Magnificat


Luke 1:46-56
46And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,

47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

48for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

49for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

50And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

51He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;

52he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate;

53he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.

54He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,

55as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

56And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

Theologian, Robert Tannehill, captures the essence of what we call The Magnificat” with great eloquence when he says,

“The Magnificat is like an aria in opera; the action almost stops so that the situation may be savored more deeply.”

R. Tannehill, Narrative Unity I, 31.

The conception of Jesus and Elizabeth’s recognition of that miracle brings Mary’s focus onto God alone as His power, majesty, and glory are declared with her voice. Within these praise words is Mary’s confession that she has been lifted up out of despair solely because of God’s grace and mercy. She did not ask to be the mother of the Savior. She did not expect such a thing to happen to her. Much as Abraham, Moses, or David was chosen by God to be used as His instrument, so too is Mary chosen. This song she sings is filled not with the works of man but with the glory of the Most High God.

Martin Luther says of The Magnificat:

Just as a book title indicates what is the contents of the book, so this word “magnifies” is used by Mary to indicate what her hymn of praise is to be about, namely, the great works and deeds of God, for the strengthening of our faith, for the comforting of all those of low degree, and for the terrifying of all the mighty ones of earth. We are to let the hymn serve this threefold purpose; for she sang it not for herself alone but for us all, to sing it after her.
(LW 21:306)

“Truly, in these words she takes away all might and power from every creature and bestows them on God alone. What great boldness and robbery on the part of so young and tender a maiden! She dares, by this one word, to make all the strong feeble, all the mighty weak, all the wise foolish, all the famous despised, and God alone the Possessor of all strength, wisdom, and glory”.
(LW 21:328)
Perhaps today we read these words and along with Mary we just stop the action and savor the moment remembering all that the Lord has done in, with, through and for us. His greatness cannot be summed up in a song or a prayer – but we would do well to at least try.

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