December 24: The First Christian
♫ Music:
Day 23 - Sunday, December 24
Mary: The First Christian
Scripture: Luke 1:38, 46-50
And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
Poetry:
Insertion of Meadow with Flowers
by Mary Szybist
In 1371, beneath the angel’s feet,
Veneziano added a meadow—
a green expanse with white
and yellow broom flowers, the kind
that—until the sun warms them—
have no scent—
God could have chosen other means than flesh.
Imagine he did
and the girl on her knees in this meadow--
open, expectant, dreamily rocking,
her mouth open, quiet—
is only important because we recognize
the wish. For look, the flowers
do not spin, not even
the threads of their shadows—
and they are infused
with what they did not
reach for.
Out of nothing does not mean
into nothing.
THE FIRST CHRISTIAN
The preparatory season of Advent climbs to its zenith as we come to the eve of Christ’s birth and we, appropriately, look afresh at his mother, Mary. Mary, as the song by the Gaither Trio declares, is the “first one to carry the Gospel.” Mary—a young woman, chosen by God, to give birth to the long-awaited Messiah. Mary—who clearly acknowledges that she is to deliver her Savior and the embodiment of God’s mercy for all mankind. Obviously trained in the Jewish Scriptures, Mary responds with a “song” that echoes the prayer of Hannah and Psalm 113. It is a heartfelt prayer of awe, humility, and complete submission to her God. Mary rejoices in the privilege afforded to her, glorifies God for his power and holiness, and exalts him for his mercy and goodness.
This powerful prayer, called the Magnificat, is one of the first songs in the liturgy of the church. Today’s score by Arvo Pärt, beautifully expresses the sense of timelessness or continual present nature of the text. In response to this rendering of Mary’s song, the artist was inspired to paint in order to interpret the music with color. In contemplating Anderson’s powerful painting, I am flooded with so many thoughts and emotions. The transcendence and timelessness of God is portrayed. Exultation is celebrated. Submission to God is illustrated. Today’s words of Mary, the music and the visual art result in an experience of heartfelt worship. Such is the purpose of Advent.
This sacred experience continues through the verbal painting offered by Mary Szybist in one of her Incarnadine poetry collection. It speaks of a yearning, both for a divine encounter with God and God’s longing for birth in a human body. Especially thought-provoking is the phrase, “God could have chosen other means than flesh.” It highlights both the mystery and the reality of the Incarnation—God becoming a man. Mary embodied God’s plan as she miraculously carried the Christ in her own body.
So much of Mary’s response challenges me this Advent season. Do I come to God humbly and in submission, even when I cannot fully comprehend his plan? Can I worship him and declare his holiness when circumstances upset my life? Do I take the eternal view and submit for the sake of generations to come as God works in ways beyond understanding?
While the title of today’s devotional may be jarring to some streams of Christianity, it reminds me of the line from Mark Lowry’s song, Mary Did You Know? — “This child that you’ve delivered will soon deliver you.” Incredibly, Mary—the chosen one of God—willingly bearing her own (and our) Savior and Lord, as she submitted to the eternal plan of God. May I trust and praise God daily, as Mary demonstrates so vividly. Such is the message of this Christmas Eve.
Prayer:
Let the just rejoice,
For their justifier is born.
Let the sick and infirm rejoice,
For their savior is born.
Let the captives rejoice,
For their Redeemer is born.
Let slaves rejoice,
For their Master is born.
Let free men rejoice,
For their Liberator is born.
Let All Christians rejoice,
For Jesus Christ is born.
St. Augustine of Hippo (AD 354-440)
Dr. Dianne B. Collard
Alumna, Cook School of Intercultural Studies
Founder/Director of ArtsCharlotte, North Carolina
Europe Ministries Director for A.C.T. International
About the Art:
Magnificat, 2018
Robyn Sand Anderson
Acrylic on paper
Robyn Sand Anderson's Magnificat is an interpretation of Arvo Pärt's Magnificat and Sieben Antiphonen. The layered textures of sonorous color are permeated by a penetrating light. It reflects the profound joy Mary, the handmaiden of the Lord, as Luke describes her, knows as she says “yes” to God’s call to be mother to Jesus Christ, His Son. While Sand Anderson listens to music, she sees color, movement, and texture. Allowing the music to dictate her movements and color choices, she paints, listening for nuances of rhythm and tone as the lyrics deepen the experience and her understanding.
About the Artist:
Robyn Sand Anderson, a native of Decorah, Iowa, has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Art and Art Education from Luther College in Decorah. For over thirty years she has been a professional artist specializing in transparent watercolor and acrylic and works as an illustrator using a variety of styles and media. After a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis in 2008, her paintings changed. Her experience of suffering led her to acrylic abstract expressionism which, in her words, speaks more eloquently to the mystery of suffering and hope, those things that are hard to understand or explain, and to our relationship with God and each other. Most recently, Sand Anderson has been interpreting choral, orchestral, and even eclectic folk music with color, movement, and texture in her art.
