The Music of Christmas, Day 8

 Magnificat

Read Luke 1:46-56
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 

for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.” – Mary

Our family loves musicals. From Broadway to community theatre, and from Hollywood to our local high school, we relish the opportunity to step into a world where people erupt into song. Where life has a perpetual underscore and every problem is resolved before the final curtain. Of course, musicals aren’t real life. That’s part of their allure. Yet they seem to express emotion and feelings in ways that words alone can’t. Corporate singing pulls perfect strangers together and for that brief time before the double bar line, everyone is breathing in time, uttering the same words, and listening carefully to the other singers. This is why we sing in church and why the Bible contains one of the world’s oldest songbooks (Psalms). God exceeds human vocabulary, so His people resort to lyrics and notes to better describe Him, worship Him, and express their collective love.

 

So it’s no surprise that Mary, a young Jewish girl overwhelmed by God, burst into song, the first of the New Testament. After being welcomed by Elizabeth, Mary paraphrased the familiar words of Hannah’s Prayer from 1 Samuel 2:1-10. Take time to read Hannah’s story (1 Samuel 1-2). You will quickly see why she was on Mary’s mind at that moment of revelation. Both women faced public embarrassment … Mary because she was unmarried and with child, and Hannah because she was married but barren. Both had been humbled by circumstances. Both experienced a miraculous conception. Both brought sons into the world who would later be surrendered to God. While their songs were unique, Hannah and Mary shared the melody of desperation.

 

Mary’s song is known as the Magnificat. The title comes from the first line: “My soul magnifies the Lord.” To magnify something is to make it larger, but God is already infinitely larger than we can imagine. How can a young girl possibly magnify God? In Mary’s case, the infinite God had taken up residence inside her womb. The God of the universe didn’t just humble Himself by taking on flesh (see Philippians 2:5), He humbled Himself to the point of placing Himself in utero … God as an embryo, too small to be seen, vulnerable, hidden, and protected by the flesh of a scared teenage girl. 

 

Any person with self-assumed importance could not have responded as Mary did. A heart occupied with pride has no room for the majesty of Christ. Jesus comes to the poor in spirit, the mourning, the meek and hungry. God comes to people like Hannah and Mary … people desperate for Him. Mary’s willingness to magnify her Lord is a testimony to the power of a life fully surrendered. She is a remarkable example of humility. The one who would deliver the Son of God wasn’t a woman of high status or wide renown. She was simply willing to surrender —everything — to live in obedience to God. 

 

Mary is evidence that “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things …” (1 Corinthians 1:27-28) God’s choice and Mary’s surrender. Mary was willing to be used by God to accomplish His work. She surrendered and literally became the first person to welcome Jesus into her life and her very body. She was “blessed” because her humility made room for God to take up residence within her. Though poor, she carried the Kingdom of God inside. Though mourning her predicament, the God of all Comfort was hers. Though lowly and possibly hungry at times, through her came the Bread of Life. Though meek, her name became known throughout the earth.  

 

The first song of Christmas declared God’s commitment to the oppressed and rejected. And still today He comes to the lonely and neglected. Jesus still seeks humble hearts. He is still willing to inhabit the weak, despised, rejected, mocked, or scorned. Are you willing to humble yourself to make room for Jesus? For as we decrease, He increases and is magnified through our lives. 

 

 

God,

My soul magnifies You, Lord, my spirit rejoices in You, my Savior.

You have looked on my humble state, and I am blessed by Your presence.

You, who are mighty, have done great things for me, and not only me, but Your mercy resounds from generation to generation. Your strong arm saves the weak and scatters the proud. You have humbled kings and exalted the humble. May I become less so that You are magnified in me.

Amen.

The Music of Christmas is available in print or digital formats.