Familiarity breeds contempt, but this Advent, in the face of rising authoritarianism and tyranny both in the U.S. and around the world, let us not gloss over or sweetly spiritualize the words of Mary in her Magnificat. What a dissident chant it is:
My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded
the low estate of His servant;
surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is His name.
His mercy is on those who fear Him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has pulled down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
in remembrance of His mercy,
as He spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever. (Luke 1:46-55 MEV)
The whole poem is a meditation on the mystery of Christmas (the Incarnation). God gestated inside Mary’s body, sharing her “lowly estate.” God has seen the world from below. God is kindred to the poor, the dispossessed, the enslaved, the colonized, the trafficked, the racialized, the imprisoned. That’s God’s entry point.
In Mary’s gospel, the message is at first bad news for the rich, the mighty, the proud, and the tyrannical. She puts on notice all who would build tiers of humanity, all who would aim to dehumanize, manipulate, manhandle, threaten, and overpower their fellow human beings. God thwarts the proud imaginations, the rulers on their thrones, and the oligarchs in their efforts to dominate their fellow human beings.
Mary is not a blissful maiden staring mildly off to heaven, as so much bad Christian art has depicted her. Mary is insubordinate. She is a hopeful, righteous rebel against tyranny. She’s not merely some quaint first-century Jew singing rapturously. Mary is a revolutionary theologian.
During a protest against ICE in front of a migrant detention center in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on March 3, 2025, activists hold an image of Mary being arrested by ICE agents. (Seth Wenig/Associated Press)
This Magnificat revolution is premised not on the violent overthrow of the powerful but a stalwart reliance on God’s character. We resist authoritarianism because our theology (our vision of God) impels us. God is the disrupter of hierarchies. As the King James Bible so marvelously translated Peter, “God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34).
So as wannabe tyrants arise and the authoritarian logic of empire finds purchase among Christian Nationalists, sincere followers of Jesus should listen afresh to Mary this Christmastime. Resisting authoritarianism is in our spiritual DNA.
Matthew D. Taylor is a senior scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies in Baltimore and is the author of The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement That Is Threatening Our Democracy.
NOTE: This is part of our Unsettling Advent devotionals running Nov. 30-Dec. 24. You can subscribe for free and receive them each morning in your inbox.
