Pray With Us

Dear All,

The 4th Sunday of Advent: in our Sunday liturgy there is a focus on Mary with the story of her visit to Elizabeth.  The joy of last Sunday is found again as the cousins meet – a beautiful story of encounter, of a sharing of joy, of mutuality between the two women, one older & one very young.

Each evening throughout the year in the liturgy we find Mary’s Magnificat.  Something that recurs night after night can get lost through familiarity, but if you look closely at the words they are extraordinary.  First we have a wonderful few lines of praise at the wonder of God who is doing such an extraordinary thing & great humility about being chosen by God.

Then Mary’s words upend our ‘normal’ & describe a world where God’s values have won through, the values of the Kingdom.  Let’s pray that we can be part of helping to bring this about.  Our reflections today will be around this wonderful song of Mary.

The blessing is from Sacred Weave, ‘Let the Peace of the Father’ – let us pray that we will travel nearer that peace this Christmas time.

Looking forward: We will send you a Saturday Reflection for Christmas Day & another one for New Year’s Day.  Other than that, we won’t be sending you anything & there won’t be a zoomed Evening Prayer between Christmas Day & the New Year.  In Melbourne there won’t be any ‘real life’ Evening Prayers in that week.  From 2nd January we will return to our usual programme.

With our love & prayer for you during this last week of Advent

 

 

Mary’s song focuses on God’s great works, especially his tendency to turn everything upside down. He “took notice of his lowly servant girl” when choosing a mother for the Messiah, rather than selecting a woman of prominence (1:48). The Lord “scattered the proud and haughty ones,” rather than honouring them (1:51). “He has brought down princes from their thrones, and exalted the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away with empty hands” (1:52-53). God’s kingdom inverts human structures and values, as is seen so clearly in Mary’s own experience.

Do we really take seriously what she said? If we do, then the “Magnificat” can unsettle us. Why? Because we tend to be proud and even haughty. Because, though we may not be princes (or princesses!), many of us are people with authority and we aren’t  necessarily all that humble. Moreover, we are probably not hungry. and in comparison to most people in the world, probably quite rich.

So, Mary’s song can be unnerving: it should be. It challenges us to consider our values and goals. Are we striving for the wrong things in life? How much of our life is devoted to seeking security, reputation, and power? The purpose of the “Magnificat” is not to make us feel guilty for what we have in the way of possessions or influence. Rather, it calls us to devote our lives to being, like Mary, a willing and humble servant of God. It reminds us that, like Israel, we are called to be God’s servants in the world, serving others as a reflection and extension of God’s kingdom. Mary’s song can stir in us a desire to live today for what really matters, so that God might use us for his purposes and glory.

 

 

Magnificat of Waiting

 

My soul reflects quietly on your fullness, & my spirit grows stronger in the hope of your promise, God my redeemer, because you have filled me with the knowing that you are alive within me.

Yes, day by day through the course of time, awareness of the call to blessed fulfilment increases, for you have done great things for me.  Holy is this time & patience is your gift to all who nurture the seed of your love.  You have changed my life: I was so confident in my unknowing. You have deflected my fervent thrust towards iron-clad goals, & spread before me your vision of fragile simplicity.

My longing to be a healing & reconciling person to your people is affirmed within the comings & goings of my life: my illusions of my own wholeness are mercifully revealed. You are here now in this seeming emptiness of waiting, remembering your intent, according to the promise made at the beginning of time – remembering your intent to reach through the work of my life that your fullness may be known now, in our time.

 

 

 

Mary’s song focuses on God’s great works, especially his tendency to turn everything upside down. He “took notice of his lowly servant girl” when choosing a mother for the Messiah, rather than selecting a woman of prominence (1:48). The Lord “scattered the proud and haughty ones,” rather than honouring them (1:51). “He has brought down princes from their thrones, and exalted the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away with empty hands” (1:52-53). God’s kingdom inverts human structures and values, as is seen so clearly in Mary’s own experience.

Do we really take seriously what she said? If we do, then the “Magnificat” can unsettle us. Why? Because we tend to be proud and even haughty. Because, though we may not be princes (or princesses!), many of us are people with authority and we aren’t  necessarily all that humble. Moreover, we are probably not hungry. and in comparison to most people in the world, probably quite rich.

So, Mary’s song can be unnerving: it should be. It challenges us to consider our values and goals. Are we striving for the wrong things in life? How much of our life is devoted to seeking security, reputation, and power? The purpose of the “Magnificat” is not to make us feel guilty for what we have in the way of possessions or influence. Rather, it calls us to devote our lives to being, like Mary, a willing and humble servant of God. It reminds us that, like Israel, we are called to be God’s servants in the world, serving others as a reflection and extension of God’s kingdom. Mary’s song can stir in us a desire to live today for what really matters, so that God might use us for his purposes and glory.