Tuesday of the
Fourth Week of Advent
(I Samuel 1:24-28; Luke 1:46-56)
Most horrifying and yet most edifying of all images this
year was the video of Christians being beheaded by ISIS ruffians. The blood of twenty-one Egyptian men colored
the seaside sand in eloquent testimony of their faith in Jesus. The martyrs did was Mary does in today’s
gospel.
Mary is the first believer in what God has done for the
world in Jesus Christ. She has been
instructed by His messenger that her son will receive the kingship of David. She now proclaims what this means. She says that the humble will be lifted from
their misery while the proud are scattered in rejection.
We may want to ask, “How does Mary know this is
happening?” She knows by faith in God. Like
those Egyptian martyrs Mary understands that the Lord has arrived to overcome
evil. We will see the end of ISIS and
also, perhaps more mercifully, victory over our own greed and lust.
