Discussion Questions

How many times is God referred to in Mary's song? Contrast this with how many times she references herself. What does this suggest about Mary and what lesson is this for the focus of our prayers? Compare Mary's song to Hannah's in I Samuel 2:1-10. What do you know about both of their boys?

Verse 50 • his mercy... from generation to generation • What a promise! This is an echo from God's covenant promise to Israel. Read Deut. 7:9.

Verse 51 • scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts • What does this say about pride?

Verse 52 • He has brought down the mighty from their thrones … • On the third Sunday in Advent in 1933, Dietrich Bonhoeffer called Mary’s words “the most passionate, most vehement, one might almost say, most revolutionary Advent hymn ever sung.” Notice the contrasts/reversals in her words. What do you think the lives of the women in Christ’s genealogy taught her taught her about humility before God? (Look at Matthew 1 and Luke 3.) How do you think Elizabeth’s presence and encouragement might have helped prompt these reflections?

Verse 54 • He has helped His servant Israel, remembrance of His mercy… • It’s been said that the longest distance in the world is between the head and the heart, and the words in Mary’s Magnificat show us a well-worn path between the two. In the ten verses that contain Mary’s exaltation, she alludes to the Hebrew scriptures at least 13 times. (What echoes of the Hebrew scriptures can you find in Mary’s words?) Later, in Luke 2:19, Mary “treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart,” and Simeon predicted in 2:35 that a “sword [would] pierce through [her] own soul.” How are we drinking deeply from scripture and using this knowledge to be available to the Lord – heart, mind and soul? Which scriptures would you refer to in your personal song to the Lord?