Let’s remember first the situation she was in: a single expectant mother with no earthly father except that Joseph does stand by her in such difficult circumstances. A young girl from an obscure town in an occupied country. Where does she get strength to rise above her troubled thoughts? How can she so calmly accept suspicion, conflict and loss of reputation?

For one thing she submits to God in words which we should all learn to use and apply in our lives: I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said. God can use and bless people who are willing to be his servants; he cannot use or bless the proud who want to be served and not serve.

For another thing, she checks out this meeting with the angel, by going to spend time with her relative Elizabeth. It is not only good for her to have companionship and support from another woman, it is also good that she has confirmation that what the angel said was no religious fantasy For as soon as she greets Elizabeth before she can even tell her what the angel said, there is a two fold confirmation. The baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaps for joy and Elizabeth herself greets her as the mother of our Lord. You can imagine the relief for M to know beyond all doubt that this amazing and shameful experience is indeed planned and being supported by God. And that assurance was gained in being open to fellowship not in trying to exist on her own spiritually. How much of our uncertainty about what God is doing in our lives would be lifted simply by going to meet with someone else? Yes, God is with you when you personally believe in Jesus and he will be with you in the loneliest of situations but we need to seek fellowship with even another trusted person. What did Jesus say? ‘where two or three are gathered in my name there I am in the midst of them.’

And with that assurance gained in fellowship M is able to give an example of praise, which is heart felt, humble, God centred, bible based, alive with faith.

We don’t know how well she sang, in or out of tune; We don’t know what kind of music she used. we don’t know if she actually sang at all! 1.46 says ‘Mary said’ but these words are so powerful that you have to think of them as a song of praise.

Whether she sang or chanted or spoke (or even shouted?) these words came from her heart. ‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices ...’ Have we not all heard a trained cathedral choir sing with musical precision, not a wrong note and yet felt something was missing? The again maybe we have been with a small group singing and there some wrong notes and missed beats and yet the praise arises from people’s hearts and pleases God?

M’s song must have pleased God because it was centred on God ‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit has rejoiced in God my saviour for the Mighty One has done great things for me and holy is his name.’ M is well aware of the wonderful place she has in God’s plan but this song is not to praise her but God whose name is holy. Whenever we have any kind of spiritual blessing, -- maybe we have led someone to faith in Christ, or people have thanked us for some way we helped them, isn’t there a temptation to keep the glory for ourselves and foolishly to think that we are now perfect people?

M has indeed shown great obedience and submission but she keeps clear in her mind that God is her saviour and that he alone is holy. Maybe we are at fault in giving some human being the glory? Have we idealised Mary herself, or some Christian leader of our own day as the perfect person? Idealising so easily turns to idolising. God alone is to have glory and praise: M knows this and shows this.

Her praise is God centred not least because it is bible based. Look for example at Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel 2.1-10. Here is the song of another mother who miraculously gives birth in this case after many years of being barren and despised. M seems to have drawn on Hannah’s song and much else in the Old Testament; she can place God’s work in her life in the context of God’s promises to Abraham and his descendants. Can we say about the hymns we like to sing that they are bible based? Or do we just like them because we like the tune or we learned it as a child? If we really want to praise God, we need to know what he is like and what he has done and will do and the only reliable source of information for that is in the Bible. Pray for hymn writers in our time who can produce material soaked in scripture as much as was the work of Charles Wesley and Isaac Watts.

But the final point is perhaps the most important. M’s song is about the fate of the proud and the humble. 51 ‘he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.’

M’s God, our God?, reverses the usual order of things in a world that values power and prestige and glamour and luxury God is for those at the bottom of the heap. As Jesus himself said ‘He that exalts himself shall be humbled and he that humbles himself shall be exalted.’ Isn’t that what so much of the Christmas story is about: the confusion of proud Herod and the joy of the under class shepherds? But how much of God’s reversed values are seen in our lives? How much of Christmas today is about filling the hungry with good things? or is the song we sing always about me? My rights, my needs, my desires.

Could we begin to compose a song like M’s about what God and his turning our lives upside down?

Lord, help us to praise you today to praise you from our hearts as well as with our lips to praise you in true fellowship and let our song be about you and may your word give us ever more reasons to praise you and may we like M have lives of true humility where you may do as you desire.

Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, Rejoice! Let your confidence be known to everyone; the Lord is at hand.