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| Image by Robin Jaffray |
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A GREETING
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
(Psalm 56:3)
A READING
[Wisdom] is a tree of life for those who embrace her,
My children, maintain sound wisdom and right judgment,
and don’t let them out of your sight,
for then they’ll be the life of your soul,
jewels to grace your neck.
Then your journey will be secure,
and your feet won’t stumble.
When you sit down, you won’t be afraid;
when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
So don’t fear sudden disaster
or the ruin that comes to corrupt individuals—
for God is your insurance,
and will keep your feet from the snare.
(Proverbs 3:13,18,21-26 TIB)
MUSIC
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.
(Luke 2:19)
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| Source |
A BLESSING
Mary, we come to you knotted
in a hundred different ways.
Our hearts are knotted with grief and anger,
our bodies feel knotted with tension,
our minds knotted with anxiety and fear.
We ask you to gently work on those places
of tightness and holding within us,
to loosen them gently...
Help us to soften our hard edges
and yield to your grace.
Allow us to see you at work within us,
slackening and unbinding.
Sustain us in the moments
when all feels as if it is unraveling.
Help us to trust your work
and know that we must first come undone,
before we can be woven back together again.
Bless us with patience and wisdom;
support us in loosening our steady grip
so we might also prevent more knots
forming in days to come.
- from Birthing the Holy: Wisdom from Mary to Nurture Creativity and Renewal,
by Christine Valters Paintner
VERSE OF THE DAY
I want you to be free from anxieties.
(1 Corinthians 7:32)
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| "Mary, Untier of Knots," by Johann Georg Melchior Schmidtner |
In Mary's first encounter with Gabriel, and later during the visit of the shepherds after the birth, we are told that Mary 'pondered'. She considered and reflected on what was happening within and to her. What was she feeling?
Today’s music is written from Mary’s point of view. It offers us a chance to hear Mary’s private fears and concerns, her anxiety and desire for God to always be near. “Breath of heaven hold me together, be forever near me.” Breath is at the start of the biblical story: the Hebrew word for Spirit, ‘ruach’, that moves over the face of the earth in Genesis 1, is also the word for human breath.
Among the many ways in which Mary has been portrayed in art, in 1700 a German painter named Johann Schmidtner depicted Mary as ‘the untier of knots.’ The painting (see above) depicts Mary being fed a ribbon filled with knots. As the ribbon passes through her hands, Mary is untying the knots and an angel passes out the unfurled ribbon again to us. The painting has inspired many people, who are encouraged by it to see Mary as a figure who can help us undo the tangled problems of our lives. Mary, who is herself worried and anxious in the song, becomes in the painting, the one who unties anxieties and fears.
Knots are a significant part of Celtic iconography, appearing on many graveside Crosses and decoratively pervasive on Celtic monuments and sites. The tradition of the iconographic knot can be traced to 5th century Rome and Gaul, the area where the Celts first originated in western Europe. When the pre-Christian Celts came to Ireland, they brought the knots with them. Although they appear right through the middle ages in both Roman and Celtic design, and throughout Europe in a variety of contexts, their intricate weavng has become synonymous with Celtic expression. Celtic knots are not meant to be unraveled or undone, but can be seen as part of both the order and mystery of Creation, in which God’s wisdom weaves its way into the fabric of our lives.
Whether we choose to meditate on the beauty of Celtic knots, or prefer to pray to Mary the Untier of Knots (perhaps with this meditative youtube series), we know that we are held in the arms of a loving God who accompanies us in all of the knotty parts of our lives. Each time we breathe in, we have the chance to feel the love of God that is always with us. Advent is a time when we can reorient breath and body and stillness, by breathing deeply.
What will you pray to have ‘untied’ today? How can you breathe into what worries you?
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| Photo by Sarah Webb of an installation by Meg Saligman, "Mary, Undoer of Knots Grotto," Philadelphia, 2015. The installation includes the painting above by Schmidtner and was inspired by it. Visitors were encouraged to tie strips of cloth to a grid with written messages of the trials they are going through. Then, they were encouraged to untie the knot made by someone else. |
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LC† Come Holy Darkness is a project of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook, and on Twitter. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help to support extended offerings throughout the year.
Thank you and peace be with you!