Year C – Advent 4

Micah 5:2-5a

But 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.

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 God arises from among the least expected as is in the case of Bethlehem. The next could be you.

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Canticle 15

The Song of Mary Magnificat
Luke 1:46-55

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *
    for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
    the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him *
    in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
    he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
    and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
    and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *
    for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers, *
    to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
    as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

or

Canticle 3

or

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Look at Mary, the last and the least. But the first in the eyes of God. Humility rises to the top and pride goes deep down the drain. Let us be humble in the presence of God.

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Psalm 80:1-7

Qui regis Israel

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.

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God can restore us no matter how shattered we are. Give in to His hands and God will mould you better than you are today.

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Hebrews 10:5-10

Consequently, 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.

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What God looks for is a contrite heart and merciful spirit. What are you blessed with? Both or neither?

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Luke 1:39-45(46-55)

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."]

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From generation to generation God remembers the humble. Your hearts desires are read before you are able to form them into human language. May be God will make things happen for you as did to Mary.

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How to Use These Readings and Reflections

Choose the first reading and its reflections for Monday, the second Reading and Reflections for Tuesday and on for each day of the week. By the end of the week you will be ready for the Celebration of Holy Eucharist and a spiritual experience that you got ready in the course of the week. You can use these readings for centering prayer, personal meditation, early morning reflections or prayer groups etc. Make this a daily practice and you will begin to see God’s ever loving hand each and every moment of your life.

• Sermons on the readings of previous Sunday can be found here
• Podcasts of the sermons can be found here
• Visit my church: All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Russellville, AR
• You can read more about me at my website

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The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.