A Christmas Question about Mary

Last updated on: December 17, 2010 at 5:36 am by Scot McKnight

A Christmas Question about Mary 2010-12-15T20:07:49-06:00 Scot McKnight

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

From a reader:

Dear Prof. McKnight,

I just finished listening to your interview on Midday Connection and am thrilled with the topic of your most recent book about Mary [The Real Mary: Why Evangelical Christians Can Embrace the Mother of Jesus]. I recently wrote a Luke-based devotional called Divine Duct Tape and through it became very connected to Mary through her struggle to understand her son and the devastating, unexpected path he had to forge. As I studied Mary’s song and Zechariah’s too, however, I discovered a question I hope you can answer.

How are we to treat or understand these kinds of passages–these songs? It’s almost like Luke breaks into a musical. I know some kinds of scripture are poetic, some historical, some didactic, some wisdom, some prophetic promises. So many kinds of texts, yet all preserved by God to know him better and our need for him.

But in terms of ancient readers, how did they understand them and how are we? I can’t imagine that Mary and Zechariah (or Moses for that matter in his song in the OT) just burst into song like some sort of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” as they seem to sound in Luke’s text (Mary’s song, for example, seems to be within a conversation she is having with Elizabeth). I am puzzled about how these songs came to us from the mouths of their speakers. Do we know? I don’t doubt that they are genuine. Just puzzled about how they got there.

I would appreciate any insight you can offer. And thank you about your book about Mary. I am thrilled to hear someone speak of her in such an admiring but non-idealized, human way.

Blessings to you,
Kelli Anderson
www.kellira.com

Kelli,

This is a good set of questions and it surprises me at times that more people don’t ask them. When it comes to the Song of Mary, the Magnificat, I assume the only way Luke got them was that Mary told others or perhaps Luke himself. But I suspect the question gets deeper. I suspect the question is more about how ordinary people break into such beautiful music and poetry. I know I’ve asked that one a number of times.

Let’s begin with some basic options:

Some people they are the result — purely — from divine inspiration and the speakers (Mary, Zechariah) were transported to new heights, given divine insights and capable of poetic language because of that divine inspiration. Yet others think the songs are so poetic and majestic they had to be put on the mouths of their speakers by later Christians who imagined themselves into the mind and heart of Mary and Zechariah — a kind of “This is the sort of thing they must have said!” I don’t think we need to postulate either a miracle or that the songs come from others.

Two more options: some think these are the very words of Mary, and she was capable because she was bright and thoughtful and pious, and Zechariah, and he was capable and bright and wise and experienced and knowledgeable.

I find the fourth option most likely: even though I like studying these sorts of things, I’m not convinced we have the tools or evidence to say “Mary couldn’t have said that” or “Zechariah wouldn’t have been able to talk like that”. So, I prefer explanations that don’t assume they couldn’t have said such things. So what I think is most likely, and I don’t think we can know this with utter certainty, is something like this:

In the case of Mary, who was probably about 14 or 15 yrs old, I suspect she had a profound experience of perceiving what God was doing with her. I’m confident she burst into gratitude and joy and consolation from the moment she was convinced her baby was to be Messiah. I suspect also that she pondered on these things day in and day out. I suspect she asked theologians and priests and friends and family about messianic prophecies — and at some date after that moment, and I don’t know how long but probably not all that long afterwards, put into poetic form what she experienced.

So perhaps it was like this: she experienced joy and expressed her joy to Elizabeth in the Magnificat and said things like the Magnificat. Over time those expressions became more and more poetic so that eventually someone wrote down her own poem of praise to God for being chosen to be mother of Messiah.

I can’t prove this. I can’t prove either — apart from saying something like “The Bible says it so it must have happened just like that” — that she said those very words when she encountered Elizabeth. So the moment we are pushed into thinking about things like this we have to do our best with the kind of knowledge we have. It’s a stretch to think a young girl could suddenly burst into song like this, though I don’t think it’s impossible and neither would I eliminate the transcending power of the Spirit in such a moment. But if I had to guess, I’d choose option four, or three.

What do you think?

Mary

Previous Post

December 17, 2010

Is God a Moral Monster? 5

Next Post

December 17, 2010 What will you be reading?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Acts of the Apostles Adam Advent Anabaptism Angels Anglican Apologetics Atonement Baptism BCP Prayers Bible Biblical Studies Birds Blogging Bloglossary Bonhoeffer Books Calvinism Christianity Church Church History Coffee Colossians Commentary Recs Conversion Creation Creeds Culture Death Ecclesiastes Economics Education Embracing Grace Emergent Emerging Movement Eschatology Essays Ethics Eucharist Evangelicalism Family Fasting Fathers Fellowship of Differents Footsteps Tour Fun and Whimsical Gospel Grace Happiness Heaven Hell Holy Spirit Irenaeus James Jesus Jesus Creed Job Justification Kingdom of God Law Lectures Lent Liberalism Love and Marriage Mabanteneni Manhood Mary Miracles Missio Alliance MissioLife Missional Missional Jesus Movies and Film New Perspective Northern Seminary OneLife Origins Project Orthodox Parables Pastor's Spouse Pastoring and Leading Pastoring and Preaching Patristics Paul Paul-John Tour Pharisees Pietism Political Theology Prayer and Formation Preaching Problems for Faith Psalm 119 Psalms Public Issues Purgatory Religions Resurrection Revelation Romans Rule of JCreed Science and Faith Sermon on the Mount Sports Ten Commandments Theology Third Way Top Ten Lists Translations Uncategorized Universalism University Ministry Way Out Weekly Meanderings Wisdom Women and Ministry Work Worship Writing & Blogging Youth Ministry

Select a Month July 2021 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 0000

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: According to 1 John, God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God.

Select your answer to see how you score.

FALSE TRUE