Weekend Links: Mary, Christmas Songs, Synonyms, and more!

"Unspeakable Joy":

Pregnant Mary mirrors for us what the Church will become. She is the model disciple already: waiting for God’s Word with a prepared heart, receiving and believing God’s Word, and in faith obeying and yielding to God. Then she carries Christ inside of her, literally having Him ‘formed in her,’ a picture that the Apostle Paul will use in his letter to the Galatians years later: “My little children for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.” (4:19) The Church carries Christ, and like Mary, brings witness of His life in us, demonstrating Him to everyone.

Yet death is looming throughout this story.

"Musings on Christmas Songs":

With the Christmas season upon us, it is impossible to go anywhere without being inundated with Christmas songs. I have also noticed that different places will play a different selection of Christmas songs which got me thinking that most Christmas songs can be placed into one of four basic categories.

"Grammar Lesson of the Day: Bury the Thesaurus":

The thing is, very few words are really synonymous with one another. This makes English especially baffling for non-native speakers. English is phenomenally rich in words, from the Germanic foundations, from the Viking variants, from the French by way of the Norman Conquest; words borrowed or invented from Latin and Greek from the Renaissance to this day; we even borrow ways of making new words. No language has as many words as English does. No language is even close.

"Let Us Keep the Feast: Advent and Christmas":

Although my Catholic roots have given me a fondness for the liturgical calendar, I didn’t get quite enough training to really know how to live it out. Maybe it just wasn’t taught, or maybe I simply wasn’t paying attention. But I’ve longed for ways to help myself and my family focus on Jesus in special ways throughout the year, and particularly in the four weeks before Christmas.

Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

the Magnificat . . . and a postscript on "The God of the Mundane"

Today's gospel reading included the Magnificat as recorded in Luke, and our bishop preached about Mary's obedience.

It was a good sermon, and he made it very clear that our job was to answer God the way Mary did, to say, "May it be to me according to your will," or, as our bishop put it, "Whatever you want, God."

As I listened, I thought, "this is what I wish had been touched on a bit more heavily in The God of the Mundane." Because I absolutely agree with Redmond that God loves ordinary people - and uses them, too! But the reason there is a God of the mundane is that there is a God who gives his people various callings: some ordinary, and some extraordinary. And it's not our business to decide which one we want to have; it's our business to say "yes" to the one God gives us.

Again, I don't think Redmond would disagree with me. But I wish there'd been a chapter just about this, to make it very clear. Maybe it could be in that sequel I hoped for. :) God decides not just how to use us - he decides what we are. He's not just our boss, he's our very creator, and so he knows what we're best suited for.

And so we don't have to worry. We just have to follow. Ready, waiting, and - when called - acting. Like Mary.

(And Lord, have mercy on us, because that's such an example to be trying to emulate!)

Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

7 Quick Takes

1. I spent last weekend learning to kill people with my bare hands. No, I'm not kidding. My dad took me to a weekend seminar put on by these guys. I'm going to write about it more later, but right now I'm still pondering what I learned. I do though, already, think it's training everyone ought to have. They're very sensible and very well-educated on their subject, and very good teachers. Useful stuff I hope I never have to use.  But I'm glad I know it.

2. My oldest two kids have developed an interest in all things Robin Hood, so I've started reading them Knight's Castle by Edward Eager. We aren't very far into the magic bit yet, or the yeomanly deeds of valor, but the set-up for the story is lovely in its own right. I liked this part:

And sometimes when Roger would start picking on Ann because she was a girl, and younger, their mother would get really cross, and say that there would be none of that in this house! Their mother said she knew just how Ann felt because she had been a girl once, too, and the youngest of four children, and what she had endured worms wouldn't believe!

But other times she talked about what fun she and her sisters and brother had had; so Roger decided she couldn't have suffered so very much. and when he asked his Uncle Mark about it, his Uncle Mark said their mother had been a terror to cats and ruled the household with a rod of iron. And when he asked his Aunt Katharine, his Aunt Katharine said their mother had been a dear little baby, but went through a difficult phase as she grew older. He couldn't ask his Aunt Jane, because she was hardly ever there, being usually occupied hunting big game in darkest Africa or touring the English countryside on a bicycle.

But he decided their mother's childhood had probably been very much like their own, partly good and partly bad, but mostly very good indeed.

That last paragraph is pretty much what I'm hoping for my kids' childhoods.

3. I had a conversation in Spanish this week - a real one! I was so geekily excited afterwards. I know it's not much to be able to have a short chat with the lady in front of me in line about our kids (she had twins too), but it was a real conversation, I followed most of what she said, and I was able to respond in my second language rather than my first! 

