Luke 1:46–55, “The Magnificat”

Mary’s song shows that God delights to lift the lowly and confront the self-exalted, and that his mercy is received only with empty hands. She praises God because he has looked on her nothingness, filled the hungry, and scattered the proud—revealing the very shape of the gospel. Our problem is that we choke on this good news, grasping for our own glory instead of receiving it from God. Yet in the incarnation, the Lord of Glory goes down into our lowliness so that he might raise us up. The call is simple: stop striving, stop grasping, come hungry and lowly like Mary, and receive the mercy God loves to give.