The young maiden who turned the world around

By Noralyn Dudt

"My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. For He has looked with favor on His lowly servant."

Around 2,024 years ago in the  little town of Nazareth, a young maiden received a visit from someone from afar.  An angel of the Lord appeared and  made the announcement that has now become a prayer of adoration by many in the Catholic faith,  "blessed are you the most favored of all women."  Blessed ?  Favored?  Indeed, Mary must have felt blessed and favored. One wonders why she, of all people, and not the magistrate's daughter was chosen. It would be an eye ( or mind?) opener to take a close look at Mary's song of praise, "The Magnificat"  in the book of Luke 1:46-55 and see what kind of a soul this young maiden was.

"He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaid; for behold,  henceforth all generations shall call me blessed; because He who is mighty has done great things for me, and Holy is His Name."

It appears that Mary was a humble soul—she recognized  that her  station in life was at the bottom rung.  She was aware that there was a mighty God whose Name was Holy.  And she was full of awe and gratitude that an all-powerful God who created  the heavens, the sun, the stars and the sky would reach down and exult a lowly person like her. That she came to such a quick recognition implies that she had been staying close with her God. It is obvious that she had an in-depth  knowledge of the Scriptures. She styled her song from  Hannah in the Old Testament ( 1 Samuel 2:1-10)

    Hannah prayed : My heart exults the Lord

    Mary prayed : My soul magnifies the Lord

    Hannah : There is none holy like the Lord

    Mary : Holy is his Name

    "And  His mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear Him. He has shown might with His arm, He has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He has put down the mighty from their thrones,  and has exalted the lowly."

The obscure place where Mary's ancestors  were  born in the city of David was part of the mighty Roman Empire. It was a vast empire that stretched all the way from England to Egypt,  and in between the Mediterranean basin. From its founding in 625 BC to its fall in AD 476, the Roman Empire conquered and integrated dozens of cultures. It was one of the greatest and most influential civilizations in the world that lasted  over a thousand  years.  It was ruled by a succession of Caesars in its capital city,  the grandeur that was Rome. Prefects ( governors) and magistrates were elected and assigned to rule the  provinces that Rome acquired.  One example was the well-known Pontius Pilate, the chief judicial magistrate in the Roman province of Judea who finally capitulated to the Jews rallying cry "Crucify him" when Jesus was brought to his court. By the first century BC, Rome had  become the most powerful state in the world  through a combination of military power, political flexibility,  and economic expansion. It was preceded by three empires that had also absorbed the nation of the Jews: Babylonian under King Nebuchadnezzar, Mede-Persian under Cyrus the Great, and Greek under Alexander the Great.

Although the Romans brought peace (Pax Romana) and stability, it was a world that was harsh. It was a world where slaves, thieves and rebels whose crimes were punishable  by death on the cross. Mary, her neighbors, her countrymen were yearning to be free. A visit from above must have made her soul cry out with a joyful shout. Her heart must have sang when she envisioned a world "with the fires of God's justice burning"

"God has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty."

"And his mercy is for those who fear Him from generation to generation. "

A passionate prayer of praise by a young maiden who was supposed to be "meek and mild". But this Magnificat suggests that this humble soul who has "seen" God, a God of Justice and Love, has been emboldened to utter, "He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly...."

A wild prayer that inspires us to sing along with the "Canticle of the Turning" written and arranged by Hal Hopson and John Ferguson: "My soul cries out with a joyful shout, that the God of my heart is great. And my spirit sing of the day you bring, let the fires of your Justice burn. Wipe away all tears, for the dawn is near, and the world is about to turn."

There's no finer example than Mary's praising and glorifying God for the visitation. A visit that inspires, a visit that emboldens, a visit that implies we can do things wherever we are...big and small....that can turn the world around. All we need to do is recognize the Power behind that "visit."

 

Next: the Carpenter who turned the world upside down

Noralyn Onto Dudt loves singing the "Canticle  of the Turning" with the congregation at  Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Bethesda, Maryland where she and her good friend Louise Golder whom she often calls "Sister Superior"  enjoy hosting the Coffee Hour in the Social Hall  following the church service on Sundays.