This past Sunday we sang a great song that echoed Mary’s prayer in Luke 1. It was so God-Centered and Christ exalting. In particular I loved the part that echoed Mary’s words, “my spirit rejoices in God my Savior”.
After singing this song I was struck by the regrettable damage done by the Catholic Church to this grace-filled woman. As evangelicals, and particularly formerly catholic evangelicals, we recoil when people talk about Mary for more than a couple of minutes because we are so cautious of the popular worship…err…veneration of Mary at the hands of Rome.
What a tragedy this is. Mary was a great woman of faith, not because she was a great woman, but because God is a great God. The hero of the virgin birth is not Mary, but God! We do not see Mary’s virginity, piety, or spirituality exalted in any of the biblical texts. Instead we see God’s glorious grace amplified. So shame on Rome for erecting a statue to Mary that obstructs our view of God’s grace and power. And shame on us for closing our eyes to the biblical Mary (regardless of our motives) and in so doing missing the power, glory and grace of God in the life of Mary.
Here is the text from Luke 1. Find yourself agreeing with Mary’s theology and God-centered worship that points to the faithfulness, power, grace, love, mercy, and righteousness of God as expressed through this wonderful prayer.
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 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 empty away. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” Luke 1.46-55
