Advent 4: Mary
Let us pray with MARY:
May this day be blessed by you
And a time of blessing to others.
Rulers brought down; the humble lifted up:
Your throne shall reign forever.
Hymn: STF 175 – Light of the world
Light of the world, you stepped down into darkness,
opened my eyes, let me see
beauty that made this heart adore you,
hope of a life spent with you.
So here I am to worship, here I am to bow down,
here I am to say that you’re my God,
and you’re altogether lovely, altogether worthy,
altogether wonderful to me.
King of all days oh so highly exalted,
glorious in heaven above.
Humbly you came to the earth you created,
all for love’s sake became poor.
So here I am to worship, here I am to bow down,
here I am to say that you’re my God,
and you’re altogether lovely, altogether worthy,
altogether wonderful to me.
And I’ll never know how much it cost
to see my sin upon that cross (x2)
So here I am to worship…
Tim Hughes
Prayers (from rootsontheweb.com)
Magnificent God,
with Mary we praise your name.
We honour your faithfulness through history;
we celebrate your presence with us today;
we trust your promises for the future
and we pray for the life-giving peace of your Son
for all the world, this Christmas and always.
God of peace and plenty,
forgive us: when we stifle the peace of Christmas
with our busyness;
when we tarnish the peace of Christmas
with our selfishness;
when we silence the peace of Christmas
with our noise;
when we put presents before your presence.
Grant us your peace.
[Take a moment of silence]
We long for peace:
Peace of heart, mind, and spirit;
peace from burdens, guilt and past mistakes.
So we thank you for your gift of peace,
given through your gracious forgiveness, loving acceptance
and the assurance of your continuing presence with us.
Amen.
Reading: Micah 5.2-5a (NIVUK)
‘But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.’
Therefore Israel will be abandoned
until the time when she who is in labour bears a son,
and the rest of his brothers return
to join the Israelites.
He will stand and shepherd his flock
in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness
will reach to the ends of the earth.
And he will be our peace
Hymn: STF187 – The Angel Gabriel from heaven came
The Angel Gabriel from heaven came,
his wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame;
‘All hail,’ said he, ‘thou lowly maiden Mary,
most highly favoured lady.’ Gloria!
‘For known a blessèd Mother thou shalt be,
all generations laud and honour thee,
thy son shall be Immanuel, by seers foretold;
most highly favoured lady.’ Gloria!
Then gentle Mary meekly bowed her head,
‘To me be as it pleaseth God,’ she said,
‘My soul shall laud and magnify his holy name:’
most highly favoured lady. Gloria!
Of her, Immanuel, the Christ was born
in Bethlehem, all on a Christmas morn,
and Christian folk throughout the world will ever say,
‘Most highly favoured lady.’ Gloria!
Sabine Baring-Gould (1834-1924)
Reading: Luke 1.39-55
Mary visits Elizabeth
At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfil his promises to her!’
Mary’s song
And Mary said:
‘My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me –
holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants for ever,
just as he promised our ancestors.’
Hymn: STF 701 – Heaven shall not wait
Heaven shall not wait for the poor to lose their patience,
the scorned to smile, the despised to find a friend:
Jesus is Lord; he has championed the unwanted;]in him injustice confronts its timely end.
Heaven shall not wait for the rich to share their fortunes,
the proud to fall, the élite to tend the least:
Jesus is Lord; he has shown the master’s privilege –
to kneel and wash servants’ feet before they feast.
Heaven shall not wait for the dawn of great ideas,
thoughts of compassion divorced from cries of pain:
Jesus is Lord; he has married word and action;
his cross and company make his purpose plain.
Heaven shall not wait for triumphant Hallelujahs,
when earth has passed and we reach another shore:
Jesus is Lord in our present imperfection;
his power and love are for now,
and then for evermore.
John L Bell (b1949) and Graham Maule (1958-2019)
Reflection
‘Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfil his promises to her!’
The fourth and final Sunday of Advent is traditionally devoted to Mary: the young girl who, when greeted by an archangel, meekly accepted the preposterous idea of her becoming the mother of God’s son. Our reading today emphasises the wildness and absurdity of the Christmas story. Despite being in a patriarchal society, Luke writes large chunks of the story to be about women and we hear their voices: the blessing of Elizabeth and the song of Mary. Arguably the three most significant points of our Christian faith – Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection – were first known about by women. At his death, it was the women who remained and stood at the foot of the cross. At his resurrection, it was women who were first to the tomb. At his birth, it was women who were told first (Joseph’s dream came after he realised his fiancé was with child).
Wild and absurd: here Luke tells us about the meeting of two marginalised, pregnant women in the hill country of Judea.
