Mary's Song of Praise

Luke 1:45-56

Back to the home of Zacharias and Elizabeth and she said to Mary:

James Tissot, Brooklyn Museum

"Why am I so honored,
that the mother of my Lord
should visit me?...
You are blessed because you believed 
that the Lord would do what He said."
Luke 1:45 NLT

And Mary responds with a song of praise:

"Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
For He took notice 
of His lowly servant girl...
He shows mercy... to all who fear Him...
 
His mighty arm 
has done tremendous things!...
He has scattered 
the proud and haughty ones.
He has brought down princes 
from their thrones 
and exalted the humble."
Luke 1:46-55 NLT

Kid's notice Mary's heart...she see's herself as belonging to God and as His  lowly servant girl. She is humble, and not proud or haughty. What does it mean to be proud or haughty? (Acting better than others). What does it mean to be humble? (To be lowly, considerate of others) Jesus was not haughty or proud even though He truly deserved to be; but rather, He was humble and lowly. Regular people loved Him and were comfortable around Him.

Mary had a true fear and reverence for God. What does it mean to fear God? Jesus said, "Don't be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they can not touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew 10: 28 NLT  It means to have a true reverence and respect for God and not be proud.

Mary see's God as merciful...  to those who fear Him; but that He brings down the proud and exalts the humble She is a good example to show us how to be God's lowly servants.

I like what it says in James 4:6-10 NLT. "God opposes the proud, but favors the humble." vs 6 So we are to humble ourselves before God, come close to Him and He will come close to us. We need to wash our hands and purify our hearts. When we have done something wrong we need to be truly sorry, even to the point of tears. When we truly humble ourselves, He will lift us up. This kind of attitude makes it much easier to get along with your parents, brothers and sisters; as well as your friends.

Praise be to God who keeps His promises and is merciful to all who fear Him!

A favorite DVD in our home is the recently made movie called "The Nativity Story". You can buy it or rent, The story is well produced and puts you into the lives of Joseph and Mary, her parents and Elizabeth and Zaccharias. You experience with them their faith and their humanity with the emotion that they must have felt living in such extraordinary circumstances.