Let’s take a look at Mary’s situation here. We don’t have the full context here but we can try to get a better understanding. Mary would have likely been very young by our standards, 13 or 14. She was betrothed to Joseph, probably as an arranged marriage. Then suddenly she finds herself in this new situation, completely upending her life socially, physically and more.
We aren’t told what happened between the annunciation and visiting her cousin Elizabeth. It is possible that she ran away to Elizabeth or was cast out from her family. But when they came together the baby in Elizabeth’s womb – also a prophesied child, John the Baptist – leaps with joy. That is the context of this song.
This song is the first of four songs in the first two chapters of Luke – the others are Zechariah’s song in Luke 1:67-78, the angels’ song in chapter 2:14 and then Simeon’s in 2:29-32. There are notable parallels with Zechariah’s song in particular.
This is actually a key aspect of Luke, who regularly and purposefully pairs stories about men with stories about women. This is true both in terms of miracles and in person interactions but also parables – notable because women in that age were deeply oppressed and never treated as equal in the way that Luke does here. It’s a radical affirmation of the equality of men and women in their access to the love of Christ and the work of God m
The song opens with essentially a statement on the nature of praise. Mary’s soul and spirit are what are erupting into praise and rejoicing.
It follows as a song of reversals. The rich and powerful are brought down but the poor and lowly are raised up. This is particularly relevant for Mary herself who is arguably in the lowest state possible, a member of an oppressed people group, a young woman pregnant out of wedlock. It also closely parallels the song of Hannah in 1 Samuel, the story of a barren woman given a son devoted to God. Both are stories of reversals and the glory of God. Both point to the nature of God as Someone who loves the lowly and casts down the mighty.
This is who God is. God sees you when you are are at your lowest and when, like Mary, your life is spinning out of control. In Genesis another woman at her lowest, Hagar, calls Him “the God Who Sees” – and He sees Hannah, He sees Mary and He sees you.
On that note, the song is in past tense despite the promise of Gabriel being future-tense. She places herself and her story in the broader context and history of God’s relationship with humanity, calling back to Hannah and Hagar and all the work of God that came before.
It’s also and a song that calls us to participate in this work of feeding the hungry and empowering the powerless.
In this Advent season, it is easy to see these concepts of Hope, Peace, Joy & Love as the worldly, two dimensional versions all around us. But we have access to deep and full realities. Hope is more than wishful thinking, but a sure security in the person Ave return of Christ. Love is more than the conditional emotional state or the transactional engagement of the world. Rather it is a participation in the unconditional, sacrificial and eternal love of the Creator for His creation. Joy is more than feigned happiness and peace is more than the absence of conflict.
Let us rejoice along with Mary in the works of God past, present and future. Let us seek the hope, peace, joy and love God offers us.
— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, December 17, 2023
