The Magnificat

• • The Latin title “Magnificat” comes from the first word in the Vulgate. Magnify. Mary’s song magnifies the Lord. 
  • There is something powerful that God is doing, in looking at the humble state of Mary and blessing her with the honour of carrying the Messiah. Something exceptional.
  • V49-50 Mary brings our attention and focus to God Himself with 4 powerful attributes:
    • God is mighty – He is omnipotent
    • God is holy – He is set apart from humanity (the hardest for us to understand)
    • God is merciful
  • So Mary has sung about who God is. What do you get when you have an all-powerful, holy, and merciful being invade the human realm?
    • V51-52 – He scatters the proud & topples the mighty
    • V52-53 – He exalts the lowly & satisfies the hungry
    • He turns the world upside down. 
  • In the ancient world, might was right. The powerful and wealthy were considered more worthy, more valuable. God’s people have always been called to live counter-culturally within the world, and this is one of those most extreme examples.
  • The story of Mary and her song has definite parallels in the Old Testament.
    • The Song of Hannah in 1 Samuel is very very similar in tone and structure. 
    • Prophet after prophet reveals this upside-downness of God.

• Isaiah 61:1-3 This prophecy of the Messiah (quoted later in Luke) shows us that Mary is right to see the Messiah’s coming in these groundbreaking terms.

• In choosing Mary, God makes a statement to all of humanity to enter the world through what is considered among us to be insignificant and of little value. 
  • Christmas celebrates how God turned the world upside down.
• How do we then lift up what is insignificant, the outcasts, and rejected among us? Isn’t this an appropriate way to celebrate Christmas?
  • Perhaps we need to de-emphasize what we most selfishly desire, those things we elevate: gifts for ourselves (or gift-giving to elevate ourselves), the food, the decorating competition, or even the time-off and the picturesque holiday. 
  • We need to share basic love and recognition of those among us we prefer to ignore. People we don’t get along with, people who are different from us.
  • We can give our time to actually lift the needy up. Spending time serving the needy in our community.
• And do you know why most of all we must do this? Before we even think of following in God’s example, we do this because God does this for us. 
  • Mary ends the song with a reminder of God’s faithfulness to His people. The Jews were always insignificant. And they messed up a lot when it came to following God. But God always remained faithful. 
  • He remains faithful to us. 
    • How faithful? Always remember Jesus on the cross. God is so faithful that Jesus the one and only Son took the punishment for our sin and died such a painful death. are given the gift of a new life in and with Jesus for eternity.
    • That is a humble and lowly God who would do such a thing! Die for those who rebelled against Him, and spend every moment of eternity with them! God is with us through all the boring, mundane, embarrassing, and painful moments of our lives – and who are we to Him??
      • Should we not also seek to elevate those who are rejected and outcasts in our society as well. 
• Christmas should remind us of how God turns the world upside down. We as followers of Jesus should join Him in that work of turning, rather than shilling for the corruption of the world.

Reflection 

Plan one way to elevate others who are in some way outcasts or needy in your community this Christmas. Let this not be a holiday one-off and plan to make this a part of your life in the new year.