Luke 1:45-47 (ESV)
[45] And blessed is she who believed
that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
[46] And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
[47] and my spirit rejoices in God my
Savior,
Elizabeth spoke of Mary as
blessed. To be blessed does not mean to be especially holy and revered. It means
to have received favor and grace from God. It means to experience happiness and
well-being because of God’s graciousness toward you. So when Mary is called
blessed, Elizabeth is saying that Mary is in an enviable position of carrying
God’s child because of God’s grace toward her. Mary’s response was to praise
God.
Mary recognized that she did not
deserve God’s favor, “He has looked on the humble estate of his servant” (vs 48).
She also recognized that what God was doing was not about her, but about him and
his purposes. “He has shown strength . . . he has scattered the proud . . . he
has brought down the mighty . . . and exalted those of humble estate; he has
filled the hungry . . . He has helped his servant Israel . . .”
This is the God of ancient
history who in Mary’s time was acting again to accomplish his purposes through
her by bringing his son into the world. But notice that his purposes are about
more than just taking us to heaven. They are about righting wrongs in this
unjust world. They are about keeping his word to his people. And they are about
helping the helpless rather than the powerful.
The opening lines for the
television show Leverage start out, “The rich and powerful take what
they want . . . we provide leverage.” It’s a show about thieves and grifters
who decide to right the wrongs of this world by helping the helpless. Of
course, they have their own issues, and are hardly righteous, but the theme
resonates with people.
There is something wrong with our
world. There are injustices. There is inequity. And the systems that claim to right
the injustices and inequities just realign the power base. They don’t actually
change anything. The truth is, nothing will ultimately change unless hearts are
changed and the one in power is one who is righteous, holy, and pure. That is
who this child is that Mary carried. He came to set the world right. That began
at the cross. Hearts are changed through the cross. But he also promised that
he would come back to set all things right.
Mary realized that the ancient
prophecies of Messiah were being fulfilled and she was blessed to be a small
part of that plan. Peter wrote in 2 Peter 3:4, “They will say, ‘Where is the
promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are
continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.’” But they are not
correct. Things have not continued as they were from the beginning of creation.
God has intervened in history. A flood came. Abraham and Sarah had a son. Moses
led the people out of Egypt. And most importantly, Mary had a child who grew
up, died on a cross, and rose from the dead. Things have not continued
unchanged, and they will not continue unchanged. That one whom Mary carried and
celebrated in Luke 1 will return to set all things right. God has acted, is
acting, and will act again. We await his return.
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