Okay, I'm still excited about it.

4. I figured out why listening to the "Ave Maria" helps when I'm slightly depressed. I think (for me), that sort of depression happens when I feel overwhelmed. I start hating myself because all I can see is A) what I'm failing to do and B) what I'm doing that I shouldn't. Just failure and sin, all over the place.

   The Ave Maria though, is a breathtaking account of one concrete time in human history when a woman got it exactly right. She responded to God's call with a simple "yes", and was right within His will. That that sort of obedience is even possible lifts my heart every single time. And it takes my eyes off of myself. It's good all around.

5. Did you know you can buy Nutella on Amazon? In bulk? Yes, I am an enabler.

6. I entered the Genesis contest again this year. I got great feedback on it last year ("great" meaning "it was helpful", not meaning "they thought I'd be a bestseller"), and I think my entry this year is stronger. I'll be glad to get some objective opinions on whether I've gotten better or not, and on what I need to work on some more. There's still time to enter, if you're interested. It's a great contest, well-run, with good judges.

7. Related to #2, I have the Errol Flynn version of Robin Hood on request at the library. Ostensibly, it's for the kids. But to be honest, I'm really looking forward to watching it again, in all its Technicolor glory. Anyone else like those old swashbuckling movies? 

For more Quick Takes, visit Jennifer at Conversion Diary.

peace of Christ to you,

Jessica Snell

I am a mean writer

MEEEEEEEEEAN.  I swear I am. I am about to do something horrible to my main characters. In fact, I've already started. Seriously, the scene is about 500 words from done. 

But why is it taking me such a long time to actually pull the trigger? I swear, I am cruel enough to do it. I am.  They're going to suffer, and I'm the one who's going to make it happen. Suffering. Loss. Sadness. As soon as I can make myself type out the words. 

In other (possibly unrelated) news, why is it that even though I'm not Catholic, when I'm slightly depressed all I want to do is listen to "Ave Maria" on repeat? It lifts me out of the depression. It does. As long as it's still on. 

I don't get it. Anyway, here's a beautiful rendition of Schubert's Ave Maria. I like Josh Groban's best, but Bocelli's is also lovely.

peace of Christ to you,

Jessica Snell

"most blessed among women"

So, when you hear "most blessed among women", who do you think of?

I bet it's not Jael.

Okay, I haven't read any commentaries on this, so I'm not willing to venture any sure and certain thoughts on the significance of it, but that's what Jael is called in Judges, in the song of Deborah no less: "most blessed among women." Here it is with a bit more context; this comes right after Deborah has made fun of the tribes that didn't help in the battle, praised the ones who did, and noted the destruction of their enemies, with the Lord's help:

“Most blessed among women is Jael,
The wife of Heber the Kenite;
Blessed is she among women in tents.

He asked for water, she gave milk;
She brought out cream in a lordly bowl.

She stretched her hand to the tent peg,
Her right hand to the workmen’s hammer;
She pounded Sisera, she pierced his head,
She split and struck through his temple."

I've always liked the story of Jael. When I was a kid and had to find a Biblical costume for one of those Harvest Festivals some churchs have on Halloween, I went either as Lydia, seller of purple, or as Jael, with a homemade, red-stained, wooden peg.

But here's what I'm wondering now: given that such similar words are used both of Jael and of Mary, can I learn anything about Mary's obedience by studying Jael's, or about Jael's by studying Mary's? Or just something general about what obedience to the Lord looks like?

In both cases, it does seem to be a case of victory coming from an unexpected source. You don't expect an unarmed woman to kill a commander, nor do you expect the world's redeemer to be brought into the world through the coooperation of a young girl. In both cases, there isn't hesitation: both Jael and Mary are ready to pursue the Lord's will as soon as the opportunity offers. They must both have been in a constant state of readiness - not an anxious, tense, ready-for-action state, but in a place of openess, ready to hear the Lord when he called, ready to act when he wanted them to.

And though Jael's story involves much more cunning, you can almost hear Mary's question, "how can this be?" In Jael's case, she answered that question herself, there was no angel to tell her how that battle was to be won. But she, like Mary, was looking for the Lord's glory, had a searching mind that wanted to know how his plans were going to be accomplished. And it seems to me the Lord answered her all the same, even without the angel, by showing her immediately how to handle the opportunity that Sisera's arrival represented.


The rest of the song of Deborah is really interesting, and I don't think I'm done looking at it. But first I want to think a bit more about Jael and Mary. What does obedience look like? Though these are such different stories, it seems to me they both seem to say that it's important to pay attention, to listen, to keep your eyes open for ways to serve the Lord. You never know when Sisera is going to stumble by your tent, or an angel give you a strange salutation. And your answer to the question those sorts of situations represent should be that you'll do what the Lord wills.

