Luke 1:46-55: a reflection

In her song of praise, Mary rejoices that God has looked upon her lowliness and done great things for her, and she celebrates how God lifts up the lowly and shows mercy to the humble. My soul magnifies the Lord, Mary sings; for he has looked at the humble state of his servant. He has scattered the proud, put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things. Mary marvels that God, in his mercy, regarded her lowly state and did great things for her; and she sees in this God's larger way of working: lifting up the lowly and humble, filling the hungry, while scattering the proud and sending the rich away empty. This shows how God regards and lifts up the lowly and humble, showing them mercy. God looks upon and lifts up the lowly. God exalts the humble and fills the hungry. God's mercy regards the lowly state of his servants. God lifts up the lowly and scatters the proud.

Notice the reversal Mary celebrates, and where God's regard rests. She marvels that God looked upon her, a lowly servant of no worldly importance, and did great things for her. And she sees in this a pattern of how God works: he regards the lowly, exalts the humble, fills the hungry with good things; while he scatters the proud in their imaginations, puts down rulers from their thrones, and sends the rich away empty. God's regard and mercy rest not on the proud, the mighty, and the self-sufficient, but on the lowly, the humble, the hungry, those who know their need and their lowliness. This is a great comfort and a searching challenge. It comforts the lowly and humble, those of no worldly importance, those who know their need: for God looks upon them, regards them, lifts them up, shows them mercy and does great things for them. And it challenges pride and self-sufficiency: for God scatters the proud and sends the self-sufficient away empty. We do well to come before God not in pride and self-sufficiency, but in the lowliness and humility that God regards and lifts up. God's mercy and regard rest on the lowly and humble, not the proud. Come to God in humility, which he regards and lifts up. God lifts up the lowly and sends the self-sufficient away empty. The lowly and humble are the ones God exalts.

That is worth taking to heart, for God regards and lifts up the lowly and humble, showing them mercy, while he scatters the proud and sends the self-sufficient away empty. We can approach God in pride and self-sufficiency, or despair of being regarded because we are lowly; but Mary sang that God looked upon her lowly state and did great things for her, exalting the lowly and filling the hungry. God's mercy rests on the humble. Come to God not in pride but in humility and lowliness, which he regards and lifts up, trusting that he shows mercy to the humble. Come to God in the lowliness and humility that he regards and lifts up, rather than in pride and self-sufficiency, as Mary sang that God had looked upon the humble state of his servant and done great things for her, and celebrated how God exalts the lowly, fills the hungry with good things, and shows mercy to the humble, while he scatters the proud, puts down rulers from their thrones, and sends the rich away empty; for Mary marveled that God in his mercy regarded her lowly state and did great things for her, and saw in this God's larger way of working, that his regard and mercy rest not on the proud, the mighty, and the self-sufficient but on the lowly, the humble, and the hungry, those who know their need and lowliness, which is both a great comfort to the lowly and humble, since God looks upon them and lifts them up and does great things for them, and a searching challenge to pride and self-sufficiency, since God scatters the proud and sends the self-sufficient away empty, so that we do well to come before God not in pride and self-sufficiency but in the lowliness and humility that God regards and lifts up.