LOVE

Fourth Sunday of Advent

 

 

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Mary's Song

Magnificat

 

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord."

[And Mary said,

"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 1:39-45 [46-55]

 

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Visitation of Mary

PONTORMO, Jacopo da

1528-1529

Pfarrkirche

Carmignano, Italy

 

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Detail

 

"Jean-Luc Nancy has written astutely of the "unnoticed" details of Pontormo's painting...The second sight to which we are recruited by Pontormo's painting of the meeting of the divinely impregnated Mary and her older cousin Elizabeth is signaled, according to Nancy, by the ecclesiastical Latin meaning of the word "visitatio." "Visitatio" denotes not merely a visitation but "a procedure for becoming aware of something, for examining and experiencing something." (Singer, 180) "The model of the embrace might have come from a slippage of meaning in the Greek word "aspasmos", which means a joyful, warm, and emphatic greeting." (from "Ground of the Image" by Jean-Luc Nancy, 2005, p. 155)

http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/diglib-fulldisplay.pl?SID=20121219585968017&code=ACT&RC=49492&Row=2

 

 

 

 

The most important thing in life

is to learn how to give out love,

and to let it come in.

~ Morrie Schwartz

 

 

 

 

Best of all, Christmas means a spirit of love,

a time when the love of God and

the love of our fellow men should prevail

over all hatred and bitterness,

a time when our thoughts and deeds

and the spirit of our lives

manifest the presence of God.

~ George F. McDougall

 

 

 

 

 

 

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From Robin Sakamoto with love.

3 1/2 hours of real concentration, but she loves it!

 

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Bunco - Linda LaGrange, Dakota, Carolyn Alexander

 

 

Mount Vernon Canyon Club

Luncheon Treat for our Bible Study Group

from Joanne Burnham

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Front: Judy Wonning, Sue Phelps, Dee Demming, Vicky Hildreth, Joanne Burnham

Back: Carolyn Alexander,  Peggy Flowers, Dianne Palmer, Laura Mehmert

 

 

Our last Rotary meeting of 2024 …

Full of fun!!!

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Our newest member led us in playing “Jingle Bells” on the kazoo!

 

 

 

25,000+ Memorial Candle Stock Photos, Pictures & Royalty-Free Images - iStock | Memorial candle black background, Jewish memorial candle, Memorial candle blue.jpeg

Remembering

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Melvin Andrew

April 10, 1928 ~ December 19, 2024

An exceptional friend and human being!

 

 

 

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

(verses 6 and 7)

 

And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said; 
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; 
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men.”

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow *

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 22, 2024 Fourth Sunday of Advent Year C

Previous OPQs may be found at: 

 

*The history behind Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HesL7K7jFbM

 

The poem, written in 1863 during the Civil War, was first set to music in 1872; more recently, Johnny Marks melody was composed in 1956.  Listen to Bing Crosby’s musical version using only verses 1, 2, 6, and 7:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMmRkimMBOE

 

      Ed Herrman with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Longfellow's Christmas:

 

2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    though you are small among the clans[a] of Judah,
out of you will come for me
    one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
    from ancient times.”

3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned
    until the time when she who is in labor bears a son,
and the rest of his brothers return
    to join the Israelites.

4 He will stand and shepherd his flock
    in the strength of the Lord,
    in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness
    will reach to the ends of the earth.

5 And he will be our peace
    when the Assyrians invade our land
    and march through our fortresses.
We will raise against them seven shepherds,
    even eight commanders,

Micah 5:2-5

 

Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein

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Agnus Day appears with the permission of www.agnusday.org

 

 

 

A Little Piece of Heaven (condensed)

by Max Lucado


How great is God's love? How can the creator of the universe care about the twists and turns of your life's journey? Ponder this thought:

...Why did He do it? Did he have to give the birds a song and the mountains a peak? Was he required to put stripes on the zebra and a hump on the camel? Would we have known the difference had he made the sunsets grey instead of orange? Why do stars have twinkles and waves snowy crests? Why dash the cardinal in red and drape the beluga whale in white? Why wrap creation in such splendor? Why go to such trouble to give such gifts?

Why do you? You do the same. I've seen you searching for a gift. I've seen you stalking the malls and walking the aisles. I'm not talking about the obligatory gifts....I'm talking about that extra-special person and that extra-special gift. Why do you do it? You do it so the eyes will pop. You do it so the heart will stop. You do it so the jaw will drop. You do it to hear those words of disbelief? "You did this for me?"

That's why you do it. And that's why God did it. Next time a sunrise steals your breath or a meadow of flowers leaves you speechless, remain that way. Say nothing and listen as heaven whispers, "Do you like it? I did it just for you."

I'm about to tell you something you may find hard to believe. You're about to hear an opinion that may stretch your imagination. You don't have to agree with me, but I would like you to consider it with me. You don't have to buy it, but at least think about it. Here it is: If you were the only person on earth, the earth would look exactly the same. The Himalayas would still have their drama and the Caribbean would still have its charm. The sun would still nestle behind the Rockies in the evening and spray light on the desert in the mornings. If you were the sole pilgrim on this globe, God would not diminish its beauty one degree.

Because He did it all for you...and He's waiting for you to discover His gift. He's waiting for you to stumble into the den, rub the sleep from your eyes, and see the bright red bike he assembled, just for you. He's waiting for your eyes to pop and your heart to stop. He's waiting for the moment between the dropping of the jaw and the leap of the heart. For in that silence he leans forward and whispers: I did it just for you.

Find such love hard to believe? That's okay. Just because we can't imagine God's giving us sunsets, don't think God doesn't do it. God's thoughts are higher than ours. God's ways are greater than ours. And sometimes, out of His great wisdom, our Father in heaven gives us a piece of heaven just to show He cares.

 

 

 

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And the angel said unto them, 
"Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, 
which shall be to all people. 
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, 
which is Christ the Lord."

 

 

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"God bless us, every one!" said Tiny Tim. 

- Charles Dickens 

 

 

 

 

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LECTIONARY

Micah 5:2–5a 

Luke 1:46–55 or Psalm 80:1–7 

Hebrews 10:5–10 

Luke 1:39–45 (46–55)