"My soul magnifies the Lord"

It's Wednesday, so I'm thinking about how we bear God's image

On Wednesdays, I workshop the sermon, even for Sundays I’m not preaching, like this one…

image by Cathie Caimano

Scripture: Luke 1:39-55)

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord."

And Mary said,

"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."

‘My soul magnifies the Lord.’

I love this particular phrase.

’The Magnificat’ - what we call the ‘song of Mary’ is literally ‘the Magnifying’. It makes me think of magnifying glasses - what we use to make things larger.

Mary is literally making God larger in the world by bearing Jesus in her womb.

Despite her initial hesitance - ‘pondering what sort of greeting this might be’ when she’s visited by the angel Gabriel - she’s definitely rejoicing now. And why not? It’s a huge honor - and a beautiful power - to be the magnifier of God.