Mary's Magnificat

 

In today’s gospel passage from Luke, we hear the familiar pre-Christmas story of the angel Gabriel visiting Mary. He tells her that she will conceive a child (a great surprise to her!) and that her baby will be the holy Son of God. It’s a familiar story that we hear every year at this time.

The part of the story we don’t get in this excerpt is Mary going to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, who is also unexpectedly pregnant. During this visit, Mary delivers a monologue that has come to be known as “Mary’s Song of Praise” or simply by the Latin name “Magnificat.” The full text of Mary’s Magnificat is:

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor 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. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” (Luke 1:46-55)

Our hymn today is a contemporary paraphrase of Mary’s Magnificat called “My Soul Cries Out With a Joyful Shout.” Carl Daw writes about this text, “From the very beginning it is evident that this is no tame paraphrase of the Song of Mary. It identifies with, and draws energy from, the deeply revolutionary implications of what it means for the mighty to be put down from their thrones and for the lowly to be lifted up.” Interestingly, the first three stanzas address God while the fourth stanza shifts its focus to address other people of faith. Here’s the text in full:

1 My soul cries out with a joyful shout
that the God of my heart is great,
and my spirit sings of the wondrous things
that you bring to the ones who wait.
You fixed your sight on your servant’s plight,
and my weakness you did not spurn,
so from east to west shall my name be blest.
Could the world be about to turn?

Refrain:
My heart shall sing of the day you bring.
Let the fires of your justice burn.
Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near,
and the world is about to turn.

2 Though I am small, my God, my all,
you work great things in me,
and your mercy will last from the depths of the past
to the end of the age to be.
Your very name puts the proud to shame,
and to those who would for you yearn,
you will show your might, put the strong to flight,
for the world is about to turn. (Refrain)

3 From the halls of power to the fortress tower,
not a stone will be left on stone.
Let the king beware for your justice tears
every tyrant from his throne.
The hungry poor shall weep no more,
for the food they can never earn;
there are tables spread; every mouth be fed,
for the world is about to turn. (Refrain)

4 Though the nations rage from age to age,
we remember who holds us fast:
God’s mercy must deliver us
from the conqueror’s crushing grasp.
This saving word that our forebears heard
is the promise which holds us bound,
till the spear and rod can be crushed by God,
who is turning the world around. (Refrain)

For me, it’s a powerful re-rendering of Mary’s song with an ever-helpful social justice bent. The refrain especially foreshadows what we all know is about to happen (“the dawn draws near”) in the coming days of Christmas (“the world is about to turn”). Enjoy!