He has filled the hungry with good things

Luke 1:46-56 NASB

And Mary said:
"My soul exalts the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. "For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave;
For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. "For the Mighty One has done great things for me;
And holy is His name. "And his mercy is  upon generation  after generation 
Toward those who fear Him. "He has done mighty deeds with His arm; 
He has scattered  those who were  proud in the thoughts of their heart. "He has brought down rulers from  their  thrones,
And has exalted those who were humble. "He has filled the hungry with good things;
And sent away the rich empty-handed. "He has given help to Israel His servant, 
In remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and his descendants forever."
  And Mary stayed with her about three months, and  then  returned to her home.

My thoughts -

Gabriel has given Mary the news that she will birth the Son of God and left. Gabriel told Mary not to be afraid and so she isn't. Rather than freaking out, which would be a perfectly normal reaction, she goes to see her cousin Elizabeth and they rejoice.

I wonder if Mary would have rejoiced about how God had blessed her if she knew what we would do to her son. I wonder if, when faced with his execution, Mary recalled this day of celebration. The disciples didn't seem to understand what must happen to the Messiah even though they spent every day with him at the height of his ministry. Did Mary know? Could she have rejoiced if she did? Lets look at what she says as she rejoices.

First off, she considers herself to be blessed by God. God is using her. If you have a heart for God there is nothing you would rather do than be used by God to accomplish God's purpose. And as far as God's purpose goes what could be more important than bringing God's Son into the world?

Mary refers to God here as the "Mighty One". We love God's power. But even more so we love God's love and Mary is rejoicing in God's might producing mercy for "generation after generation". Through Jesus, who Mary is rejoicing at the opportunity to bring into the world, God's mercy will be shown to all the world. Through Jesus God reconciles Himself to us rebellious, sinful humans.

But what else does God do with His might? Mary says here that God does "mighty deeds with His arm". What are these deeds? What does God do with His power?

Mary says that God brings those with power down and lifts those without it up. She says God "has brought down rulers from their  thrones, and has exalted those who were humble".

God flips the script on power. What else would you expect from a God who, in Mary chose a poor, unmarried woman to be the mother of His Son? What else would you expect from a God who chose His Son to live as the child of a carpenter and not a king or ruler? What we people see as power is not the same as what God does. Our ideas of power are laughable to that which made and maintains the entire universe.

So we get a little authority, a little ability, a little wealth and it goes straight to our heads. We have rightly observed that power corrupts. This God whom Mary is praising in not corruptible. This God makes things right. God humbles the powerful and empowers the humble.

Our power has gone to our heads and we have forgotten our obligation to others, so what else does God do with His power? God, Mary says here, "has filled the hungry with good things; and sent away the rich empty-handed". We have not cared for the poor as we have been commanded to. Our wealthy use their wealth to enrich themselves. Our powerful use their power to gain and hold more power. God rights this wrong.

Mary is praising a God who could not be any more different in the way He uses power than the people who were created in His image. This God is more than worthy of praise and to be able to be used by God to further turn human ideas of power on their heads by bringing into the world the person form of God, Jesus, is something to rejoice in.

Did Mary know what would happen? Did Mary know that her son, this blessing from God, would offend our sensibilities so much that we would curse him, spit on him, beat him, torture him, and kill him? I don't know. But to help bring about God's mercy and justice and peace and purpose is a thing to rejoice in, whatever the cost.

And so Mary rejoiced. And so do we. We praise and serve a God who uses power to lift up and care for the powerless. We praise and serve a God whose Son loved the unlovable and through His life, death, resurrection and ascension we have a way to be reconciled to the God we need but have run from.

What's not to celebrate there?