What do you think of when you read or hear read the words of Mary’s song, the Magnificat, Luke 1:46-56? Three answers come to mind. First, some think of the great classical music based on this passage. Pachibel and Bach set these words to music, for which we should all be grateful.
Second, this passage probably makes most people think of Christmas celebrations at their church as these words are often used at that time. To them, these words are associated with children, decorations, eyes all aglow, reindeer, the manger, and presents.
But there is a third way of thinking about this passage. Many of us in America completely miss this, but to Christians from the majority world it jumps out. When they hear phrases such as “he has scattered the proud,” “he has brought down the powerful and lifted up the lowly,” “he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty,” it reminds them of their daily life. Many Christians around the world are oppressed. They are mistreated. They are disenfranchised. They live in poverty and squalor.
Which is the correct way to think about this Scripture? The eyes of the beholder have an awful lot to do with what we see in a Biblical text.
