THE MAGNIFICAT
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ABOUT THE MAGNIFICAT
Mary’s Hymn of Praise, commonly known as the Magnificat, is found in the first chapter of The Gospel of Luke and is one of the most beloved and excerpted hymns in the entire Bible. Through this hymn, we can see Mary as the first evangelist, singing in this spirit-filled hymn of a Messiah who would bring God’s Mighty Kingdom to earth and tip the world’s hierarchies upside-down to glorify God and save his people. We shouldn’t be surprised that the Magnificat is found only in Luke’s gospel, because Luke gives voice to many key female players in God’s mission who are entirely passed over in the other gospels. As a brief overview to the content of this hymn, I would like to break the Magnificat into three sections.
I. God is holy, and his plan is always better than ours.
Through Mary’s song we get a multifaceted view of the God she serves and the way he will go about his mighty, redemptive work. In the first six lines, we see aspects of God’s goodness based on his actions toward Mary specifically. In the ancient Near East, Mary held none of the markers that could give her any kind of cultural or social status. First, she was a woman. Women were valued chiefly as property in her culture, and their opinions were so undervalued that they couldn’t even serve as witnesses in court. A woman’s status was earned chiefly through family relationships: marriage and sons. Mary was young, poor, and unmarried, and therefore had yet to bear any children. She had no value by her world’s standards. And yet, God’s upside-down Kingdom values even the lowest of the low. God chose a humble, poor, unmarried woman as his vessel. This God, the author of all that is seen and unseen, could have begotten his Messiah in whatever way he chose, and there is no doubt Mary knew this, and she stands in awe of the God who chose her. Mary, paradoxically pregnant and yet a virgin, hadn’t even told Joseph or her parents that she was pregnant at the time she sang this hymn of praise. She had to have known there was a chance that they would not react favorably and that her relationships, status, and life would be in danger. And yet, being filled with the spirit of God, she does not dwell on her circumstances but rejoices in God’s mighty redemptive work in her.
II. God is just, and his Kingdom is not of this world.
Mary’s song does not stop at how God has blessed her, but it radiates outward to his greater redemptive work. In the six middle lines, she sings of how God's mercy extends to all who fear him. She tells the story of how this Messiah will bring justice, exalt the humble, and bring riches to the poor in spirit and the outwardly oppressed. Over thirty years prior to Jesus’ famous sermon on the mount, when he was yet in the womb, shades of Matthew 5 were already spilling from his mother’s lips.
III. God keeps his promises, no matter what it costs him.
It is appropriate that this young Jewish woman would close her song by marveling at God’s steadfast love in the last four lines. She invokes a Psalmic voice, drawing on imagery from thousands of years of scripture and Jewish tradition all the way back to Genesis when God made his covenant with Abraham. Here we see Mary placing herself into God’s greater story, and while she recognizes that she is but a humble thread in his great tapestry, these lines echo with the marvel of what came before: she is carrying God’s child, the Messiah. She is a physical homage, a remembrance, of God’s mercy. Through Mary’s word, God invites us to ask ourselves, “What must this God be like, who knew from the foundations of the world that he would save his people through this humble woman, and that the child in her womb would make all things new?” It should not be lost on us that God’s redemptive plan, first proclaimed in Genesis 3:15, started with Abraham’s only son and ends with the sacrifice of Jesus, his only son.
It is not probable that Mary understood, at this time, the scope of suffering that both she and her son would endure to see God's mission through. God faithfully equipped Mary with himself throughout her life, ultimately redeeming her and reconciling her to himself in perfect fulfillment and satisfaction through her son. It is our hope that through this feast of scripture, art, and prayer, you will see God's perfect holiness, his mighty justice, and his wasteful grace made manifest in Mary's spotless son, the God-man, the death of death, and the Savior of the World.
