The Magnificat and Mary's God

by Anne Linington⁽²⁰⁹⁾ Red Star

Magnificat Luke 1:46- 56

Introduction:
At East Cowes Convent I have in the past been drawn to two pieces of sculpture: One of Jesus the Carpenter which I came across shortly after writing the Carpenter poem; Holding the various tools of his trade his sleeves are rolled up ready for work. This one is situated in the Chapel.

The other is situated at the top of the staircase. It is a statue of a Woman and child, who at a quick observation you may think were Mary and Jesus; But the child is clearly a girl and she is reading from a book; I remember thanking God for my own Mother and the gift of reading which she gave to me, my brother and sister. Though there wasn't much spare cash, certainly none for holidays, yet she always managed to buy us books to read.

I was told by one of the Nuns that the Woman was in fact Saint Anne (credited with being the Mother of Mary) and the child was Mary herself. There is no Biblical evidence that Mary's mother was named Anne, but someone must have parented Mary in such a way as to have prepared her to be the chosen means of incarnating God in human flesh- conceiving by the Holy Spirit- and giving birth to Jesus the Son of God.

The Nun told me that this statue had lain under water for some time, before being lifted from that position, dried and eventually restored. As I looked carefully I could see evidence of another worker in wood- broken fingers had been repaired- and beautifully polished so as to be hardly noticeable until someone pointed it out.

I thought about my own life and the brokenness I had experienced, and how over time God has been restoring me.. so that perhaps only those who know me best will see the repairs – hopefully there is some kind of spiritual polish being applied to make us all we can hope to be in this life, until we reach Heaven and the work is complete.

On Sunday the new Bishop of Portsmouth was welcomed to Newport Minster- and one of the pieces of music was “The Magnificat”- Mary's jubilant song of Praise in Luke 1. I want to consider the God that Mary magnified/ worshipped:

The Mindful One

.. looked with favour upon ..

to regard with partiality....

to regard with kindness and favour

It is always nice when someone looks upon us with kindness-

perhaps remembering your name when you don't know them very well

or asking after a family member you have been concerned about...

remembering your birthday or a

special event or anniversary- a happy one or even a sad one

On Sunday someone I had trained with passed me a card, and inside it said “Happy Anniversary” as it was one year to the day since our licensing at Portsmouth Cathedral.

How much more when God himself is known to look upon us with favour and kindness.

Mary knew that despite her humble state, God himself had bestowed on her such honour by “being mindful of her”... and he is mindful of us... especially true when we think no-one else is..

When I wrote the poem “The Plough ” what amazed me was that God knew the very image that would speak to my heart, coming from an agricultural background, Dad ploughed with horses, Russell my husband sells agricultural machinery..

The Mighty one

Greek root from which we get our words Dynamic, Dynamo and Dynamite- power/ powerful

having power..powerful.. mighty.. to be able..“The inherent capacity to carry something out”

Mary's God is the Mighty One- the one who is able

He is the one who delivered the Israelites from the Egyptians by making a way through the Red Sea

He is the “Mighty one” of whom the Psalmist writes Ps 50 who speaks and summons

.. the Mighty One of Jacob..displaying his power in Creation, being served by “mighty ones”- angels

In the life of Jesus, he was powerful in word and action.. and raised from the dead by God's power- this might- this dynamite

Mary may have felt very weak for the task, but her God was the Mighty One.

When we feel weak and powerless, let's focus on the Might and Power of the God who has called us, who acts on our behalf and he gives us his strength to serve him.

The Merciful One

Mercy is understood in the Old Testament as a gracious gift that God bestows on his people because of the covenant relationship

Mary recounts how God's mercy has extended from generation to generation, reminiscent of Psalm 103 on them that fear him..

God was merciful to the descendants of Abraham

Under the new covenant instituted by Christ's death, resurrection and ascension, God continues to shower that mercy upon his children

Jesus showed mercy to those who asked him, and taught that the merciful would receive mercy

The parable of the Good Samaritan calls us to show mercy to our neighbour

The Mighty One whom Mary worships (magnifies) aligns himself not with the rulers, nor with the rich, but with the poor and the hungry

If we are to follow him, that is where our priorities must lie-

Showing mercy to our suffering neighbour.. even crossing cultural barriers to do so, and aligning ourselves with the poor and the hungry

In the coming months, we are anticipating stringent Government and local authority cuts; but whatever happens, we as Christians, and Christian Politicians must do our best to protect the vulnerable-

God is clearly on their side... he is on our side in our poverty and hunger- physically and spiritually.

Conclusion

Mary's God was a Mindful God - despite her humble status, she is chosen to carry Christ- the light of the world and light to the Gentiles.. so must we.. incarnating Christ where we live, work and worship.

Mary's God is a Mighty God - all powerful.. able to deliver his people.. strengthening us and acting in power for the powerless

Mary's God is a merciful God, faithful to his covenant people and calling us to be merciful to our neighbour at home and abroad, defending the cause of the poor and hungry.

So young

Such a young face

Singing her song

Magnifying her Lord

Offering herself

Amazed at God's choice

Humbly obedient

Incarnating Christ

Such young feet

Needing to rest

Dangling tiredly

Journeying purposefully

Fulfilling prophecy

Earnestly awaiting

The King of kings

Such a young hand

Tenderly cradling

Gently reassuring

Mother's love

Warmly welcoming

Her firstborn

Light of the world

Such young eyes

Peering so tenderly

Searching imploringly

Bonding willingly

Mystery manifesting

Fruit of her womb

God Himself

Anne Linington

Christmas 2008

This poem was inspired by a production of Roger Jones' musical “While Shepherds watched” in which Mary is played by a fourteen year-old.

Article submitted Friday, September 24, 2010 & read 66 times.

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