In Walter Brueggemann’s The Prophetic Imagination he emphasizes the dual prophetic aspects—critique and hope—of Mary’s song. “The intrusion embodied in the birth of Jesus causes a radical inversion. … The birth of Jesus brings a harsh end to a Herodian reality that seemed ordained forever, and it created a new historical situation for marginal people that none in their despair could have anticipated” (Walter Brueggemann, The Prophetic Imagination [Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1978], 83). Mary’s poetic descriptions of a “radical inversion” point toward Christ’s teaching: “So the last will be first, and the first last” (Matthew 20:16). Christ’s choice of (earthly) disempowered disciples, his time spent with outcasts of all stripes, and his frequent rebuke of the religious teachers all reflect the countercultural values of Mary’s song. These are the values not of any earthly kingdom, but of the kingdom of God.
