The Magnificat
And Mary Said:
My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”
- Luke 1:46-55 NIV
This has been a passage that for one reason or another I have always seemed to just sort of skim over or pass by on my way to Luke 2 and the Birth of Jesus.
However today, I stopped for a moment to soak in Mary’s Song of Praise. “The Magnifcat” taken from the Latin translation of the beginning of her song “Magnificat anima mea Dominum” or My soul magnifies (or glorifies) the Lord.
Mary faced an uncertainty like never before. She had just been visited by an angel (remember, angels in the Bible are mighty warriors) that both frightened her and gave her the great news that she would carry God’s child. And in that uncertainty and fear, Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you’ve said about me come true.”
She then went to visit her relative Elizabeth, who once thought barren, was now 6 months pregnant. As Mary greeted her, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb (John the Baptist) jumped for joy. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and blessed Mary and her baby.
That’s when Mary sings her Song of Praise to the Lord.
I wonder how often we allow uncertainty and fear to keep us from taking a moment to sing God’s praises... to sing our song?
I wonder how often we fail to allow our soul to magnify the Lord?
We see and feel His blessings. We understand all that He has done for us - overall and at any single moment in time. Yet, instead of singing our song of praise, we allow the moment to slip away. We move on. We skim over it. We move past it. On to the next life event.
And we miss a moment to sing our heartfelt praises to our Lord.
As we face the coming Christmas season, let’s commit to take advantage of our opportunities to sing our song of praise to God.
As Advent begins, let’s strive to see God at work in and around us, and allow ourselves to be part of it.
Allow ourselves to respond like Mary, “I am the Lord’s servant...” and sing our song of praise to Him.
What’s your song?
Keep the Faith... Carpe Diem
