The angel Gabriel from heaven came,
His wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame,
All hail, said he, thou lowly maiden Mary!
Most highly favoured Lady, Gloria!
For know a blessed mother thou shalt be,
All generations laud and honour thee,
Thy son shall be Emmanuel by seers foretold,
Most highly...
Then gentle Mary meekly bowed her head,
"To me be as it pleaseth God," she said,
"my soul shall laud and magnify his holy Name."
Most highly...
Of her, Emmanuel, the Christ, was born
in Bethlehem, all on a Christmas morn,
and Christian folk throughout the world will ever say,
Most highly...
(Basque Traditional, trans Sabine Baring-Gould. Source)
Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pliqObTHxUQ
This carol, telling the story of the Annunciation, or the angel’s visit to Mary, is apparently based on a Basque folk carol. The Basque language, I recently learned, is not related to any others in Europe (I’m sure a linguist will correct me!).
I have to admit this isn’t a favourite of mine. I think it’s got a lot to do with the way Mary is described. I’m not keen on the depiction of Mary in this carol (and quite a few others). Words like ‘meek’ and ‘gentle,’ ‘lowly’. I find that a bit problematic, because that version of Mary has been used to put women in their place, to teach women that they should behave and do what men tell them to without question, rather than having opinions in their own right- to reinforce the cultural status quo.
Mary is a key figure in the nativity story. The description of the angel’s visit in Luke’s gospel (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%201&version=NIVis ) is a much more human portrait. Mary, far from calm and meek as the carol suggests, is ‘greatly troubled’ and the angel has to tell her to not be afraid, and reassure her that she has God’s favour. As a woman who was known to have become pregnant before being married, she was facing a lot of prejudice and potentially abuse. The angel just says that God is with her, not that she won’t face difficulties. Things would be tough. She would have known that, and yet she still agrees to God’s plan. She has to have been a strong, thoughtful character.
Roman Catholic practice has tended to emphasise Mary more than Protestantism, at times in history having elevated her to a status somewhere between human and divine. However having a woman as a focus for devotion hasn’t really helped women in the church achieve equality, with Mary having been used at times to silo women into a secondary role in the church of nurturing children and supporting men (not that the Protestant church is innocent of this either). That’s probably got something to do with my hesitancy about this carol and the ‘cult’ of Mary.
And yet Mary is worth looking at as a model for human behaviour. She listens, she isn’t afraid to ask questions of the angel, she overcomes the fear she must have felt to accept God’s plan and, not much later, to praise God in the song known as the ‘Magnificat’ (Luke 1 v46-55). Later on she shows a much deeper understanding of Jesus’ mission than even his disciples. Maybe I shouldn’t be so cynical.
The eagle-eyed (owl-eared?) may spot that the last verse again refers to Emmanuel. As yesterday, this is a reference to ‘God with us.’ God doesn’t watch what humanity from outside and then judge us according to some unfathomable scoring system. He comes down into the mess that is the world, and experiences it all with us. Personally I find that thought reassuring, when life seems to be a mess. Mary didn’t have things easy either, but she was still able to trust God. Maybe that’s the aspect of Mary I should be looking to imitate.
(P.S. Does anyone else have the tendency to sing ‘Most highly flavoured lady?’ I blame my dad...)
