Daily Devotion – December 8, 2020 – Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison
Luke 1:46b-55
1:46b “My soul magnifies the Lord,
1:47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
1:48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
1:49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
1:50 His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
1:51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
1:52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly;
1:53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.
1:54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,
1:55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
The Magnificat of Mary, as this “song” is called, has been spoken and sung for 2000 years. It is a song of praise and thanks to a supreme God who has looked with favor on a lowly human. But that is only the beginning of the surprising acts of this supreme God.
For everyone who fear him and honor God’s holiness, God has great mercy.
The lowly are lifted, and the hungry are filled.
But for everyone else:
The proud are scattered in their hearts
The powerful are de-throned
The rich are sent away empty
And in the final verses, the small and overrun land of Israel is going to see God’s promises kept.
This is a God who is faithful, and also surprising, since the lowly and hungry and meek come out on top of the powerful and rich and proud.
What does Mary’s song teach us? Expect God to root for the underdog. Expect that if we are not the underdog, we might need to think seriously about that. As Carlos A. Rodriguez has written, “Whenever we build walls to keep people out, Jesus goes over to their side of the wall and invites us to join him there.” When we work hard to keep ourselves higher than others, God will find a way to set us back down, scatter our imagination, and give our previous height to the lowly.
This is not a call to out-humble our fellow humans. That is a type of pride all its own. No, this is about a God who loves to lift up and help and honor the weak and poor. Mary’s theology shows us a God who even empties God’s own self of power in order to be able to better welcome the poor in spirit into God’s own community.
Wow.
Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you giving us Mary’s Magnificat. Help us to recognize your continuing work in history and how radical your caring is for us, through your son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
