Mary's arms

I had the pleasure on Christmas Eve of attending each of our church's three services (two as a choir member and one in the audience).  Among the many celebratory highlights, one musical offering especially touched my heart and caught my imagination in each worship experience.  A young gal played the violin to a Celtic air, favoring us with the Christmas medley "An Infant's Lullaby and Away in a Manger".  The first two services her strings blended with those of a marvelous acoustic guitar.  The effect was to transport you to the Blue Ridge mountains where the mellifluous tones seemed to rise like a mist from the slopes and the trees.  Truly the guitar and violin complemented each other in a marvelous way.  But something very special happened as I watched the young girl perform alone at the 11 pm service.  Beyond the sounds, which continued to capture my Irish heart, I was captivated by the swaying motion of her body and the movement of her hands and arms as she seemed to caress her instrument.  Upon reflection I realized that the entire effect mirrored the movements of a young mother as she rocked her infant child to sleep or hushed her baby's cry.  I imagine that Mary must have been about the same age as this high school gal when Jesus was born.  The tones of the violin were simultaneously melancholy and joyful and combined with the visual presentation of this artist to portray what Mary may have felt as she held her infant boy and contemplated the unfolding of His life, promised by angels.

 

Luke 1:⁴² Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³ But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

 

blessings,

Rob Smith