Today Mary prays, perhaps even sings that most beautiful prayer, the Magnificat. In the birth of her son Mary tells us that God is about to turn the world upside down.
He scatters the proud in the plans of their hearts. A Moral revolution. Christianity is the death of pride. Why because if a person compares their life to that of Christ, there is no room for pride.
He casts down the mighty, he exalts the humble. A Social revolution, Christianity puts an end to the world’s labels and prestige.
He has filled those who are hungry, those who are rich he has sent away. An economic revolution. A non-Christian society is a society where each person is out to get as much as they can, where they are not considerate of the state of others. A Christian society is a society where a person is concerned not just about themselves but about those who have less.
In God’s kingdom, humility and selflessness are honored. True power and authority are centered in compassion and generosity. Justice and mercy are exalted.
In the 1980’s the ruling military in Guatemala banned the public praying of the Magnificat. They considered it subversive and dangerous. They were afraid that Mary’s prayer might encourage the poor and oppressed in the country to rise up against them.
The Magnificat is not the sentiment of a Christmas card, but a prophesy of liberation. It is not the song of a plastic saint but of a real woman who proclaimed to all of us a reason to hope.
Her prayer, her song, is about God about to turn the world upside down, and it began with her yes!