“Passion” by Andrew Weatherly
Silencing Mary
So the last will be first, and the first will be last. — Matthew 20:16
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones … — Luke 1:52
She had cornered the market on playing Mary. There was just no competing with her Mary costume, the best of the best when it came to blue sheets. One year, though, a girl with Down syndrome was given the role. The original actress was not happy, and she tried her best to get the new Mary ousted. A sense of privilege can make us do crazy things.
When Martin Luther translated the Bible into German, he didn’t translate Mary’s Song of Praise. Rather, he left the words in their Latin form. The German princes, who supported Luther, didn’t want others to hear about God bringing down the powerful from their thrones. Mary’s song, though, can’t be silenced. I saw a glimpse of that when I watched a special-needs Mary lovingly cradling a baby doll and the former Mary reluctantly mooing in a threadbare cow costume. — DFJ
What songs of justice do we try to silence?
God of mercy, help us place the needs of others before our own. Amen.