Read
38Mary said, “I am the Lord's servant! Let it happen as you have said.” And the angel left her.
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39A short time later Mary hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea. 40She went into Zechariah's home, where she greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, her baby moved within her.
The Holy Spirit came upon Elizabeth. 42 Then in a loud voice she said to Mary:
God has blessed you more than any other woman! He has also blessed the child you will have. 43Why should the mother of my Lord come to me? 44As soon as I heard your greeting, my baby became happy and moved within me. 45The Lord has blessed you because you believed that he will keep his promise.
Mary's Song of Praise
46 Mary said:
With all my heart
I praise the Lord,
47and I am glad
because of God my Savior.
48God cares for me,
his humble servant.
From now on,
all people will say
God has blessed me.
49God All-Powerful has done
great things for me,
and his name is holy.
50He always shows mercy
to everyone
who worships him.
51The Lord has used
his powerful arm
to scatter those
who are proud.
52 God drags strong rulers
from their thrones
and puts humble people
in places of power.
53God gives the hungry
good things to eat,
and sends the rich away
with nothing.
54God helps his servant Israel
and is always merciful
to his people.
55 The Lord made this promise
to our ancestors,
to Abraham and his family
forever!
56Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months. Then she went back home.
Reflect
This reading includes two of Scripture’s great passages: Mary’s simple statement of obedience. “I am the Lord’s servant. Let it happen as you have said,” and then, shortly later, her great song of praise.
Known as the Magnificat, this was a public statement as much as anything, a song bubbling from deep inside Mary’s spirit about the great things the Lord has done. It bursts forth while Mary is still early in her pregnancy, after she’s wisely gone to visit her cousin, Elizabeth.
With great joy, Elizabeth assures Mary that yes, despite appearances, she is greatly blessed.
And who else is blessed? The humble – those who worship God not just with their lips, but their entire spirits. The hungry. The poor in spirit. Those who, like Mary, offer themselves in a spirit of service regardless of the consequences. This is who the Lord helps.
After all, even in blessing, there’s still the world and all its impossibilities to contend with.
In Mary’s case, there were gossips and rumour-mongers, sure, but also her loved ones: parents who’d have found it hard to believe in something as outrageous as a virgin birth, and Joseph, who wanted to divorce Mary quietly.
Betrothals at that time involved many formalities: feasting, a ring, gifts for extended family, the help of close friends. To later appear pregnant before the actual wedding? Who wouldn’t come to the expected, scornful conclusions?
Mary would have known all this. Even if Joseph divorced her quietly, she’d still have the shame of returning to her family or surviving somewhere else on her own.
Yet her response has lingered for 2000 years. “I am the Lord’s servant. Let it happen as you have said.” It’s left for us, so we can say the same when God brings the impossible – the impossible blessing – into our own lives.
Respond
Dear Heavenly Father: Thank you for being a God whom I can trust, which makes me want to serve you, which makes me want to hear your message, your call and your calling, just for me, and then say, “I am the Lord’s servant. Let it happen as you have said.”
Thomas Froese
Thomas Froese is a storyteller and veteran journalist of 30 years. The Canadian author and columnist writes about news, travel and life, often from his experiences in the Arab World and Africa, where he lived for 15 years and where he still returns to teach literature. His work, which has garnered numerous honours, has appeared often in the Hamilton Spectator. Thomas also writes about fatherhood and family life. Find him at www.thomasfroese.com