A
Poem a Sunday
Advent
IV - B
December
24, 2017
St. Luke 1:26-38 – NRSV
The Birth of Jesus
Foretold
26 In
the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called
Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of
the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her
and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”[a]29 But she
was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might
be. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have
found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and
bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and
will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the
throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of
Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 Mary said
to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”[b] 35 The
angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the
Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born[c] will be
holy; he will be called Son of God. 36 And now, your relative
Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month
for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible
with God.” 38 Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord;
let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
Footnotes:
A
Poem a Sunday
Advent
IV – B
A Pregnant Advent
Advent is a
pregnant time
for baby showers
and nursery rhymes.
Why Christmas is
the Infant’s shower
when gifts are
given to praise the hour
when Mary humbly
and in great pain
experiences the ache and the awe
of God’s new reign:
a Kingdom forever
of compassion and
care
nothing will be impossible
when we all dare
like Mary,
overshadowed
by the Spirit’s
power,
cries: “Let it be!”
at the crucial hour
then we, too,
are pregnant
with God’s own Son
born again
in each and
everyone
who breathe in the
Spirit
and with a deep
and longing sigh
say: “Here am I.”
Copyright
2017 @ A Poem a Sunday
May
be used with permission
kennstorck@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment