May 31

Mary’s Song

            And Mary said,

            “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great   things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 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 to his descendants forever.”

And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

Luke 1:40-56

Mary was a nobody.

She was a teenage girl pledged to marry a random carpenter from an insignificant village of an occupied country that was ignored by the rest of the world.  Hers was destined to be a life of anonymity and struggle while the rich and powerful set the course of history.

And then God intervened.

Jesus could have been born in a palace.  That was the expectation of the Jews.  They believed that the Messiah would be born into a position of power and influence so that He would have all the resources that He needed in order to right the wrongs of the earth and establish God’s everlasting kingdom.  He would be raised among the elite and given all the respect and acclaim that the Chosen One of God deserved.  The Jews were watching and waiting and expecting that the Messiah would come…they were just looking in the wrong place.

The angel came to Mary.  God had seen her heart and her faithfulness.  He knew that this was the woman to entrust the Chosen One to.  Jesus did not need access to money and fame and glory in order to live out His calling.  He needed a home that loved God and loved each other and was obedient to God’s voice.  Mary and Joseph both made extraordinary leaps of faith throughout their life together and through their household the Messiah entered the world and changed the course of history.

Mary’s song celebrates God’s goodness and His power.  It celebrates that God has raised up the poor, the lowly, and the invisible while humbling the powerful.  It celebrates that God’s wisdom is to use those who the world ignores instead of those that the world props up.  It celebrates that God’s strength is seen most visibly when He is moving through those who have weakness and limitations.

This is encouraging to me.  I feel my weakness and my lack every day.  I feel tired.  I feel overwhelmed.  I feel bewildered over how I am to raise my children when there are so many things broken in our world and in my own heart.  I feel the challenges of preparing an autistic teenager to survive in this world away from home.

My hope…my only hope is that God is strong and that He looks at faithfulness and that He has promised to carry us through this life.  God sees us.  He sees our kids.  He looks at the heart and is not discouraged if the bank account is low or the social skills are lacking or the legs do not work.  God loves to use the week to teach the strong.  He loves to use the invisible to shift history.  He loves to move powerfully through those who cannot move on their own.

Let us trust in God and hope for our children.

A moment to reflect:

Read Mary’s Song 3 times.  What phrase stands out to you?