Being raised in a protestant church, we never really talked about mary. I don't even know why this is really. I guess maybe it could because of the catholic stigma.
Two weeks ago we had a retreat consisting of prayer and meditation. One of the passages we meditated on was the Magnifcat:
Luke 1:46-57 (New King James Version)
46 And Mary said:
“ My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
54 He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever.”
This passage tells the story of the Messiah, it speaks of God's mission to dethrone kings and lift up the lowly.
When Mary visited Elizabeth, John leapt in Elizabeth's Womb.
Luke 1:39-45
39 Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”
Jesus is coming
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6 comments:
Great post, and good series of posts during the often-disregarded or ill-understood season of Advent.
When Christ was conceived, God began a work of reconciliation, to reclaim His Creation from the hands of the evil that had overtaken it. This project began in Mary's womb, and became manifest and public in the birth and life of Jesus. But it was not entirely finished on the cross (not that I dare to make Christ a liar for uttering, "It is finished"...I believe that "it" was the way of our salvation, not the total reconciliation of the world). The work God started in Mary's womb and made known in Jesus Christ the Lord continues in us each and every day. That mission is to serve others selflessly, to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, to help the poor and widowed and orphaned, and through all things to spread the love and mercy of Christ to everyone around us.
very well said matt
I love the Advent season. It brings the biblical drama to life for me in fresh ways each year. It points me back to Christ entering the world the first time, but also forward to when he will return and make all things right. This year God is showing me the unbelief that resides in my own heart, the places of my life where I'm not believing the gospel and allowing the good news to continue to make my own heart right. I'm glad your reflecting on advent, Raleigh.
I recently did a post on "Life is Story" which was inspired by Advent. I'd love to get your feedback, Raleigh.
Here is a link for a good Advent devotional that I read through each year. I got my copy used from Amazon a few years ago.
http://www.amazon.com/Preparing-Jesus-Meditations-Christmas-Kingdom/dp/0310206448/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197413365&sr=1-1
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