Tradition tells us that when Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth, she experienced the quickening of the life growing within her womb. Luke records the event and Mary’s soaring prayer hymn – the Magnificat.
We explore how Mary’s Song can be our hymn of praise for the birth of the living Christ deep within our own spirits.
Like Mary, we offer praise and gratitude that God has taken notice – even of us. God notices even though we are not the rich and powerful, the rulers of this world. We celebrate that God’s love grows within all human beings beginning with the lowliest.
Like Mary, we see our values and lives turned upside down, especially during the time of year when our culture worships at the malls and kids prepare for the coming of a different God. The rich are toppled, the poor are exalted.
Like Mary, the growing spirit of Christ within assures us that our God – the God of Abraham and Sarah, the God of Miriam and Moses – keeps promises. Modern Commercialism does not deliver its promise of an easy life surrounded by material possessions. Despite the extravagance of our holiday giving, love comes not from the cultural celebration of Christmas. Instead, we affirm and celebrate that life and love comes only from the God we know through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
D Gene Kraus 