Fourth Sunday of Advent - Mary Letter Day 19

Fourth Sunday of Advent - December 19, 2021

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 Micah 5:2-5a 

 

You, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me 

one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin 

is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore 

he shall give them up until the time when 

she who is in labor has brought forth; 

 then the rest of his kindred shall return 

to the people of Israel. And he shall stand 

and feed his flock in the strength of the LORD, 

in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. 

 And they shall live secure, for now he shall 

be great to the ends of the earth; 

 and he shall be the one of peace. 

 Psalm 80:1-7 

1 Hear, O Shepherd of Israel, 

leading Joseph like a flock; * 

shine forth, you that are enthroned

 upon the cherubim. 

 2 In the presence of Ephraim, 

Benjamin, and Manasseh, * 

stir up your strength 

and come to help us. 

 3 Restore us, O God of hosts; * 

show the light of your countenance, 

and we shall be saved. 

 4 O LORD God of hosts, * 

how long will you be angered 

despite the prayers of your people? 

 5 You have fed them 

with the bread of tears; * 

you have given them bowls 

of tears to drink. 

 6 You have made us 

the derision of our neighbors, * 

and our enemies laugh us to scorn. 

 7 Restore us, O God of hosts; * 

show the light of your countenance, 

and we shall be saved. 

 The New Testament Hebrews 10:5-10 

 

When Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, 'See, God, I have come to do your will, O God' (in the scroll of the book it is written of me)." When he said above, "You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings" (these are offered according to the law), then he added, "See, I have come to do your will." He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. And it is by God's will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 

 

The Gospel Luke 1:39-55

 

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord." And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."

Dear Mama,

We are safely on the road and being spoiled by cousin Miriam. She may be ancient but she is strong and vital. We have been so well fed- she's an amazing cook. We stayed two days with her and will be heading out at night fall, as we have delayed too much already. We had a rough go the first night and Joseph got a little banged up from a fall, but he is fine now. Miriam has pampered him so very much. Her family is large, and they are always cooking and eating, laughing and talking. These strangers to me quickly became family.

We are going to have cover a good deal of distance tonight as we are behind schedule. Fortunately, the moon is nearly full and the weather is favorable. We should have an easier time of it tonight. I was so very frightened, Mama, that first night. I let the fear roll over me instead of my faith. Miriam reminded me that God is going with us! I also remembered that song that Elizabeth and I sang when I was with her. "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant."  I will sing it all along the rest of the way. It will probably drive Joseph crazy but I am sure he would rather have me singing that cowering in fear. By the way, when I was so scared the other night, he had us repeat psalms over and over until we could be calm and sleep. I am discovering what a treasure he is! Mama, I am truly blessed.

Pray for us, please. We will try hard to rush back as soon as we finish in Bethlehem. I so want to be safe at home with you and Papa when the baby is born!

Love,

Mary