Elizabeth blesses Mary who “believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord” (Luke 1:45). Mary’s response is now a great liturgical canticle, the Magnificat. Mary interprets and then praises God for what is happening. She magnifies and rejoices about what God has done for her. She describes God’s action on behalf of others. The verbs highlight divine activity and preference: God has mercy, shows strength, scatters, brings down, lifts up, fills, sends away, and helps the marginalized, downtrodden, and suffering. We could relate many biblical narratives that exemplify each action, each “according to the promises [God] made.” The Magnificat is introduced and concludes with promises fulfilled. “From now on all generations will call [Mary] blessed."

“The apple never falls far from the tree.” “Like mother, like son.” In Luke, these adages hold true: The essence of Jesus’ preaching in Luke’s Gospel originates in Mary’s song. It echoes in The Sermon on the Plain. (See 6:20-26.) Jesus declares that God blesses the poor, hungry, weeping, and reviled; he foretells woe to the rich, full, laughing, and apparently laudatory. Had Jesus learned these promises of God at his mother’s knee? They echo again in Paul’s letter to Corinthian Christians: “Not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth,“ but “God chose what is foolish . . . what is weak . . . what is low and despised” (1 Cor. 1:27-28).

Do Mary, Jesus, and Paul think God chooses those the world considers the wrong people? Or do they profoundly understand the divine heart in light of a suffering world? Who are we in view of God’s activity? It is sobering to remember that Mary sings about divine promises she believes are being fulfilled.