Women in the Bible: Mary in Luke's Gospel

           In the narrative surrounding the Magnificat, Luke weaves the birth stories of John and Jesus into a tapestry of joyful songs, hope for the oppressed, and miraculous announcements by heavenly beings.  When Gabriel announces the pregnancy to Mary, she shows her obedience by hurrying to Elizabeth’s house.  When Mary first speaks to her, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaps and she is able to interpret her baby’s movement like Rebecca in Gen 25:21.  They are the first to realize the significance of the child Mary is carrying.  Elizabeth is then filled with the Holy Spirit and blesses Mary and her baby.  While John is a character whose birth is significant enough to require an angelic announcement, Elizabeth acknowledges Mary’s superiority in the situation.  This leads Mary to burst into a ballad of praise for God’s blessing of her and for bringing about the eschatological hopes of Israel.  Luke’s narration brings the movement of the story to a complete halt after Mary meets with Elizabeth.  The purpose of this deliberate slowing is hermeneutical – that is, to ensure that his audience understands the significance of the angel’s proclamation to Mary, her conception, and the blessing pronounced by Elizabeth – and that meaning is rooted in the covenantal purpose of God.

          The intent of God, as described in the Magnificat, functions as a foretaste of what the major themes of Luke-Acts will be.  Mary’s hymn, which is a prophecy of Jesus’ significance in Luke, has an emphasis on women, the poor, the reversal of fortunes between the arrogant and the lowly, and the fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham.  Mary’s Song juxtaposes the lots of the proud, mighty, and rich against the lowly and hungry: the former are scattered, put down, and sent away hungry, while the latter are exalted and filled.  This is the core of Luke’s gospel: Jesus is good news to all, but especially to those who have none.  In the Synoptic Gospels, the evangelists show Jesus’ concern for outcasts; but Luke places a special emphasis on those who are on the periphery.  This binary of the powerful and the lowly anticipates a major theme of the Lukan narrative.  He focuses on reversals where the rich and powerful are frustrated, while the lowly know true exaltation.  The opponents of Jesus (and therefore God’s purpose) are characters who desire positions of honor and who exclude the less fortunate and socially unacceptable from their live.  The Magnificat is more than simply a joyous scene of praise; it is an integral part of the introduction to what the good news means to Luke and the lens through which to read Luke-Acts.  The poor and the lowly have cause to lift their voices and join Mary in song!