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Michelle DeRusha

Every Day Faith. Faith Every Day.

Reading the Magnificat

How to Cultivate a Continuous Spirit of Gratitude {hint: take a cue from Mary}

December 8, 2015 By Michelle

light on ornaments2

Back in 1983, when I was thirteen years old, the one thing I wanted for Christmas more than anything else in the world was a Cabbage Patch Kid. In particular, I wanted a Cabbage Patch Baby, a girl with a smooth bald head and a round, dimpled face.

Cabbage Patch Kids were all the rage that year, even among thirteen-year-olds. By the end of 1983, more than 3 million had been sold (the correct terminology at the time was “adopted”). I remember the lines snaking outside the doors of Toys R Us, the shelves stripped empty minutes after the store opened.

Needless to say, I didn’t get my Cabbage Patch Baby for Christmas that year. No matter where my mom looked, they were always sold out. And this was long before the Internet and the opportunity to bid ten times the original price for one on eBay (not that my parents would have done that…though I certainly would have expected them to).

I was crushed. That Christmas I received plenty of gifts – toys and clothes and stuffed animals and games – but none of it mattered to me. I didn’t really appreciate any of the gifts I received because none was the be-all-and-end-all gift I so desperately desired. I was ungrateful, simply because I had not received the gift.

I realize comparing Jesus to a Cabbage Patch Kid is a bit of a stretch, if not outright sacrilegious, but bear with me for a moment here.

Mary received the ultimate be-all-and-end-all gift when she was blessed with the Son of God. Clearly she was grateful for the blessing of Jesus Christ – her Magnificat, a song of praise and thanksgiving, is a testament to the depth of her gratitude for the ultimate of gifts.

But look closely at the words Mary speaks to Elizabeth, because there is something telling here:

“For the Mighty One is holy, and he has done great things for me.” (Luke 1:49)

“He has done great things for me.”

Things. Plural. Mary acknowledges that God had already done great things for her, even before blessing her with the greatest gift.

The Magnificat is a song of thanksgiving for all the gifts God has bestowed upon Mary, not just this one particular blessing, magnificent and spectacular though it was. It’s clear from this statement that she cultivated a continuous spirit of gratitude, even before she was blessed with the ultimate gift as the mother of our Savior Jesus Christ. Mary recognized that God had been good to her all along.

Truth be told, I’m not all that different today from the girl who was crushed by the Cabbage Patch Kid Christmas of 1983. Too often, I’m so caught up in the gift I desire right now, the blessing I think I deserve today, that I neglect the big picture; I fail to appreciate or even remember the myriad blessings God has bestowed on me all along. So focused am I on the one thing, I forget all the great things God has done for me.

I would do well to take a cue from Mary, who praised God all along for all the gifts, big and small, that had been bestowed upon her.

Filed Under: Advent, Gospels Tagged With: Gospel of Luke, Reading the Magnificat

Hear It on Sunday, Use It on Monday: Carrying Jesus

December 24, 2012 By Michelle

{I’ll be taking a bit of a blogging break to celebrate Christmas and winter vacation with my family. All will be quiet here from December 25-January 6, so the Hear It on Sunday, Use It on Monday link-up will return on Monday, January 7, 2013. From my heart, wishing you and your loved ones a most blessed Christmas and New Year!!}

Photo credit: Emily Wierenga

I’ve always read the Magnificat as a song solely about Mary and her role as the mother of Jesus. It’s easy for me to read this passage and assume, “This doesn’t apply to me. This is about Mary and her relationship with Jesus and God.” It’s easy to distance myself, to think, “Oh, aren’t those lovely verses…” and assume they apply to someone else.

My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit
rejoices in God my savior, for he has been
mindful of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me
blessed, for the Mighty One has done great
things for me – Holy is his name.
 (Luke 1: 46-49).

But the message inherent in Mary’s prayer of thanks is that God blesses all of us. His mercy extends to all of us, and he has done great things for all of us. And because of this we are all equally responsible for fulfilling his mission.

It’s no coincidence that the verses refer to the humble, hungry and poor. In Mary’s praises, God is portrayed as a champion of the downtrodden and oppressed. The implication, the expectation, is that we are to champion the needy, too.

He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty. (52-53)

Sure, Mary physically bears the Son of God, but each of us is responsible for bearing Jesus through this world as well. We each carry a piece of Jesus within us. And just as Mary literally carries Jesus in her pregnancy, we are expected to carry out his mission, to lift up the poor and the oppressed, just as he does.

In addition to a song of praise and thanksgiving, the Magnificat is a call to action. How will you use your God-given gifts to impact others? How are you carrying Jesus through this world?

Mary may have carried Jesus physically within her body, but we carry him in our hearts.

Mary was called to carry Jesus; how are you carrying Jesus in this world? 

edited post from the archives

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Welcome to the “Hear It on Sunday, Use It on Monday” community, a place where we share what we are hearing from God and his Word.

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{Reminder: The Hear It, Use It link-up will be on hiatus Monday, December 31, returning Monday, January 7, 2013}

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Filed Under: Gospels, New Testament, Use It on Monday Tagged With: Gospel of Luke, Hear It on Sunday Use It on Monday, Reading the Magnificat

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For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a Triple Type A, “make it happen” (my dad’s favorite mantra) striver and achiever (I’m a 3 on the Enneagram, which tells you everything you need to know), but these days my striving looks more like sitting in silence on a park bench, my dog at my feet, as I slowly learn to let go of the false selves that have formed my identity for decades and lean toward uncovering who God created me to be.

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