Advent 22
And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowly state 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; indeed, 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 imagination 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 come to the aid of his child Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.
—LUKE 1:46-55 (NRSVUE)
These poetic verses are known as the Magnificat, the song of Mary. She sings out with joy that within her womb is the tiny spark of life who will save the world. Somehow, Mary sees it clearly—a world of justice and mercy, where every wrong has been made right. She rejoices in a glorious future, but one that has, at the same time, already been secured.
This is a gentle revolution, not some grand show of power. God chooses the margins of society, where God will be born in dire circumstances, to an unwed mother in unsanitary conditions without a proper roof over her head. To an embarrassed new dad, forced to scoop up his family and flee the country from a powerful and vengeful king. This is the world that God chose to enter at Christmas. Our world. So God could be the difference we didn’t know it needed. Thanks be to God.