Ekklesia Day Two
Kate Wallace will post the text of her presentation on her website; she’s asked that we listen, without taking notes, so I won’t expatiate on her talk. She and her respondent, Thomas Finger, have walked us through close readings of the Magnificat in Luke’s Gospel, Kate in the RSV English version, Thomas from the Greek text.
And I missed the morning session of workshops, as I fell into a conversation with Brent Laytham, so I’m sitting down in the book display working on the James commentary.
OK, it’s after lunch, and I’m at the session on “Echoes of Mary’s Song in Popular Culture,” led by Matt Gunter and Rodney Clapp. They’re concentrating on the ways that the vision that Mary expresses in the Magnificat come back to our attention in music. They highlight three motifs:
- Anticipation/Eschatology
- Anger/Reversal
- Inclusion/Exclusion
(Beyond “us” and “them”
(Israel and the Gentiles)
The theological themes don’t necessarily appear with the refined precision of classical orthodoxy (likewise, of course, many favorite hymns), but they called these songs to our attention (with my nominations after Rodney and Matt’s):
- Anticipation
- Bruce Cockburn, “Cry of a Tiny Babe”
- Sister Rosetta Tharpe, “This Train (Gospel Train),” 1960 version
- Wilco, “Christ For President”
- The Call, “Become America”
I might add - Talking Heads, “City of Dreams”
- The Alarm, “Absolute Reality”
- Tom Verlaine, “Kingdom Come”
- The Reivers, “He Will Settle It”
- of course, Thunderclap Newman, “Something in the Air”
- The Housemartins, “Caravan of Love”
maybe even - John Lennon, “Number Nine Dream” (depending on how you define your terms)
- Anger/Reversal
- Larry Norman, “The Great American Novel
- Iris Dement, “The Wasteland of the Free”
- Tracy Chapman, “Freedom Now”
To which I nominate: - The Housemartins,, “Get Up Off Our Knees” and “Freedom” (okaya, so I’m a Housemartins fan)
- Kirsty MacColl, “Walking Down Madison”
- Elvis Costello’s “Tramp the Dirt Down” expresses, I think, none of the graced hope of the Magnificat, but he sure is angry about injustice
- War, “The World Is a Ghetto” (does this count, I wonder?)
- Inclusion/Exclusion
- Steve Earle, “Jerusalem”
- Rosanne Cash, “Western Wall”
- Johnny Cash, “Down There By the Train”
- Jim White, “If Jesus Drove a Motor Home”
I’d add - disappear fear, “Who’s So Scared?”
- Talking Heads, “Creatures of Love”
- Laurie Anderson, “Strange Angels”
- Toni Childs, “Zimbabwe”
- Of course, Nick Lowe’s “What’s So Funny ’Bout Peace, Love, and Understanding?” my favorite version of which is still Elvis Costello’s from Armed Forces
Now I’ve blown Matt & Rodney’s routine for any Chicago-area church groups, but it’s still worth sitting and listening and talking things over with them.
Posted by AKMA at July 20, 2004 08:04 PM
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