Mary’s Song

Text: Luke 1:39-56

Reflection and Question: Facing the dangerous predicament of being a pregnant, unmarried woman, Mary seeks out her cousin, Elizabeth, who is now great with child. After the women greet one another, Elizabeth reports that the child in her womb leapt for joy at Mary’s coming. And then Mary pours forth the amazing poem of faith known in the church as The Magnificat. Every word depicts a powerful and loving God. A line that so often serves me in explaining what I am facing is this one: “God has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.” Which line in Mary’s Song serves you best?

Prayer: May we say with Mary, Dear God, “I’m bursting with God-news;
I’m dancing the song of my Savior God.
God took one look at me, and look what happened—
I’m the most fortunate woman on earth!
What God has done for me will never be forgotten,
The God whose very name is holy; set apart from all others.”
(Eugene Peterson, The Message, pp.1849-1850)

This meditation is based on the Daily Lectionary Year 2 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993).