Daily Worship

God’s power in the everyday

Norah Summers December 10, 2014 0 0

Luke 1: 46-55

Mary's Song of Praise

46 Mary said,
“My heart praises the Lord;
47     my soul is glad because of God my Savior,
48     for he has remembered me, his lowly servant!
From now on all people will call me happy,
49     because of the great things the Mighty God has done for me.
His name is holy;

50     from one generation to another
    he shows mercy to those who honor him.
51 He has stretched out his mighty arm
    and scattered the proud with all their plans.
52 He has brought down mighty kings from their thrones,
    and lifted up the lowly.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things,
    and sent the rich away with empty hands.
54 He has kept the promise he made to our ancestors,
    and has come to the help of his servant Israel.
55 He has remembered to show mercy to Abraham
    and to all his descendants forever!”

I will rejoice,
for He has made me glad!

He has remembered me, 
his lowly servant.

And from now on
everyone will call me blessed
because of what he has done.

from now on –
till when?

till the respectable tutters have understood?
till the haughty people have had their come-uppance?
till the mighty kings have been brought down?
till the hungry people have enough to eat?

In, say, two thousand years or so?

Aye, right.

How long, o God, how long?

But see,
if God can empower Mary,
lowly, ordinary Mary,
to be the means of bringing his love,
his light,
his justice,
his compassion,
into this sad world,

surely he can empower anyone -
anyone who will accept the challenge.

Two thousand years on,
ordinary people crew lifeboats,
recover from Ebola and go back to nurse more patients,
care for people with dementia,
protest about the despoliation of the forests,
spend Christmas giving dinner to homeless people,
quietly show their colleagues and friends what it is to follow Jesus.

Praise God for his extraordinary ordinary people.

 


by Norah Summers