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;
or 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 for ever.’
-Luke 1:46-55
Today we celebrate the feast of Mary, mother of Jesus. As a Methodist-turned-Episcopalian I was always somewhat puzzled by our friends “across the river,” as Father John likes to say, and their embrace of Mother Mary. But as I read the passages and writings about her today, I find I hear them with more appreciation.
You see, in the past few weeks I have encountered a litany of instances where men have behaved badly. Details are not necessarily appropriate for a daily meditation but to quickly summarize: domestic violence has reared its ugly head amongst my close inner circle; I overheard sexually explicit “locker room” comments in the public area of my tennis club (despite a literal locker room being a mere ten paces away); I received unwanted sexual advances from an intoxicated male friend; and have listened repeatedly to a female political candidate be called “stupid,” “nasty” and “low IQ,” in lieu of a more appropriate attack on policy differences or job performance.
Sure, these may be all examples of bad male apples but the concentrated onslaught has been tough to take. So when you are feeling a bit suspicious of Fathers, Sons, and other male figures, praying and worshiping using our masculine dominated liturgy can be a challenge. And while I fancy myself open-minded, praying to “Mother God” is way outside my comfort zone. So what’s a Christian woman to do?
Well, today, I revel in Mary. I find I need a feminine figure to talk to, to be comforted by. I do not know the Catholic intercessory prayers to use, and I do not subscribe to most of the tenets of Mariology, but I can read her story. I can read her Magnificat. I can imagine her in pregnancy, in the pain of childbirth, in the anxiety and joy of child raising, and in the excruciating pain of watching her first born die upon the cross . Woman-to-woman, I can relate and feel seen. I can also take comfort, as she did in the company of other women. Women always show up - be it at the grave in the early morning of Easter or through a Meal Train of casseroles whenever tragedy strikes.
And through Mary, through my girlfriends, and the men who love us right and well, I know my trust in the man-portion of humankind will be restored. Then I will again be able to fully embrace the Father and the Son without all the emotional baggage of the past few weeks.
Musical Reflection- The Wind Cries May - Jimi Hedrix performed by Cassandra Wilson
Dear Lord, today we thank you for Mary. For her faith and willingness to do what was asked of her, for loving our Lord and preparing him for his earthly work, for standing steadfast through his ministry, his persecution, and his death. We pray that we may share in her persistent faith and that, like her, you will provide us comfort. In your name we pray, Amen.
Login To Leave Comment