Thought for the Day - Saturday 28 November

Thought for the Day – Saturday 28th November ‘And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.’ (Luke 1: 46-49) Well I don’t know about you but my magnifying glass has become almost like my constant companion these days! Either the type on packaging is getting smaller or more indistinct or my eyes are getting worse with age and I need a spec change! It seems a day never seems to go by without me having to peer through it at something or other! They are amazing though, every little thing you look at being shown in the most magnificent detail and on such a larger scale, giving you a whole different perspective on the way things look and the way you look at them. It was strange how that thought came to my mind when I read this passage today as I prepared for Advent. Often called the Song of Mary, Mary speaks in her song of her soul magnifying the Lord - a bit of an antiquated word nowadays and often replaced in our Bibles by the word ‘glorifies’ but nonetheless ‘magnifies’ evokes a powerful image when used by Mary in this way. Yes, God has always been important to Mary and so her soul will no doubt daily have been rejoicing and glorifying her Lord but for her soul to magnify the Lord means so much more. God has taken on a new significance in her life and suddenly a new world has opened up for her – a world in which she is experiencing God’s greatness and goodness in ways she never has before and is now recognising more fully the extent to which God is active not only in her life and in the life of the world. Hence her soul magnifies the Lord! Advent calls us to remember that the coming of Jesus means that we too can experience the same joy as Mary experienced and hold within us a similar sense of wonder in our hearts and minds and soul. Indeed Advent gives us that time in which we too can catch sight of God on a different scale and see anew the awesomeness of the incarnation – the very gift of Christmas. That gift should be as thrilling to us as it was to Mary, it should give us a different perspective on God and life, we should see things in much more detail and much more clearly and it should find us saying ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.’ An Advent Prayer by Henri Nouwen Lord Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas. We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day. We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us. We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of your kingdom. We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence. We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light. To you we say, “Come Lord Jesus!” Amen.