Singing Mary's Song
20/12/12 04:50
The great theologian and Biblical Scholar Walter Brueggemann is repeatedly calling our attention to Biblical poets. The poets, he teaches, find the words to speak truth to power and to call the people back to justice and a meaningful relationship with God.
Walter Brueggemann must love the Gospel of Luke. The opening of the Gospel reads like a musical. Everyone is bursting into song. Zechariah sings. Elizabeth sings. Mary sings. The angels sing. Joseph must not have auditioned well for a singing part. He doesn’t have a song, only a speaking part, and darn few words at that. Like other Biblical prophets, the songs of the opening of Luke don’t pull any punches. They are tough stuff.
Mary sings:
"My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor 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 forever."
A few of my colleagues and I were speculating about what might happen if people just started sending Mary’s song to the members of congress and the President as they negotiate their way on the brink of a fiscal cliff. What are the tax implications of filling the hungry with good things and sending the rich away empty? I suspect that some of the Tea Party members would find such notions as “communist” and drive poor Mary right out of town.
But I have had the wonderful gift of more time to think about such things this week. I took an extra day off and went for a walk in the woods. I blogged about that experience yesterday.
So I have a new take on Mary’s song – at least a new-to-me way of interpreting the poem.
I have mostly thought of the Song of Mary as a story of rewards and punishments in the past. The proud get punished. They are scattered in the thoughts of their hearts. The powerful get punished. They are brought down from their thrones. The lowly get rewarded. They get lifted up. The hungry get rewarded. They are filled with good things. The rich are punished. They are sent away empty.
Then I was given a rare gift in the midst of a very busy season. My truck broke down eight miles from the nearest phone on a day when no one else decided to drive up the road. Without ever being in danger, we were given the gift of a beautiful day to take a long walk. We got to examine the tracks of the deer and rabbits and a bobcat. We got to sing songs as we walked alongside a bubbling creek. We got to watch the sunlight creep down the mountainsides and finally shine on us in the bottom of the valley. We got to know the warmth of caring friends who came to rescue us. It is entirely possible that what seemed to be a curse was really a blessing. Maybe what a late-middle-aged, overweight pastor who is used to having multiple reliable vehicles and an over-scheduled life most needs is an invitation to get out of the truck and take a walk. Maybe he needs to discover that he has the resources to spend a night safely without electricity and entertainment systems and a house full of comforts. Maybe he needs to feel just a twinge of emptiness in his stomach and taste the joy of a sip of cool water. What if what happened to us wasn’t a punishment, but rather a reward?
Now, I don’t think that God has any reason to manipulate the functioning of a seven-year-old Chevy pickup truck. The laws of physics work well enough to cause occasional mechanical failure of parts that have been used over and over again. And I don’t think that God has any reason to manipulate my thinking so that I would make some rather silly and immature mistakes in planning a day’s outing.
But I have no doubt that God has been watching over us all the days of our lives. I have no question in my mind about God’s love or care for us. God loves everyone.
God even loves the proud and the powerful and the rich.
Mary is singing God’s praise because God not only gives the lowly and the hungry the things they need. God gives everyone the things they need. Her song is not a song of curses or punishments. The proud need to be scattered in the thoughts of their hearts. The powerful need to be brought down a notch. The rich need to feel what it means to be sent away empty. They need these things as much as the lowly need to be lifted up and the hungry need to be filled with good things. God’s gift to each person named in Mary’s song is exactly what is best for that particular individual.
John Rutter has crafted a magnificent setting for Mary’s Song. I have a recording of the choir of King’s College Chapel singing it. Though I’m not a very good singer, the song has been ringing in my mind for a couple of days, now:
“Magnifcat anima mea Dominum, et exsultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo. Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae. Ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generations.”
“Magnify the Lord, O my soul, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. For he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, from now on all generations shall call me blessed.”
Magnificat! Magnificat!
It is just the right medicine for this weary world in this often-too-busy season.