Showing Mary

April 29, 2002
From Luke 1:26–56, source of the Hail Mary and the Magnificat, Vanderbilt biblical scholar Weems (Listening for God: A Minister's Journey Through Silence and Doubt) extrapolates a world of wisdom for everyday women in this accessible book. Shining a light on Mary and Elizabeth, two pregnant women separated only by age, Weems weaves a cogent, yet gentle summons to women who are "spiritually pregnant," which she says is a condition of soul, not body. "Whenever you feel like you're being summoned from
some deep and holy place... to
some deep and holy place within, know that it's God inviting you to an altar where you might encounter God anew and yourself anew," she explains. Weems prescribes a healthy network of women supporting other women, and at the end of each conversational chapter she provides a prayer to demonstrate the point. An ordained elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Weems uses her knowledge of biblical culture to enrich this manual for facing into the winds of life's changes. But without a speck of academic dust, her writing reaches out to women of all ages and colors. She combines personal anecdote, exhortation and an effective blend of cheerleading and poignancy, revealing a genuine comprehension of the lives many women lead, often curtailed in service to others. Easy to read, this is a valuable book, a gift for those ready to "stop crouching in the dark, like a woman without a God."