I. God is holy, and his plan is always better than ours.
Through Mary’s song we get a multifaceted view of the God she serves and the way he will go about his mighty, redemptive work. In the first six lines, we see aspects of God’s goodness based on his actions toward Mary specifically. In the ancient Near East, Mary held none of the markers that could give her any kind of cultural or social status. First, she was a woman. Women were valued chiefly as property in her culture, and their opinions were so undervalued that they couldn’t even serve as witnesses in court. A woman’s status was earned chiefly through family relationships: marriage and sons. Mary was young, poor, and unmarried, and therefore had yet to bear any children. She had no value by her world’s standards. And yet, God’s upside-down Kingdom values even the lowest of the low. God chose a humble, poor, unmarried woman as his vessel. This God, the author of all that is seen and unseen, could have begotten his Messiah in whatever way he chose, and there is no doubt Mary knew this, and she stands in awe of the God who chose her. Mary, paradoxically pregnant and yet a virgin, hadn’t even told Joseph or her parents that she was pregnant at the time she sang this hymn of praise. She had to have known there was a chance that they would not react favorably and that her relationships, status, and life would be in danger. And yet, being filled with the spirit of God, she does not dwell on her circumstances but rejoices in God’s mighty redemptive work in her.
II. God is just, and his Kingdom is not of this world.
Mary’s song does not stop at how God has blessed her, but it radiates outward to his greater redemptive work. In the six middle lines, she sings of how God's mercy extends to all who fear him. She tells the story of how this Messiah will bring justice, exalt the humble, and bring riches to the poor in spirit and the outwardly oppressed. Over thirty years prior to Jesus’ famous sermon on the mount, when he was yet in the womb, shades of Matthew 5 were already spilling from his mother’s lips.
III. God keeps his promises, no matter what it costs him.
It is appropriate that this young Jewish woman would close her song by marveling at God’s steadfast love in the last four lines. She invokes a Psalmic voice, drawing on imagery from thousands of years of scripture and Jewish tradition all the way back to Genesis when God made his covenant with Abraham. Here we see Mary placing herself into God’s greater story, and while she recognizes that she is but a humble thread in his great tapestry, these lines echo with the marvel of what came before: she is carrying God’s child, the Messiah. She is a physical homage, a remembrance, of God’s mercy. Through Mary’s word, God invites us to ask ourselves, “What must this God be like, who knew from the foundations of the world that he would save his people through this humble woman, and that the child in her womb would make all things new?” It should not be lost on us that God’s redemptive plan, first proclaimed in Genesis 3:15, started with Abraham’s only son and ends with the sacrifice of Jesus, his only son.
It is not probable that Mary understood, at this time, the scope of suffering that both she and her son would endure to see God's mission through. God faithfully equipped Mary with himself throughout her life, ultimately redeeming her and reconciling her to himself in perfect fulfillment and satisfaction through her son. It is our hope that through this feast of scripture, art, and prayer, you will see God's perfect holiness, his mighty justice, and his wasteful grace made manifest in Mary's spotless son, the God-man, the death of death, and the Savior of the World.
ABOUT KELLY
Kelly Kruse uses her work to explore the painful, beautiful experience of human longing and suffering. She developed a visual devotional practice as a response to her battle with depression, through which she wrestles with beauty, longing, and God. Kruse describes her work as contemporary illumination. Like the medieval monks who perfected the art of illuminated manuscripts, she seeks to awake in the viewer a sense of spiritual contemplation. Her first exposure to the idea of illumination came when she studied Medieval and Renaissance music and art in Italy. Her background in classical music and opera puts her in a unique position to explore the intersection between scripture, poetry, musical works, and the visual arts. In addition to her artistic practice, she works as a music educator in the Kansas City metro area.
@kellykrusecreative
@kellykrusecreative
ABOUT KATHRYN
Kathryn Bradford Heidelberger is a theologian and minister currently residing in the western suburbs of Chicago, IL. She has a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Arts in Theology from Wheaton College (IL). Her primary academic and vocational interest is ecumenical and interfaith theology, and she finds Mary, the mother of Jesus, a compelling and helpful conversation partner in this endeavor. She is married to her best friend, Max, and they enjoy spending time outdoors, reading, and writing together.
