We start a four-week series this Sunday for Advent and we’ll be looking at the Songs of Christmas. The first song we will look at is The Magnificat, which is recorded in Luke 1:46-55. The song is called The Magnificat, because it describes Mary’s act of magnifying (magnificat is Latin for magnifies) the Lord for choosing and using someone of her humble position to be the mother of Jesus.
What does it mean to magnify something? We can think of it in terms of a microscope, which is to make big what is small, like bacteria or cells. Another way we can think of it is in terms of a telescope, which is to make small what is large, like planets and galaxies. Mary’s magnification of God is in the telescopic sense of bringing God, who is transcendent and immense, into view. But God also magnifies Mary in the microscopic sense by making big what is small, namely Mary. It is this truth that prompts her to say, “he has looked on (with care) the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations shall call me blessed.” (v. 48) This is the heart of the gospel. God has made much of us who were small and insignificant (microscopically) so that we can also make much of God who is immense (telescopically). Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
brett eubank | unfinished 