Great Things

December 22, 2012

Saturday of the Third Week of Advent

Hannah, his mother, approached Eli and said: "Pardon, my lord!  As you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood near you here, praying to the LORD.  I prayed for this child,  and the LORD granted my request.  Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD; as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the LORD."  She left Samuel there.  1 Samuel 1:26-28

Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior.  For he has looked upon his lowly servant.  From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.  Luke 1:46-48

Piety

He gives power to the faint, abundant strength to the weak. Though young men faint and grow weary, and youths stagger and fall, They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength, they will soar on eagles’ wings; They will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.  Isaiah 40:29-31

Study

Really.  Really?  Really!  Put yourself in Mary's sandals. Would you honestly sing this canticle if you found yourself in her condition?

For starters, she is poor and unmarried.  She lives in a desolate desert of a region with scarce clean water.  Work is hard.  There is no air conditioning.  No internal combustion engine.  And there is a belligerent army from Rome occupying her homeland. Tax collectors extract extortion from those who can pay and imprison those who cannot.  The Pharisees in the temple extract more riches for themselves in the form of tithes. 

As life goes on , Mary is visited by an angel and finds she is pregnant…a condition which under normal social conditions surely will result in her fiancé leaving her.  So she seeks comfort in the arms of her cousin.  In the near future, the Roman rulers will force her to ride on the back of a donkey dozens of miles to Bethlehem where she won't even get a room at the Holiday Inn.  She will go into labor in a cave and deliver a baby without even the assistance of a midwife, the hospital labor and delivery nurse or a doctor.  Then, while recovering, all kinds of strange men will visit her -- shepherds, teachers, and kings.  At a time when most mothers would prefer to be alone with their baby until after the circumcision, she endures encounter-after-encounter with the world.

 Despite hardship stacked on top of hardship, she delivers a song of praise that echoes throughout her life and in Evening Prayer around the world daily.   She sees her human condition as fulfillment of the covenant promises made long ago by the Lord.  Knowing this tradition, she sees her role as fulfilling her side of the agreement. Instead of seeing her condition as suffering, she knows that the "Mighty One" has done great things for her. 

For her confident faith, Mary was rewarded.  Such faith is her inheritance from a long line of ancestors and prophets who awaited the coming of a God who would turn the tables on the powerful, the wealthy and the arrogant.  Although the soon-to-be born sons of Mary and Zechariah would not be rewarded in life by the culture of death which surrounded them in this deserted, desolate outpost of a home.   

Action

Think about whatever stresses you out.  We are a mere three days and two nights from Christmas.  Family gatherings.  Cooking.  Visitors.  Party preparation.  Travel.  Getting people to or from the airport.  Can ANY of this be more difficult that what Mary faced two-thousand-plus years ago?   Pray or sing your favorite version of the "Magnificat" as you complete your final preparations for Christmas.  The mighty one will do great things again.  He'll be here in just over two days.