My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
for he has looked upon his lowly servant.
Mary had no doubt already been singing this song to God already within her soul. It must have reached an apex during her encounter with Gabriel. But it was here, it was caught up in the Holy Spirit, together with Elizabeth, and the yet unborn John, that it bubbled to surface. Here was a reciprocity of mutually reinforcing joy. No doubt it was a blessing for Mary to find an environment where she could thus express herself. We can imagine that most passersby and acquaintances would have been less thrilled to hear her Magnificat. To them her joy would have seemed unsubstantiated and the claims she made in her song baseless. Blasting morose people with profound spiritual joy seldom produces good results. But Elizabeth absolutely resonated with the Spirit in which Mary sang, and understood the truth of her words.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones
and has lifted up the lowly.
Mary and Elizabeth were already among the lowly who were lifted up by God, both blessed in real and tangible ways through the power of the Spirit at the appearances of Gabriel. Yet, although Mary sang as if everything in her song had already come about it was not the case that it had come about completely. After all, the mighty were still on their thrones, something that was not only true then, but even now on our day. Yet Mary proclaimed what she understood the end result would be as though it was already accomplished. This was, in other words, faith, and hope in the promises of God. It was not flimsy hope in the sense that we commonly use that term. It was supernatural hope with God as its object, hope that would not, could not disappoint (see Romans 5:5).
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
How could Mary possess such hope in spite of a world that was, to all appearances, still ruled by the proud, the mighty, and the rich? Was it not because in Jesus God had in fact already completely upended the hierarchies of power in this world? Just by the fact of his incarnation Jesus had already initiated the great reversal promised by the prophets. He was the bread of life, already filling the souls of the hungry by his presence. And his eventual victory over the systemic powers of darkness in this world was assured. Thus, anyone who was united to him already shared in a victory that, while still distant, was definite.
Mary's song helped root Elizabeth's own experience and understanding of God's mercy in his larger plan of salvation. Being rooted in that story was going to be important, since her son John wasn't exactly going to live a long and carefree life, or provide any continuation of her lineage. He was going to succeed in a way that required faith to perceive. Yet he was truly among the lowly exulted by God, in spite of appearances to the contrary. The promise of mercy was not forgotten, even when all seemed lost.
Mary's song can help us as well. She can help teach us to magnify the Lord ourselves, and to find joy in our savior, just as she did. She can help teach us to believe in God's ultimate victory even when times seem dark. From her we can learn that, having Jesus, there is nothing we truly lack.
He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (see Romans 8:32).
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