Love
“For
nothing will be impossible with God.”
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee
called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the
house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said,
"Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was much
perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 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. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and
the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign
over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no
end." Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a
virgin?" The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be
born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth
in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her
who was said to be barren. For nothing
will be impossible with God." Then
Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me
according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.
Luke 1:26-38
Annunciation to the Virgin Mary (detail)
PONTORMO,
Jacopo da
Fresco,
1527-1528
Chiesa
di Santa Felicità
Florence,
Italy
In response to Gabriel's
message that she would carry the Christ-child, Mary replied...
"My soul magnifies the
Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on
the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me
blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown
strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their
hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the
lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the
promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants
forever." Luke 1:46b-55
The measure
of love is to love without measure.
~ Saint
Augustine
Let the
beauty we love
be what we
do.
~ Rumi
It was
festive party week!
Art for the Mountain Community celebrated at Nancy and Eric Maule’s
home on Monday evening.
Eris
has an amazing collection of Native American art …
…
including some exquisitely fine Pre-Columbian pieces.
Eric
is also very proud of the outdoor kitchen and deck he just finished building.
He
is also a photographer and took this early morning shot in Jackson Hole,
Wyoming.
The
print is eight or ten feet long.
Lynne
Milliken, Karel Buckley
Lynne
hosted our Wednesday Breakfast Group’s party in her home.
Danna
Cuin, Sylvia Brockner
Kate
Loomiller
Laura
Mehmert
Bill
Frasier, Jack Salter
Santa
blew in to greet the Camera Club’s dinner party
at
the Tuscany Tavern Wednesday Evening.
Donna
Jack played and sang for the residents at Life Care Nursing Home on Friday.
Anne
and Mark Vickstrom entertained in their lovely home.
Sadie
Bob
and Patty Cole, Jody and Stephanie Olson
Danna
Cuin, Marsha Manning, Carolyn Alexander
Todd
Bastian, Bill Manning, Randy Sackerson
Away
in the manger …
Listen
to the mustn'ts, child.
Listen
to the don'ts.
Listen
to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts.
Listen
to the never haves, then listen close to me ...
Anything
can happen, child.
Anything
can be.
~ Shel Silverstein
December 18,
2011 Fourth Sunday of Advent
Previous OPQs may be found at:
http://www.dotjack.com/opq.htm
Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein
Agnus Day appears with the permission of www.agnusday.com
Comment
from James Wetzstein, the Agnus Day
artist:
We'd love to take credit for this terrible
riff on "Oklahoma" but we can't.
The credit is due Wm. Schmelder, a
curmudgeonly and ultimately lovable professor
at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis,
Missouri in my time there.
2 Samuel
7:1-11, 16
Luke 1:47-55
or Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26
Romans
16:25-27
Luke 1:26-38