Story by Michele McGrath of Long Beach, California USA
And Mary said, I’m bursting with God-news; I’m dancing the song of my Savior God. God took one good look at me, and look what happened— I’m the most fortunate woman on earth!
Based on the Advent Devotion for Families and Households available at https://account-media.s3.amazonaws.com/26072/uploaded/h/0e18630581_1729692500_hope-is-near-advent-2024-23102024.pdf
Open: Light a candle or ring a chime.
Ask: Take a few minutes and ask yourself, “When did I feel hope today or yesterday?”
Listen: My first child was a son, born in November. That Advent was a new experience for me. I learned, not just in my heart and mind, but imprinted in my very flesh, what it meant to love a child so deeply and powerfully that you felt at the same moment uncontrollably joyful and excruciatingly vulnerable.
Verses 46–55 of the first chapter of Luke are called the Magnificat, Mary’s song of rejoicing sung when she, pregnant with Jesus, greets her cousin Elizabeth, pregnant with John. The Magnificat gets its name from its first phrase in Latin, “My soul magnifies the Lord.”
Mary’s song does indeed magnify the Lord. It seems to come directly from the heart of God, a God who is used to celebrating with families in the cramped, smoky kitchens of the poor, and working long hours side by side in the fields with the marginalized, as sung with the voice of a mother anticipating delivery.
Mary’s song is no soft, sweet lullaby. It is powerful and strong, as sure of God’s faithfulness as the life-giving blood coursing through her veins and the new life being nurtured by her body. It declares God’s redemptive work, God’s preferential option for the poor and oppressed—not as something still hoped for, but in past tense—something already accomplished!
Mary and Elizabeth were strong, wise, faithful women who carried the world in their wombs and God’s liberation on their lips. With mothers like these, is it any wonder that their sons played such an important role in God’s plan to turn the world right side up?
My spirit rejoices in God, my savior. Magnificat!
Breathe
The season of Advent reminds us that even as we wait for the birth of Christ in our lives and world, God is always with us. Right here, right now—wherever we are and with the ones we love. Take a deep breath and breathe in the presence of God.
Respond
How can you bring hope to others today?
Dance Prayer
Share a dance move that expresses to God how you are feeling today!
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.