Welcome to the fourth Sunday of Advent. Next Sunday is Christmas Day! As part of your Sabbath, I pray you are able to attend or participate in group worship in some way. Proper formal worship will incorporate all the aspects of our daily prayers. As I’ve said before, the prayer patterns established over six days of the week lead us to a Sabbath of constant spiritual communion with God.
Here’s a text for today, one you may hear in worship:
Luke 1:46-55
Mary said,
“With all my heart I glorify the Lord!
In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior.
He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant.
Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favored
because the mighty one has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.
He shows mercy to everyone,
from one generation to the next,
who honors him as God.
He has shown strength with his arm.
He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.
He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones
and lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty-handed.
He has come to the aid of his servant Israel,
remembering his mercy,
just as he promised to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants forever.”
What a joy for Mary, full of the Spirit that has conceived the divine child inside her. She is able to glimpse the effects Jesus will have on the world. Some of these effects we still anticipate today.
Where has God met us in our lowliness and meekness?
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