Our Place
Mary said,
“With all my heart
I glorify the Lord!
In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God
my savior.
He has looked with
favor on the low status of his servant.
Look! From now on, everyone will consider me
highly favored
because the mighty one has done great
things for me.
Holy is his name.
He shows mercy to everyone,
from one generation to the next,
who honors him as God.
He has shown
strength with his arm.
He has scattered those with arrogant
thoughts and proud inclinations.
He has pulled the powerful down from their
thrones
and lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the
hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty-handed.
He has come to the
aid of his servant Israel,
remembering his mercy,
just as he promised to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants
forever.”
In this final week of Advent, as I read Mary’s Song of
Praise, what stands out is her awareness of her place in the greater narrative
of history. She recalls God’s history of faithfulness “to Abraham and to
Abraham’s descendants forever.” She praises God who “shows mercy to everyone,
from one generation to the next, who honors him as God.”
She also proclaims her own place in this narrative of God’s
faithfulness as she recognizes that “from now on, everyone will consider me
highly favored because the mighty one has done great things for me.”
As I write this, traffic around shopping areas is heavy
and drivers are tense. Kitchens are busy with folks preparing food for visitors
or for gifts to others. People are rushing in search of one more gift, a bag of
flour, or scotch tape. Lines are long and tempers are short.
What if we paused to consider our place in the larger story?
Along with the outward preparations, how have you prepared inwardly to honor
God as God? Do you have something to add to the story of God’s faithfulness
from one generation to the next?
No comments:
Post a Comment