New CC content on the Magnificat, parenting, Bethlehem, and more.
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** Mary, prophetic mother
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In my years as a conservative evangelical, my engagement with the figure of Mary during Advent was minimal. We were rather anti-Catholic, so it was some sort of badge of honor to ignore her as much as possible. Plus, sadly, mine was a tradition that made a practice of overlooking women.
My loss—for as I’ve learned in the years since, Mary is a fascinating and inspiring person at the heart of Advent. (Still a complicated character, as we saw last week in Rachel Mann’s honest reflection ([link removed]) .) This week we have two new very different pieces that relate to the mother of Jesus. Jonathan McGregor examines the role of Mary’s Magnificat in the work of 20th-century radical Vida Dutton Scudder ([link removed]) . Melissa Kuipers ponders Mary’s motherhood and what it might teach her about her own parenting ([link removed]) .
Plus more great new content. Scroll down for a poem about Advent in life’s final season ([link removed]) , an essay about the L’Arche house in Bethlehem ([link removed]) , and more!
Email me: How do you relate to or engage with Mary?
Jon Mathieu
[email protected] (mailto:
[email protected]?subject=Re%3A%20Editors%E2%80%99%20Picks)
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A rich woman who took the Magnificat seriously ([link removed])
“Ancient cries of the dispossessed such as Mary’s prayer—the prayer of a young woman in an occupied country, who believes God takes the part of her people and will set them free from oppression—sound awkward coming from a congregation whose parking lot is filled with BMWs.”
by Jonathan McGregor
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** Mary’s special child and mine ([link removed])
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“Can I treasure my child’s finding his own way, his asserting his own will, the things I don’t understand about him? Can I treasure all the things, the times when he is adored by others and the times that cause me stress and anxiety?”
by Melissa Kuipers
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** Joyful life in Bethlehem ([link removed])
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“With gentleness and love the group welcomed me into their lives, into their work, and into their dancing.”
by Isaac S. Villegas
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** In the Lectionary for December 24 (Advent 4B) ([link removed])
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The traditional annunciation story bothers me even more than the word handmaid.
by Katie Kirk
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In the Lectionary for December 24/25 (Nativity) ([link removed])
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The God of exiles, refugees, and migrants still shines light amid today’s present darkness.
by Paul N. Anderson
Advent 4B archives ([link removed])
Nativity archives ([link removed])
Get even more lectionary resources with Sunday’s Coming Premium, an email newsletter from the editors of the Christian Century. Learn more ([link removed]) .
** December—the 95th Year ([link removed])
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“Last night I lay awake and practiced
getting old. Not difficult,
but I needed to teach myself to love my destination
before I arrive. . . .”
poem by Luci Shaw
** No longer Black or White? ([link removed])
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“If the incarnation of the Word points to anything, it’s the possibility that God works in and through our cultural and political and social realities, not beyond them. The Word enfleshed did not come as a nonspecific humanoid entity intent on identifying with the biological category of human.”
by Brian Bantum
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