A Palindrome Magnificat

A Palindrome Magnificat

And Mary said,

‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
   and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
   Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
   and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
   from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
   he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
   and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
   and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
   in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
   to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’

And Mary remained with her for about three months and then returned to her home.

Luke 1:46-56

I love palindromes - words, numbers or phrases that can be read forwards and backwards. Like the names Hannah, Ava or Anna. Or my birthdate - which I won’t reveal here! Or the longest single-word palindrome in everyday use – the Finnish word for soapstone vendor – saippuakivikauppias!

And I love palindrome poems. Poems that can be read forwards and backwards and – this makes them extra clever – which change in meaning read in the reverse direction! A wonderful example is ‘Refugees’ by British poet Brian Bilston. 

Mary’s Magnificat is not a palindrome, but it is a poem about the great theme of Luke-Acts – salvation by reversal!

Mary is living in first century Palestine under Roman occupation. There is social and economic inequality, heavy taxation, political unrest and violent oppression. And Mary herself is now extremely vulnerable, a young pregnant and unmarried woman.

But her poem reads her situation in the reverse direction. “God my Saviour,” she says, “has looked in favour on the lowliness of his servant”. By involving her in God’s salvation of the world, “The Mighty One has done great things for me.”

And in this act of reversal, Mary sees God’s great work of salvation for all people – from generation to generation. God has showed mercy to the humble. God has lifted up the lowly. God has filled the hungry with good things. 

Our English translations render these verbs in the perfect tense - implying past actions continuing into the present. But Mary’s poem uses aorist verbs  that indicate these actions are completely completed! God ‘looked’ and ‘did’ great things. God ‘showed’ strength and ‘scattered’ the proud. God ‘brought down’ the powerful, ‘lifted up’ the lowly, ‘filled’ the hungry, ‘sent away’ the rich empty.

Reading in the reverse direction, Mary boldly declares that through the work of Jesus, yet unborn, salvation is a done deal!

A member of my church, Dr Rebecca Hilton, has just published a history of women’s ministry; Seizing Opportunities: Australian Baptist Women 1830s-1945. She has waded through a lot of old church records! But knowing women are valued by God, she has read history in the reverse direction – including women’s names, telling their stories, bringing new meaning and completeness to our Baptist story.

And I see that model of reading in reverse throughout my church community. Knowing that God values those who need mercy we stand with refugees. Knowing God lifts up the lowly we support people doing it tough in our community and in Cambodia, Nepal, the Solomon Islands, Indonesia, Vanuatu and Bangladesh. Knowing God fills the hungry with good things we offer a community of genuine welcome for God’s salvation is for all people without qualification.

In this season of Advent, let’s join with Mary in declaring God’s great act of reversal - salvation breaking through in the birth of Jesus. Here's my rough attempt at a palindrome Magnificat:

This is how we see the world

the world God made

the proud and merciless

overcome

those who need mercy

the powerful

are seated above

the lowly

the rich

take priority over

the poor

God looks with favour

on our lowliness…

(Now read in reverse as the Magnificat does).

Rev Belinda Groves is Team Leader at Canberra Baptist Church on Ngunnawal Country, a church with a rich tradition of worship, theological reflection, community and justice. She is also Chair of the Open Baptists, a new movement of Baptist churches in Australia and New Zealand. Belinda has been at Canberra Baptist for 17 years and prior to that pastored in Sydney and in Japan. She has one husband, Aron, two dogs, Monty and Paddy, and three adult children, Miriam, Grace and Zach.

This devotional is the sixteenth in a series of daily email devotionals for Advent 2025 reflecting on the realities of our broken world along with the unshakable hope that love still breaks through. It explores how God’s love disrupts, heals, and transforms - breaking through darkness, despair, and injustice to bring light, joy, and renewal.

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Common Grace is a diverse movement of individuals, churches and communities passionate about Jesus and justice. We have come together as those from different Christian traditions who stand in the continuity of the historic Christian faith, centred on the life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ as witnessed to in holy scripture. This series highlights the diversity of followers of Jesus across these lands. These voices may not agree with one another (or with you), but they are each an expression of longing for the God whose love we see break through in Jesus.

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