The Magnificat and Culture

Both in our churches and in the public square, we face daily the questions of what influence the followers of Christ should have in society. An early glimpse of the impact the church would have on culture was provided by his mother.



The movie The Passion of the Christ is the most significant spiritual event of 2004, and Mary’s significance in Jesus’ life is one of many reminders the movie brought up about our faith. After many years of ignoring or diminishing her role, many of us Protestants, although far from the Catholic view, are--thanks in part to Gibson’s movie--opening our eyes to her importance.



In addition to the striking spiritual challenge of Mary’s humble obedience to God ("I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said” [Luke 1:38]), the song of Mary, the Magnificat in Luke 1, gives us what Catherina Hurlburt at Breakpoint calls “a first glimpse of what the Church was to become and what God would accomplish through it.”



She writes of three revolutions introduced by Mary:



The moral revolution she helped set off is the death of pride. “His mercy is on them that fear Him . . . He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts” (Luke 1:50-51). Later we hear her Son describing His Kingdom where “the last shall be first, and the first last” (Matthew 20:16).



The social revolution brings about a world in which all are equal. The mighty and the lowly will walk together: “He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree” (Luke 1:52). “Every knee shall bow,” and Jesus will be lifted up.



Lastly, economic inequality will be overcome. “He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he hath sent empty away” (Luke 1:53). We hear Jesus preach against “laying up treasures” on earth (Luke 12:14-21) and praise the widow for the two mites she gave at the temple (Luke 12:43-44).



In these three spheres of change we see the beginning of setting the world aright, as the Father intended when He created it, where pride and self-absorption have no place. From Mary in the Magnificat we see a picture of what the Church should be and how it should fulfill God’s plan.



The coming of Jesus was the birth of a revolution and the dividing point in history. Even as many in our culture seek to extract the church from public life, the revolution continues and the church’s impact is profound and beneficial even to those who seek its demise.

--James Jewell