ABOUT THE ARTWORK
Each time I consider the way in which God entered into the world to do his redemptive work, I'm drawn more deeply into my obsession and fascination with him. And there are always questions in me: why would he choose such a humble, painful path to redemption? Why would he be so categorically wasteful, so contrary to what we might expect? It certainly isn’t because we earned it—so my answer can only be that he loves us at an inconceivable cost to himself, and I always end up standing under him in awe. He chooses a humble vessel in Mary and comes to a world that physically and emotionally resists making room for him. He chose to be born a helpless baby to a poor, young virgin, and he died on the cross, still poor, humiliated, and forsaken, all that we might be reconciled to God by no merit of our own. What kind of God does that?
I chose to work on paper and to mount this work in unassuming, humble wooden frames to mirror the humility of Mary and the lowliness of Jesus' own social status. To juxtapose this with the medium of acrylic ink and metal leaf layered over texture paste feels extravagant and almost wasteful to me, mirroring God’s grace. The gold foil is often buried, crinkled, and resplendent even in the darkness. Seeing that fragile beauty buried in dark ink reminds me of what Christ did on the cross, and it becomes more beautiful to me in that imperfection. In this body of work, I occasionally drew on some traditional Christian iconography, but often I simply used color, texture, and gestures to convey some small sliver of this multifaceted text.
The process of working with this medium is very wet and time consuming. I work flat and in many layers, and while I always set out with a plan, I inevitably end up intuitively following the wet ink as it slides across the paper. In other words, I set out to paint purposefully and often end up waiting to see the painting revealed to me. I pay attention to it as it dries and shifts before me. It is a very spiritual practice: first I am invited to know more about God through his text, and then I invite the Holy Spirit into my artistic practice, waiting to notice things as I work that might point me back to God. The real beauty of this process is that it doesn’t stop with me. I invite you, the viewer, to step into the finished works and see what you will. I encourage you to invite the Holy Spirit in as you meditate on God’s word and read Kathryn’s prayers. We are so grateful to have you here, feasting on Mary’s Song with us.
Each time I consider the way in which God entered into the world to do his redemptive work, I'm drawn more deeply into my obsession and fascination with him. And there are always questions in me: why would he choose such a humble, painful path to redemption? Why would he be so categorically wasteful, so contrary to what we might expect? It certainly isn’t because we earned it—so my answer can only be that he loves us at an inconceivable cost to himself, and I always end up standing under him in awe. He chooses a humble vessel in Mary and comes to a world that physically and emotionally resists making room for him. He chose to be born a helpless baby to a poor, young virgin, and he died on the cross, still poor, humiliated, and forsaken, all that we might be reconciled to God by no merit of our own. What kind of God does that?
I chose to work on paper and to mount this work in unassuming, humble wooden frames to mirror the humility of Mary and the lowliness of Jesus' own social status. To juxtapose this with the medium of acrylic ink and metal leaf layered over texture paste feels extravagant and almost wasteful to me, mirroring God’s grace. The gold foil is often buried, crinkled, and resplendent even in the darkness. Seeing that fragile beauty buried in dark ink reminds me of what Christ did on the cross, and it becomes more beautiful to me in that imperfection. In this body of work, I occasionally drew on some traditional Christian iconography, but often I simply used color, texture, and gestures to convey some small sliver of this multifaceted text.
