Advent 2 - Mary Letter Day Seven

Advent 2- Mary Letter Day Seven

The 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. 

Old Testament Isaiah 11:1-10 

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. 

Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19 

1 Give the King 

your justice, O God, * 

and your righteousness

 to the King's Son; 

2 That he may rule 

your people righteously * 

and the poor with justice; 

3 That the mountains may bring 

prosperity to the people, * 

and the little hills 

bring righteousness. 

4 He shall defend the 

needy among the people; * 

he shall rescue the poor 

and crush the oppressor. 

5 He shall live as long 

as the sun and moon endure, * 

from one generation to another. 

6 He shall come down like 

rain upon the mown field, * 

like showers that water the earth. 

7 In his time shall the righteous flourish; * 

there shall be abundance of peace 

till the moon shall be no more. 

18 Blessed be the Lord GOD, 

the God of Israel, * 

who alone does wondrous deeds! 

19 And blessed be 

his glorious Name for ever! * 

and may all the earth be filled

 with his glory. Amen. Amen. 

The Epistle Romans 15:4-13 

Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, "Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles, and sing praises to your name"; and again he says, "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people"; and again, "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him"; and again Isaiah says, "The root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles shall hope." May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

The Gospel Matthew 3:1-12

 In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’” Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. “I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Dear Mama and Papa,

Thank you for having me come here for a visit. I have learned so much from Auntie Elizabeth. This town is quiet and the whole community is so supportive. We walk out every day and everyone greets us. We sit by the river, and she tells me stories of her childhood (and yours). You were quite feisty when you were a little girl! We also eaten very well, and I have had fewer incidents of feeling sick to my stomach. She has been teaching me which herbs to chew when I am feeling sick. She's a walking library. I think she is getting close to her time, within a month or so. The wise women really want her to stay in bed because of her age, but of course, she refuses! I think I will have Jospeh come get me soon, so that we can make our plans together.

I know you said you were having trouble finding a rabbi to marry us. Zechariah writes on a tablet, since he cannot talk, and told me their rabbi would come any time. He will arrange for us to meet with the rabbi when Joseph comes to get me. I think we should have the ceremony sooner than later, since my belly is getting rounder by the day. I realize we have to do everything quietly, but at least we can have a good faithful rabbi at our wedding. Elizabeth has also offered to host the wedding her, but that might be too much for her, I think. A little gathering at home is fine with me.

I am feeling so much stronger both in body and in heart. I was so afraid when my first dream came. I knew it was impossible and that you, Papa, Joseph and the world would reject me. But I have been here and know that the child Elizabeth is carrying is a miracle, a voice needed by God. My faith is strong now, and your love and support means the world to me!

love,

Mary