Scripture

Luke 1:46-55

Mary’s Magnificat

(Please reference your Bible for the full passage)

Muse

How might you react if you were Mary? Imagine. Mary is on the cusp of a brand new story. Human history is about to radically change and she is the first to know! So far in our Advent series, the Angel Gabriel has told Mary that she will bear God's Son (Luke 1:35-37), and she is now celebrating with her cousin Elizabeth, astonished that they are both chosen characters in God's redemption plan (Luke 1:39-45). What she had only known by faith—the sovereignty of God and his faithfulness towards Israel—is no longer a distant reality, but a living force being experienced moment to moment (literally) inside of her. So, how did she react? She praised! Mary broke out into song, the most natural reaction to the most significant news in human history. God was within her.

In verse 48 of Mary 's Magnificat, she exclaims that "He has looked on the humble estate of His servant.” Mary, along with the nation of Israel in this day and age, were being poorly treated. In many ways, I imagine she felt hopeless and lost considering God had not spoken to her nation for nearly 400 years. In a sermon on Mary’s Magnificat, RC Sproul described Mary as the first Cinderella, an outcast who felt she didn't belong but was rescued by the Prince of Peace to live (quite literally) happily ever after. Gabriel’s announcement in Luke 1:23 (that she would bear the Son of God) was the invitation and confirmation that she forever belonged in the Eternal Ball put on by the Creator of the Universe.

In awe and amazement, Mary's song is the proclamation of divine truth that only a life long devotion to the God of Israel could produce. She says that "all generations will be blessed, for he who is mighty has done great things for me" (Luke 1:48). This isn't a reversal of Mary's humility from the prior sentence, but a humble admission of the work that God is doing through her by no power or merit on her own. This is truly foundational to the art of praise, and Mary models it well for us. Mary's humility, rooted in great wonder and fear of God’s coming in human flesh, teaches us the posture we ought to carry here and now as we root our praise in the second coming of Christ's return.

Our World

Like most songs we sing on a Sunday, we are proclaiming truths and metaphors, zooming in and out of large and complex stories, entering a sound that helps us connect in the present to an eternal reality. Mary's Magnificat was the launching pad for the new covenant worship music era. It's the first song, exclaimed through the Holy Spirit living within us, that helps us see the trinitarian reality of God ushering Himself into Human History! And still, 2,000 years later, we get to reap the benefits. Do you notice, though, that when we read Mary's song of praise, there isn't a sound attached? (How cool would it be if the Bible came with sound effects?) Outside of the obvious technological barriers to that, I believe it’s because so often we can get caught up in the “sounds” that make a song that we forget the underlying truth being communicated. Melody, harmony, bass, percussion, and guitar are layers that add flavor to the reality of the truth being sung about. These sounds are not the truth, though. How often have we come to church to sing and worship, all the while chasing a feeling? Or are we trying to alleviate a bad mood we are in? Don't get me wrong, a good sound is needed. I know I am guilty of this, and I can’t tell you how many meanings behind songs I miss because the sound doesn’t fit what I’m trying to feel. When we elevate sound over truth, we are missing out big time.

Mary probably had a melody in mind for the Magnificat when she wrote it, but that’s not the main point. What we see is a beautiful weaving in and out of who God is and what He has done over a long period of time, communicating the realities of who He is in the seen and the unseen. As we read Mary’s Magnificat in our time and place, these truths should be driving the melodies that fit our own life. Mary's Magnificat, like every great song we sing in church, helps us to make contact with the reality of God's work and purposes on earth and how it can be applied to our lives. We'll hear a lot of songs this Christmas—many that stir up some awesome memories and good feelings. But what if, this year, we focused our attention underneath the feelings of sound and instead on the truth that God wants to remind us? The truth is, we all get to participate like Mary did because God's Spirit lives in us too. Like Mary, we get the same opportunity to break out into song and praise the One who gives us Life at the Eternal Dance of Heaven this Advent season. This same posture of praise should be applied to "Hark the Herald Angels Sing'' or "Joy to the World '' as much as Mary's Magnificat.

• What is your favorite Christmas song or worship song?
  
• How would elevating the truths we sing in Christmas carols above the familiar sounds help to deepen our praise this Christmas season?
  

Prayer

Dear Lord, thank you for music! Thank you that you came to this earth in the form of human flesh so that I might be redeemed. So often, God, I don't have the humility to understand the depths of your love for me. Help me to be humble like Mary. Help me to hunger for good things, not so that I may be used in greater ways, but so I might be able to grasp the depths of your unconditional love for me. Help us to break out into songs this Christmas season, not for the sound, but for the truths that are guiding us to your Son. We love you, Lord.

In your Name, Amen.