About the Music:
“Magnificat” from the album Sacred Songs of Life & Love
Lyrics
Magnificat anima mea Dominum,
et exsultavit spiritus meus in Deo salvatore meo,
quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae.
Ecce enim ex hoc beatam me
dicent omnes generationes,
quia fecit mihi magna,
qui potens est, et sanctum nomen eius,
et misericordia eius in progenies
et progenies timentibus eum.
Fecit potentiam in brachio suo,
dispersit superbos mente cordis sui;
deposuit potentes de sede et exaltavit humiles;
esurientes implevit bonis et divites dimisit inanes.
Suscepit Israel puerum suum,
recordatus misericordiae,
sicut locutus est ad patres nostros,
Abraham et semini eius in saecula.
[Translation]:
My soul magnifies the Lord
and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
For he has regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden.
For behold, from henceforth,
all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty has done great things to me,
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is on them
that fear him throughout all generations.
He has shown strength with his arm.
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their seat
and has exalted the humble and meek.
He has filled the hungry with good things
and the rich he has sent away empty.
Remembering his mercy,
he has helped his servant Israel
as he promised to our forefathers,
Abraham and his seed forever.
About the Composer:
Arvo Pärt (b. 1935) is an Estonian composer of classical and sacred music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt, an Orthodox Christian, has worked in a minimalist style that employs his self-invented compositional technique tintinnabuli. His music is in part inspired by Gregorian chant. Since 2013, Pärt has had the distinction of being the most performed contemporary composer in the world. Although the recipient of numerous awards and honors from nations around the globe, the humble maestro strives to keep out of the limelight, endeavoring to give God credit for his many accomplishments. The newly established International Arvo Pärt Centre, located in the Estonian village of Laulasmaa, includes a research institute, an education and music centre, a museum, a publishing facility, and an archive of Pärt's works. Arvo Pärt set the Latin text of the “Magnificat” canticle in 1989. It is a composition for five-part choir (SSATB) singing a cappella, with several divided parts. Pärt’s Magnificat contains clear demonstrations of some of the various techniques that he uses to achieve the illusion of the connection of time and timelessness, as well as references to Medieval discant and drones. In line with the minimalist philosophy of protracted duration, Pärt's compositions are designed to appear suspended in time. Pärt explains: "Time and timelessness are connected. This instant and eternity are struggling within us. And this is the cause of all of our contradictions, our obstinacy, our narrow-mindedness, our faith and our grief.”
About the “Magnificat”
The “Magnificat” (Latin for "[My soul] magnifies [the Lord]") is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and, in the Byzantine tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos. It is one of the eight most ancient Christian hymns and perhaps the earliest Marian hymn. The text of the canticle is taken directly from the Gospel of Luke (1:46–55) where it is spoken by Mary upon the occasion of her visitation to her cousin Elizabeth. In the narrative, after Mary greets Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist, the latter moves within Elizabeth's womb. Elizabeth praises Mary for her faith, and Mary responds with what is now known as the Magnificat. In Western Christianity, the Magnificat is most often sung or recited during the main evening prayer service: Vespers in the Catholic and Lutheran churches, and Evening Prayer (or Evensong) in Anglicanism. In Eastern Christianity, the Magnificat is usually sung at Sunday Matins. Among Protestant groups, the Magnificat may also be sung during worship services, especially in the Advent season during which these verses are traditionally read.
About the Performers:
Based in Sioux Falls, the South Dakota Chorale is a collaborative network of musicians combining the talents of singers locally, regionally, and across the nation. In their eight-year history, they have developed educational collaborations with high school choirs, led enriching master classes with pre-professional/collegiate singers, partnered with local arts series to build support and awareness for the arts, initiated a guest conductor residency, and released three commercial recordings in collaboration with GRAMMY award-winning producer Blanton Alspaugh. South Dakota Chorale singers represent a wide range of professionals; from professional-level singers with day jobs in other disciplines, to collegiate voice teachers and choral conductors, to others who make their daily living singing opera and oratorio around the country.
About the Poet:
Mary Szybist (b. 1970) is the author of Granted and Incarnadine, which won the National Book Award for Poetry in 2013. She has received numerous honors and awards, including a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award, a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and a Pushcart Prize. She is an associate professor of English at Lewis & Clark in Portland, Oregon, and is a member of the faculty at the Warren Wilson College MFA Program for Writers.
About the Devotional Writer:
Dianne Collard
Alumna, Cook School of Intercultural Studies
Biola University
Dr. Dianne Collard received her MA and DMiss from the Cook School of Intercultural Studies at Biola University. She has served as a cross-cultural missionary for over thirty years. Currently, she is the Europe Ministries Director for Artists in Christian Testimony International and the Founder/Director of ArtsCharlotte in North Carolina. Dianne’s revised edition of her book, I Choose to Forgive: An Intimate Journey with God, chronicles her and her family’s journey of forgiveness and healing in the aftermath of her son’s murder. It has been published in sixteen languages and has been made into a short film entitled Abstraction produced by Makoto Fujimura and Paul Nethercott, filmed by Windrider Productions. For more information: https://www.ichoosetoforgive.com/