4th
Advent
Luke 1: 26-38
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| Martin Schongauer |
During the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town in
Galilee called Nazareth to a maiden engaged to a man named Joseph of the
descendants of David, and the maiden’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was confused at those words and wondered what kind of greeting
this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have
found favor with God.
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall
call him Jesus.
He will be great, and will be called the Son of the most High,
And the Lord your God will give him the Throne of David your father.
And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever;
And his kingdom will have no end. “
And Mary said to the angel, “How can this be since I have never known a man?”
And the angel answered and said to her,
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| Fra Angelico |
“The Holy Spirit will come upon
you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason, the holy
offspring shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your kinswoman
Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For no word
is spoken in the worlds of the spirit that does not have the power to become reality on earth."
And Mary said, “Behold, I am the Lord’s handmaid; may it be to me according to your word. “And the angel departed from her.
4th Advent
December 22, 2019
Luke 1:26-38
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| Sulamith Wulfing |
Besides our earthly mother and father, we each have another
set of parents. Our other mother is the earth. From her substance, we have built
the house of our body. And we have a ‘sky father’ who has sent our spirits down
to be housed in the body. And to accompany us, the Father has sent with us a
constant companion. This companion, who is ever with us, who is ever awake,
ever inspiring us, suggesting, whispering to us, is our own angel.
This angelic companion has been with us forever. It carries
the book of our life, with the arc of the storyline we were asked to write, its
chapters our many lifetimes, both past and future. Our angel is our guide and
companion; it has joined its own destiny inextricably to ours.
Not all of us have as dramatic an angelic encounter as Mary
does in the gospel reading. Nevertheless, Gabriel’s words are echoed by our own
angel, who whispers to us: ‘The Lord is with you! The Holy Spirit will come
upon you.’ Luke 1:28
and 35
Our community also has its own angel. It, too, announces to
us that the healing spirit will come upon us. It is up to us, like the Mary-Soul, to
create the inner quiet, the moments of openness. It is up to us to awaken, to
listen, to notice, so that it can indeed happen. ‘For, as Luke says, ‘no word
is spoken in the world of the spirit that does not have the power to become
reality on earth.’ Luke
1:37
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| Tissot |
And the poet Rose
Auslander says:
The angel in you
Rejoices over
Your light
Weeps over your darkness
Out of his wings whisper
Words of love
Poems, tender affection
He watches over
your path
Direct your step
Angelwards.*
