Magnificat

Magnificat.

Hannah prayed to the Lord,
Hannah wept,
Hannah wept at Shiloh
Hannah prayed at Shiloh.
Delivered of a son, Samuel,
Asked of God.
Hannah danced,
Hannah sang:

“My heart rejoices
In the Lord
My horn is lifted up
By the Lord,
I rejoice in your salvation.”

Her voice resounds across the generations,
Travelling sacred songlines,
Mary heard, took up the song,
In joyful praise and wonder.

From then to now
From now to then
From here to there
There to here
And now beyond:
Crosshatched tapestry of time,
Along unknown road
Into song, canticle, poem, ode
Beyond time, beyond space.

How can this be?
Me, a lowly handmaiden,
Most lowly of women.
I am afraid/I am joyful.
Here in Nazareth
shall I be despised, rejected, shunned,
Cast out amongst Sheol’s dust heaps
With dogs and beggars?

Mary prayed,
“I am the Lord’s slave,
May it be done to me according to Thy will.”
But how can this be
The Holy One to be born of me,
To be called the Son of God?
I am most blessed.

Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting at the door
The baby lept, like David before the Ark,
Shared destiny with the Son of God,
Miraculous in symbiotic motherhood.
Elizabeth amazed:
“you are the most blessed
of women
And your child
Will be blessed.”

Eyes closed, eyes open,
In the blink of an eye
All is as before,
Trees, rocks, footfalls, sky,
But changed,
From now on:
Different,
Altered,
Transformed,
Metamorphosed.
The mountains skipped like rams,
The hills like lambs.
From now on you call me blessed.

Me, Mary,
I stand here, Lord,
I am your servant, Lord ,
I will sing of my joy,
“My soul proclaims the greatness
Of the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced,”
Joining in song with Sarah, Hannah and Elizabeth
With generations passed,
With those present and to come:
“For His mercy is from generation to generation
For those that fear Him.”

In saecula saeculorum.

Εις τοὺς αιῶνας τῶν αιῶνων

Αμήν.

Παυλήττη Τσάδβηκ  Φεβρουαρίῳ 20 2017

By Paulette Chadwick

 

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