St. Luke 1:39-56
39 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be[a] a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”
Mary’s Song of Praise
46 And Mary[b] said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
56 And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
Mary goes to meet Elizabeth. Mary’s presence itself makes a difference and the baby in the womb of Elizabeth leaps with joy. Our presence should ignite and make happy those who see us. A Christian should bring happiness by his/her presence and this happiness is possible only with the presence of the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth feels the joy of life in her womb when Mother Mary comes. The ordinary woman Mary who becomes extra ordinary with the acceptance of God in her life, gives hope and life to others and especially in this instance to her cousin Elizabeth.
Mary goes into a trance of happiness and speaks God’s revelation to her. She talks of the sense and art of giving. When we keep whatever is with us, in our own hands, it does not lead to any happiness but rather to tensions. On the other hand when we are willing to give, we bring about the opportunity to renew ourselves and strengthen ourselves even more. It is not by giving that we weaken ourselves but by keeping and not giving that we weaken ourselves beyond repair.
In Mother Mary’s case this is made clear by God. God gives to Mary out of God’s immense riches. God does not keep to God’s self but rather wants God’s will to be done through her, a poor young lady. If God would have been like us and hardened God’s mind, Mary would never have been chosen. Both Elizabeth and Mother Mary realize this. Elizabeth proclaims “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit and she then makes this proclamation. Mother Mary carries on from Elizabeth when she realizes for herself and says “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.”
Mother Mary then makes the most important song of praise or magnificat. She says
“His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.”
St. Mary through this suggests a turn of events where the strong will become weak because they have never emptied themselves and chosen to be weak by themselves. The biblical notion of the weak becoming the strong is lost on some people. Mother Mary reminds us that her elevation suggests the bringing down of the proud, powerful and rich. Instead the mercy of God will be on those who need it and this will lift the lowly and fill the hungry with good things.
Mother Mary shows us two important things. The will to come down and help from a position of power is very theological and Godly. It does not suggest defeat but to the contrary points to victory. God chooses a young and ordinary woman to exalt not just Mother Mary but the thinking and wish of God’s self. No one loses in the church by coming down from a position of power and offering ourselves to work for God. That is not foolishness but it is newness.
Secondly, those who exalt themselves will be humbled, whereas those who humble themselves will be exalted. A lot of people work very hard for the church but once riches come in they tend to forget the church and the needs of the church. But feeding the poor and ensuring that the poor change their status and become rich one day is the responsibility of all. This parity has to be attained in significant ways. It is interesting that Mary on being exalted by God and praised by Elizabeth does not hold on to the peak of achievement, rather she talks of the lowly and the hungry and sings hope for the lowly and the poor. Such is the inspiration we receive from Mother Mary. It is not anymore to say that I can lay back and live my life but to say that I am an object in the hands of God through which God is going to do God’s will on earth.
Are we capable of following the model of St. Mary? She forms the inspiration not just for Elizabeth but also for the baby in her womb. The baby gets a sense of the Holy Spirit inside Mother Mary and wakes up to the fact that the world is going to be a better place. This is the better place that St. Mary sings about. Let us join hands together to make this world a better place. Amen.
Excerpts from the sermon preached in St.Ignatius JSO church, K. R. Puram, Bangalore on November 30, 2014.
Picture courtesy www.vocations.ca
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