The Politics of Mary

With last Sunday being Advent Sunday, I was thinking about Mary and the Annunciation from Gabriel and then Mary's Song after that in Luke 1:46-55

46And Mary said:
"My soul glorifies the Lord
47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55to Abraham and his descendants forever,
even as he said to our fathers."

We have a tendency to think of Mary as a very meek and mild little teenage girl, but when you look at her statement, it's an extremely political one. She is saying that God is going to bring down the mighty. Bring down the strong. He'll exalt the humble.

Lest we forget, Jesus' birth was not simply a spiritual event brought to form in a baby. It was God reiterating that He stands with the poor and the downtrodden. Now, Jesus as the Messiah didn't meet the expectations of the Jews. He didn't overthrow the Romans and restore Israel to prominence. He did something even more important. He reconciled us with God so that we can then bring reconciliation to the world and pursue God's purposes for this world. And that involves calling out the powerful when they abuse their power and it calls for lifting up the humble.