Sunday September 4

Sunday
September 4
Mary’s Song of Praise and Worship
Though Mary, the mother of Jesus, has been the subject of an intense amount of religious interest throughout the centuries, most of that interest is tradition derived from a host of sources that are not rooted in Scripture.
Nevertheless, in the question of Christ’s coming to earth, Mary played a crucial and pivotal role: in her womb the Savior of the world was miraculously conceived; in her womb He grew into the infant Jesus. Looking back with all the hindsight and light given to us in the New Testament, we only can marvel at the miracle. Though no doubt knowing that she was part of an incredible event that was to have important consequences for her people, the young Mary probably had no real idea of that which she was going to be a part. She knew enough, though, that she could marvel at the amazing circumstances that had so radically changed her life.
Read Luke 1:46–55, often known as the Song of Mary. What is the background to this song? Why is she singing it? What elements of praise and worship are revealed here? What appears here that we have touched on all throughout the quarter?
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This song of praise and worship is filled with allusions and images taken from the Old Testament, the only Scripture that Mary would have known. Here we can see her giving glory to the Lord and acknowledging His leading not only in her own life but among her own people, as well. Her allusion to Abraham is, clearly, a reference to the covenant the Lord made with His people; she is praising God for His promises to them and sees those promises as her hope and her people’s hope for the future.
Again, however much she did not know, she knew enough to see the working of the Lord. For that, she was thankful and worshipful.
How much of the miraculous do you see in your own life? Might it be there and yet you are just too hard, too closed, too wrapped up in yourself to see it as you should?
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