the 4th sunday of advent
the PRAYER …
Stir up your power, Lord Christ, and come. With your abundant grace and might, free us from the sin that would obstruct your mercy, that willingly we may bear your redeeming love to all the world, for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
the READING …
The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.”
the DEVOTION …
There’s been a lot of hype, lately, about a – so called – Christmas star! (I know! I’ve been doing some of it, myself!) Frankly, it’s one of those “Age of Aquarius” things. Moon in the seventh house. Jupiter aligning with Mars. In this case, it’s Jupiter aligning with Saturn. And there are some – me included – who think it’s something like this that “led” the magi to Bethlehem. You see, Jupiter, Saturn, and Earth all orbit the same sun. And every now and again, things like this happen. Jupiter’s and Saturn’s paths cross and it looks like, for a moment, they touch. It’s called a conjunction. And it happens all the time!
It might not happen often. Last time was eight hundred years ago. But it’s not magic. And it’s not a miracle or a mystery. It’s regular, routine. All you have to do is wait and watch. If it doesn’t happen in your lifetime … or, even, in several lifetimes … you can be sure it will, eventually, happen in someone’s lifetime. But the thing that struck me is that god never “shows off.” God doesn’t have anything to prove. God never does anything, simply, to wow us! God’s more confident, more unassuming. Instead, god uses the natural, the ordinary. Like when one planet passes another. Or when a young girl conceives and bears a son! God doesn’t just crumple up creation and toss it aside. God steps into it and makes it god’s own! Makes it god’s own forever!