Have you ever wondered what Mary's parents thought about her pregnancy? Unless they believed her protestations (which Joseph didn't) they would be assuming that she had misbehaved. Even if they believed her, their neighbours wouldn't. Pre-marital sex was more than frowned on - it was a major sin. Adulterers were stoned, and although technically Mary was not an adulterer (since she wasn't yet married to Joseph, only betrothed) if Joseph denied the child was his then everyone would assume Mary had broken the social norms. She would probably have been shunned, and there would have been calls for her to be punished.
So she takes the hint that Gabriel gave her, and goes to check on her cousin Elizabeth. The two women have a joyful meeting. At last Mary is with someone she can trust, someone who will understand her situation. Well done, Gabriel - you may not have handled Zechariah well, but you got it spot on with these two.
Luke now quotes a song, and puts it into Mary's mouth. I like to think of this as the fruit of all the long conversations these two women had, so it is as much Elizabeth's song as it is Mary's. Together they worked out what they thought their miracle babies meant for Israel and for the world.
God is doing something new, and he is breaking apart the established order of things. He isn't using the rich and powerful to get things done, instead he's chosen the humble and meek. Without this, Mary would have lived her life in complete obscurity, but now every generation will called her blessed.
The two sent their minds back over the long list of promises that God had made to his people, and in the events they had witnessed, and the children they were carrying, they saw those promises being fulfilled. And it's lovely that they do it in song - so much more memorable and more emotionally charged than plain words.
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