Advent Four, December 20th, 2009
My soul magnifies the Lord
Mary’s song, the Magnificat, is often called a song of praise. Mary, the young teenage woman, is told she is going to have a child, and then she goes to see her cousin, who confirms the news that this child is not just any child. Mary is pregnant with the Son of Man, God with Us. It is her first pregnancy, her first child, and she is encountering all the thoughts and feelings that go along with that blessed passage of womanhood. And so her song bursts forth.
Excitement may not be the only emotion Mary felt in her heart and soul, however. Pregnancies do not always lead to happy endings. Mary had certainly by now in her life experienced relatives, friends and neighbors whose pregnancies did not turn out well, she would have known others who did not even survive the journey herself. Pregnancy two thousand years ago was not quite as safe a 9 month process as it is today.
To us, being 9 months pregnant means that the journey is almost over and the celebration of new life is about to begin. Infant and maternal mortality is dramatically more rare, and in its way the loss of a pregnancy or a child at birth is infinitely more tragic to us because of its rarity. The joy of pregnancy reaching its full term is an more accepted standard to us, with all the advantages of modern medicine, prenatal screening and tests, nutritional advice, and labor preparation. The ninth month is the exciting time. Our fears are centered on enduring the trial of labor and the first days and weeks of parenthood (and I’ll have to ask my spouse which one was harder). The fear of not surviving is not one most grapple with as they progress through the trimesters.
For Mary, pregnancy and its terminus in arduous labor may not have been such a joy inducing concept. The waiting may not have been so much about eyes, ears, and ten fingers and toes so much as anxious waiting, perhaps even terrified dread, for the result of this pregnancy. A healthy baby and healthy mommy would be something worth worrying about, something for which seeking out consolation and support would be a necessity. Pregnancy is rarely a time for confronting one’s mortality now, but for Mary and Elizabeth, this inner struggle might have been much more urgent.
Mary’s choice to go and see Elizabeth speaks of these mixed emotions. Yes Mary’s older cousin, who is six month’s pregnant, would be someone to celebrate with. But also Elizabeth provides other elements through her reception of Mary. She is much older, a more maternal figure to Mary, and like Mary her pregnancy seems out of place. Elizabeth was supposed to be past the age for pregnancy. Elizabeth’s situation is as strange as Mary. Solace and assurance are exchanged between the two miraculous bearers of life. Solace for the fears each feels as they progress through pregnancy and as they confront the disbelieving neighbors and family. Assurance that there is at least one person who will believe the miraculous nature of their situation. In each other’s company Mary and Elizabeth find companions for an anxious and unsure journey. A journey that is full of hope, yes, but also full of bad outcomes and less than joyous events. Elizabeth provides Mary with encouragement as she enters the beginning of her journey; Mary provides Elizabeth with validation that this miraculous pregnancy so late in life is but a part of a greater miracle that she is blessed to participate in.
From this place of shared solace, support, and celebration, Mary breaks forth into song. Her first words, “My soul magnifies the Lord”, leap forth, describing a heart that longs to hear its music echoed and resonated in the heart of God. God’s heart hears Mary’s anxiety, fear, and jubilation and answers. Her soul itself, that seed of fire implanted in God’s creation, leaps as it finds its essence accepted and loved by its creator. Yes, your fears are heard, your anxieties understood, and your excitement enjoyed. For you, Mary, are bearing God, and you and all of creation are saved. God accepts your fear and anxiety, and so your soul is filled with rejoicing. Yet another gift from God.
The Magnificat is not just a song of celebration. It is a song that provides strength and courage. Mary’s Magnificat echoes Isaiah’s prophecy of God calling out “Comfort ye my people”. Mary’s litany is the extension of love that we hold onto as we pray the 23rd psalm, the Lord’s prayer, and our best loved collects. Please God, give us the courage to magnify the Lord as we face the daunting tasks ahead. Help us to hold onto hope through the darkness, help remind us that you not only have the power to save, but that you choose to do so. Your power has, is, and will overcome the darkness. Your Son does reign, your creation is made complete, your precious people are redeemed. Help us to know this as we am confronted by dark fear and anxious waiting. For it is in waiting in the darkness that we find your light beaming into our lives, leading us as the your answer to her fears leads Mary. Lead us to find our souls magnifying the Lord.
