My Soul Magnifies the Lord
Mary's Song of Praise (Luke 1:46-56, esp. v 47)
part one
My soul magnifies the Lord. Can the Absolute be magnified? Can the Ultimate be made larger? What does it mean for my soul to magnify the Lord?
I'm thinking of a child holding a magnifying glass up to an insect (hopefully away from direct sunlight) - the child's increased vision doesn't change the insect at all, it doesn't even necessarily change the child at all - they are both what they were before, in the same relationship they were in before. But something has changed. The child's focus has changed, her vision has narrowed and intensified for a moment. To her extraordinary details come to light, subtleties she was not aware of, complexities and (dare I say) beauties become manifest. A new world opens up to her - a world that was always there, paralleling her own, but that in her hurry and self-centeredness she never noticed before. All it took was a look through a magnifying glass, and she was shocked into seeing a whole new world.
Is this what Mary meant when saying "my soul magnifies the Lord"? Of course, she may have been just emoting, just expressing her feelings of closeness to the Spirit, of exaltation, in being chosen, in having a baby. But the expression "my soul magnifies" seems subtly important.
Can our persons, our souls, act as a magnifying glass for God? Can we focus people's vision on finer details of a world of which they may not even be aware? And how can we do this?!
If we look to Mary's experience, her magnification comes in the context of her joy. Upon arriving at her aunt's house and feeling the welcome there, Mary is surely relieved and begins to overcome her fear of social rejection, and allows herself to feel the joy of new motherhood. And there is also confidence - more than hope (but less than certainty, for what mother thinks of certainty) - a confidence that she will raise a fine son and that he will do good things. Mary magnified the Lord when her soul was filled with joy and confidence.
Confidence in God's workings in the world - that justice and peace will someday prevail, that economic and spiritual relations between people will someday be equal and nourishing, that those in need will have theirs met, and that there will be mercy. Mercy. Mercy and blessedness.
Oh, that we all could be filled with such joy and confidence. We might just be able to change the world. And wouldn't that magnify the Lord.
part one
My soul magnifies the Lord. Can the Absolute be magnified? Can the Ultimate be made larger? What does it mean for my soul to magnify the Lord?
I'm thinking of a child holding a magnifying glass up to an insect (hopefully away from direct sunlight) - the child's increased vision doesn't change the insect at all, it doesn't even necessarily change the child at all - they are both what they were before, in the same relationship they were in before. But something has changed. The child's focus has changed, her vision has narrowed and intensified for a moment. To her extraordinary details come to light, subtleties she was not aware of, complexities and (dare I say) beauties become manifest. A new world opens up to her - a world that was always there, paralleling her own, but that in her hurry and self-centeredness she never noticed before. All it took was a look through a magnifying glass, and she was shocked into seeing a whole new world.
Is this what Mary meant when saying "my soul magnifies the Lord"? Of course, she may have been just emoting, just expressing her feelings of closeness to the Spirit, of exaltation, in being chosen, in having a baby. But the expression "my soul magnifies" seems subtly important.
Can our persons, our souls, act as a magnifying glass for God? Can we focus people's vision on finer details of a world of which they may not even be aware? And how can we do this?!
If we look to Mary's experience, her magnification comes in the context of her joy. Upon arriving at her aunt's house and feeling the welcome there, Mary is surely relieved and begins to overcome her fear of social rejection, and allows herself to feel the joy of new motherhood. And there is also confidence - more than hope (but less than certainty, for what mother thinks of certainty) - a confidence that she will raise a fine son and that he will do good things. Mary magnified the Lord when her soul was filled with joy and confidence.
Confidence in God's workings in the world - that justice and peace will someday prevail, that economic and spiritual relations between people will someday be equal and nourishing, that those in need will have theirs met, and that there will be mercy. Mercy. Mercy and blessedness.
Oh, that we all could be filled with such joy and confidence. We might just be able to change the world. And wouldn't that magnify the Lord.
posted by Christian at 8:43 AM
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