Advent 2 - Mary Letter Day 7

Advent 2, Year A- Mary Letter Day 7

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide by what his ears hear;
but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,
and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the
ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder's den.
They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples;
the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious. Isaiah 11:1-10

Dear Auntie,

I want to thank you again for your kindness and hospitality. You were so great to put u with all my questions and complaining. You answered my fears and help me quiet my soul. This responsibility is more than I am ready for. I was hoping to have children some day, but after we had married and set up our home. Not, as the carrier of a miracle, a child from God. It feels like too much. You did promise that you would help me through and I'm holding you to that!

Momma and Papa were happy to see me. I think Joseph was too, but he was very quiet during our supper last night. He said we would talk alone very soon. There were plans to make, he said. That sort of scared me, since although things are calmer than when I left, there's a great felling of anxiety still. Papa cautions me to stay inside and to keep a low profile.

I did go out and sit in the garden as the sun set tonight. The aroma from the fruit trees was wonderful, and I remembered being small and running about at dusk, carefree and silly. Oh, how I wish I could be carefree and silly right now. As the stars settled in with the darkness, I thought about the words you read to me. "They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain." Well, if that is what I am helping bring into the world, if peace can come in these troubled times, then I am ready. Sacred to death , but ready.

love always,

Mary


Collect

Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.