Mary's Song

And Mary said,“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 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 away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers,to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

I have or had three sisters - we lost my sister Pegi in December of 1990. All four of us liked to sing together and each of us played one or several instruments. It was Pegi who first got me to play the guitar. We sang while we washed dishes, while we doing chores of all sorts and on the regular long car rides that were made without any bathroom stops. Music and singing have always been an expressive and important part of my life. My girls are musical and so is my husband. And we often break in to song, to the embarrassment of our daughters on occasion.

Mary sings. A remarkable and familiar moment to us all and yet she sings a hymn she would have learned as a child and which she and Elizabeth would have known the special meaning of. She can't help herself but sing, for God was making real what was promised- that the humble would be lifted up, that women would be blessed along with their men and that the whole world would know of God's love through Mary, a teenage mom. She was full of anxiety and hope, all the standard feelings we women feel when pregnant, and yet her circumstances were special and her burden was large - carrying the incarnate God, the Savior of the world.

Today, as the season comes so close and Christ is incarnate more fully in our lives this Christmas, may we remember the ancient songs of praise, and the words of love and thanksgiving on our lips. I ask God to help me see the multitude of blessings in my life and spend this day with a song on my lips every moment.