Advent III: God's judgement of love

A reading from the Gospel of St Luke:

And Mary said, 

‘My soul magnifies the Lord, 

and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, 

for he has looked with favour 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 for ever.’ 

And Mary remained with [Elizabeth] for about three months and then returned to her home. 

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While there are many musical settings of Mary’s song, her Magnificat, there are surprisingly few pictures of the actual scene. But, the events in Luke’s Gospel which pre-empt, or prompt this outpouring of praise, are much loved by artists. This is Mary’s visit to her kinswoman Elizabeth, the much older mother of the unborn John the Baptist, equally astonished at her own situation. Many pictures show a greeting just on the edge of a profound embrace, arms outstretched towards the other, the young Mary and the mature Elizabeth, both acknowledging their miraculous, grace-filled pregnancies, perhaps seeking reassurance moments before they hold each other in solidarity and hope. This is a movement of faith, perhaps surprising in its joy, and as a result, their faith overflows into song and prophecy.   

Mary’s soul magnifies the Lord. Through Mary’s openness to God and to God’s promises, the future of the world suddenly looks bigger. The Lord’s action can now be perceived to reach more deeply and immediately into human existence than perhaps had ever quite been perceived before. All the hopes of the prophets come cascading into one place through the news of Mary’s child: the humble will be called blessed, God’s strength will scatter the proud in their conceit, the lowly will be raised, the hungry filled, mercy will be shown to all who receive this promise. Sometimes we talk about God’s judgement during Advent, and in Mary’s Magnificat, we learn what this means.  

The birth of Christ is God’s judgement on the world: a judgement which leaves no one unchanged, a judgement which sifts and embraces. A single, pure act of love, which will expose the shallow lies of the world about power, selfishness, pride, and control. All this will be subject to the kind of fragile yet utterly free love, which we see in the vulnerability of a child. The violent and greedy will do all they can to impose their judgement on this scene. To control it. Even to annihilate it. In Advent we remember God’s judgement is coming – God's promises will be fullfilled, and the surprising face of this judgement is Jesus, Our Saviour, our hope and joy, freely sung by a young woman from Nazareth.