recalling the verses that I quoted at the beginning of my sermon

Verses 51-55 tell us a short form of the story of how God’s “mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.”

This isn’t just a story of ages past, it is a prophetic word for how the story continues

God’s strong arm is shown in his ultimate protection of the weak, the vulnerable, the marginalized

He defends and relieves those who know they are incapable of defending and finding relief for themselves

Though tyrants, oppressors, abusers, and exploiters may have momentary victory, tormenting the weak for years or even generations, in the end they all fall

This is the story of the prophets

the great nations around Israel would have momentary triumph over God’s people as God used them as judgment against Israel and Judah’s iniquity

But God would restore his people to their land, and those who oppressed them for a time would be brought low

This is the story of the Gospel

The otherworldly powers that oppose God had, from the time of the Fall, enjoyed victory after victory in the hearts and lives of humans

Hardness of heart and lust for power in humans given over to those demons and false gods left God’s people crying out “how long, O Lord?”

But by the coming of Christ at his Incarnation, by his ministry of evangelism, healing, exorcism, prophetic rebuke of the earthly powers, and culminating in the finished work of his crucifixion, death, and resurrection, these same powers are toppled

The dragon is judged and cast down

Those who ally themselves to his rebellion, in every age, ultimately find themselves scattered and in turmoil, toppled and unseated, empty and unfulfilled

Magnificat is a word of comfort for the poor in spirit

God sees the lowly and meek and hears their cries for mercy and provision

The helpless and needy will be cared for out of God’s abundance

Those who call upon God’s mercy and remember his promises are assured that he will act in his strength on their behalf

Magnificat is also a word of warning

The way of pride, of individualist self-sufficiency, of thinking myself higher and others lower is a path to judgment and punishment

The seat of the powerful is not a place of refuge, and those who seek the power the world gives will ultimately find themselves chained under a greater power

The possessions of the rich are nothing of substance, whatever they have will be consumed in their judgment; those who trust in riches will be left utterly destitute

In our Anglican tradition, we customarily pray Magnificat in the Evening Prayer service, as a response to the first Scripture lesson.

We do this to remember God’s promises and great works on our behalf

We join with the Blessed Virgin Mary in praise to our God

This week, I encourage you to especially meditate on Magnificat

Consider the ways God has shown the strength of his arm in your life

How he has seen your own “humble estate”

How he has been merciful

We must also consider any ways we have harbored pride, sought the place of power, or trusted in possessions and wealth, or idolized those who the world deems successful

To end this time, I will sing Magnificat from the Bernard Breviary with Stephen and Art. If you have a copy of the Breviary, it is on page 148. It can be found in your prayer books on page 45; if you know the tune, you are welcome to join in. Otherwise, you can read the words silently while they are sung.