My Soul Magnifies the Lord

Today is one of the more obscure days within the Church calendar.  In fact, most years it is overshadowed by one of two "bigger" events.  Most years, like this year, it is pushed to the side during the season of Lent as the church continues on the road to the cross.  However, some years, it is completely missed because of the great Resurrection Sunday also called Easter.  Because of these two other seasons, many churches have now chosen unofficially to move the celebration to Advent.  Today is traditionally celebrated as the Annunciation of the birth of our Lord to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Icon of the Annunciation

The reason that the Annunciation is celebrated today comes down to biology.  Nine months after a baby is conceived he or she is born into the world.  Nine months from today is Christmas Day.  Talk about perfect timing!

When I first began to study the Church calendar in earnest, it struck me as somewhat funny that this day and the season of Lent would intersect the way that they do.  I associated the beginning of the good news of Christ with the announcement of his birth to Mary.  I was baffled at how to reconcile the great celebration of the Messiah's coming with this season of ashes, sackcloth, and lament.  How can the celebration occur in the middle of the depression?

The answer to this question came to me one day while I was meditating on Mary's prayer of thanksgiving (the Magnificat) found in Luke 1:47-55.  In this prayer/song Mary says this:

"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."

Just look at this incredible hymn of praise.  On both sides of Jesus' life, he was recognized as turning this world up-side-down.  What human mind would ever think of God coming into full humanity, conceived by a virgin, born in a stable, raised by a poor man, sent as a refugee to an enemy country, and returned to a small town in the most back woods part of the nation?  Then to top all of this off, he has a public ministry of about 3 years only to be sent to the cross for a bunch of sinners who simply did not have a clue.  As Jesus walked the dusty roads of Israel, he continually amazed the scribes, argued with the Pharisees, and simply loved the people.

Even in today's world, we continue to see people reject Jesus and his ministry.  Some people try to put him in an area and tell him to stay put.  These people want to re-phrase the words of Christ so that they can remain comfortable in their lack of discipleship.  Some people simply try to ignore him.  They call him and his story a myth that only weak people believe.  Others say that they don't have enough information to make a decision about him so they will remain "agnostic" about what to believe until more information is made available.

However, I believe that with the annunciation of the Christ child to Mary, God the Father began a revolution that is continuing to unfold before us.  Through this strange story of love, the proud are brought low, the weak are lifted up, and the hungry are fed.  People are redeemed because of God's great love and the in-breaking of the Kingdom of God continues to manifest itself through the working of the Holy Spirit and through the faithfulness of God's people.

"The Annunciation" by James Christensen

I love the above picture as painted by an artist depicting Mary right after the angel has left her.  She looks as though she is in awe, afraid, and unsure of herself.  I feel the same way many times as I try to follow Christ's mandate on my own life.  And yet Mary did say "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."  These are the words that God's people have been speaking since creation.  These are the words that Christ lived out as he journeyed towards Jerusalem and the cross.  As his people, these should be our words too.

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