What do you think - does that sound about right? I'm still thinking this paralell through, and I'm interested in hearing if anyone else sees this in there.

peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

Why I'm not a Roman Catholic

I mentioned in a post awhile ago that while I wish I could convert to Catholicism, I can’t with a good conscience. A kind reader inquired why, and I thought it was about time I got around to answering her question.

Before I do, I’d like to firmly state that it’s not because I think Roman Catholics are not Christians. While I’m sure some aren’t, I’m also sure some Protestants aren’t. I think most probably are. The reason I can’t become Catholic is because if I were Catholic, I’d be a bad Catholic. I’d be a bad Catholic because I disagree with so many of their particular beliefs. If I were to convert, I’d want to be a good Catholic, and I’m not going to convert while that is impossible for me.

Anyway.

So, what is it that I disagree with? Well, it’s mostly the usual suspects: prayer to the saints, the theology of Mary, the primacy of the Pope, the doctrine of Purgatory, the position on birth control. There are other issues I’m not certain about, like transubstantiation and paedobaptism, but I’m not philosopher enough to really argue those. I find transubstantiation unlikely, and I’ll leave it at that. Paedobaptism is something my own church practices, and though I think it’s not best, it doesn’t seem hideously harmful.

I’d also like to say: I have read the Catholic arguments on each of these points. And I will continue to read them. There are so many Catholic writers that I respect and admire that I would be hypocritical to ignore them when they write on these issues. I figure if I’m willing to hear their wisdom on the devotional life, I should also be willing to hear their wisdom on the position of the Pope.

So far, they haven’t convinced me. But I’ll continue to read their arguments as I come across them, in case there is something I’ve missed, or considered incorrectly. In other words, I’m not a Protestant who plugs her ears and sings “La, La, LA” when someone from Rome opens his mouth. :)

I’ll take the points one at a time, and, though I don’t promise an exhaustive catalogue of my disagreements, I’ll try to give a good summary of each. (In other words, this is the short version.)

1) prayer to the saints: The very best thing ever said on this was, I think, said by George Herbert in his poem “To All Angels and Saints” which I would urge you all to read. He basically argues that though he greatly loves the saints, he may not act where he is not commanded to act, and the Bible urges no such communication with those who have gone before us. He further argues that all praise is due to God, and it is not his right to take from what is God’s and offer it to any “inferior power”.
On my own, I’d offer a few other points:
I think you can make a pretty convincing case from scripture against it. I’d start with the Old Testament command that we’re not to try to talk to the dead. It’s obviously possible (see Saul and Samuel), but not exactly encouraged.
I’d further argue a practical point: we humans tend to worship and fear (and fear and worship) what we can’t see. I’d argue that it’s dangerous for embodied spirits (like us) to talk to unembodied spirits – or at least spirits with bodies we can’t perceive – because we tend to worship them. Perhaps there are some very holy people that aren’t tempted to this, but I think most of us tend to worship entities we are talking to when we can’t physically sense them. When you ask your earthly friend to pray for you, all her bodiliness will remind you that she’s just human. When you ask St. Francis to pray for you, his lack of physical presence might keep you from remembering that he’s just as human as you. You might tend to think of him more highly than you ought.
2) the position of Mary: Yes, Protestants tend to make too little of her. Her “may it be unto me as you have said” is the exact pattern of the proper response of every Christian to God, and we’d all do well to meditate on it.
However, I think there isn’t any scriptural warrant for the Catholic doctrine of thinking her sinless. In fact, it seems unbiblical to me, as we are assured that Jesus alone was the only human being ever without fault.
Also, again, I think there is a very human tendency, when praying to Mary, to worship.
Finally, I think that the Catholic devotion to Mary does lead people away from devotion to God. Not always, but often. I also think, from the scriptural depiction of Mary, that this is the last thing she herself would want. She points us toward the mercy of God, and if we look at her too long, we might forget to look where she is looking: to her Son.
3) the primacy of the Pope: Yes, yes, I repeat myself: no scriptural warrant. :) I would also point to Paul’s correction of Peter as proof that the bishop of Rome was not, from the earliest of days, infallible.
4) the doctrine of Purgatory: Here I quibble a bit. Yes, it does seem obvious that something happens in between death and heaven. Somehow, the mortal is made immortal, the sinful becomes the sinless. However, the idea that this process is actually a place seems a bit imaginative to me.
5) NFP: The Catholic church argues that every form of birth control except for NFP is bad.
Okay. However, in the Bible, Paul tells us that husband and wife are not to abstain except for the purpose of prayer. And . . . trying to avoid having children is not prayer. It seems, therefore, that abstaining in order to avoid conception is directly violating Paul’s admonition. Which seems enough to start with.


