“For the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation” (Luke 1:49-50).
Mary’s song of praise is known in Church history as the Magnificat. Pregnant with Jesus, Mary is overwhelmed with praise for the miracle she is experiencing. She has been chosen to bring God’s Messiah into the world. She feels the joy of having been honored by God but she sees beyond that. God has come to extend mercy to those who fear Him.
Fearing God doesn’t mean that we cringe from Him in terror; it means that we worship and honor Him. He hasn’t come to harm us—we do that to ourselves when we sin and ignore God. Jesus came to show us mercy. Mercy is kindness towards the miserable and the afflicted and includes the thought of helping the one in need. Jesus didn’t come to walk by us in our suffering and say, “That’s too bad,” He came to help us.
The turning point of human history was that moment in Bethlehem when God came as a Baby, Jesus, to touch our world. We couldn’t reach Him so He came to us. We couldn’t free ourselves from sin so He came to deliver us. We join Mary in worshiping Him and declaring that His mercy extends to us.
