8.                     MARY’S REVOLUTIONARY VISION

                                     Lk. 1:46-55

                                               Jessie Nesakumar

Introduction:

    The Bible is the word of God written and told from the perspective of people who suffered injustice in their society.  The Biblical God is a revealed God who challenges injustices and offers a new way of life.   The writer of Luke stresses again and again that women are the most oppressed in the Palestinian society and Jesus came to liberate them.  In Luke it is Elizabeth and Mary who first receive the message of Christ's coming.  They sing and prophesy about the birth of the Christ child.  They are the witnesses to the events and are also active participants in God's messianic purpose.  Being women of low status, they are the first example of the lowly who are exalted in God's plan of salvation.

Mary's Encounter with the Angel:  

    In Luke 1:27, Mary is first introduced as a virgin of Galilee living in Nazareth, betrothed to Joseph of the house of David from a relatively poor family.  She has nothing to offer in terms of social status or education except belonging to the family of David through Joseph, her fiance.  She becomes great because of her role in the miracle of the virgin birth. 
    In Luke 1:32-35, the angel Gabriel with the message from God visits Mary.  God's love breaks into the world particularly the world of the poor, through the special openness and responsiveness of Mary.  The origin of divine salvation begins with a dialogue between the angel and Mary.  In Mary the offer of God's love is received and responded to from human freedom.
    In Luke, Mary is introduced as a virgin.  In the Jewish tradition, virginity was not a status.  In the virgin state she has nothing to offer except her openness.  Mary is greeted by the angel who tells her that she is "favored" by God (v.28).  She listens to the message of God and offers her whole being, body, mind and spirit, to the mystery of salvation.  The angel conveys to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High shall over shadow you" (v. 35).
    She is called to enter into a world, which lies beyond human possibilities.  Mary shares in it as the handmaid of the lord, which defies her understanding.  As proof, the angel also informs her of the pregnancy of her elderly cousin Elizabeth.
    Mary, in response to the message of the angel, rushes to Elizabeth’s house and receives from her a twofold blessing.  "Blessed is her from the Lord" (v. 45).  The encounter of God's love and power with human poverty and faith of Mary moves her to sing the hymn of praise known as the Magnificat.

Mary's Song of Praise, the Magnificat:

    The Magnificat is a canticle or hymn of praise sung for Messianic people yearning for the promises of God.  God's word has an impact in history and God who prefers to stay in the midst of the people has chosen Mary and hence she praises God's works in the history of salvation.  The Magnificat reflects varied and contradictory human feelings from joyful thanksgiving to the acknowledgement of the misery and injustice prevailing in the world.  Mary, being blessed by God the Savior, now raises her voice to all those who have hoped in the Redeemer, the Messiah, in which the future of God's promises have become a reality.  She becomes the vehicle through which God's salvation and the Messiah come.  Hence, she proclaims the mercy of God to and for all who fear God.
    The Magnificat can be divided into two sections, 1:46-50 and vv. 51-55.
    The Magnificat is Jewish in nature and similar to the Psalms of the people of God and the Song of Hannah.  In Luke the author puts the hymn on Mary's lips to show her gratitude and humility at the honor she has received from her Savior.  It celebrates the redemption of the lowly, the poor and the outcast.  She also affirms that the God of Abraham has fulfilled the promises and sent salvation to the lowly.
    Mary begins her canticle by thanking God her Savior for the deliverance of Israel.  In vv. 51-53, Mary says that God has shown mercy to the lowly and to the humble and not to the noble and powerful.
    In vv. 54-55, Mary remembers the promises to Abraham which are fulfilled through her.  In v. 48, Mary is referred to directly as the individual who speaks for the lowly, because of her the promises are bestowed to them.

Mary's Characteristics and Ours:

    From the Magnificat we can ascertain certain virtues of Mary.  Mary listens to God's word.  In the annunciation she carefully listens to the word of God conveyed to her by the angel Gabriel.  In vv. 47-49, Mary is presented as a model disciple who responds to the call of God.  The text calls her a handmaiden of the Lord.  Mary is able to commit herself to the will of God because she has already listened to the word of God.  In the same way, the word of God can become part of our lives and God can speak to us, commissioning us to be God's servants as well.
    Mary is a woman responding to God's plan of salvation.  She is chosen to be the instrument through whom redemption will come into the world.  Mary a poor unmarried girl,  accepts a blessing which causes her more tensions than solutions.
    Mary is a spirit filled woman.  To be filled by the power of the Holy Spirit and used by God is an awesome experience.
    Mary is a blessed woman.  First the angel and then Elizabeth call her blessed.  Mary too believed this.  To be blessed by God and to be a blessing are joyous experiences.  Mary extends the same blessings she received from God to those who fear God, and especially to women who are looked upon simply as child bearers and are denied opportunities to have control over their own lives.  Like Mary, many women cherish the pleasures and blessings which accompany them in their struggle.
    Mary has concern towards the poor of the Lord.  The Hebrew word anawim is a term used for the poor, humble and afflicted.  It referred to the economically poor, but later it referred to those who could not rely on their own strength.  Their counterparts were not simply the rich but the proud and the self sufficient ones who trusted on their own strength and pretended that they had no need for God.

The Reign of God as Reversal:

    In vv. 51-53, we see the paradox of God taking sides, wielding a strong arm against those who oppress the poor.  Here God's reign represents reversal -- God raises up the weak, the disinherited, the poor.  Those who have become rich through deceitful means, through exploitation and injustice, and those who use their power to oppress the poor are treated severely by God.  The same God spreads generosity and gifts among the hungry and the humble and the afflicted.  Thus Mary, the woman of faith who has offered her womb for God, stands up fearlessly and sings out her song.
    Mary also recalls the promises made to Abraham.  God made three promises to Abraham:  that his children would be a great nation (Gen. 12:2), that his descendants would possess the land of Canaan (Gen.12:7), and that in him all the nations of the world would be blessed (Gen. 12:3).  In Mary the promises are fulfilled.  Like Abraham, Mary finds favor with God (v. 30); like Abraham, Mary is a source of blessing and is blessed by all generations (v. 42,45);  like Abraham, Mary is praised for her faith in the promise that by the power of god she will have a Son (v. 45).  In Mary the promises made to Abraham are fulfilled.

Conclusion:

    Mary shows us that we should totally depend on God.  Those who work to establish peace and justice in this world, among the poor and the lowly, should not assume the ways of the world with its power and exploitation.  Mary teaches us to act as the poor of the Lord, believing and trusting in God alone.  God's will is manifested in us and for us as handmaids of the Lord, and we shall discover that with God nothing is impossible. Amen.

Questions for Discussions:

1.    How can Mary become a model in the contemporary     culture?
2.    What does Luke say about the poor?  Who are the poor     in our present context?
3.    Analyze the causes of dehumanizing situations of the     poor.  How would you become an agent to promote     peace and justice in your context?
4.    Are socio, political, cultural and religious structures     ordained by God?  Give evidence to defend your     answer.

BIBLIOGRAPHY :

Brown, Raymond E., et.al, Mary in the New Testament,     Bangalore: Theological Publications in India (TPI),     1992.
Gebara, I. & Bingemer, MARY, MOTHER OF GOD,     MOTHER OF THE POOR, New York: Orbis Books,     1989.
McHugh, John, The MOTHER OF JESUS IN THE NEW     TESTAMENT New York: Doubleday, 1975.