He has
brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the
hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in
remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham
and his descendents forever.
Luke 1:46-55 is often referred to as the Magnificat,
words spoken by Mary, mother of Jesus. Little is known about Mary. She herself speaks of
her "lowliness." Her town, Nazareth, had a "lowliness" of its own due
to its mixed population. "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" That
was no doubt an opinion held by most devout Jews. So Mary didn’t have much going for
her.
She was a young, unmarried girl from a small town with a bad
reputation. And yet, she "found favor" with God. She became the focus of
God’s attention, and then she became the focus of an angel’s attention – a
special angel sent by God with a special message telling Mary of her special role in
God’s special plan for the birth of his special Son, fulfilling his special promise
made long ago to his special people, Israel.
God had chosen well. Mary was the right person for the job. Her only
question was, "How can this be?" Mary is the first disciple in the New
Testament.
She said yes to God’s call. "Let it be with me according
to your word." And Gabriel said, "The Lord God will give him the throne of
his father David; he will reign over the house of Jacob forever." With these words,
Gabriel picked up God’s ancient promise to David.
This promise had become the cornerstone of Israel’s hope for the
future. Remembering God’s promise to David, the people of Jesus’ time pinned
their hopes on the coming of the Messiah who would re-establish Israel. And so Gabriel
announced that God’s promise was being fulfilled in the birth of Jesus. God had not
forgotten Israel.
We thank you O God for fulfilling your promise, for sending us
Jesus, your Son, and for our salvation through his life, death, and resurrection.
