Magnificat/Song of Mary (Luke 1:46-1:55)
Recently I was reminiscing with some friends about “scary movies” from our childhood. Actually, most of them predated our childhoods, but we were still well aware that they were way too gruesome and scary for children. I was telling them that my 9-year-old daughter had begged me to watch JAWS, and with its PG rating, I gave in, with a warning about what she would see. To be clear, I’d never actually watched the whole thing, but I got the gist. Her reactions were surprising… “Momma, this is boring.” “Look! The shark is so… fake!” “Momma this is FUNNY! Look at the ketchup blood!” Oh, my sweet, desensitized child.
You’re probably asking yourself “What in the world does JAWS have to do with Advent or the Song of Mary???” Great question. I have sung “the Mag” as we like to call it in the choral world, dozens of times. Many different tunes, same text. And though I’ve always liked how composers made a golden moment out of the “scattering of the proud” and “sending the rich away” it was not until I was reading about its history and spending time with only the text that I appreciated its revolutionary nature. A teenage GIRL, giving birth in a barn, after being forced by her government to WALK 70 miles to a town she did not know, a stone’s throw away from the Herodium, a huge palatial estate, knowing and speaking rightly of the Son of God, her son, fixing this broken world. I know these words by heart. I’ve sung them so many times in Latin and English and French and German. But because of that, like my daughter’s experience with JAWS, I was desensitized to the power of her language. As you reflect on this canticle, and the person of Mary, may you find her strength this season. To speak up, to embrace and love those outside of your comfort zone, those struggling, those seeking refuge, the “lowly” like Mary, knowing that they are first in the eyes of Christ.
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