Elizabeth’s husband, of course, is mute at this time. Zechariah’s questioning of the angel’s promise had struck him dumb until John was born. I imagine that news of this would have travelled, so it is not so surprising that Mary went to visit her elderly cousin. (If an angel had come to you with a revelation that you were to give birth, would you not travel to talk with someone who had gone through something similar?) And when Mary arrives, Elizabeth is filled with joy and we have one of the greatest recognition scenes in history. Googling images of Elizabeth & Mary brings many artists’ impressions of two women united by pregnancy and laughter, filled with the Spirit of God. Even John, in uterine, leaps for joy.
Moved by the Spirit, Elizabeth pronounces a blessing on Mary. It is perhaps no surprise that Elizabeth’s blessing is both a humble worship of her God and a declaration in support of Mary’s faith. Her husband is not speaking to her (literally!), yet Mary still has a voice. Elizabeth has waited years for a child, with increasing despair; Mary is a young, unmarried girl who has accepted the Lord’s promise unconditionally.
‘Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfil his promises to her!’
I sense a shade of bitterness that her husband didn’t do the same thing… but how Elizabeth’s life must have changed after Gabriel’s promise to Zechariah. Already shunned for being barren, her husband, the priest, is no longer able to speak. He has had the highest honour – that of burning incense in the temple – and has returned unable to share his experience fully. He would no longer have been able to do his normal work, and so he and Elizabeth retreat back to the hill country, and Elizabeth nurses her pregnancy through ostracisation and silence.
Then along comes Mary: her young, lively cousin, breaking the barriers of silence and bringing the most bizarre story. Bizarre to the world, but to Elizabeth it made sense. The first promise given to Zechariah had come true (in that she was pregnant) and now she was hearing that the promise that her son would prepare the way for the Messiah was also coming true. No wonder she, and her child, leapt for joy.
‘Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfil his promises to her!’
And what about Mary?
What wonder, what joy, what delight it must have been to hear that blessing over her!
Mary turns to song. We know it as ‘The Magnificat’: Mary’s song of praise to God that she is to be the mother of God’s son, and her prophecy that he would turn the world upside down. The proud will be scattered, the powerful thrown down, the lowly lifted up, the hungry fed, the rich left empty. All this through the birth of her son, Jesus, God made Man.
‘Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfil his promises to her!’
As we travel these final days towards Christmas, let us remember the joy of these two pregnant women: the faithful love of the older woman and the simple trust of the younger. Let us journey to the stable with the lightness that allows giggles and the wonder inspired by belief. Let us walk on, even into the New Year, knowing God’s promises will be fulfilled.
To consider…
Why not write a song or prayer of ‘praise and protest’ to God? Praise for all God has done in your life, and Protest with a sure and certain hope that God will upturn all the injustices you can see. Sing it to God in faith that he will ‘fulfil all his promises’, as he did to Elizabeth and Mary two thousand years ago.
Hymn: 193 – Born in the night
Born in the night, Mary’s Child,
a long way from your home;
coming in need, Mary’s Child,
born in a borrowed room.
Clear shining light, Mary’s Child,
your face lights up our way;
light of the world, Mary’s Child,
dawn on our darkened day.
Truth of our life, Mary’s Child,
you tell us God is good;
prove it is true, Mary’s Child,
go to your cross of wood.
Hope of the world, Mary’s Child,
you’re coming soon to reign;
Saviour of all, Mary’s Child,
walk in our streets again.
Geoffrey Ainger (b.1925)
Prayers of intercession
God of love and laughter,
we bring before you our prayers for others and ourselves.
We pray for all who are facing an uncertain future.
We pray for all those who long to have children, but can’t;
and for those who find themselves pregnant unexpectedly.
We pray for the rich and powerful, that they may know their privilege and share justly.
We pray for the poor and hungry, that they may be fed and lifted up.
We pray for all those for whom the call to ‘hush the noise’ hits their lonely, silent bubble,
and who long to have more company.
We pray for all those who are travelling this weekend and over the coming days,
that their journeys may be safe
and their destinations filled with the joy and laughter of Elizabeth and Mary.
We pray for the love song of the angels to pour out over our world,
bringing its message of peace and hope and joy to all.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven; hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Hymn: 186 – Tell out my soul
Tell out my soul, the greatness of the Lord!
Unnumbered blessings, give my spirit voice;
tender to me the promise of his word;
in God my Saviour shall my heart rejoice.
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his name!
Make known his might, the deeds his arm has done;
his mercy sure, from age to age the same;
his holy name – the Lord, the Mighty One.
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his might!
Powers and dominions lay their glory by;
proud hearts and stubborn wills are put to flight,
the hungry fed, the humble lifted high.
Tell out, my soul, the glories of his word!
Firm is his promise, and his mercy sure.
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord
to children’s children, and for evermore!
Timothy Dudley-Smith (1926-2024)
Blessing:
The angels are still singing. Prophets are still speaking.
Hush the noise, hear them sing, repeat the song, seek justice.
And the blessing of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be ours, now and always. Amen
