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Introduction to Worship for 12/11/2016

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Luke 1: 39-56

More than any other female, Mary has indelibly marked Christian and Western history and culture, bearing the Christ child as well as all manner of gifts and baggage about the feminine ideal. For the Christian tradition, the Magnificat (which takes its name from the first word of the Latin text) is the great New Testament praise song of liberation. With elegant power and directness, Mary preaches as the prophet of the poor.

In Luke’s gospel, as Mary arrives, Elizabeth’s unborn child – who will be the prophet John the baptizer – leaps for joy at Mary’s greeting. Mary responds to this blessing by singing the glory of God’s powerful love that has chosen her to carry the Christ child. She sings because God acts with justice and mercy to lift those who are considered lowly and feed those who are hungry. 

The Magnificat is revolutionary, with a long history of being banned by various church or political bodies. As recently as the 1980s, the government of Guatemala forbade public reading of it, as did the government of Argentina in the 1970s. Franciscan Richard Rohr notes the Magnificat is an elegant example of Jesus’ teachings about the obstacles to the coming reign of God. Rohr calls these impediments the “three p’s”: power, prestige, and possessions. Mary sings at seeing how “the proud,” “the powerful,” and “the rich” will be “scattered…brought down…sent away empty.”

Mary sings of joy and justice. Her courage to say “yes” and her belief that God will never abandon the promise to be with us is a profound witness of faith. Mary bears witness to the love of God and God’s transformative vision that exceeds our conceptions of power. What is this deep love and joy birthing in us today? Where are we thirsty for life and justice? Where might we be “a stream in the desert” for others?

Family activity (can be adapted to families of all ages)

  • Do you believe God is working this way in the world? How so? 
  • How would you rewrite these words so you could sing them, or say them to a child in your family, or your neighborhood right now?
  • How might we free Mary’s song and the birth narratives from pre-conceived notions and assumption in order to hear them with radical power and wonder for our time?
  • Where do you see the spirit of Mary alive within you and/or in our midst?
  • In what situations does your heart beat with justice as did Mary’s?

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