Joy
Rejoice in the Lord
[In response to Gabriel’s message that she
would carry the Christ-child …]
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 for ever.”
Luke 1:46-55
Annunciation to the Virgin Mary (detail)
PONTORMO, Jacopo da
1527-1528
Fresco
Chiesa di Santa Felicita
Florence, Italy
On the wall to the right of
the Deposition, Pontormo frescoed an Annunciation scene. As with the Deposition [see
article], the artist’s primary
attention is on the figures themselves rather than their setting. Placed
against white walls, the Angel Gabriel and Virgin Mary are presented in an environment that is
so simplified as to almost seem stark. The fictive architectural details above
each of them, are painted to resemble the gray stone pietra serena that
adorns the interior of Santa Felicità, thus uniting their painted space with
the viewer's actual space. The startling contrast between the figures and
ground makes their brilliant garments almost seem to glow in the light of the
window between them, against the stripped-down background, as if the couple
miraculously appeared in an extension of the chapel wall.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontormo
We are all meant to be mothers of God.
What good is it to me if this eternal birth
of the divine Son takes place unceasingly
but does not take place within myself?
And, what good is it to me if Mary is full of
grace
if I am not also full of grace?
What good is it to me for the Creator
to give birth to his Son
if I do not also give birth to Him
in my time and my culture?
Then, then, is the fullness of time:
When the Son of God is begotten in us.
~ Meister Eckhart
Holiday Dine Around Party at the Ungers last Sunday evening,
December 7th.
Christmas Lunch with Nancy Priest on Tuesday, December 9, 2014.
Max and Ambrose
Nancy arranged for us to take a very interesting field trip to
The Logan School for Creative Learning
where her young neighbor, Max, attends school.
Jeanne Gibbard and I saw “She Loves Me” at the Arvada
Center on Wednesday.
We enjoyed our time together, but we were not wild about the
show.
Steve Sumner, Executive Director, and Ruth Morehouse,
President-elect, at the
CAE Thank You Party Wednesday evening.
Our Chew and Chat group (minus Jackie) met for lunch on
Thursday.
Carolyn Alexander, Vicki Hall, Sondra Kellogg, Kay Owen, Karla
Byrd
At Rotary on Friday morning, about 20 members of the Evergreen
Chorale
entertained us with Holiday magic.
Rosalie, in our Memories in the Making class at Life Care Center
of Evergreen
Spares and Pairs was at Larry and Marianne Loritz’s home on
Friday evening.
I was very polite and did not take this “White
Elephant” away from Vicki Kyle.
I did, however, try to take this away from Marjori Clinton
but her husband, in turn, took it away from me.
There is no ideal Christmas; only the one
Christmas you decide to make
as a reflection of your values, desires,
affections, traditions.
- Bill McKibben
December 14, 2014 Third Sunday of Advent
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
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.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein
John 1:6-8, 19-28
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
Agnus Day appears with the
permission of www.agnusday.org
The Isenheim Altarpiece (detail from first view)
GRÜNEWALD, Matthias
1515
oil on wood
Musée d’Unterlinden, Colmar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isenheim_Altarpiece
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
Psalm 126 or Luke
1:46-55
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
John 1:6-8, 19-28