Alright, hopefully I haven’t alienated my Catholic readers! I also am not writing this for the purpose of discouraging you, or persuading you away from your faith. Rather, I’m very aware that all of us, Protestant, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox alike, are all suffering from being part of a divided church. One day, surely, Christ will return, and make our divisions cease. We'll each learn where we were right and where we were wrong. Until then, it seems to behoove us to love one another, and try to understand one another, and to obey. And to try to disagree honestly and charitably. I’m well aware that there are things that the Catholic church does better than the Protestant church, and I am very grateful for its witness to the world. But for now, it seems to me that the Protestants have it most right of the three branches. (Again, I don't think we have it all right.)

But I did want to answer the question, and I hope that it helps any of my readers who wanted to understand where I’m coming from.

It seems like a good thing to be able to say, “Here is where we really agree. Here is where we really disagree,” and to not lie about either one. There won’t be any common ground if we don’t tell the truth about the uncommon ground. And I do believe that what we have in common (i.e., everything in the Nicene creed) is much, much greater than what we don’t have in common. Until our Lord returns, may we each serve Him faithfully in the places where He has led us.

peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snells

happy feast day!

And may I point you over to this delightful Assumption post by Melissa Wiley?

Hope your day was good.

peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

St. Mary's Day for children

I started to tell Bess, my 4 year old, about Mary's Day, and before I had a chance to tell her how we were going to celebrate it, she burst out, "We could pick flowers!"

Indeed! Funny how kids tumble to things sometimes!

Picking flowers is a traditional way to celebrate Mary's life. Roman Catholics will decorate her statues with flowers on Assumption Day. We don't have any statues of Mary, but we have some icons of Mary and Jesus, and I like the idea of making a small wreath (as Bess and I often do with the clover she picks out of the grass) and hanging it 'round the icon.

It's really, if you think about it, not that different than taking flowers to a friend's grave. It's a way of celebrating what God accomplished in the life of his servant, and remembering her willing obedience to Him, and encouraging ourselves to follow her example.

Here are some other ways to celebrate St. Mary's Day with children:
-draw a picture of her.
-read Bible story books about the Nativity or finding the boy Jesus in Jerusalem or the crucifixion, when Jesus told John to take care of his mother.
-make cookies with blue icing (use food coloring). Blue is the traditional color for Mary, and as you make the cookies, you can talk about how blue reminds us of Heaven, and how Mary welcomed heaven into her heart when she welcomed God into her life. And about how she is in Heaven now. This can lead to a conversation about salvation.
-talk about people you might know who are named after Mary, and how we name people after saints to encourage us to love God like they did.

As always, it's a good day to sing "I Sing a Song of the Saints of God".

How are the rest of you celebrating this Friday?

peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

of the Virgin Mary

This Friday is Mary's day. In Anglicanism, we celebrate it as her "falling asleep day" or "the Dormition", the day she died and went to be with God. The Roman Catholics celebrate it as the Assumption. I once heard an Episcopal priest explain the Feast of the Assumption and then observe, "of course, as Anglicans, we feel free to call it just that: an assumption!" :)

In either case, it is a day to celebrate the Mother of God, the woman who was a model for the whole church in the way she bent her own will to the will of the Lord. There is no better answer to God's commands than Mary's, "May it be to me as you have said." In this, she sets an example for us all.

Now that the babies are six months old, and life has a rhythm again (it's staccato, but it's a rhythm), I am trying to find my way back into the celebration of the church year. It seems like spending the week thinking about Mary is a good place to start.

I don't pray to the saints, but I take deep comfort in their example of faithfulness, and know that there is a lot for me to learn from studying their lives and words. And as my primary job right now is mothering, Mary is someone I want to spend a week meditating on.

Again, life is very full right now with the babies, so I'm setting myself an easy task: memorizing the Magnificat. I have it near to memorized, having read it often and often during Morning Prayer. But I don't have it quite by heart. I'd like to by the end of the week, and I'm planning on copying it over today so that I can read it while I nurse, or prop it on the counter while I do the dishes. I'd encourage you to do the same, if you are looking for a devotion fitting to the season. And, if you get a chance, read the first chapters of 1 Samuel, to see where Mary's prayer echoes Hannah's.

So, that's my celebration this week. I plan on doing my next post on how you can celebrate Mary's Day with children. There are some cool traditions that have grown up throughout the years that can be adapted to use with toddlers and preschoolers. Stay tuned!

peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell