{"id":2850,"date":"2023-12-23T06:56:18","date_gmt":"2023-12-23T14:56:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionmatters\/?p=2850"},"modified":"2023-12-23T07:16:22","modified_gmt":"2023-12-23T15:16:22","slug":"mary-teaches-blessedness-at-christ-mass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionmatters\/2023\/12\/mary-teaches-blessedness-at-christ-mass\/","title":{"rendered":"Mary Teaches Blessedness at Christ-Mass"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

{Photo by Juan Diego Cadena Colombia for Scopio; Mary teaches blessedness}<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

In our Christmas morning lectionary reading<\/a>, Mary is greeted by the angel Gabriel as \u201cthe favored one\u201d or the blessed one, because Mary has been chosen to give birth to a son who will be a great savior to his people. Yet the story that follows is seemingly contradictory.[1]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Mary becomes an unwed mother who was surely shamed within her culture. She gives birth in a barn among animals and is visited by shepherds, considered lowly members of society. In the Matthew story (totally different from Luke\u2019s), she and her husband end up fleeing their homeland because King Herod threatens them. And her son, in the final scenes of his life, suffers a horrible, unspeakable death.<\/p>\n

In myriad ways, Mary does not seem favored or blessed. Have you ever felt this way, that you are told God favors you, yet you feel anything but blessed? Perhaps you feel rejected and judged harshly by people around you, like you cannot catch a break. Perhaps you have suffered unbearable losses. Perhaps you struggle to stay afloat financially. Perhaps you are threatened by combatants in a region at war. Yet, at the same time, you read in scripture that you are favored by God. It is confusing.<\/p>\n

But in Luke, Mary\u2019s character teaches that the appearance of a thing is not the ultimate reality. In her song the \u201cMagnificat\u201d, she beckons us to investigate more deeply. We must look beyond the surface of life to see God dwelling within us. Our intimacy with the Divine, and our alignment with God\u2019s desires, is what marks our lives as blessed\u2014not the perimeters by which the dominant society measures us or even the perimeters by which we measure ourselves. Because those values can be misleading. God\u2019s values stand in plain contrast to the values of the world. Few New Testament passages express this as clearly as Mary\u2019s Song (Luke 1:46-56). The Magnificat is a bold expression of God\u2019s desires for creation and for humanity. And these desires often starkly contradict humanity\u2019s values and desires.<\/p>\n

{Photo by osama zitoon for Scopio; Mary teaches blessedness}<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Reimagining the Magnificat<\/strong><\/p>\n

This week I was introduced to a stunning rendering of the Magnificat into modern language. A writer named Reverend M. Jade Kaiser, <\/a>with an organization called enfleshed<\/em><\/a>,<\/a> rewrote the Magnificat in terms that resonate more with us and our times. The words are emboldening and encouraging, especially when we feel the weight of the world or feel anything but blessed. I share this interpretation to orient our minds to God\u2019s intentions as we celebrate Christmas. In this rewording, Mary proclaims:<\/p>\n

My soul is alive with thoughts of God.<\/em>**
\nWhat a wonder, Their liberating works.<\/em>
\nThough the world has been harsh to me,<\/em>
\nGod has shown me kindness,<\/em>
\nseen my worth,<\/em>
\nand called me to courage.<\/em>
\nSurely, those who come after me will call me blessed.<\/em>
\nEven when my heart weighs heavy with grief,<\/em>
\nstill, so does hope abide with me.<\/em>
\nHoly is the One who makes it so.<\/em>
\nFrom generation to generation,<\/em>
\nLove\u2019s Mercy is freely handed out;<\/em>
\nnone are beyond the borders of<\/em>
\nGod\u2019s transforming compassion.<\/em>
\nThe power of God is revealed<\/em>
\namong those who labor for justice.<\/em>
\nGod humbles the arrogant.<\/em>
\nGod turns unjust thrones into dust.<\/em>
\nGod\u2019s Wisdom is revealed in<\/em>
\nthe lives and truths of those on the margins.<\/em>
\nGod is a feast for the hungry.<\/em>
\nGod is the great redistributor of wealth and resources.<\/em>
\nGod is the ceasing of excessive and destructive production<\/em>
\nthat all the earth might rest.<\/em>
\nThrough exiles and enslavement,<\/em>
\nfamines and wars,<\/em>
\nhurricanes and gun violence,<\/em>
\nGod is a companion in loss,<\/em>
\na deliverer from evil,<\/em>
\na lover whose touch restores.<\/em>
\nThis is the promise God made<\/em>
\nto my ancestors,<\/em>
\nto me,<\/em>
\nto all the creatures and creations,<\/em>
\nnow and yet coming,<\/em>
\nand in this promise,<\/em>
\nI find my strength.<\/em>
\nCome, Great Healer,<\/em>
**\nand be with us.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2014Happy Christ-mass.<\/em><\/p>\n

Love, Tricia<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Writer and pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber is credited with turning our attention to this aspect of the Mary story.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Wren, winner of a 2022 Independent Publishers Award Bronze Medal<\/a><\/p>\n

Winner of the 2022 Independent Publisher Awards Bronze Medal for Regional Fiction; Finalist for the 2022 National Indie Excellence Awards.\u00a0<\/em>(2021) Paperback publication of\u00a0Wren<\/a>\u00a0,\u00a0<\/em>a novel. \u201cInsightful novel tackles questions of parenthood, marriage, and friendship with finesse and empathy \u2026 with striking descriptions of Oregon topography.\u201d \u2014Kirkus Reviews\u00a0<\/em>(2018) Audiobook publication of\u00a0Wren<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In our Christmas morning lectionary reading, Mary is greeted by the angel Gabriel as \u201cthe favored one\u201d or the blessed one, because Mary has been chosen to give birth to a son who will be a great savior to his people. Yet the story that follows is seemingly contradictory.[1] Mary becomes an unwed mother who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4674,"featured_media":2853,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[185,600,382,1065,1068,1043],"class_list":["post-2850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-essay","tag-advent","tag-christmas","tag-lectionary","tag-luke-126-38","tag-magnificat","tag-seasonal-holidays"],"yoast_head":"\nMary Teaches Blessedness at Christ-Mass<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mary teaches blessedness--that the appearance of a thing is not the ultimate reality. 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