
This Christmas Eve I’m reflecting on the Magnificat. Like Hannah before her Mary responds to her unexpected pregnancy with a song of rejoicing and praise. It’s full of strength, courage and certainty. It’s a song of triumph and confidence that comes from a deep knowledge and trust in God. Today I was touched by these lines:
“The almighty works marvels for me, Holy his name!”
It is tempting to assume that Mary sang them when her life was settled and secure and everything was going well. It’s easy to see God working marvels in our lives when everything is going smoothly.
But that’s not the situation Mary was in when she sang this song of triumph. In fact, it’s hard to imagine a messier scenario than the one she was facing.
Yet in that situation she was able to see God working marvels beyond her wildest dreams in her and through her. God works marvels of some sort, big or small, in all our lives, though sometimes it’s hard to discern them in the midst of challenges and uncertainties. In our own uncertain and messy times her words remind me that God is also with us in all that we face. As God worked marvels in the unlikely circumstances of Mary’s Life God can work marvels in our lives.
What marvels is God working in your life this Advent?