We
are entering the final days of Advent as we prepare for the birth of our Lord
into our world. During this Advent
season, we’ve heard from a lot of prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zephaniah, just
to name a few. Today, we hear Mary sing
the Magnificat while she is visiting her cousin Elizabeth. If we picture Mary reaching her cousin’s
residence, we can imagine this extraordinary scene in which four of
Christianity’s greatest prophets are assembled together. Two of these prophets are Mary and Elizabeth,
the two women who come together during their time of pregnancy. Both are pregnant under extraordinary
circumstances: one is with child yet still a virgin, while the other became
pregnant after she was well past her child bearing years. The other two prophets present are in their mothers’
wombs: John the Baptist and Jesus. And, as the Gospels enfold, the people of
ancient Israel will learn what Jesus is all about, that he is much more than a
prophet. So, in many ways, this is an
extraordinary meeting between Mary & Elizabeth. Yet, in other ways, what
takes place is an ordinary event between two women helping each other &
reaching out to each other in their time of need.
As
we hear Mary’s Magnificat this morning, we can see how it still resonates with
all of us in the circumstances of our lives, through the lens in which we view
the world. All of us have our own points
of view, entrenched in how God is present to us in the particular reality of
our lives. So, I wonder: how would we
sing the Magnificat to God in the circumstances of our own lives, in the lived
reality in which our journey of faith takes place, in which God meets us in the
here & now? Take someone in our
universal Church who is a great example of faith, such as Mother Teresa of
Calcutta. In many ways, so many people
throughout the world admired Mother Teresa because the Magnificat she sang in
her life was a song of love and charity toward others, yet, it was not
necessarily a song of words.
May
the words of Mary in the Magnificat enter our hearts & help us to create a
place there for the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
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