The process of working with this medium is very wet and time consuming. I work flat and in many layers, and while I always set out with a plan, I inevitably end up intuitively following the wet ink as it slides across the paper. In other words, I set out to paint purposefully and often end up waiting to see the painting revealed to me. I pay attention to it as it dries and shifts before me. It is a very spiritual practice: first I am invited to know more about God through his text, and then I invite the Holy Spirit into my artistic practice, waiting to notice things as I work that might point me back to God. The real beauty of this process is that it doesn’t stop with me. I invite you, the viewer, to step into the finished works and see what you will. I encourage you to invite the Holy Spirit in as you meditate on God’s word and read Kathryn’s prayers. We are so grateful to have you here, feasting on Mary’s Song with us.
ABOUT THE PRAYERS
When Kelly first invited me to collaborate on this project, I immediately began thinking about the medium my collaboration could look like as a theologian. If the artist’s medium includes paint, ink, acrylic, or clay, what does the theologian wield in honing their theological craft? For me, the answer is prayer. Ultimately, theology is an outworking of prayer; it attempts to put on paper the deepest longings and groaning of the human heart. Most often, it fails, but I don’t think that means we should give up on theology all together. Theological reflection, as an outworking of prayer, is a form of worship; it asks us to cultivate faith in the work of God by putting pen to paper—taking risks to articulate what we believe and why.
As I began writing the prayers to accompany Kelly’s paintings, I found myself praying in a certain liturgical direction. You’ll notice the prayers are inspired and formed after collects, calls to worship, Psalms, Gospel readings, prayers of intercession, Eucharistic blessing, and benediction. There’s a subtle movement to Mary’s song—movement from personal adoration and praise to corporate thanksgiving and blessing. The prayers attempt to mirror that movement as an invitation to worship the mighty God who magnifies Mary, who in turn magnifies God.
You might find yourself calling the prayers poems—I certainly have! Some of the prayers take on a poetic shape. Throughout this creation process, I was continually drawn to the paradoxes and juxtapositions of Mary’s story—God becoming human, lowly girl exulted, rich and might sent away, hungry and humble filled. Poetic language helped me write those juxtaposed images in a way that honored the differences while bringing them together in a single prayer.
One of my theological mentors often said that theology is done on our knees with open hands. However you are drawn to interact with this exhibit, these prayers are my humble invitation to come with open hands and bent knee in worship and awe of the mighty acts of God, brought forth in Mary’s body and word.
As I began writing the prayers to accompany Kelly’s paintings, I found myself praying in a certain liturgical direction. You’ll notice the prayers are inspired and formed after collects, calls to worship, Psalms, Gospel readings, prayers of intercession, Eucharistic blessing, and benediction. There’s a subtle movement to Mary’s song—movement from personal adoration and praise to corporate thanksgiving and blessing. The prayers attempt to mirror that movement as an invitation to worship the mighty God who magnifies Mary, who in turn magnifies God.
You might find yourself calling the prayers poems—I certainly have! Some of the prayers take on a poetic shape. Throughout this creation process, I was continually drawn to the paradoxes and juxtapositions of Mary’s story—God becoming human, lowly girl exulted, rich and might sent away, hungry and humble filled. Poetic language helped me write those juxtaposed images in a way that honored the differences while bringing them together in a single prayer.
One of my theological mentors often said that theology is done on our knees with open hands. However you are drawn to interact with this exhibit, these prayers are my humble invitation to come with open hands and bent knee in worship and awe of the mighty acts of God, brought forth in Mary’s body and word.
