I woke up Sunday morning to the news that there was a delay to the much hoped for ceasefire after 470 days of war in Gaza. By the end of the day came the pictures of 3 women released and back with their families. The ceasefire was back on.
Today is the inauguration of a second term of Trump as President of USA on a day thousands of Ukrainians continue to die as they defend their country and Russian young men die as they are sent to the front lines.
It’s mid January 2025 and the world is in a precarious place amidst wars and glimmers of possible peace.
Sunday evening I stood alongside Mark at evensong thankful for the beauty of St Peter’s. We sang our first hymn “Tell Out My Soul”, a well-known hymn based on Luke 1 45 - 55 which is Mary’s song. Moments later the choir sang her song which we call ‘The Magnificat’.
The words floated over us:
My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me.
It struck me that Mary sang in the midst of her personal challenge and living in a world as precarious as ours is today. Yet despite her confusion of discovering her unplanned pregnancy, despite the fear of consequences and how she would cope, despite the instability of the world around her into which she would bring her child with all its challenges and struggles.
Despite all of this ……she sang.
So, despite our world with its wars and woes we ask for a faith like Mary’s to sing songs of praise. Not because we are naïve or we have stubbornly closed our ears to the real world. Nor because we are overwhelmed by the enormity and complexity of our world. But because we understand the world is in the birth pangs of God’s Kingdom being born in us, and in our world.
This week as we watch the news unfold and live our lives, with Mary we proclaim,
“My soul magnifies the Lord….. for he who is mighty has done great things”
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