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Sentence

Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord. Luke 1:45

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Collect  

Gracious God, 

you have visited your people and redeemed 

us in your Son: as we prepare to celebrate 

his birth, make our hearts leap for joy at 

the sound of your word, 

and move us by your Spirit to bless your 

wonderful works. 

We ask this through him whose coming is 

certain, whose Day draws near,

your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity

of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. 

Amen.

Readings

• Micah 5:2-5a
• The Song of Mary
• Hebrews 10:5-10
• Luke 1:39-45

next week

• 2 Chronicles 24:17-22
• Psalm 31:1-8
• Acts 6:8-10, 7:54-60
• Matthew 10:17-22

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A Thought to Ponder

Advent 4 – Luke 1:39-45

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb…”

The readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent each year shift the focus from Advent’s call to preparation for the Messiah to setting the stage for the birth of Christ. In today’s Gospel, Elizabeth proclaims her joy-filled faith in God’s promise of salvation that will be accomplished through Mary’s child and praises her young cousin for her “yes” to God’s plan.

In Mary and Elizabeth’s meeting and in our own similar “visitations,” the Spirit of God is present in the healing, comfort and support we can extend to one another in such moments. In the light and hope of this holy season, may we “make haste” to bring such reconciling peace and healing justice in our own “visitations” to others, in our own encounters in which the grace of God enables us to see one another in God’s eyes.   

God’s Spirit, who inspired the prophets to preach, who enabled the nation of Israel to enter into the covenant with Yahweh, continues at work in the world in new and creative ways. Jesus Christ is the ultimate and perfect fulfilment of that covenant.

The “mystery” of the Incarnation is not that God could become one of us – the inexplicable part is how God could give his love away so freely to his people, without expectation or condition. As St. Ireneaus preached: “Because of his great love for us, Jesus, the Word of God, became what we are in order to make us what he is himself.”

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Sermon

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