Dory (Dorothy Veronica) Previn, singer-songwriter, born 22 October 1925; died 14 February 2012. For Obituary, click here.
did jesus have a baby sister?
was she bitter?
was she sweet?
did she wind up in a convent?
did she end up on the street?
on the run?
on the stage?
did she dance?
did he have a sister?
a little baby sister?
did jesus have a sister?
did they give her a chance?
did he have a baby sister?
could she speak out by and large?
or was she told by mother mary
ask your brother he’s in charge
he’s the whipped cream
on the cake
did he have a sister?
a little baby sister?
did jesus have a sister?
did they give her a break?
her brother’s
birth announcement
was pretty big
pretty big
i guess
while she got precious
little notice in the local press
her mother was the virgin
when she carried him
carried him
therein
if the little girl came later
then
was she conceived in sin?
and in sorrow?
and in shame?
did jesus have a sister?
what was her name?
did she long to be the savior
saving everyone
she met?
and in private to her mirror
did she whisper
saviorette?
saviorwoman? saviorperson?
save your breath!
did he have a sister?
a little baby sister?
did jesus have a sister?
was she there at his death?
and did she cry for mary’s comfort
as she watched him
on the cross?
and was mary too despairing
ask your brother
he’s the boss
he’s the chief
he’s the man
he’s the show
did he have a sister?
a little baby sister?
did jesus have a sister?
doesn’t anyone know?
Dory Previn: 1925-2012
Ironic Questioning as Spirituality
In the spiritual alphabet offered by Spirituality and Practice, “I” is for imagination, “J” is for justice, “P” is for Playfulness,, "Q" is for questing, and “Y” is for You (as in positive self-regard). All come together in Dory Previn’s Did Jesus have a baby sister. In raising the question of whether Jesus has a baby sister, filled with playful anachronisms, the song presents an alternative reality for the future by imagining an alternative reality in the past. It also reminds us of the injustice of so much historical religion, in this case Christianity, has been oppressively patriarchal – and still is. The questing of "Q" includes provocative, irreverent questioning.
Some process theologians use the alphabet to interpret an organic approach to spirituality. For them, Imagination, Justice, Playfulness, Questing, and You-ness are ways of touching the Mystery in which the whole universe unfolds. This divine reality is within each creature as a lure for satisfying intensity, for wholeness, for justice, for life. The lure is an invitation to transgress predictable and unjust ways of thinking, supported by powers-that-be, often under the rubric of religion. We are beckoned by the lure to say “no” to the ways things are and “yes” to the way things can be. We are beckoned to place ourselves in the position of the baby sister of Previn’s song, to question traditional assumptions of male authority, and to move into new ways of being religious, or, perhaps better, irreligiously religious, for life’s sake. Irreverent questioning is healthy spirituality at its best - and it can well include a critique of what is often called "spirituality."