Today's gospel is the continuation of the story of Mary, as she carries the Christ child within her. The story tells of Mary praising God for blessing her with Jesus. Pastor Michelle explains why this is such a big deal: for generations God has promised to lift up the lowly and downtrodden and provide salvation, while humbling the powerful people. Indeed, Mary had witnessed firsthand the oppression that Rome had inflicted upon the Jews at the time. Knowing that God was fulfilling His promise gave her, and all who knew her, joy.

Today, we still see signs of the oppression of the powerful, but we understand now that we are the fulfillment of God's promise: every time we help feed the hungry, or speak out against injustice, we are living and loving like Jesus.