Day 9 of 12
Mary Mother of Jesus: The Magnificat
The Woman Who Said Yes
Scripture Readings
Today's Reading
Read Luke 1:38: "And Mary said, 'Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.' And the angel departed from her."
Then read Luke 1:46-55: "And Mary said, 'My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant... He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.'"
Reflection
Every story in this plan has been building to this moment. The promise to Eve, the impossible birth to Sarah, the line preserved through Tamar and Rahab and Ruth, the prayer of Hannah, the courage of Esther — all of it converges in a teenage girl in Nazareth.
The angel Gabriel appears to Mary with news that defies all categories: she will conceive a child by the Holy Spirit, and this child will be the Son of the Most High, the heir of David's throne, the one whose kingdom will have no end. Mary's response is staggering in its simplicity: "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word."
These are among the most consequential words ever spoken by a human being. N.T. Wright calls Mary the supreme example of what it means to be open to God's future — to say "yes" to something you do not yet understand and to trust the God who has begun a new work.
But Mary is not merely passive. When she visits her cousin Elizabeth, she erupts into the Magnificat — a song that echoes Hannah's prayer almost word for word but escalates it to cosmic proportions. "He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty."
Wright insists that the Magnificat is not a gentle lullaby. It is one of the most revolutionary songs ever written. Mary is not speaking in generalities. She is announcing a specific divine action: God is overturning the world's power structures through the child in her womb. And she sings it in the past tense — "he has brought down... he has filled..." — as though it is already accomplished. This is the faith of someone who knows that when God speaks, the thing is as good as done.
Going Deeper
Mary's "yes" cost her everything that a young woman in first-century Palestine valued: her reputation, her security, her comprehension of how her life would unfold. She would watch her son be rejected, tortured, and executed. Simeon's prophecy — "a sword will pierce through your own soul also" — was not metaphorical.
Yet through her consent, God entered human flesh. The woman who said "let it be" became the vessel through which eternity broke into time. Her story is the climax of every woman's story in this plan: God works through the faith of women to accomplish His greatest purposes.
Key Quotes
“Mary's Magnificat is not a gentle lullaby. It is one of the most revolutionary songs ever written. It speaks of God overthrowing the powerful, filling the hungry, and sending the rich away empty. It is the battle cry of the new world that God is creating.”
“Mary is the supreme example of what it means to be open to God's future, to say 'yes' to something you don't yet understand, and to trust that the God who has begun a new work will carry it through.”
Prayer Focus
Asking God for the humility and courage to say 'yes' to His purposes, even when you do not understand what He is doing or where it will lead
Meditation
Mary said 'Let it be to me according to your word' before she understood what carrying the Messiah would cost her. What might God be asking you to say yes to before you fully understand?
Question for Discussion
Mary's Magnificat celebrates a God who scatters the proud, brings down the mighty, and fills the hungry — but this was sung before Jesus was even born. Why do you think Mary could sing about God's revolution in the past tense when it had not yet happened? What does this tell us about the nature of faith?