What is the Source of Our Joy?
There are many reasons for us to feel happy. Celebrating special moments with loved ones, getting a big bonus from the office, seeing our children achieve certain achievements, or perhaps our success in buying certain things that we have long desired. However, as God's people, we believe that behind the physical things that bring happiness, there is only one source of true joy, namely the work of God alone.
In today's story we see the meeting of two people who have a bond of sisterhood, namely Mary and Elizabeth, they both echo the experience of the great happiness that God has presented. Elizabeth is an elderly woman, but she can be involved in God's plan by conceiving a child, namely John, who will later become the pioneer of Christ. While Mary is a young woman who provides herself to conceive the Savior. They are very aware that the child they are carrying, in time will play a big role in the history of God's salvation. That is the source of their happiness.
In fact, when these two pregnant women met, they were also strengthening each other in their meeting. The happiness that overflowed between them was also a reminder from God that their task would not be easy because God entrusted two individuals in their wombs who would change the history of the world.
Not Just a Song
When reading this passage, we may be plagued by various questions such as why did Mary suddenly sing praise and what was the real meaning of the praise? If we pay close attention, the verses in Mary's song of praise in verses 46-56 are full of firm, strong statements, but at the same time echo hope for God's people. This praise is parallel to Hannah's song of praise which also expressed her joy when God blessed her with a child, Samuel.
The medieval church tradition recognized this poem based on the first sentence of Mary's praise, namely, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior." In Latin, it is known as the phrase Magnificat Anima Mea Dominum (my soul magnifies the Lord) often abbreviated as magnificat. This is Mary's statement of faith based on her reflection on the great event that happened to her. Interestingly, her song of praise does not revolve around herself but rather the work of God which will later be mediated by the Son of God and bring liberation to humans. The discussion of liberation in this song is not only about God's work on each person personally, but also in the social, moral, and economic spheres.
Take a look at Luke 1: 52, "He brings down the mighty from their thrones and exalts the lowly." Isn't that statement very subversive, especially for readers at that time who were suffering under the cold hand of the Roman Empire? Verse after verse expresses a similar tone. For example, God will scatter those who are arrogant (verse 51). Those who have lived from the oppression of their fellow men and also enjoy the suffering of others will soon be overturned because God has come and upheld justice that has been rarely found. That hope has become increasingly apparent.
The news of liberation in this hymn of Mary has been a reminder and source of strength for many people throughout history who are struggling to achieve freedom and are suffering from extreme suffering. A great Indonesian poet, Pramoedya Ananta Toer, once quoted verse 52 in Latin as the closing of his most famous novel, Bumi Manusia, deposuit potentes de sede et Exaltavit Humiles. In order to portray the struggle of the main character of the novel who never ends against tyranny. Meanwhile, the dictators in Guatemala in the 1980s banned the recitation/utterance of this hymn of Mary because it contained revolutionary tones. Mary's praise ultimately resembles a prophetic utterance that gives hope to the hungry, poor, and oppressed, as well as anxiety and worry to tyrants and oppressors throughout the ages.
Rejoice in Waiting for the Work of the Liberator
Another thing that we can capture through Mary's praise in the Gospel of Luke is that the song is a kind of introduction embedded by the author of the Gospel of Luke to introduce the work of Jesus the Savior of the world. The baby that Mary is carrying will later echo the news of God's liberation throughout the province of Judea and the whole world. He is present for those who have been suffering. Freeing those who are held captive and living in shackles, whether socially, economically, or politically. Those who hunger and thirst for truth will later be satisfied. Sin that grips humans and leads to death will be defeated in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The third Sunday of Advent is also known as gaudete or rejoice Sunday. The presence of God in Christmas is getting closer. Overflowing happiness is inevitable. In all the excitement, we are invited to remember what is the source of our joy, namely the work of God's liberation in our Lord Jesus Christ. So in the end, in Christmas we are invited to rejoice in God's compassion for His people and at the same time our hearts are reaffirmed to realize compassion for the world that is being plagued by various sufferings.
To reflect on:
Have we shown compassion for others in all the sufferings we face as we experience God's compassion through the presence of His only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ?
