Learning to Sing

My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior,

....for He who is mighty has done great things for me,

and holy is His Name...(The Magnificat: Luke1:46 ff).

And the angels sing earnest, loudly in their celebration of this tiny creature who stuns, and shadows dance and prance in the darkening sunlight to give praise for her life, and we all smile and nod knowing that the magic has taken shape in... her small form and will grow and search yearn and hurt, as her life hurls into the coming and we know certain that Hazel's place is unmatched and unplaced for she is beauty unrefined...And you gave birth to this wonder. 

(Words of a friend to my neice on the 4th birthday of her daughter)

Are they crazy?  That is, Mary, and the friend who sings about the magic of a tiny creature?  Do they not see the horrors and cruelty of Roman occupation in the Holy Land and the modern world on the brink of disaster?  How can they sing?  Should they not take up the sword against evil and slay the wicked instead?

During the 15th century, when the Catholic church was rotting from the weight of power, corruption and almost willful misunderstanding of its role in the world, when it was in collusion with kings and emperors, Francis of Assisi and his band of merry men almost single-handedly reformed the church and the world -- by singing.  He sang to the fields of flowers, and to the birds of the air; he sang the praises of "Sister Moon and Brother Sun;" he sang the joy of poverty and of the providence of God. 

Before Francis, there were only monks and priests---one set, like the Buddhists, turning their backs on the world of sin and corruption and fleeing to the monasteries where they could live lives of holiness and purity.  The other set, the priests, immersed in the world, but also for the most part, tainted by the surrounding culture and tempted to adopt its values and worldview.  Francis was advised that if he wanted to serve God and renounce the values of his world, he should become a monk.  But Francis did not want to retire behind the safety of monastery walls.  He wanted to live where God led him, in the midst of danger and corruption, in the world, but not of the world.  He took literally the command to preach the Gospel to every creature; he did not question how it was to be done; he just did it.  And always, singing, rejoicing, giving thanks in every circumstance.

People of Francis' time were weighed down by oppression, fear, and the impossibility of life in a society where power and wealth was everything.  If one did not own property, or did not inherit power, life was almost intolerable.  And then came Francis, who seemed totally oblivious to the world that made sense to everyone else.  He sang, he celebrated, he rejoiced --- and men of his time wanted to live that life too-- as did women.  Clare of Assisi asked to be a follower, to wear the garment of praise and thanksgiving in the midst of a cruel and indifferent world.  And other women followed her, singing in their poverty because they, like the birds of the air, knew that God would provide.

Our physical, intellectual, and spiritual resources are limited to "fix" the world around us, and so we grow restless and frustrated.  We see evil and corruption, and so we drag our feet in despair:  what's the use? It won't make any difference; we can't change other people or the world we live in.  What can we do?  We can sing the song we were given to sing, a song of praise and thanksgiving to God, who also sees what we see, but whose resources are not limited to do "great things for us" anyway.  We sing magic; we sing thanksgiving; we sing wonder and praise.  We know we have nothing; it matters not.  Neither do the angels store up treasures in barns and banks.  Still, they sing.  Do they not see the world going to hell in a handbasket?  How can they sing?  They see what we cannot; they see another world, and so they sing.

Mary knew at the deepest level of her soul that the oppression of her people was not God's final answer.  She also knew at the deepest level of her soul that she had been given a part to play in God's solution to sin and suffering, and she rejoiced in the gift she was given.  She still rejoices, and she still calls us to look at God, to enter into prayer, where we too can hear the song of the angels. 

Are we crazy?  Are we dumb?  How can we sing at a time like this?  More tomorrow.....