Fourth Sunday in Advent: December 18, 2005.2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16 Luke 1:47-55 Romans 16:25-27 Luke 1:26-38 "Mother of the homeless, Widowed Mother, Mother of a political prisoner, Mother of an executed prisoner, Unwed Mother, Seeker of sanctuary, first disciple, Pray for us." (Lawrence Cunningham, "There's Something About Mary," U.S. Catholic 64 (October 1999): 12-18. First Reading I would love to find the exact quote, but apparently somewhere Dietrich Bonhoeffer Noun 1. Dietrich Bonhoeffer - German Lutheran theologian and pastor whose works concern Christianity in the modern world; an active opponent of Nazism, he was arrested and sent to Buchenwald and later executed (1906-1945) Bonhoeffer called the Magnificat the most passionate, wildest, most revolutionary Advent hymn ever sung. One of the great criticisms of the church from those in my particular generation (the so-called Generation X) is that the church domesticated do·mes·ti·cate tr.v. do·mes·ti·cat·ed, do·mes·ti·cat·ing, do·mes·ti·cates 1. To cause to feel comfortable at home; make domestic. 2. To adopt or make fit for domestic use or life. 3. a. the great and visceral parts of the faith. It is difficult to resonate with that criticism and stand on the preaching side of the pulpit. This day we hold a passionate, wild, revolutionary Advent hymn that we might explore with the members of our congregation. Further, we hold the words of a woman who, though interesting, might be relegated to back-burner status by many congregations who seek to distinguish themselves from Roman Catholics (I have at least one such congregation in my history). I want to persuade you to preach on the Magnificat, as announced by Mary the mother of Jesus. I am quite fascinated with Mary. Perhaps it was the absence of a humanized Mary from my early Christian education experience. My earliest memories are of Mary of the Sunday School Sunday school, institution for instruction in religion and morals, usually conducted in churches as part of the church organization but sometimes maintained by other religious or philanthropic bodies. In England during the 18th cent. Christmas Pageant Christmas pageant may refer to:
1. to render sterile; to free from microorganisms. 2. to render incapable of reproduction. ster·il·ize v. 1. the person of Mary. In fact, as Bonhoeffer noticed, and we might as well, Mary stood at some of the most powerful turning points in the history of the world. They were not pleasant points but points filled with blood and tears. People on the margins are fascinated with Mary. Gang members tattoo images of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe, also called the Virgin of Guadalupe (Spanish: Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe or Virgen de Guadalupe) is a 16th century Roman Catholic Mexican icon depicting on their backs as a shield against the bullets of rivals. The late German theologian Karl Rahner argued that different ages looked to Mary to express values that were of intense concern to their own cultures. What values are of intense concern to us? To other cultures? What is your experience with Mary? When people talked about her, which of her qualities did they downplay, and which were lifted up? Pastoral Reflection Reading "first disciple" in the quotation, we are reminded that Mary is a model for every Christian and not just for women. When we follow the course of her life--from the acceptance of the Word of God at the moment of the Annunciation Annunciation dove and lily pictured with Virgin and Gabriel. [Christian Iconography: Brewer Dictionary, 645] Elizabeth Mary’s old cousin; bears John the Baptist. [N.T. , through the public ministry of Christ, to her faithful witness at the foot of the cross and her presence in the upper room on the eve On the Eve (Накануне in Russian) is the third novel by famous Russian writer Ivan Turgenev, best known for his short stories and the novel Fathers and Sons. of Pentecost--we see Mary as one who lived with the Word of God in extraordinary loyalty. Jesus gave these words to his disciples when they were tired and anxious: "Peace be with you." I pass them on with one final thought. During his famed speech in A Charlie Brown Christmas, Linus, who is well known to be dependent on his security blanket, actually lets go of it when he recites "Fear not. For behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy...." Fear not, as you bring tidings of great joy. CGM (1) (Computer Graphics Metafile) An ISO/IEC standard format for 2D graphics images introduced in 1987. Primarily a vector graphics format for technical illustrations and geophysical visualizations, CGM also supports raster graphics and text. |
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