Taking Joy to a New Level

A Meditation on Mary's Praise of God

After the Angel Gabriel visited the betrothed but still virgin Mary with the news that she would give miraculous conception and birth to a son to be named Jesus, who would be the Son of God, the heir of David’s throne, and the king of an eternal kingdom, she went to visit her much older cousin Elizabeth who prophetically and miraculously confirmed Gabriel’s message. Mary then praised God with the words that have become known in church tradition as the Magnificat, a rich meditation on scripture and deep praise to God. Here is what she said:

Luke 1:46 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.”

What I want us to notice about this passage are the precocious characteristics of young Mary, whom many scholars guess to be approximately 14 years old in this passage.

(1) Mary was willing to rejoice in God even when she was facing very troubling circumstances. “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior….”

(2) Mary had a deep understanding of God’s sovereign power. “He who is mighty has done great things…. He has shown strength with his arm

(3) Mary had a deep understanding of God’s scriptural promises. Her words especially echo the prayer of Hannah as she dedicated her son Samuel to the Lord, but through them resonate the heart of the Psalms and the Prophets. Mary knew that all this was rooted in the saving work that God began through the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and it would enter a dramatically new dimension in Mary’s son Jesus.

(4) Mary had a deep understanding of the holiness and mercy that come together in God’s character. Holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

(5) Mary had a deep understanding of God’s purposes for transforming life in this world. He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.

Next, I want us to notice, as we look through the years beyond Mary’s spiritual precociousness, that she still had to struggle to come to terms with daily realities, and not just for a short time, but for much of her life.

(1) She and her betrothed Joseph were poor.

(2) She had a pregnancy that neither Joseph nor their Nazareth neighbors could comprehend by ordinary rationality as anything other than the result of adultery.

(3) Just as she was nearly due to deliver her child, she and Joseph had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem for a census tax imposed by an occupying empire.

(4) When they dedicated Jesus at the Jerusalem temple, the elderly Simeon prophesied that Jesus would be a sign that was spoken against and that a sword would pierce her soul.

(5) Warned by the wise men that Herod the Great planned to kill their son, Joseph and Mary fled with Jesus to Egypt where they stayed until they heard that Herod had died, and then they moved back to Nazareth.

(6) When Jesus was twelve, Mary began to experience that mothering the Messiah was not going to be something that left her in full control.

(7) When Jesus and his first disciples attended a wedding in Cana of Galilee, Mary discovered that, even when Jesus did the miracle that she requested, he reminded her sharply that she was not in charge of his ministry.

(8) When Mary and Jesus’ younger brothers became convinced that Jesus was losing touch with reality, letting his ministry spin out of control, not taking care of himself, arousing enmity from the religious leaders, and they sought to seize him in order to protect him, they had to listen from the edge of the crowd as he redefined his family as those who hear and do the will of God.

(9) Mary had to live in Nazareth as the residents, enraged with Jesus’ affirmation of God’s love for Gentiles, sought to throw him over a cliff.

(10) Mary had to stand by helplessly and watch as Jesus was crucified in an agonizing and generally considered shameful death.

(11) Mary had to experience the shock of finding Jesus’ tomb empty, with the first assumption no doubt being that someone had robbed the tomb to further dishonor Jesus’ body.

(12) It is with immense relief that we find her gathered with Jesus’ disciples in the upper room following his ascension. We can be assured that she was part of the joyous proclamation that went out through Jerusalem and ultimately to the whole world that Jesus was not only risen from the dead, but also ascended into heaven, in the place of power, from which position he sent the Holy Spirit to lead and empower the mission of the church to the world. Despite her many struggles, we may trust that she experienced in this life the joy of carrying the gospel to the world and that her place in eternity is one of honor and continual rejoicing.