B104 - Advent 4 (Annunciation and Magnificat, Luke 1:26-38, 46-55)

Rev. Sharon Hollis, President-elect of the Uniting Church, joins the conversation for Advent 4. We discuss how Mary is portrayed as a prophet in Luke 1 and the surprising agency she has (for that time) in speaking her consent (1:26-38) and her song of praise and protest (1:46-55). Her particularity as a young Jewish girl living in occupied territory makes her song the song of colonised women everywhere who draw upon their cultural traditions to proclaim liberation. We note the promise that Jesus will “sit on the throne of David” fulfils the covenant in 2 Samuel 7:1-11 and reveals God’s faithfulness. We refer to Anne Elvey’s Reading the Magnificat in Australia and Elizabeth Johnson’s Truly Our Sister.