Advent 4

Sunday, December 18, 2011
Fourth Sunday of Advent

Midweek Musings

Reflection by Brother Christopher

INTRODUCTION
God keeps the promise made to David, to give him an everlasting throne. The angel tells Mary that God will give David's throne to her son Jesus. She is perplexed by Gabriel's greeting and by the news of her coming pregnancy, but she is able still to say, "Count me in." We who know that Jesus is called king only as he is executed still find it a mystery hard to fathom, but with Mary today we hear the news of what God is up to and say, "Count us in."

PRAYER OF THE DAY (ELW)

Stir up your power, Lord Christ, and come. With your abundant grace and might, free us from the sin that would obstruct your mercy, that willingly we may bear your redeeming love to all the world, for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

FIRST READING

2 Samuel 7:1–11, 16

Instead of David building a house (temple) for the Lord, the Lord promises to establish David's house (dynasty) forever. Centuries later, after the Babylonian exile, no king sat on the throne. Even then, however, the people of Israel remembered this promise and continued to hope for a king, the messiah, the Lord's anointed.

Now when the king was settled in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, ²the king said to the prophet Nathan, "See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent." ³Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that you have in mind; for the LORD is with you."
⁴But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan: ⁵Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the LORD: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? ⁶I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. ⁷Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?" ⁸Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the LORD of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; ⁹and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. ¹⁰And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, ¹¹from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. ¹⁶Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.

PSALM (ELW)

Luke 1:46b–55

You, Lord, have lifted up the lowly. (Luke 1:52)

^46bMy soul proclaims the greatness ^| of the Lord,

⁴⁷my spirit rejoices in ^| God my Savior,

⁴⁸for you, Lord, have looked with favor on your ^| lowly servant.

From this day all generations will ^| call me blessed;

⁴⁹you, the Almighty, have done great ^| things for me,

and holy ^| is your name.

⁵⁰You have mercy on ^| those who fear you,

from generation to ^| generation. R

⁵¹You have shown strength ^| with your arm;

and scattered the proud in ^| their conceit,

⁵²casting down the mighty ^| from their thrones

and lifting ^| up the lowly.

⁵³You have filled the hungry ^| with good things,

and sent the rich ^| away empty.

⁵⁴You have come to the aid of your ^| servant Israel,

to remember the prom- ^| ise of mercy,

⁵⁵the promise made ^| to our forebears,

to Abraham and his chil- ^| dren forever. R

SECOND READING

Romans 16:25–27

Paul closes his letter to the Romans by praising God because in the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ God has revealed the promised, divine plan of salvation for all humanity. Paul proclaims this gospel of Christ in order to bring about the obedience of faith among all nations.

²⁵Now to God who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages ²⁶but is now disclosed, and through the prophetic writings is made known to all the Gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith — ²⁷to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.

GOSPEL

Luke 1:26–38

In this annunciation, Luke makes clear that God comes with good news for ordinary people (Mary) from littleknown places (Nazareth). This king will not be born to royalty in a palace, but to common folk in a stall. Here Luke highlights the role of the Spirit, a special emphasis in his gospel.

²⁶In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, ²⁷to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. ²⁸And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." ²⁹But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. ³²He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. ³³He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." ³⁴Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" ³⁵The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. ³⁶And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. ³⁷For nothing will be impossible with God." ³⁸Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

Reflection

Behold a great mystery: Mary is the daughter of the Father, the mother of the Son and the spouse of the Holy Spirit.

Christmas is one of the too few times we look at and consider the life and faith of Mary, mother of Our Lord.

Yet our Lutheran tradition, unlike some of the more radical Protestant traditions, has from the very beginning honored Mary for her unique role

in salvation history.

Martin Luther had a deep and tender devotion to Mary. Br. Martin said, “The veneration of Mary is inscribed in the very depths of the human heart.” (Sermon, September 1, 1522).

“[She is the] highest woman and the noblest gem in Christianity after Christ . . . She is nobility, wisdom, and holiness personified. We can never honor her enough. Still honor and praise must be given to her in such a way as to injure neither Christ nor the Scriptures.” (Sermon, Christmas, 1531).

“No woman is like you. You are more than Eve or Sarah, blessed above all nobility, wisdom, and sanctity.” (Sermon, Feast of the Visitation, 1537).

“One should honor Mary as she herself wished and as she expressed it in the Magnificat. She praised God for his deeds. How then can we praise her? The true honor of Mary is the honor of God, the praise of God's grace . . . Mary is nothing for the sake of herself, but for the sake of Christ . . . Mary does not wish that we come to her, but through her to God.” (Explanation of the Magnificat, 1521).

Mary was the first Christian and is the most honored woman in all of Christendom. Her “yes” to the angel Gabriel changed human history forever.

God is still looking for souls like Mary’s who will say yes in word and deed. God is still calling men and women to be “Christ bearers” in and for the world.

Mary’s message is always the same, timeless and perennial. Her words from the wedding at Cana still call to us, “Do whatever he (Jesus) tells you.” (John 2:5)

This Christmas may you be inspired by Mary’s faith, radical trust, humility and pondering spirit.

Intercessions

For all women who serve in the church and in society.

For all mothers and caregivers.

For all deaconesses and members of religious orders.

For all women suffering oppression and degradation.

For mothers who have lost children to death or miscarriage.

For women who are victims of sex trafficking.

For a rediscovery and renewed awareness of women saints, mystics and martyrs.

For women who have made the selfless choice of adoption.

For all those who carry the holy child Jesus in the cradle of their heart.

Quote

“Just as Jesus was born in a humble stable, so Christ today is only born in humble hearts.”