“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for she has looked with favor on the lowly state of her servant…God has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. God has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; God has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. God has come to the aid of her child Israel, in remembrance of her mercy, according to the promise she made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” (from Luke 1:46-55, modified from NRSV)
Greetings, Beloveds!
Mary’s song of praise, The Magnificat, is one of the passages we sometimes read during Advent depending on the lectionary cycle. I love this passage because it is full of the radical hope of knowing that our God is firmly rooted on the side of the oppressed, the outcast, the lowly. Mary is so inspired by the coming of Christ that she can’t help but sing!
The season of Advent reminds us of this same coming of Christ in the vulnerable form of an infant, showing God’s love for and solidarity with all who are vulnerable. This Advent, may we continue to follow God’s lead in lifting up the lowly and filling the hungry with good things. Amen.
In Peace,
Pastor Eileen (she/her)