Mary's Song

In The Real Mary, Scot McKnight points out just how subversive and powerful Mary's Song was (and still is, at least in many places in our world today) in her anticipation by the Spirit just what her son, as God's Son and Messiah would mean, in the coming of God's kingdom to the world. Though Mary had much to learn about this, still her song is certainly right, and part of what she surely taught Jesus as he grew up.

This past Sunday in my mother's Mennonite church in Ohio, we had the pleasure of singing a song which I intend to work on. Because of copyright laws I don't feel free to reproduce it here. Canticle of the Turning, words by Rory Cooney based on this passage from Scripture, with a traditional Irish tune arranged by him. You can play part of it here. The words are powerful and the tune quite like Mary might have actually sang (in my imagination and from what little I think I know).

We don't have enough songs that mirror the concerns and passion of Mary's Song, which indeed is an important part of God's concern and passion. It's all too much about me and God, about God's great salvation for us. Those are good, important, and needed. But it must not stop there. We are terribly lacking in hymns and songs which address the theme which stands out in Mary's Song, how God's kingdom in Jesus impacts the kingdoms and evil of this world. And the film which came out the same year Scot's book here referred to came out, makes Mary more into the traditional Mary, who in the film seems quite overcome with the notion of bearing the Christ-Child, and hardly expectant as to what that bearing would mean.

May more songs like Rory Cooney's be written.

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