THE WORK
My soul magnifies the Lord
Luke 1:46b
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‘To look inward and see him there’
Acrylic ink, texture paste, and gold foil on watercolor paper 30x45” (SOLD) |
Prayer, Visio Divina
Mary magnified! God-revealing to the small, slight God-bearer, is no small thing. Mary magnified! The presence of God comes with Given grace, glistening, in splendor, hope, heaviness, sadness. Mary magnified! How did Mary magnify? My soul cannot contain like hers-- The inexplicable joy The uncontainable contained, housed, welcomed by her resolute “yes!” Mary magnified! How did she bear up under the weight of it all? Mary magnified! All the while the threat of death the coming pain of birthing a child into the world only to lose him, bleeding for him so that he might bleed for her. Mary magnified. I am bewildered. Praise be to God! Amen. “Bewilderment is the true comprehension. Not to know where you are going is the true knowledge.” -Martin Luther |
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
Luke 1:47
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Prayer, A Collect for Pentecost, from Acts 2, Lectio Divina
Generative Spirit of God, The Spark who Sparked Mary’s “yes,” the Fire who burned bright and gentle inside her body igniting salvation on every tongue the mighty works of God: kindle within us that same “yes,” so that we walking in Mary’s prophetic light may bear bright, bewildering light to those trapped in darkness and the shadow of death. Amen. |
‘The Spirit descends’
Acrylic ink, texture paste, and gold foil on watercolor paper 30x45” (AVAILABLE) |
for he has looked upon the humble estate of his servant
Luke 1:48a
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‘Formed from the dust’
Acrylic ink, texture paste, and gold foil on watercolor paper 30x45” (SOLD) |
Prayer, after Psalm 139
Heavenly Father, you knit together Mary’s inmost parts to knit together her Son and Salvation. Before Mary was, you looked on her. Your eyes—wide enough to see the whole host of heaven and kind enough to look upon her humble estate with favor and grace. Look upon us with that same expansive kindness. Knit our inmost parts to become your home. Fashion us after Mary—woven vessels ready and waiting to welcome Christ as he comes to us—stranger, guest, enemy, friend. Amen. |
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed
Luke 1:48b
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“Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman!”
“...turning the world rightside up again...” --Sojourner Truth Prayer God, among those who claim blessing because of place, prestige, and power, you came another way. You came to a Palestinian, Jewish woman, who claims blessing because of favor and grace. God, keep us in that family of blessing, who for generation after generation declare blessing to her who turned the world rightside up again by letting her world be turned upside down for you. And let blessing--real, empowering, justice-steeped blessing--fall on all those women, who, like Mary, have no place, prestige, or power, who go another way. |
‘More numerous than the stars’
Acrylic ink, texture paste, copper foil, and gold foil on watercolor paper 30x45” (SOLD) |
for he who is mighty has done great things for me
Luke 1:49a
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‘The Greatest Thing’
Acrylic ink, texture paste, and gold foil on watercolor paper 30x45” (AVAILABLE) |
(working up to a prayer)
God magnifies while her growing body magnifies the obvious-- Still, God magnifies honed in on salvation entwining his story with hers, his body entangled with flesh and blood. (God, the pain of it all!) |
and holy is his name
Luke 1:49b
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Prayer, after Flannery and Karl
Confession to the God named Holy, or the Impossible Possibility God, there is something austere and untouchable about holiness. And yet a name gets to the most intimate parts of Being. I won't make excuses. I won't try to rationalize your intimidating holiness coupled with your incarnational intimacy. Instead, I'll confess. I confess that your holiness is an awesome, sometimes terrifying thing. Living for the God named Holy is impossible. Thank goodness for Mary, the girl who proves that nothing is impossible with the God named Holy. Mary, our sister who knows just how holy and intimate you are with us, just how possible the impossibilities of life are with You. The God named Holy is the God of limitless possibility, constrained only by straining grace. So living for you, my Holy God, is impossible, and grace abounds. Amen. |
‘Perfect, without limit’
Acrylic ink, texture paste, silver foil, and gold foil on watercolor paper 30x45” (SOLD) |
And his mercy is for those who fear him
Luke 1:50a
