Mary's Song

Luke 1:46-55 Christmas is a natural time to explore the events surrounding the birth of Christ, a time Christians traditionally have called “advent,” which means literally, arrival. I almost like the word “advent” better (except that Christmas has the name “Christ” in it) because it highlights what this season is all about: God has arrived! And that arrival brings so much joy to the world. And what do people do when their hearts are so full of a feeling that normal words aren’t enough to express it? They put it to music—they sing! It is fitting that we sing at advent, because within the first few pages of Luke’s gospel, which records the events surrounding the birth of Christ, we find three famous songs—Mary’s song, Zechariah’s song, and Simeon’s song. We will deal first with the most famous: Mary’s song. It is known as the Magnificat because that is the first word in the old Latin translation, meaning “magnifies.” “My soul magnifies the Lord,” Mary sings, “and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (1:46). Many remarkable things (2,000 years has not diminished the value of this song) but one important to note: difference between imaginary characters at Christmas time and historical characters of the 1st century. Luke writes with the seriousness of a historian, naming the people in power at the time. What is this song, and what does it teach us? Fundamentally, it is a song of praise, and it teaches us [1] what praise is, [2] how praise happens, and [3] who can praise.