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| Image by Monteregina |
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The Celtic Mary
A GREETING
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
(Psalm 56:3)
A READING
And she took her water jar and went out to fill it with water. Suddenly there was a voice saying to her, "Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women." Mary began looking around, both right and left, to see where the voice was coming from. She became terrified and went home. After putting the water jar down and taking up the purple thread, she sat down on her chair and began to spin. A heavenly messenger suddenly stood before her: "Don't be afraid, Mary. You see, you've found favour in the sight of the Lord of all. You will conceive by means of his word." But as she listened, Mary was doubtful and said, "If I actually conceive by the Lord, the living God, will I also give birth the way women usually do?"
(from the apocryphal Infancy Gospel of James 11:1-6)
- found in The Complete Gospels: Annotated Scholar Version,
ed. by Robert J. Miller
MUSIC
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
I want you to be free from anxieties.
(1 Corinthians 7:32)
A POEM
This was the moment no one speaks of,
when she could still refuse.
A breath unbreathed,
Spirit,
suspended,
waiting.
- from "Annunciation," by Denise Levertov
found in "A Door in the Hive"
PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Mary, we come to you knotted
in a hundred different ways.
Our hearts are knotted with grief and anger,
our bodies feel knotted with tension,
our minds knotted with anxiety and fear.
We ask you to gently work on those places
of tightness and holding within us,
to loosen them gently...
Help us to soften our hard edges
and yield to your grace.
Allow us to see you at work within us,
slackening and unbinding.
Sustain us in the moments
when all feels as if it is unraveling.
Help us to trust your work
and know that we must first come undone,
before we can be woven back together again.
Bless us with patience and wisdom;
support us in loosening our steady grip
so we might also prevent more knots
forming in days to come.
- from Birthing the Holy: Wisdom from Mary to Nurture Creativity and Renewal,
by Christine Valters Paintner
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| "Mary, Untier of Knots," (c.1700) by Johann Georg Melchior Schmidtner |
In today's verses from the Infancy Gospel of James, we find a different version of the Annunciation scene. This variation from the Luke account of Gabriel's visit shows Mary with doubts, and the questions likely being asked in the second century community of early Christians about how Mary conceives and gives birth. In this account, Mary's question about whether she will still be able to have natural children like other women -- feels abundantly human. The scene also carries echoes of the calling of Samuel -- with the way in which she misses the first visitation. The account also makes an addition of the 'water jar' and her work as a spinner.
Today’s music is written from Mary’s point of view. It offers us a chance to hear Mary’s private fears and concerns, her anxiety and desire for God to always be near. “Breath of heaven hold me together, be forever near me.” Breath is at the start of the biblical story: the Hebrew word for the Spirit that moves over the face of the earth in Genesis 1, is also the word for human breath.
Although the two motifs are a thousand years apart and therefore not related, the presence of the 'yarn' and 'thread' in the Infancy James account of the Annunciation has much in common with a much later devotional focus on Mary as the "untier of knots." Knots are a significant part of Celtic iconography, appearing on many graveside Crosses and decoratively pervasive on Celtic monuments and sites. The tradition of the iconographic knot can be traced to 5th century Rome and Gaul, the area where the Celts first originated in western Europe. When the pre-Christian Celts came to Ireland, they brought the knots with them. Although they appear right through the middle ages in both Roman and Celtic design, and throughout Europe in a variety of contexts, their intricate weavng has become synonymous with Celtic expression. Celtic knots are not meant to be unraveled or undone, but can be seen as part of both the order and mystery of Creation, in which God’s wisdom weaves its way into the fabric of our lives.
Among the many ways in which Mary has been portrayed in art, in 1700 a German painter named Johann Schmidtner depicted Mary as ‘the untier of knots.’ The painting (see above) depicts Mary being fed a ribbon filled with knots. As the ribbon passes through her hands, Mary is untying the knots and an angel passes out the unfurled ribbon again to us. The painting has inspired many people, who are encouraged by it to see Mary as a figure who can help us undo the tangled problems of our lives. Mary, who is herself worried and anxious in the song, becomes in the painting, the one who unties anxieties and fears.
In our own lives, we know that we are held in the arms of a loving God who accompanies us in all of the anxious moments of our lives. Each time we breathe in, we have the chance to feel the love of God that is always with us. Advent is a time when we can reorient breath and body and stillness, by breathing deeply.
What are the anxieties you are carrying in this Advent season? How can you find rest within the worry, by breathing deeply and feeling God's presence?
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| Image by Monteregina |
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Scripture passages are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition.
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LC† Vigil in Hope is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work.
Thank you and peace be with you!
