Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank you for regarding the lowly, showing mercy and remembering your people, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
Luke 1:39–45
39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
Dear Friends in Christ,
The angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would give birth to a Son, Jesus, the Son of the Most High. God’s promise of a Savior to Adam and Eve, born of the Seed of a woman, was finally coming to its fulfillment in the womb of the virgin Mary. It’s amazing to think that Mary was just a young woman, a teenager. She was betrothed to a carpenter. She was from a little town in Galilee called Nazareth—a place out in the sticks. We think of the words of Nathanael, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46). Outwardly speaking, there was nothing significant or special about this situation. But God had a plan.
Mary would be the mother of the promised Messiah! And many would say, “What a privilege! What an honor it is to be a part of God’s great plan for our salvation!” And this certainly was an honor, Mary was blessed among women. Yet, think about the flip side of this big request—this big ask that God was making of Mary. What a challenge. What about her own and family’s plan for her future and all the hardships this would suddenly bring upon this teenage girl. Think about all the suspicion and shame she would have to face. Here was an unmarried, teenage girl, who was now pregnant. People would make a lot of assumptions about her character. She probably would get many side eyes, unkind words, and even had the potential of being stoned to death as punishment for the assumed adultery she committed, even though she had committed no such thing. But who was going to believe her? Of course, the devil would have been hard at work to do everything he could to discourage Mary and lead her to despair with all sorts of worries and fears. Yet, what was Mary’s response to this life changing news from the angel? “Let it be to me according to your word.”
What remarkable faith! Mary trusted in God’s plan. Yet, the angel did not just leave Mary to her own thoughts. He gave Mary a sign that would confirm his word to her was true. That this wasn’t just a dream or fantasy. He said, “Behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.”
The angel’s sign to Mary was her cousin Elizabeth. Mary could go and check on these things to know that she was not crazy. She could visit her cousin and know with certainty that God’s word was true. She would find Elizabeth, her elderly cousin, who was long barren, with child—pregnant. Mary did not wait on this news from the angel. We read in our lesson, that “Mary arose and went with haste” to Elizabeth’s home. Mary certainly would have longed to have someone to talk to about this news, someone who also had experienced a great miracle, who could understand and encourage her.
And we are told that when Mary entered the house and greeted Elizabeth, her son, John the Baptizer, “leaped in her womb.” And Elizabeth being filled with the Holy Spirit, loudly sang, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
The Holy Spirit revealed to Elizabeth that Mary, was the mother of her Lord, “my Lord.” She praises Mary for believing the word of the angel. No doubt this was a great comfort to Mary. She was not alone. Her elderly cousin was also aware of the great miracle that had taken place in her womb and how God was using her as a part of his plan for our salvation. It was this praise from Elizabeth, that led Mary to proclaim the first Advent hymn ever written. A hymn that we refer to as the Magnificat, which comes from one its first words, “magnifies.”
Luke 1:46–56
46 And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.
Elizabeth praised Mary as the mother of her Lord and for believing the angel’s message. Of course, there would have been a temptation for Mary to bask in this moment of praise from her cousin, to nod in agreement. But what does Mary do? She redirects Elizabeth’s praise to God. She doesn’t take credit that God chose her, instead, she credits God for choosing her! “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.”
Mary doesn’t waste an opportunity to praise God. She magnifies her Lord! She rejoiced! She doesn’t consider herself to be worthy of this honor but says that God “has looked on the humble estate of his servant.” Far from Mary’s mind is any thought that she is without sin or that we should offer our prayers to her. No way! She was a sinner, a humble servant. But in her womb was the God’s own Son, who was her Savior. And so, she proclaimed that God had “done great things for me.”
Mary’s song is a great Advent hymn for all of us. Mary doesn’t boast, though she certainly could have. Instead, she teaches us godly humility. If we are to rightly welcome and observe the birth of Jesus, the first thing we must realize is that we do not deserve this great mercy from God. We are sinners who deserve God’s wrath and punishment. Those who consider themselves strong and wise, God will humble—he will send them away.
But to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, who humble themselves before God and acknowledge that there is nothing in them deserving of God’s kindness, he shows mercy, fills, and forgives. God saves the humble and gives grace to the lowly. The Gospel of Luke is full of examples of God showing grace and exalting the lowly—to people like Mary, Elizabeth, Zaccheaus, and the thief on the cross!
As we prepare for our Savior’s birth, let us make the Magnificat our own. For it is really the song of every Christian. God has shown mercy to us by sending God our Savior to this earth. He became one of us. He was God of heaven and earth. But he became poor and lowly so that he might raise us up and bless us by paying for our sins and rising again for our justification. He was forgotten by God in our place, so that we would be remembered.
The first thing we learn from the Magnificat is godly humility. Yet, there is also a second important lesson. From it we learn that God works through our hardships and troubles to bring about his great plan. Upon the angel’s announcement to Mary, she would face many challenges—she was a young girl of no significance, in a difficult situation, and the potential recipient of public ridicule. But God had a plan. He would be with Mary and provided her with encouragement and support for those three months while she stayed with her cousin Elizabeth. But most importantly, it was through this all, that God provided Mary with a Son, who was God her Savior.
You also can be confident of God’s plan for your life. Perhaps, your life has not turned out the way you expected. Maybe your plans for your future did not pan out. Maybe you are facing some serious challenges and obstacles in your life. Maybe you are the object of public ridicule and unfair assumptions of your character. Then take comfort in knowing that God has a plan for you. And he works even through our hardships and troubles to bless us and to bring about his great plan.
Just look at the cross. Jesus was wrongly condemned, punished, and crucified. It looked like defeat and ruin. But it was a part of God’s plan for our salvation so that you and I could be forgiven and have the hope of eternal life. God’s plan is to save us. He even turns the evil intention of man for our good. Scripture says, “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
So may we make the Magnificat our own, living in godly humility, and knowing with confidence, that no matter the challenges and obstacles we may face, God has a plan, and it is better and more sure than any we could make. “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.” Amen.