Meditations On The Gospel Of Luke For The FamilySample

"MEDITATION 2: Two Hymns: Magnificat and Benedictus."

Once again we have two contrasting texts in the first pages of Luke’s Gospel. Two contexts, two hymns, but a common content: praise and thanksgiving for God’s great deeds performed on behalf of his people. The canticles, known by their first words in Latin, are so rich that they have been used in the liturgies of morning prayer and vespers throughout the centuries.

Let us begin with the context of the Benedictus. For Zachariah, the moment that inspires his words is the birth of his promised son. God’s words were not vain. They never are. In fact, not only has what the angel announced happened, but it is a reflection and a foreshadowing of what is about to come. The promises of liberation pronounced by the prophets of old have begun to be fulfilled. John’s birth is not an isolated event, but the announcement and the beginning of a new age. The child will be called “prophet of the Most High,” for he will pave the way to the Lord, prepare a people whose sins will be forgiven and, in turn, will tread the path of salvation. At last, the “people who walked in darkness will see [have seen] a great light” (Isaiah 9:1). Jesus, the Messiah, “the light of the world” (John 1:3-5), is about to be born. And it is not the work of human desires or endeavors: salvation is coming from on high.

As for the context of the Magnificat, Mary is in a totally different situation. She lives in a moment of “blessing in expectation.” She finds that the words of the angel have been fulfilled: both Elizabeth and she are pregnant, even if none of the children is born yet. Both mothers are living in an atmosphere of blessing and joy, and the unborn John seems to share in their feelings of hopeful joy. They are living in advance of Jesus’ future message: the mysteries of the kingdom are revealed to the lowly and the unlearned (10:21). The hymn also echoes the blessings of the Beatitudes. The old order is being turned upside down on behalf of the poor and the hungry. Jesus’ future invitation to “convert,” to “change our mind,” is happening in Mary’s words before our eyes.

A last detail: the two hymns mark, from the very outset, the two lines that will frame Luke’s Gospel. In Jesus all the promises of old, ever since Abraham, (mentioned in both texts), have been fulfilled. And Mary, the lowly handmaid, is a sign of the “poor” to whom Jesus will bring the Good News of salvation.

Rev. Fr. Mariano Perrón, Roman Catholic priest, Archdiocese of Madrid, Spain