Cast Down the Mighty. Lift Up the Lowly. (Fourth Week of Advent)

By Avery Davis Lamb

My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.
​Luke 1:46b-55

In the midst of Advent darkness, the voice of Mary breaks through, singing the Magnificat:
“My soul magnifies the Lord...He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.”

Surrounded by the darkness of empire and oppression, Mary trusted in the hope of Christ held in her womb. She believed that, despite the powers of the empire that lift the powerful and bring down the low, God’s justice would be birthed into the world. She had hope that God’s love would break into the world as human flesh. She had hope that the child held in her womb would bring about a new economy, one driven by love and justice rather than exploitation and empire.
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Mary’s Magnificat is a candle of hope, luminating the darkness around her. Her song is a prophetic declaration of trust in the power of God to send away the oppressor and gather the oppressed under God’s wing.

She sees a world where the injustices of climate change are flipped; where those on the frontlines are protected and restored and those profiting off the destruction of Creation are brought down from their positions of power.

Mary sings a vision for what the world could be if the people of God gather together alongside Christ in the work of protecting, restoring, and sharing God’s Creation. She sees a world where the injustices of climate change are flipped; where those on the frontlines are protected and restored and those profiting off the destruction of Creation are brought down from their positions of power.
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May our souls magnify the Lord and rejoice in God, who has become flesh to redeem and restore the ways we have broken creation. May we birth into the world new creation and new economies, driven by love and affection, casting out the darkness of empire and exploitation.

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Avery Davis Lamb is Co-Executive Director of Creation Justice Ministries.