Was the Virgin Mary a narcissist? It might sound like it in verse 48 of the song she sings in our text for this Sunday, Luke 1:39-56, “Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed.” On the lips of a pop singer or a star athlete, such words might well sound like narcissism or egoism, an unhealthy overestimation of one’s own importance in the great scheme of things. But to see such self-aggrandizement here in the mother of Jesus would be to misunderstand both the character of Mary and the true meaning of the word “blessed.”
Putting Mary’s self-appraisal in context, we see immediately, from both the angel’s greeting to her in last week’s text (Luke 1:30) and Elizabeth’s proclamation about her in verses 42 and 45, that Mary’s self-understanding that she is a blessed woman was previously affirmed of her by others before she ever claimed it of herself. Mary is only humbly accepting a role assigned to her first and foremost by God.
Moreover, “blessing” here is an undeserved favor which goes beyond any merit Mary may have of her own accord. Even in Catholic doctrine which attributes moral perfection to Mary, her sinlessness is the consequence of God’s blessing, not the reason for it. To be blessed is not to be superior in any way, but to have received a gift unearned.
That same theme of mysterious, undeserved, unexpected blessing carries over into the rest of Mary’s song in the beautiful but tumultuous reversals of verses 51 to 53. The proud, the powerful and the rich–the seemingly blessed of the world–are all brought low, but the lowly, poor and hungry are raised up and truly blessed by the coming of the Savior whom Mary bears within herself.
Advent was originally conceived as a “little Lent,” a time when those to be baptized on Epiphany were taught the faith and amended their lives. It was a sober time of introspection and correction. Advent remains a good time for you and I to consider our concept of God’s blessing and to look for how it is being mysteriously given where we might not expect, to the poor, to refugees, to powerless people in the present world’s order. And may we seek such blessing ourselves by coming alongside those whom God wants most to bless and humbling ourselves to receive blessing rather than to earn or take it.