Canticle 15, The Song of Mary

The Magnificat, Luke 1:46-55

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; for he has looked with favor on 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.

He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm, he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel, for he has remembered his promise of mercy,

The promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *

as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

(This year, Monday Matters will focus on wisdom conveyed in the treasures of the book of Psalms. We'll look at the psalms read in church before Monday Matters comes to your screen. Please note that these days in the church, there are two tracks of readings in the lectionary, offering a choice of psalms. Your church may or may not have read the psalm included in this email.)

Yesterday in church, you may have heard the Magnificat, a canticle recited in place of a psalm or perhaps rendered musically. (We’ve reprinted it in this email in case you missed it.) It’s the song sung by Mary in response to the news from the angel that she was going to deliver a baby who would be called the Son of the Most High. Mary begins by proclaiming the greatness of the Lord. It got me thinking about what it means to proclaim.

I recalled a session with a theology professor who led us in reflection on the problem of evil. We all recognized that it is indeed a mystery why bad things happen to good people. Without making arguments that would try to tie everything up in a neat package, he said that in many of life’s difficult moments we are called to proclaim when we can’t explain. We are called to withstand when we can’t understand.

In that call to proclaim, we are given a way to move forward when life seems to present us with a dead end, with suffering that is unscripted and inexplicable. The willingness to proclaim the goodness and greatness of God, the love of God always with us, may in many circumstances present a great challenge to our faith. But we follow Mary’s example, proclaiming the greatness of God even as her life was turned upside down, even as she might well become the object of scorn and scandal, even as she is told that the child she raises will mean that a sword will go through her own heart, even as later on in the gospels we meet her at the foot of the cross.

We proclaim even if we can’t explain.

Coming again this week to our baptismal covenant, in that liturgy we make the promise to proclaim by word and example the good news of God in Christ. Life’s circumstances may make it tough to think about good news. But we proclaim good news anyway. 

I’m preparing a homily for a Blue Christmas Service, a liturgy intended to support those who have experienced loss and contend with grief. It’s made me mindful that the season of Christmas itself is marked by challenges. On December 21, we remember St. Thomas of doubting fame, so blinded by grief he cannot believe Jesus is alive. The day after Christmas, we observe the feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr in the history of the church. Then we observe the feast of St. John whose life ended in exile. After that, we observe the horror of the slaughter of innocents. We remember Thomas a Becket brutally murdered in the Cathedral. There’s no explanation for these tragedies. But we are nevertheless called to proclaim good news. As Handel points out in his selection of scriptures for the Messiah, Jesus is a man acquainted with grief. The good news? We have not been left alone to face the challenges.

And as we proclaim when we can’t explain, we are recognizing the great mysteries of our faith, beyond our understanding. As St. Paul said, we now see through a glass darkly. With limited vision, we go ahead and proclaim the good news of amazing grace, by which we are on the receiving end of God’s love. We join Mary in proclaiming the greatness of a God who in the words of the Magnificat takes the side of those who are poor, who lifts up the lowly.

As we move into the Christmas season, what will you proclaim, by word and example? There is indeed good news to share, including the good news that even in life’s most challenging moments, God is with us.

-Jay Sidebotham