One of the most attractive features of the Virgin Mary is humility. In her famous song, known as the “Magnificat,” she praises God because “he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed” (Luke 1:48). God “has lifted up the humble,” she says in Luke 1:52.
Mary is not boasting about her humility. She is, rather, acknowledging her lowly social position. She is a young woman engaged to a common tradesman, a carpenter. Her town, Nazareth, is not a prestigious city. It is a crossroads village on a trade route traveled by Gentile merchants and the Roman army. The people of Judah scorned “Galilee of the Gentiles,” saying, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”
There is something other than status consciousness or class distinction evident in Mary’s song. It is faithful submission to the will of God for her life. It is a sense of wonder. She is amazed by the honor entrusted to her that she would be the mother of the Savior of the world.
Alexander Maclaren said of Mary, “Think of that simple young girl in her obscurity having flashed before her the certainty that her name would be repeated with blessing till the world’s end and then thus meekly laying her honors down at God’s feet.”
Indeed. That is what Mary does. She glorifies the Lord, not herself. The angel says to her, “You are highly favored. The Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28), and “The Holy Spirit will come on you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). Mary’s response is wonderment and obedient surrender. “I am the Lord’s servant. … May your word to me be fulfilled” (Luke 1:38).
Think of what would happen because of Mary’s humble submission to God. She would bear the whispered ridicule of neighbors. She would risk losing the love of Joseph until the angel appeared to him too (Matthew 1:18-25). She would endure the journey to Bethlehem in late pregnancy, on a beast of burden or in a rickety cart over unpaved roads. She would go into labor and give birth to her firstborn Son in a stable, of all places. Humility on display!
Mary is an example to us. In a Facebook and Twitter culture that honors proud boasting, bullying insults, hatred, factions, and divisions, we need the virtue of humility now as much as ever. Mary’s Son said, “The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Matthew 23:11-12). Did Jesus think of his mother when he said that?
The great God who said heaven was his throne and earth his footstool said this: “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word” (Isaiah 66:2). It is little wonder, then, that Mary was highly favored by the Lord.
