The Weak Shall Inherit the Earth

How a teen girl saw the future, and knew what only prophets had grasped.

(The last time we looked, yours truly was mired in a place of God’s choosing, experiencing it as a discouraging moment. But in the conclusion I spoke of a day to come when everyone and everything will be accorded its true worth, leading to eternal glory for the believer; whereas the world with its commerce, politics, technology, leisure and entertainment, and facade of religion will fade from view, weightless like chaff surrounding the wheat. Luke’s gospel informs us that this very pattern, reversing the fortunes of God’s people and bringing down the proud - all of this was the meditation of a young girl who would never understand TicToc; and yet she was right about everything. Her words offer hope to those of us in hard places.)

“Let it be to me according to your word.”

That was all she had to say. Once she was convinced that she was not imagining things, that the Angel Gabriel did indeed mean her, and there could be no more explanations which would assist her to believe - Mary, a young woman betrothed to Joseph (who was a long - separated descendant of David, and the house of Judah), knew enough to begin a life journey unlike any other woman who would live. She would have a son; but Joseph would not be the father. She, not Joseph, would name him and choose a name ordained by Gabriel. And however this son would appear, he would turn the world upside down.

The words of Mary are recorded for us in Luke’s gospel, and in the first chapter, we are given a glimpse of that which was to come - something surprising and unsettling; something unheard of and impossible; something which only the prophets of the Old Testament were given clues about. The specific passage in question appears in Luke 1:46-55. It is known by its Latin title, “Magnificat” (To make great). And these are its words:

My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations shall call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him, from generation to generation.

It’s simply not possible for Mary to begin any other way than this - to revel in the surprise that of all the possible women, yet God laid his hand on her. God spoke to her. God reassured her. But this self-referral at the beginning gives way to a world turned upside down:

He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty;

What prompts a young girl to speak like a prophet? (Assuming for a moment that there was no “Talk Like A Prophet Day”) What can we say, in light of the text which Luke provides us?

Mary doubtless knew the story of Hannah, she being the mother of the prophet
Samuel. Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel 2 voices the same plea from humble and lowly circumstances, and concludes with a warning to the proud and powerful. Hannah likewise speaks in praise of God’s sovereign design for his people.

The parallels between these two young women are striking: Both are women, and probably young. Both come from a lowly background. Both saw an answer to prayer through which they discerned a trajectory from their personal story to the mighty works of the Lord over the nations. And both were convinced that what God was about to do through their lives was evidence of what God would do for the nations.

So was Mary a prophet? Probably not in the sense which normally applies to that word. But the appearance of her son Jesus clearly drew out people from the crowds, who sensed the importance of the child, and who spoke beyond their own horizon. It was as if, at the birth of Jesus, a switch was pulled in an unknown number of people, alerting them that the Lord was near.

On Jordan's bank, the Baptist's cry Announces that the Lord is nigh. Awake and harken, for he brings Glad tidings of the King of kings.

Opening Our Eyes to What We Could Not See

So let’s return to what we’ve noted about the places where God has put us. The particular elements God ordains when he calls us come “fitted.” They possess the power and the wisdom to awaken the senses of men and women. We might say that, though our immediate surroundings might not change, our role in that setting changes mightily. Isaiah realized that his own sins characterized those of Israel as a whole. Jeremiah continued to preach in Jerusalem, even though his hearers would pay him no heed.

This is what Mary’s words offer to us: the knowledge and awareness that whatever my place may be, it has been ordained by God, and our participation in these places contributes to the fulfillment of the plans and purposes of God. We do not necessarily grasp the design. But we know this about it: He came down from heaven to establish it. He went to the cross to purify it. And he shall come again to complete it.

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison… (2 Corinthians 4:16-17)