For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. Luke 1:49
You know the story on this one. Mary had been visited by Gabriel with the news that she will give birth to the coming Messiah. She went to see her cousin, Elizabeth who had experienced a miraculous visitation of her own.
While there, Mary utters an amazing hymn, weaving together her own wonder and humility with praise for God and just a dash of prophecy. It is sometimes referred to as the Magnificat, going back to the Latin, she glorifies.
Perhaps the key to the whole thing is uttered by Elizabeth a few verses earlier in verse 45. “Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.” Luke 1:45. Maybe Elizabeth is referring to the angel’s message, saying Mary is blessed because she believed the angel. I don’t think so. I think it points to Mary’s habit, her lifestyle, her character.
She lived a life of faith, of belief in the promises of God. Her hymn proves that. Consequently, she understood that she had a role to play in the fulfillment of God’s plan. The angel gave her the details of that role and granted it was a little more significant than she expected, but Mary’s song highlights her belief in a God who was active in the affairs of men, who worked through men to accomplish His purposes.
You and I can stand with Mary and proclaim, He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. (I could rattle off some mighty things He’s done in just the last week.) All of those things are evidence that God has not changed since Mary’s time. He is still active in the affairs of men, choosing to work through us to accomplish His purposes. It is my duty, then, to live a life of belief and to take on the role He gives me to play.
Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! Luke 1:46-47 NLT
If you wrote your own Magnificat, what would it say?
( I’ll post a chapter of Embraced tomorrow and then I’m taking the next week off. See you back here January 2. You are a blessing and an encouragement to me in so many ways.May the joy of the angels, the wonder of the shepherds and the devotion of the wise men be yours.)