The Magnificat (Remix)

The Magnificat is the traditional name for Mary's song of praise in Luke 1:46-55. It's always been a reading associated with the advent season.

This portion of Scripture takes place after the angel Gabriel has visited Mary and told her what God is going to do through her getting pregnant and giving birth to the long-awaited Messiah, and after Mary has gone to stay with her cousin Elizabeth who is expecting a child also, who we later discover is John the Baptist. The two women are well aware that God is about to do great and mighty things through them - and through the babies they will bring into the world.

Reading Mary's song it sounds very like one of the Old Testament psalms. It is one of the great songs of praise found in the Bible.

Consider the power and beauty of the words with me.

"My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour." (verses 46-47)

Mary praises God, the God she has presumably known and loved her whole life. The God of her fathers, and her father's fathers. The God of the Old Testament. Yahweh, the covenant God of Israel. It is this God that she "magnifies" or "praises" or "glorifies". Not only does he praise him, she rejoices in him. One of the sure signs that our relationship with God is on the right track is when we actually enjoy being in his presence, in reading his Word, in prayer and in worship. The Shorter Catechism famously states "Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever" which put simply means it is when we glorify him and enjoy him that we are fulfilling the main purpose of our lives.

"for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name." (verses 48-49)

The song then goes on with a number of reasons why Mary is so moved to praise God and rejoice. Mary realises that God is her Saviour and that he is now acting in the decisive period of redemptive history to bring about salvation through the child Mary is carrying in her womb. We might say in passing that the fact that Mary herself knew she was in need of a Saviour suggests that the Roman Catholic teaching about Mary's sinlessness is somewhat wide of the mark. Only those in trouble need rescuing.

The remainder of the song from verses 50-55 is one statement after another about what God has done, is doing and will do for his people. He shows "mercy" (verse 50), and strength (verse 51). And how we need both of these divine attributes in our Saviour? Without mercy he would not be inclined to save. Without strength he would not be able. But blessed be God for he is both merciful to save and powerful to save.

In his saving action he turns the world upside down. He scatters the proud, he brings the mighty down to earth, while he raises up the poor and the humble. He feeds his servants, but sends other away empty-handed. This is a true assessment of the very different King and kingdom that this represents compared to the puppet king Herod and the Roman overlords who then ruled the world. In God's decisive action in sending the Messiah to be Israel's true king and the Saviour and Lord of the world, Mary knew nothing would ever be the same again. We do well to remember the political edge to the gospel in our day. Mary's song was a challenge to the powers and authorities in the real world, both then and now.

As we come to the climax of the advent season, maybe we will catch a fresh glimpse of God's glory, God's saving plan, and God's love for his people, and make Mary's words our own (as Timothy Dudley-Smith paraphrased them): "Tell out my soul, the greatness of the Lord; in God my Saviour shall my heart rejoice!"

The Season of Waiting

We spend a lot of our lives waiting. We wait in train stations, airports, at bus stops, and in traffic jams. We wait to be seen at the doctor or the dentist. We wait for visitors to arrive and sometimes for visitors to go. We wait for things to arrive in the post or in our computer's inbox.

We spend so much time waiting that the word is an adjective we use to describe various nouns. So we have waiting rooms and waiting areas. We have waiting lists and waiting times.

For me waiting is often a frustration. I see it too often as synonymous with just wasting time.

But waiting is not always a bad thing. It depends how we use the waiting time. Much of the joy in life comes from the pleasure that comes after a period of waiting for something good to happen. I'm thinking of some of life's key moments, like waiting during your engagement for the wedding day and waiting during pregnancy for the child's birth.

For many people, advent is just the boring wait until Christmas, like waiting in a queue before you get in to see an exciting film or show. Necessary but dull.

This advent I'm trying to use the waiting time positively, to consider the state of the world and the state of my own life, and recognise afresh the need for the Saviour, just as much in 21st century Britain as in 1st century Palestine.

God's idea to put the world to rights when all else had failed, by coming to the world himself as a baby to save it, must be the most beautiful, loving and audacious thought ever to have entered the divine mind.

As one Christmas carol puts it:

Sacred Infant, all divine, 
What a tender love was Thine, 
Thus to come from highest bliss,
Down to such a world as this.

Tender love indeed because he comes not to get anything from us, but to give us everything he has. He loves us and wants us to love him too. That's it. It's all he wants and it's the only thing we could possibly give him. As another carol says:

What can I give Him, poor as I am?

...Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

And waiting to celebrate his birth once again is no waste of time. It is an act of love and an honour.