Day 10 - Luke 1:46-50
09 Dec 2023
You can listen to an audio version of this blog post here -
“And Mary said,
“My soul rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.”
Music is a big part of most people’s Christmas season. The familiar songs come round every year, whether it is the pop classics from the 1970’s and 1980’s, or the more traditional classical pieces.
I was reading today about a football stadium DJ who has had to apologise for playing Last Christmas by Wham! It has become a popular game for many people to try and get through December as long as possible without hearing it. This is called Whamageddon and apparently now has set rules and a dedicated website. The DJ thought it would be funny to knock 7,000 people out of the game. However it lead to a very angry backlash.
Mary bursts into song when she meets with Elizabeth, and it is a song worth meditating on at any point in the year. Verse 46 says she “said”, but the way it is printed in our Bible’s shows it is more poetry than prose.
The song Mary sings picks up its “tune” from other songs sung throughout Scripture. Just like when we hear a new track and it reminds us of a song from years ago, these verses remind us of songs sung by people like Hannah in the Old Testament.
This is entirely intentional. Mary is showing us that what the Lord has done for her is consistent with how he has worked in the past. In fact, what he is dong with her is a continuation and climax of their stories. He is bringing their songs to a crescendo in her.
Her big point in these opening verses is to say to us “I know I’m nobody special”. She recognises she is a poor girl from Nazareth. But the mighty and holy God has done great things for her.
God is always showing us in the Bible that the greater should serve the lesser. We presume it should be the other way round. We aspire to greatness so we can have an easy life. But there is no one greater than the Lord, yet the way he shows that is to serve and lift up the lowly. He relates to people on the basis of mercy, and mercy is only available to those who need it.
This is what the Lord has done for Mary. However, this simply puts on display what he has done for all his people by coming to earth. Jesus has come to save us and draw us to him. To be the friend of sinners not those who believe they are already righteous. To lift us up and to unite us to him.
If this is God showing us true greatness, then why do we often go after the fake imitation? As Paul says in the letter to the Philippians “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.”