"My soul
magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked
on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations
will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his
name. And his mercy is for those who
fear him from generation to generation
He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the
thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their
thrones and exalted those of humble
estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent
empty away. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as
he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and
to his offspring forever." Luke
1:46-56 ESV
Mary's song is
unusual for several reasons. First, it is one of only three songs in Scripture
attributed to women. The others are the
song of Miriam in Exodus and the song of Deborah in Judges. It is one only a few songs in the New
Testament. It is also the only part of
the New Testament written by a woman.
It is a song of pure
joy. Mary was visiting her cousin
Elizabeth, who bore in her womb John the
Baptist. When they met, John jumped in
his mother's womb. Mary echoes that joy in her song.
"My soul
magnifies the Lord And my spirit rejoices in God my savior."
The word she uses
for "rejoice" literally means
to jump for joy. As John jumped for joy in his mother, Mary jumped for joy in her song as she
contemplated what God was doing.
"Joy" is
complicated. First of all, it comes from
knowing, not supposing. Mary trusted
when the angel Gabriel spoke to her, but she did not rejoice. Instead, she bowed
her head in meek submission. She
supposed that it was God speaking, but she could have been wrong. The angel could have been a delusion. But
when she met Elizabeth, the words of the angel were confirmed. Her faith became firm knowledge, so she
rejoiced. Faith produces obedience, but
assurance produces joy. She went beyond belief to relief, and from relief to
joy.
Joy produces action.
All the words in the Old Testament for praise or joy are action words. This
word meant to "jump
high." When joy is in our hearts,
we should not keep it inside, but it should be expressed with our hands, feet,
and mouths. Joy unexpressed does not
stay around for long. When we express
our joy in the Savior, it echoes back to us, building in depth and
resonance. The more we express our joy,
the more we experience it.
Joy is a feeling,
but does not exist in our hearts alone. Other emotions are in there also. Joy
exists in our hearts side by side with sadness, fear, and even anger. But joy
works in our hearts in ways that other emotions don't.
A friend once
explained the difference to me between pleasure, satisfaction and joy. Pleasure is of the flesh, and is superficial
enjoyment. Our bodies may experience
pleasure even while we are sad or depressed.
Satisfaction is of the mind or heart. We may experience a long term
sense of satisfaction when things are generally all right, and life seems
reasonably well. We may be satisfied with what we have, but that it not the
same as joy. Joy is something deeper, a
sense of peace with God. We may not
experience pleasure, in fact we may be in pain.
We may be dissatisfied with our current situation. But even so, there
may be a deeper sense of joy in our lives.
We may be going through difficult times, doing work we hate, or have our
hearts broken, but can still find joy in the assurance that we are in God's
hands. That joy is like a deep well
inside of us which bubbles to the surface in unexpected times and does not
depend on the disturbances on the surface.
Mary's song
expresses this kind of joy. In her heart she knew peace with God. Even though
she was facing pain, shame, and pregnancy, Mary found God's promise worth
rejoicing about.
"Father, thank you for giving me the gift of
joy. Help me to become aware of the
Spirit's well of joy within me. Help me rejoice in you, even in times of great
difficulty. In Jesus' name, Amen."
