Luke 1:39-55 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”
And Mary said,
"My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
Reflection For the first half of my life my image of Mary, Mother of God was the tall, slender, blond girl in my Sunday School class wrapped in a pale blue sheet, co-star of the Christmas Eve pageant. She was the chosen one. I was a goat. Fortunately I didn’t have to spend too many therapy hours on Mary, after all in my Presbyterian church Mary’s meteoric cameo came but once a year. The other three hundred sixty four days Hallmark Mary was wrapped in tissue paper and tucked in the church closet.
But there is something about Mary’s song. It echoes in my heart. “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my saviour.” Yes, yes, that is what I want. I want my soul to magnify the Lord and I want my spirit to rejoice in God... or anything else for that matter! If God “looked with favor on his lowly servant” Mary, might God also look with favor on me? Probably not. Remember, I was the pageant goat, not Mary.
Who is this Mary chanting a love song to God? Who is this Mary singing a subversive verse for social justice? I believe this is not the twelve year old Hallmark Mary, wrapped in tissue and stored in a church closet. This Mary is not fragile or ineffectual, neither is she submissive nor impotent. No, this Mary is competent, courageous and fruitful, without being arrogant, conceited or full of herself.
I like to imagine this Mary made mistakes, even got herself in trouble like me. Nonetheless, when she experiences Divine Presence described as the Angel Gabriel, she does not become speechless or run away. When the angel addresses her as “Favored one,” and affirms, “The Lord is with you.” (Luke 1.28) and her cousin Elizabeth repeats the message, Mary puts her head in her heart and ponders these things. Mary’s quiet acceptance of the angel’s and Elizabeth's blessing suggests she has a sense of worthiness.
When the Angel proclaims the inconceivable, unmarried Mary will become pregnant and give birth to a son who will assume the throne of King David and his kingdom will reign forever,” Mary responds, “Bring it on!” “Here I am... let it be with me according to your word.” Bold, courageous and vulnerable, Mary consents to her “with God life.” Dare we do likewise?
It is time to take Hallmark Mary out of the closet, remove the tissue paper and reimagine Mary, Mother of God, as a sound and sane woman who is courageous enough to be vulnerable and vulnerable enough to put her head in her heart. It is time to reimagine Mary as a woman willing to stand in her own authority, disrupt the status quo and claim her “with God life.” It is time to reimagine Mary as a mother who gave her life to bring to life the promise God made to “our fathers, to Abraham and his children forever,” the promise that God is with and for all people all the time. It is time for us to recognize Mary as a venerable model for our “with God lives.”
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