Mary Monday

     It's a great Time of life. I wish I could be thirty years old at this age and enjoy it for longer. Except that I would choose to live in the America that I loved and once believed I knew as a nation that treasured honor, truth, mutual trust, and integrity. It's evident to me that I never knew us at all. e pluribus unum, but as with any nation, we are not "unum", we are pluribus.

    I do recall a church member who said in all seriousness and full conviction, "No one should be allowed to vote against President Reagan". It's no longer comical to remember. Nor, apparently, a unique political point of view.

    The Christmas creche, Nativity scene  - - it's so neat. Maybe to me because I've lived in Japan and've always loved oriental things and oriental art. Clipped it off the Geranium Farm website thinking Barbara Cawthorne Crafton won't mind. Her website's always been worthwhile, by the way. 

    Linda found an interesting new brand of gluten-free bread. Simple Kneads. Available at Whole Foods but we ordered online. Four at a time, choose among three flavors, sour dough, quinoa, and pumpkinickel (yep). Moist and nice and doesn't fall apart like the others she's tried. I had it as a bacon and stuffed-egg sandwich for breakfast just now. Mug of black. Quite good.

 

    Monday +Time blogpost prints Propers for next Sunday. Fourth Sunday of Advent, it's Mary Sunday, we should sing the Magnificat as our sequence hymn. Or, HEAR the Magnificat, we refrain from singing these days as a covid precaution. If you sing, please keep your facemask on so you don't what's the word? spray your breath vapor around the room, and so you don't breathe someone else's vapor. Oh, "aerosol", that's the word. 

    Here are the Propers - - there are two gospel stories about this annunciation type event. As Matthew tells it, the angel comes to Joseph and assures him that Mary, pregnant, did not cheat on him. Luke has the better story, which thankfully we have this year: the angel appears to Mary and gets her consent to be visited and impregnated by the Holy Spirit. Our own story, not scriptural but not anti-scriptural, is that Mary was about fourteen years old, which in those days apparently would have been about right. Some Christian groups insist doctrinally, or dogmatically, that Jesus was Mary's only child, that there's another explanation for Jesus' brothers and sisters. If you have the power, authority, and credibility you can tell the story any way you please. Not only the Church, but look how different Luke's and Matthew's nativity narratives are. What's true? Depends on who's telling the story, eh? Seems so in politics as well.

 

The Collect

Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Old Testament 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16

When the king was settled in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, the 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." Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that you have in mind; for the Lord is with you."

But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? I 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. Wherever 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?" Now 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; and 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. And 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, from 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. Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.

The Response Canticle 15 Luke 1:46-55

The Song of Mary: Magnificat

My soul doth magnify the Lord, * and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.

For he hath regarded * the lowliness of his handmaiden.

For behold from henceforth * all generations shall call me blessed.

For he that is mighty hath magnified me, * and holy is his Name.

And his mercy is on them that fear him * throughout all generations.

He hath showed strength with his arm; * he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He hath put down the mighty from their seat, * and hath exalted the humble and meek.

He hath filled the hungry with good things, * and the rich he hath sent empty away.

He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel, * as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed for ever.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: * as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

The Epistle Romans 16:25-27

Now 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 but 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-- to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.

The Gospel Luke 1:26-38

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He 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. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 

Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The 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. And 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. For nothing will be impossible with God.” 

Then 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.

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