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‘The Seat’
Acrylic ink, texture paste, and gold foil on watercolor paper 30x45” (SOLD) |
Prayer
Mercy sits with us, Seated with Mary while she sat weaving the temple curtain (Jesus) only to be torn in two that we might sit with Mercy. Unmediated, total access to God: Here I am! Let me sit with you. Amen. |
from generation to generation
Luke 1:50b
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Prayer
God’s mercy unwinds slow threaded throughout the generations sometimes invisible sometimes fractured. But in you we live and move and have our being-- have done so since the beginning, and all the while God’s mercy waits and weaves wonders through our veins. |
‘The Inheritance’
Acrylic ink, texture paste, and gold foil on watercolor paper 30x45” (SOLD) |
He has shown strength with his arm
Luke 1:51a
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‘Sown in weakness, raised in power’
Acrylic ink, texture paste, and gold foil on watercolor paper 30x45” (AVAILABLE) |
Prayer, on the Crucifixion, after the 16th St. Baptist Church Wales Window
God, before the foundation of the world, you are. By the power of Your Word, the world is. Nothing in heaven and on earth can contain your splendor, majesty, power, and might. But you made your home with us, Emmanuel. By the power of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary you were made human—legs, fingers, toes, arms, eyes, ears. Did your arms learn their strength from her? Did her own compassion and justice help you to arc your arms in justice and compassion? The uncontainable, unbending God contained on the cross, bent over by grief, Mothered by a strength stronger than death Strength to overcome the world. Let it be (amen). |
he has scattered the proud in the imaginations of their hearts
Luke 1:51b
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Prayers of the people, part one
God, we pray for the proud (our pride), scattered throughout the earth, too often established in places of unjust power and authority. God, we see the injustices daily inflicted by the proud upon the powerless, and in our own pride we stand complicit. Scatter us, O God, dashing the thoughts of our hearts against the strength of your arm. Lord, in your mercy, will you hear our prayer? |
‘Broken vessels’
Acrylic ink, texture paste, copper foil, and gold foil on watercolor paper 30x45” (AVAILABLE) |
He has brought down the mighty from their thrones
Luke 1:52a
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‘The chastisement that brought us peace’
Acrylic ink, texture paste, and gold foil on watercolor paper 30x45” (AVAILABLE) |
Prayers of the people, part two
God, we pray for the rulers of this world who govern by a mighty hand. Disrupt their lofty rule; Cast down the mighty again, O God! God, you are the just expression of might. You are the mighty one who magnifies people like Mary—do it again, God! Do not leave those lowly and humble ones craning their necks, breaking their backs under the weight of these lofty thrones. Lord, in your mercy, do you hear our prayer? |
and exalted those of humble estate
Luke 1:52b
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“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.” –C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory
Prayers of the people, part three God, we pray for the humble, for those who didn’t even ask for that sought-after virtue, who nonetheless find themselves on the wrong side of history, the wrong side of the tracks, the dark end of the color spectrum. Exult them, O God, as you chasten us who shoved ourselves onto the right (white) side of history, who somehow mistook forced humility and poverty as a virtue, not to be emulated, but to be pitied. Let us exalt and bless the humble and poor, yes God, but let it be the blessing of justice and righteousness, rolling down like the waters. Lord in your mercy, can you hear our prayer? |
‘A crown of ashes for a crown of glory’
Acrylic ink, texture paste, and gold foil on watercolor paper 30x45” (AVAILABLE) |
he has filled the hungry with good things
Luke 1:53a
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‘Satisfied’
Acrylic ink, texture paste, and gold foil on watercolor paper 30x45” (SOLD) |
Prayer, Our Lady of the Passion
The Spirit of the Lord was with her and is also with you She lifted up her heart let us lift up our hearts to her Son. She magnified her Lord the Savior. Magnifying is just and right for us to do. God, Mary invites us to the table, welcomes us as she welcomed your Son, our daily bread, our living water. Let us know Jesus in the breaking of the bread--who gave the 5000 their fill and more, who lavished on the Samaritan woman an eternal lifespring, who gave his disciples his very body and blood, who feeds his church with the consuming blaze of the Spirit. May we be joined to that company as we open our hands, break the bread, kiss the earth, water it with our tears. May we set our tables and our lives with lavishing, extravagant abundance. |
