Lk 1:46-56
46Mary said:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;/ 47my spirit rejoices in God my savior./ 48For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness;/ behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed./ 49The Mighty One has done great things for me,/ and holy is his name./ 50His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him./ 51He has shown might with his arm,/ dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart./ 52He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones/ but lifted up the lowly./ 53The hungry he has filled with good things;/ the rich he has sent away empty./ 54He has helped Israel his servant,/ remembering his mercy,/ 55according to his promise to our fathers,/ to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”/ 56Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.
Reflection
Lifted up the lowly: Mary is lowly because she is a woman. In a male-dominated society, women are nobodies. They are regarded as mere property, expendable and negotiable belongings. They have no say in choosing their partners. Marriages are fixed by parents, and royal marriages are meant to form alliances rather than relations based on love and mutual respect. Together with the children, they are not counted in the traditional census of the Israelites. Validated only by the men in their lives (a father, a husband, or a son), they are worse off when they are orphans, widows or childless. Women do not become disciples of rabbis for they are prohibited from learning the Torah in the traditional way. In synagogues and in the temple, women are segregated from men.
Ancient societies are governed by elders, old people with a wealth of experience and time-tested wisdom. Young people hardly have a voice, and they are supposed to follow the teachings, examples, and commands of their elders. Mary is young when the Spirit makes her his home. Will people listen when she speaks about the things God has done in her life and in the life of her Son? Moreover, Mary is materially poor. Then and now, only the rich and powerful have a voice in society.
Inspired by the Spirit, Luke has fittingly cast Mary as the spokesperson of all the underprivileged in Israel. She is the voice of the voiceless, the face of the faceless, the name representing the nameless, whose fortunes will be reversed with the coming of the new age of the Messiah.