Scripture: Luke 1:46
My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, treat for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.

Thought for the Day: Mary. Betrothed (which was for all intents and purposes a legal marriage). Pregnant with someone else’s child. While Mary may have felt blessed to be carrying the Christ, purchase the people of Nazareth would have taken a dim view of her condition. Scripture tells us that Joseph’s friends tell him to return Mary to her father like so much damaged goods. Raising an illegitimate child as a teenager was not a social position Mary wanted to be in.

While this first verse of Mary’s Magnificat is Mary’s thanksgiving to God for the privilege of giving birth to the Christ child, help I think it is also possible she was thanking God for Joseph. It’s Joseph that names Jesus and importantly, legitimizes him as a human being. In the ancient world, lineage was everything. Joseph’s family could be traced back to King David, a requirement for the Messiah. Joseph is the lynchpin of Jesus’ birth story, and I am sure Mary was overwhelmed with joy that God sent such a human angel to protect her and the soon-to-be-born Christ child. Because without Joseph, it is unlikely Mary—or Jesus—would have survived.

Prayer: Magnificat anima mea Dominum. May my soul also glorify you, Lord, with the depth of trust and the sweep of passion you so inspired in Mary—and Joseph. Amen.