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Policy: The Bible and WelfareReform
81
^And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48who has looked with favor on the lowliness of God’s servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is God’s name.
50God’s mercy is for those who revere God from generation to
generation.
51God has shown strength with God’s arm;
and scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52God has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
53God has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
54God has helped God’s servant Israel,
in remembrance of God’s mercy,
5According to the promise God made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and Sarah and to their descendants forever.”
(Luke l:46-55)12
The particularities in scripture passages like this one must not be
ignored. Interpreting how Bible passages are relevant to contemporary
realities is part of everyday Christian practice in most local churches, and
takes place in Bible study meetings, Sunday morning sermons, and even
when scripture is offered at a hospital room bedside. In such settings, the
process for discerning the ethical meaning of scripture too often follows
an overly simplified foriftula. When scripture’s moral meaning is sought,
its universality is most highly valued because it does not seem to be con
tingent upon the details of the present circumstances or bound to the par
ticular ancient cultural context in which the scripture was written. But the
cultural particularities that inform the scripture passages make a differ
ence in the theological and ethical meaning of the text. Ancient cultural
references contain moral import. For instance, what did it mean in Luke’s
sociohistorical context for Mary to refer to herself as the slave/servant of
the Lord (Luke 1:38, 48)? A better understanding of the accountability,
rights, and role of a slave woman enables a better understanding of what
kind of submission to the Lord is being described here.13
Such particularities in the text may be regarded as wrinkles that need to
be smoothed over when scripture is applied to contemporary circumstances.