and the rich he has sent away empty
Luke 1:53b
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“Jesus said to [the rich young ruler], ‘One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’
But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.” -Luke 18:22-24 Prayer Emptiness as blessing? negative space-- wombed and ready. this isn’t a curse-- (it hurts, yes!) but to be invited, that’s grace. Will we leave empty ready for annunciation and visitation? |
‘Naked as he came’
Acrylic ink, texture paste, and gold foil on watercolor paper 30x45” (SOLD) |
He has helped his servant Israel
Luke 1:54a
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‘He holds us fast and we are not consumed’
Acrylic ink, texture paste, and gold foil on watercolor paper 30x45” (SOLD) |
Prayer
God’s Spirit in her, that blazing bright beacon of hope and holiness bare feet planted firmly on the ground while song soars from her lips she’s ignited sparked by simply “let it be:” let salvation and liberation and resurrection be! And it was, and is, and will be-- a consuming, healing fire catching on our tongues. |
in remembrance of his mercy
Luke 1:54b
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“And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.” -Luke 2:51
But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.” “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.” -Isaiah 49:14-15 Prayer God our Mother does not forget. Mercy, always mercy. God mothered by Mary re-members within God’s merciful womb. Do not forget your Mothering God, fellow laborers. Remember the God who asked to have a mother, dear children; and treasure all these things within you. |
‘The cost of grace | Do this in remembrance of me’
Acrylic ink, texture paste, and gold foil on watercolor paper 30x45” (AVAILABLE) |
as he spoke to our fathers
Luke 1:55a
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‘The people who walked in darkness’
Acrylic ink, texture paste, and gold foil on watercolor paper 30x45” (SOLD) |
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. -John 1:14
Prayer Did those ancient mothers and fathers ever expect that God would speak-- would ask-- to be begotten? The promised one whispered through generations the Creator who spoke and formed the foundation of the world forming lipped sounds imitating his mother? God speaks and comes near, so near! (God, I’m crying!) You’re nearer to us than anyone ever could have imagined or dared to ask. (Thank you, dear God!). |
to Abraham and his offspring forever
Luke 1:55b
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Prayer
God of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar God of Isaac, Ishmael, Rachel, and Leah; God uncontainable, contained God unbegotten, begotten: Sanctify us in the way of your Mother, burning with your Spirit, but not consumed. Annunciate to us, dear God; expand within us as we expand our bodies to welcome you. Stay near as we labor, groan with us as we work to bear the new creation into the world. Give us the audacity to believe even in the midst of the birth pangs that you have brought down the mighty, scattered the proud, emptied the rich, that you have filled the hungry and exalted the humble; even as you have remembered your mercy, do so again and again, forever. Amen. |
‘Your only son, whom you love’
Acrylic ink, texture paste, and gold foil on watercolor paper 30x45” (AVAILABLE) |
The body is like Mary, and each of us has a Jesus inside.
Who is not in labor, holy labor? Every creature is.
See the value of true art, when the earth or a soul is in
the mood to create beauty;
for the witness might then for a moment know, beyond
any doubt, God is really there within,
so innocently drawing life from us with Her umbilical
universe - infinite existence...
though also needing to be born. Yes, God also needs to be born!
Birth from a hand's loving touch. Birth from a song,
from a dance, breathing life into this world.
The body is like Mary, and each of us, each of us has
a Christ within.
-Rumi, The Body is like Mary
Who is not in labor, holy labor? Every creature is.
See the value of true art, when the earth or a soul is in
the mood to create beauty;
for the witness might then for a moment know, beyond
any doubt, God is really there within,
so innocently drawing life from us with Her umbilical
universe - infinite existence...
though also needing to be born. Yes, God also needs to be born!
Birth from a hand's loving touch. Birth from a song,
from a dance, breathing life into this world.
The body is like Mary, and each of us, each of us has
a Christ within.
-Rumi, The Body is like Mary