An Advent Meditation
by Bill Gaultiere
Soul Shepherding Experiences, © 2012
For two thousand years Mary’s Magnificat has been a source of daily prayer for Christ-followers who use The Liturgy of the Hours. She exclaimed these words upon hearing her older cousin Elizabeth confirm that she was indeed carrying Christ the Lord in her womb!
Mary was a woman who “treasured and pondered in her heart” the things that God showed her (Luke 2:19). Indeed, it was her meditations on the great prayer of Hannah in the Old Testament that inspired her song (1 Samuel 2:1-10) and probably she prayed or sang her Magnificat many times throughout her life.
Mary certainly needed the blessed words of life that God gave her! For a long time no one but Joseph believed her story that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit -- she was branded with the Scarlet A. Like Jesus, all of her life she lived with the slanderous accusations that were spoken against her (John 9:29).
Imagine Mary walking to the village well to get water and people frowning at her and whispering about her, but instead of taking these things to heart she quietly smiles the words of the glorious song that God gave her! Instead of looking to her gossiping neighbors for acceptance she sings the word of God in her heart to keep her identity and well-being fixed on belonging to her Lord in the Kingdom of the Heavens.
Luke 1:46-55 (The Liturgy of the Hours, ICET)
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
“He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, he has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.
“He has come to help of his servant Israel for he has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children forever.”
Response
Imagine yourself in Mary’s position -- what do you feel? What words in Mary’s Song is the Holy Spirit drawing your attention to? Perhaps there is something going on in your life today that the Lord is speaking into from Mary’s Song?
Dear Father God, how we love you! We sing with Mary that you have looked with favor on us, most especially in coming of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. You are holy and you have done great things in our lives. We are watching for your hand of mercy, ready to join in with what your Holy Spirit is doing in our midst so that we can bring honor to Jesus by loving the people near us. Amen.
More Soul Shepherding
To cultivate Mary’s faith in God you might carry in your heart today this favorite Breath Prayer that I wrote: “With Jesus I can... Looking to his hand.”
You Can Live in Jesus’ Easy Yoke is a book I wrote to help you and your loved ones to live in God’s peace.
Bill Gaultiere, Ph.D. and his wife Kristi Gaultiere, Psy.D. are founders of Soul Shepherding, a 501c3 nonprofit ministry. As counselors, spiritual mentors, speakers, and retreat leaders since 1987 they facilitate intimacy with Jesus for pastors and all kinds of ministry leaders from around the world. Bill is the author of You Can Live in Jesus’ Easy Yoke. You can sign up to receive his soul care messages by e-mail, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, or LinkedIn.