This song of Mary, her Magnificat, blends the earlier images of God the warrior who brings about rescue and deliverance and God the merciful who remembers the lowly and cares for the needy. It describes salvation as a great reversal and anticipates Jesus' teachings of losing our life in order to save it; the last being first; and the meek inheriting the earth.
When my daughters were young, one of my favorite lullabies to sing to them was "Here in My Heart," a song written by Betsy Hernandez and sung by Jodi Benson (Disney's Little Mermaid) on an album called Songs from the Beginners Bible. I can't remember all the words, and I've searched every lyrics website I could find with no success, so to find them again I may have to purchase the CD (since the original cassette tape is long lost). The words from Mary were not lofty and theological sounding, but were the words of a new mother who is in love with her child. The phrase that sticks in my head is "One day you'll go, and I'll miss you so, but I'll keep you right here in my heart." Now that my girls are independent and gone, it's as true as the song said it would be way back then. I hope that doesn't sound too corny, but just because something is corny doesn't mean it isn't true. Every minute, I keep them right here in my heart.
I happen to be all about the corny. BTW, being the "googler" that I am, you can find that song on youtube No lyrics but the song is absolutely beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI remember reading in the past few years that the "Song of Mary" was outlawed in Guatemala during the repressive political years in the 1980's, since it was too subversive. speaking God's truth to power is never taken lightly.
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