By Alexis Tardy
And Mary said, “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 imagination 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 child Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
Luke 1:46-55
As we are in the Advent season, I have been thinking about Mary. Mary, the mother of Jesus, who was a young, pregnant, teenage mother. Mary, who had to flee her hometown, pregnant, alongside Joseph, because of an oppressive king. I imagine Mary’s wonderment, confusion, and awe, when the angel Gabriel appeared to her to announce that she is pregnant after being overshadowed by the Holy Ghost. Right before our focus text, Mary has hurried to tell her cousin Elizabeth that she is now pregnant. I imagine Elizabeth’s shock, as she had just found out that she was now pregnant with John, who we would soon come to learn to be John the Baptist.
Elizabeth is excited! She calls Mary blessed. Though Mary could not have grasped all that was happening in what must have felt like a whirlwind, what I appreciate about Mary is that she did understand that this call to give birth to Jesus was for more than just her. Or more than just for her and her family. She understood that this call was for her entire community.
In this particular scripture‒known as the “Magnificat” which means “my soul magnifies the Lord”‒we read what is known as Mary’s song. Mary, Elizabeth, and their soon-to-be sons were living under oppressive conditions‒they were brown Palestinian Jews living under a Roman Empire that overtaxed and overpoliced them regularly. So when Mary says, “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”—she is calling for a revolution.
As some have noted, she is calling for a dramatic reversal of those who are in power from those who are prideful, dishonest, and oppressive to those who seek to do justice, to love, and to push back darkness. That is Good News. Still others have noted that she is calling for a moral, social, and economic revolution, all in one song. Morally, for the proud to be brought down; socially, that God has already brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; and economically, that God has already filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.
Jesus’ love and promise‒heard through his mother’s prayer‒is still with us today. I pray we hear Mary’s words with our hearts‒knowing that the coming birth of Jesus brings us hope, peace, joy, love, and revolution. Amen.
Alexis Tardy joined the Alliance staff in the summer of 2023, working with our THRIVE cohort. She also serves as Coordinator for Ministry with Youth and Young Adults with Disciples Home Missions and previously was an Organizing Associate with the Children’s Defense Fund. Before returning to Indianapolis in 2020, Alexis led as the Program Director at Faith and For the Sake of All, where she organized trainings and workshops to end racial disparities in Saint Louis. While in St. Louis, Alexis was deeply impacted by the protest in Ferguson following the death of Michael Brown, Jr. As a consultant for Urban Strategies, she mentored youth and worked with families and community leaders in Ferguson, Missouri. Alexis earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Affairs at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, a Master of Divinity degree from Eden Theological Seminary in Saint Louis, Missouri, and a Doctor of Ministry in Womanist Preaching at Memphis Theological Seminary. Alexis is deeply committed to justice and Black and Latinx families while working toward equitable communities. She resides in Indianapolis, Indiana with her dog KoKo..
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