Advent Devotional 12-11-25

Luke 1:39-55 – The Magnificat – MARY’S SONG
 
I love the Advent Season.  During the long, dark nights we see countless lights illuminating our homes and sky.  I love the smells of the season, pine needles, incense, and ginger.  I love that many people try their best to be kinder and more generous.  I love the stories of Christmas from the Bible to Dickens. But most of all I love the music. 

Music has always been the medium through which I felt enveloped by the Divine.  Whether I am humming the tune of a favorite hymn alone or singing in a group where all voices are raised together in praise, or just letting the music surround me it always touches my soul and emotions.

Music is frequently referenced in the Bible as a means of praise and worship. Psalm 98 exhorts us to "Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!"  All manner of songs and variety of instruments are mentioned throughout the Old and New Testaments.    Indeed, the whole book of Psalms is a collection of poems and songs meant to be sung.  As Anne Lamott wrote in Traveling Mercies: “the singing enveloped me …. There was no sense of performance or judgment, only that the music was the breath and the food…. Somehow the singing wore down all the boundaries and distinction that kept me so isolated.”

But it is the hymns and carols of Christmas that particularly move me.

When informing Elizabeth of her pregnancy, Mary finds her voice through song to address this momentous news.  Mary’s song or the Magnificat is a testament to her faith, to the glory of God and the foretelling of Jesus’ teachings.  Despite the sorrows she will face she proclaims her faith in God.  She also tells us that God has “scattered the proud in their conceit, casting down the mighty from their thrones and lifting up the lowly. You have filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.”  She understands why she as a common woman from a small town has been chosen to carry the Son of God.

The multiple carols and hymns celebrating the birth of Jesus are to me the most beautiful of sacred music.  The melodies though often simple reflect great emotion and the words tell so many different aspects to the Christmas story.  What could be more touching than the question of “What Child is This?” or reflective of a mother’s hope in “Silent Night?”  What could be more awe inspiring than “O, Holy Night” or rousing and celebratory than “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and “Joy to the World?”  I feel peace and love just thinking about them.  So, during this Advent season I hope you too will all take time to reflect on the words of all the carols sung and let the music envelop you and feel the Divine.

Leslie Petteys