Angel
of Truth Giving Freedom and Liberty to the Slave *
Joy
Third Sunday of Advent
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.”
And Mary remained with her about
three months and then returned to her home.
Luke 1:46b-55
The Visitation of Mary and Elizabeth
(Windsock
Visitation, 1955)
McGRATH,
Mickey
Visitation
Monastery of Minneapolis
Minneapolis,
Minnesota
United
States
This image of the Visitation of Mary and Elizabeth was commissioned for the Monastery of the Visitation in north Minneapolis, a group of monastic sisters very near and dear to my heart. In what has become a well-known neighborhood tradition, the sisters hang a windsock outside their house every other day of the week as a signal to the neighborhood children that they can come in and enjoy after-school activities. They read and paint. They pray and have fun. The sisters celebrate birthdays with the kids and walk through hard times with them as well. The spirit of the first Visitation, where Jesus was so lovingly shared between two kinswomen, is very much alive today and is the inspiration for this painting.
Mary, dressed in gold because she is the woman clothed with the sun, also wears a cape with green stars and blue crosses, which symbolize Bethlehem and Calvary. She is a little fearful of the news she has recently received herself, that she was pregnant with God’s child. But Luke tells us that she put her fears aside to be with her cousin Elizabeth and help her in her own miraculous pregnancy. Elizabeth’s bright and welcoming smile assures Mary, and us, that in God’s plans, everything always works out for the best. The tops of their halos form a heart which meets at the bottom in the wombs of the two women. The fluttering windsock behind them reminds us of the wind of the Holy Spirit, ever fresh, ever new.
SONG: “Jina la Bwana:
An African Magnificat” by
Steven C. Warner, 1995
Performed by the University of Notre Dame Folk Choir, on Prophets of Joy (1996)
The Swahili refrain, “Jina la Bwana ni takatifu,” translates
as “The name of the Lord is holy.”
Listen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwBtlawLb6w&feature=emb_logo
The joy we feel has
little to do
with the
circumstances of our lives
and everything to do
with the focus of our
lives.
~ Russel M. Nelson
The greatest
difference between people
is in what they
anticipate.
~ Kenneth Lamb
Sondra
Kellogg, Kimra Perkins, and I enjoyed a zoom chat last Sunday.
Sondra
was brave and learned how to set up a zoom meeting
for
some (Sondra, Karla Byrd, and me) of our Chew and Chat members on Tuesday.
Dolly Parton’s
Imagination Library
"The Library That Dolly Built: Celebrating the People Who Made
Dolly's Dream Come True”.
A feature-length documentary covering the history,
impact, and future of Dolly Parton’s
Imagination Library aired this week.
YOU CAN STILL WATCH IT!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHCMtr-K888
Our own Rotary Club of Evergreen and our fellow
mountain Rotary Clubs have been a big part
in bringing Dolly's dream to our mountain foothills
community. With our sponsorship,
more than 350 children in our area receive a book
addressed to them every
month from birth until they reach the age of five.
One
of my favorite quotes from Dolly is,
“It
takes a lot of money to look this cheap!"
Jim
Kreider shared a picture of himself in beautiful downtown Evergreen!
Our
speaker at Rotary was our own Casey Sacks.
At the moment, Casey is
the Deputy Assistant Secretary at the US Department of Education.
Casey
shared the results of our club’s visioning survey.
It’s
beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
There is no value in
life except
what you choose to
place upon it,
and no happiness in
any place
except what you bring
to it yourself.
~ Lin Yutang **
December 13, 2020 Third Sunday of Advent Year B
Previous OPQs may be found at:
* Guérin, Jules
Vallée, 1866-1946
1922
Lincoln
Memorial
Washington,
DC
United States
|
Notes: |
The decoration above the Gettysburg address in the central group
typifies Freedom and Liberty. The Angel of Truth is giving Freedom and
Liberty to the slave. The shackles of bondage are falling from the arms and
feet. They are guarded by two sibyls. The group to the left represents
Justice and Law. The central figure in the Chair of Law has the Sword of
Justice in one hand; with the other she holds the Scroll of the Law. Seated
at her feet are two sibyls who are interpreting the Law. The standing figures
on each side are the Guardians of the Law, holding the torches of
intelligence. The group to the right represents Immortality. The central
figure is being crowned with the laurel wreath of Immortality. The standing
figures are Faith, Hope, and Charity. On either side are the vessels of wine
and oil, the symbols of Everlasting Life. [from Flickr] |
** Often misattributed
to Henry David Thoreau … or vice versa
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a
witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He
himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.
This is the testimony given by John
when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are
you?” He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.”
And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you
the prophet?” He answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Who are you? Let us
have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” He said,
“I am the voice of one crying out in
the wilderness,
‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’
”
as the prophet Isaiah said.
Now they had been sent from the
Pharisees. They asked him, “Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the
Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” John answered them, “I baptize with
water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after
me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.” This took place in
Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
John 1:6-8, 19-28
Agnus
Day, by James Wetzsteinaa
Agnus
Day appears with the permission of www.agnusday.org
For the Lord GOD will cause
righteousness and praise to
spring up before all the nations.
~
Isaiah 61:11b
Wall of Praise at Thanksgiving Square
Mosaicist: Atelier Mosaico Veneziano
Mosaic
1996
Dallas, Texas
United States
|
Notes: |
The park, designed by architect Philip Johnson, was dedicated in
1976 to promote the concept of giving thanks as a universal, human value. The
Wall of Praise features a portion of the text from Psalms 100 and a mosaic based
on Norman Rockwell's "The Golden Rule." |
Isaiah
61:1-4, 8-11
Psalm
126 or Luke 1:46b-55
1
Thessalonians 5:16-24
John
1:6-8, 19-28
Isaiah
61:1-4, 8-11
The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the
brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the LORD, to display his glory.
They shall build up the ancient ruins,
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.
For I the LORD love justice,
I hate robbery and wrongdoing;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
Their descendants shall be known among the nations,
and their offspring among the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge
that they are a people whom the LORD has blessed.
I will greatly rejoice in the LORD,
my whole being shall exult in my God;
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise
to spring up before all the nations.
Psalm
126
When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us,
and we rejoiced.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the watercourses in the Negeb.
May those who sow in tears
reap with shouts of joy.
Those who go out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
carrying their sheaves.
Luke
1:46b-55
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.”
And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
1
Thessalonians 5:16-24
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do
not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is
good; abstain from every form of evil.
May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and
soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.
John
1:6-8, 19-28
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to
testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not
the light, but he came to testify to the light.
This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from
Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed and did not deny it, but
confessed, “I am not the Messiah.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you
Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” Then
they said to him, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us.
What do you say about yourself?” He said,
“I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ ”
as the prophet Isaiah said.
Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, “Why then are you
baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” John
answered them, “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not
know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his
sandal.” This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.