Advent 4C

[RCL] Micah 5:2-5a; Canticle 15 (or 3) or Psalm 80:1-7; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-45, (46-55) The Rev. Pauli Murray once wrote that “hope is a song in a weary throat,” and amid this hopeful season, amid this weary age, we would do well to consider what such a song sounds like. It’s easy to miss…

Liturgical seasons are worthwhile because they reflect the rhythm of life itself. Advent reflects seasons of our lives that are filled with hope and anticipation. We often associate these with happy times: waiting for a wedding, waiting for a baby to be born, or waiting for the arrival of a loved one who has been…

“My heart exults in the Lord … My strength is exalted in my God …” Sound familiar? Today we hear the Magnificat, that great song of Mary that the author of Luke and Acts has blessed us with. But this quote isn’t from the Magnificat. It’s not even from the gospels. It’s from the Book…

[RCL]: Micah 5:2-5a; Canticle 15 (or 3) or Psalm 80:1-7; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-45, (46-55) “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.” (Luke 1:46-48) Introduction In Advent, we are asked to wait. Instead of jumping immediately into…

Don’t you love it when people ask you, “Are you ready for Christmas?” A good answer is, “No, but it’s coming anyway, so let’s all be joyful!” This week we pay for that bridge week between Thanksgiving and Advent by having a truncated fourth week in Advent. It barely begins before we move to Christmas…

In the beautiful month of May, in the springtime of the year, the church keeps a feast known as the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The gospel reading on that occasion is the one we just heard, the story of pregnant Mary’s visit to her elderly relative Elizabeth, who is herself pregnant with John…

This morning may we reflect with open hearts on the words we just heard from the song of triumph. In the name of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As Jack Kornfield recounts in the book “How, Then, Shall We Live?” it is the custom in one African tribe that when a woman decides to…

The Gospel today, like the date, brings Christmas very near. As our attention turns to Mary and the birth, we are back in step with the world. Life out there is reaching its own peak of anticipation for Christmas; and those haggard and glassy-eyed faces of the determined shoppers are easier to find every day….

On this Sunday we continue in the spirit of Advent, the spirit of expectation; we are waiting for something significant to happen. We Christian people are by now tired of hearing and seeing all around us evidence of the total misunderstanding of the season. We are in danger of disliking beloved Christmas carols because of…

In this lovely time of the year, we are reminded that what will happen on Christmas Day, what did happen 2,000 years ago, was foretold for centuries. Not foretold in a way that means looking into the future, but foretold in the way of preparation. We cannot look at the Christmas story without realizing that…