“Mary said: With all my heart I praise the Lord, and I am glad because of God my Savior. God cares for me, his humble servant. From now on, all people will say God has blessed me. God All-Powerful has done great things for me, and his name is holy. He always shows mercy to everyone who worships him. The Lord has used his powerful arm to scatter those who are proud. God drags strong rulers from their thrones and puts humble people in places of power. God gives the hungry good things to eat, and sends the rich away with nothing. God helps his servant Israel and is always merciful to his people. The Lord made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his family forever!”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭1:46-55‬ ‭CEV‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/392/luk.1.46-54.CEV

As I watched The Chosen Christmas special this year, I was struck by Mary’s song in a different way than I ever have been. First, if you have not seen The Chosen series stop reading this. Download the app or go to YouTube and watch every episode! Aside from being great filmmaking, it is an amazing project on the life of Christ.

Alright, now that you have watched that, notice that the song recorded for Mary in Luke’s gospel, the Magnificant, is not a song of fear as some of our modern carols suggest, though I am sure Mary felt some fear. It is not a song questioning God’s timing or the purpose of her son, as some other modern carols lead us to believe.

Mary would have likely been a teenager. In a time where women could be stoned for adultery and the Prophets of God had been silent for hundreds of years, Mary, engaged to a builder named Joseph, is pregnant with a child that is not his, but God’s son. When she goes to stay with her cousin, Elisabeth, Mary is greeted with joy from her cousin who knows Mary is carrying the son of God because her unborn baby leaps with joy as she nears, recognizing his cousin/Savior from the womb. The magnificant is her reply.

Mary’s response to this impossible situation is praise to God. I’m sure in the months she was with Elizabeth and Zechariah that there were many more conversations about their unborn children and the road that lay ahead of them, but the song recorded for Mary is this hymn of praise . Now the Bible does not shy away from laments or fear amidst a calling from God, but that is not recorded. Instead, “…He has done great things for me…”

I read this in a fresh way at a time that was anything but joyful. As for many people, this has been a tough year for our family and for a few weeks in December, I thought my heart might explode in grief, frustration and empathy. Perhaps you find yourself in a similar season of life. You may not be carrying the Son of God in your belly, but the weight of what God is walking you through may feel like an unexpected pregnancy in the first century-dangerous, frightening, overwhelming, unfair. You may not have several prophecies outlining the end game and purpose of what you are walking through, but what if this season is precisely refining you or someone around you? Either way, do you trust the God of Mary? Do you trust her son? Is your response praise or lament? Are you just getting through or walking in praise to the God Who Sees, Immanuel, God With Us?

May we all praise Him and give thanks in all things, even the difficult things. “He has done great things” for you and for me. As a friend of mine often says, “Cling to joy!” Try writing your own praise or turning on praise music. Sing or dance like it is an audience of One. It’s ok if you cry also, just don’t forget to praise.