The Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Who We Are
    • Our History
    • Our Vision
    • Find a Church
    • Deaneries
    • The Bishop >
      • Messages from Bishop Woodliff-Stanley
    • Clergy & Staff >
      • Clergy in Good Standing
      • Clergy and Transition Ministries
    • Governance >
      • Constitution & Canons
      • Convention
      • Boards and Committees >
        • Standing Committee
        • Diocesan Council
        • Trustees of the Diocese
        • Deputies to General Convention
        • Commission on Ministry
        • Liturgical Commission
        • Visioning Committee
        • University of the South Trustees
        • Other Boards and Committees
    • Historical Timeline
    • FAQ
  • Ministry
    • Prayer Calendar
    • Diocesan Meditations
    • Outreach
    • Grants for Congregations
    • Administrative Resources
    • Clergy Resources
    • Liturgy & Worship >
      • Liturgical Commission >
        • Bishop Guerry
      • Marriage
      • The Lectionary
      • The Book of Common Prayer
      • Brother, Give Us A Word (SSJE)
      • Daily Prayer: Forward Movement
    • Education & Formation >
      • Adults
      • College Ministry
      • Youth
      • Children
    • Church Connections >
      • The Episcopal Church >
        • Province IV
      • The Anglican Communion
      • Anglicans Online >
        • The Society of Archbishop Justus
      • Daughters of the King
      • Episcopal Church Women (ECW)
      • Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross
      • Order of St. Helena
    • Ecumenical & Interfaith >
      • Racial Justice & Reconciliation
      • Fellowship of SC Bishops/Public Education Initiative
      • Charleston Area Justice Ministry
      • Christian Jewish Council
      • Gun Violence Prevention
    • Communication and Evangelism >
      • Carolina Grace
      • Social Media Sunday
      • Mission Matters Videos
  • News
    • News Blog
    • 80th General Convention 2022 >
      • 80th General Convention Blog
    • Events Calendar
    • Upcoming Events
    • Lent 2023
    • Sacred Ground 2022
    • Responding to COVID-19
    • Email Newsletter
    • Episcopal News Service
    • Anglican Communion News
  • Giving
  • Convention
    • 232nd Diocesan Convention
  • Contact Us
    • Get in touch
    • Make a donation
    • Sign up for the newsletter
    • News Submission

Feast Day Reflection: St. Mary the Virgin

8/14/2017

 
Picture
Detail of a tapestry of the Life of the Virgin Mary (in red) with the words of the Magnificat,
​created by a nun in Switzerland c.1450-75, now in the Glasgow Museums.
August 15, 2017
 
“O higher than the cherubim, more glorious than the seraphim, lead their praises, Alleluia!” Many do not realize that these words beginning the second verse of hymn 618 in The Hymnal 1982 refer to Mary, the mother of Jesus. The verse continues, “Thou bearer of the eternal Word, most gracious, magnify the Lord…” This magnificent hymn names all the company of heaven joined in praise to God as we are invited to join the chorus. Mary is the choir director.

Jim was the choir director in my home parish when I was in high school. It was he who invited me to consider the possibility of a life lived in Christ at a time when I was searching and not sure about anything related to the entire God conversation. I became willing to consider the possibility because I saw in him an authenticity reflected in pure joy as he led the youth and adult choirs of the parish. He was real. His life was an act of praise to God. Each choir practice was an adventure of praise and thanksgiving as Jim gave voice to our song and we were invited to consider the God-possibility in each of us. Life for me was never the same again.

I often say that one of the purposes of liturgy is to create a space in which we can fall in love with God. In Mary’s great hymn of response to God’s invitation that we know as the “Magnificat,” we are drawn into a vision for God’s people that is radical and transformative: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my savior.” I remember my liturgics professor saying of this Song of Mary that of course she sang it, as there is no renewal without music. As we hear in Mary the echoes of Hannah’s prayer from I Samuel, we learn that the renewed heart’s first responsibility is the worship of God which bears the fruit of a life lived in gratefulness.

Then comes a more radical turn as we find that a grateful heart leads to radical living. Mary sings a vision of God that turns everything upside down. Perhaps as she came to realize her own life was being turned topsy-turvy, she was able to align her own voice with a God who scatters the proud, puts down the mighty, exalts the lowly and sends the rich away empty. And we wonder where Jesus got some of his ideas? Just look at Mom.

The choir director is telling us that those we marginalize, God glorifies. Think of the 22 million refugees of the world fleeing the violence of their homelands. See the homeless in our cities and beach communities, many of whom are teenagers and a large number are mentally ill. Ponder those who are disabled in any way. Consider those oppressed and ostracized for no other reason than for being who God created them to be. Walk into a prison. We could do no better than each day taking Mary’s lead and joining in the song she leads. Sing that song each day and see what happens. Perhaps by joining her choir we will find our lives renewed and conformed more closely to the One she bore and raised. Here lies a hope that even our generation will call her blessed.

Bishop Skip

Comments are closed.

    Bishop Skip Adams

    The Right Reverend Gladstone B. Adams III was elected and invested as our Bishop on September 10, 2016. Read more about him here.

    Archives

    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017

    Categories

    All
    Immigration
    Refugees
    Sermons

    RSS Feed

Copyright © 2023 The Diocese of South Carolina
P.O. Box 20485, Charleston, SC 29413 - ​843.259.2016 - info@episcopalchurchsc.org
Make A Donation
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Who We Are
    • Our History
    • Our Vision
    • Find a Church
    • Deaneries
    • The Bishop >
      • Messages from Bishop Woodliff-Stanley
    • Clergy & Staff >
      • Clergy in Good Standing
      • Clergy and Transition Ministries
    • Governance >
      • Constitution & Canons
      • Convention
      • Boards and Committees >
        • Standing Committee
        • Diocesan Council
        • Trustees of the Diocese
        • Deputies to General Convention
        • Commission on Ministry
        • Liturgical Commission
        • Visioning Committee
        • University of the South Trustees
        • Other Boards and Committees
    • Historical Timeline
    • FAQ
  • Ministry
    • Prayer Calendar
    • Diocesan Meditations
    • Outreach
    • Grants for Congregations
    • Administrative Resources
    • Clergy Resources
    • Liturgy & Worship >
      • Liturgical Commission >
        • Bishop Guerry
      • Marriage
      • The Lectionary
      • The Book of Common Prayer
      • Brother, Give Us A Word (SSJE)
      • Daily Prayer: Forward Movement
    • Education & Formation >
      • Adults
      • College Ministry
      • Youth
      • Children
    • Church Connections >
      • The Episcopal Church >
        • Province IV
      • The Anglican Communion
      • Anglicans Online >
        • The Society of Archbishop Justus
      • Daughters of the King
      • Episcopal Church Women (ECW)
      • Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross
      • Order of St. Helena
    • Ecumenical & Interfaith >
      • Racial Justice & Reconciliation
      • Fellowship of SC Bishops/Public Education Initiative
      • Charleston Area Justice Ministry
      • Christian Jewish Council
      • Gun Violence Prevention
    • Communication and Evangelism >
      • Carolina Grace
      • Social Media Sunday
      • Mission Matters Videos
  • News
    • News Blog
    • 80th General Convention 2022 >
      • 80th General Convention Blog
    • Events Calendar
    • Upcoming Events
    • Lent 2023
    • Sacred Ground 2022
    • Responding to COVID-19
    • Email Newsletter
    • Episcopal News Service
    • Anglican Communion News
  • Giving
  • Convention
    • 232nd Diocesan Convention
  • Contact Us
    • Get in touch
    • Make a donation
    • Sign up for the newsletter
    • News Submission