This coming Sunday happens to be August 15. August 15 happens to be the day every year when the church celebrates the festival of Mary, Mother of Our Lord. So this Sunday we will celebrate in worship this festival/feast day.
Perhaps like you, as a Lutheran I have mixed feelings/thoughts about Mary as a religious figure. My parents were both raised Roman Catholic, and that is the background of my whole extended family. Last summer I did my hospital chaplaincy internship at a very Roman Catholic Hospital, St. Mary's in Langhorne, PA. While there I went to mass at the hospital chapel every day. It was part of the experience, which I loved and learned a lot from. But often before, after, or during mass I would find my gaze drift over to my left, where a larger than life size wooden carving of Mary hung on the wall.
Mary is a complex figure. Her closeness to the divinity of Christ but also the other two parts of the trinity make her a mysterious figure. There are countless stories, traditions, and religious devotions that have developed over her since the early church. Now, people see Mary in the glass on sides of buildings, on grilled cheese, in the sun of the Mojave Desert - http://www.mt.net/~watcher/october13marymojave.html - I just saw a television documentary on this practice of devotees of the Marian movement - they take polaroid pictures directly of the sun - and claim apparitions of Mary in the rays.
I chose the image for this blog post because this stained glass image of Mary contains so many little nods and symbols and complex images - can you spot a few?
And yet, amidst the cloud of everything around her, I keep getting pulled back to what the text actually is for this Sunday - and that's what Mary says. It's her song of praise at the end of the first chapter of Luke, often called the Magnificat. This is a powerful song - what do these words say to you either within or separate from knowing Mary declares them?
46 And Mary said,
"My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever."
Peace+
Vicar Brett
No comments:
Post a Comment