Reflections for

Fourth Sunday of Advent, Dec 20, 2015

Micah 5:2-5a; Luke 1:46b-55 or Psalm 80:1-7; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-45, (46-55)

Poetry

For shadowment: Villanelle for the solstice

Dec 06, 2012 by Angela Alaimo O'Donnell

Here, here in the crook of the year,
the crux and fix and flux of the year
light falls long across and dear.

Here in the ruck and dreck of the year
We glean and gather grace and gear,
here, here in the crook of the year.

Here is the neckbone of the year,
its knuckle sharp, its blade sheer,
where light falls long across and dear.

Hear the matins of the year,
the chant of praise and marrow fear,
here, here in the crook of the year.

Cheer the vespers of the year,
the prayers that rise from tongue to ear
as light falls long across and dear.

Clear your mind as night draws near.
Stead your heart and shed no tear.
Here, here in the crook of the year
where light falls long across and dear.

Media

Once Upon a Time; Mirror, Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman

Sep 12, 2012 reviewed by Beth Felker Jones

Several current tales of Snow White nod at feminist critique—while leaving the old paradigms for female power and beauty intact.

From the CCblogs Network

Reading the Magnificat during Lent

Mar 01, 2012 by Julie Clawson

I’m taking a class on the Gospel of Luke this semester, and one of my assignments is to engage in an ongoing spiritual practice related to that particular Gospel. So for the entire semester I am reading the Magnificat daily. It’s a passage that I’ve been drawn to in recent years, but it has been particularly illuminating to be dwelling on it during Lent this year, since it is typically confined to the Advent season. Somehow the triumphal language of the justice that God has already accomplished fits with the modern treatment of Advent as a celebratory season. But Lent is a season of penance, which puts an entirely different spin on the text.

Living by the Word

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Luke 1:26–38; 46b–55

Dec 06, 2011 by Henry J. Langknecht

This month millions of families around the world will gather dutifully and joyfully for a traditional ritual meal. Around the edges of some of the more traditional gatherings—the ones where the chief chefs and hosts are grandparents or the age of grandparents—the siblings and cousins of the next-oldest generation will begin to talk together.

Century Blogs

Mary's grammar

Dec 22, 2010 by Julie Clawson

The final exam in my theology class surprised me. Instead of complex essay questions, there was one simple question: defend the grammar of the Magnificat.

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Revised Common Lectionary © 1992 the Consultation on Common Texts. Used by permission.