The Still Point

A Time of Meditation and Reflection

Fourth Sunday of Advent

... At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance...

 

T.S. Eliot, Burnt Norton

            Peace on each one who comes in need; 

            Peace on each one who comes in joy. 

            Peace on each one who offers prayers; 

            Peace on each one who offers song. 

            Peace of the Maker, Peace of the Son, 

            Peace of the Spirit, the Triune One.

Opening Prayer

Come, O come, Emmanuel; you are the way, the truth, and the life; Come, living Savior, come to your world which waits for you. Hear this prayer for your love’s sake. Amen.

Scripture Reading           Luke 1:46-56

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Holy One,  and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for God has looked with favor on the lowliness of God’s own womb-slave. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me,  and holy is God’s name. God’s loving-kindness is for those who fear God from generation to generation. God has shown strength with God’s own arm; God has scattered the arrogant  in the intent of their hearts. God  has brought down the powerful from their thrones,  and lifted up the lowly; God has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. God has helped God’s own child, Israel, a memorial to God's  mercy, just as God said to our mothers and fathers, to Hagar and Sarah and Abraham, their descendants forever.” And Mary remained with her for about three months and then returned to her home.

 

Poem: “Advent”                      by Charles Murphy

Out of a silence greater than all words;

Over the unspeakable, dumb,

Everlasting hills

With their muter herds;

Swifter than a blade that kills;

Mightier than a prayer;

Fairer than the dawn

When some dew yet remains unbroken;

Stronger than despair;

From the unspoken to the spoken,

While the heart rests momently;

Lovely as the half-uttered words of a child,

More delicate, more mild;

Terrible as the torn breasts of anguish

When strong wills languish:

Suddenly, dreadfully, exquisitely,

Love, death, and God shall come.                                     

Meditation

The Magnificat is the song Mary sings after her cousin Elizabeth recognizes the living Christ in the tone of Mary's voice when she greets her for a visit. Elizabeth's recognition of Jesus through Mary's voice is significant. Mary is participating in a kind of amplification of the Word of God...already, the Word of God is coming into the world, even before the child is born. Perhaps the Magnificat is one of the first ways the Word of God comes into the world, the Word dwelling in the air between Elizabeth and Mary before the "Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1).

This song isn't just any spontaneous hum from a joyful mother. It's really the first Gospel Word, preached by a woman! And what does she proclaim? That this Word is the institution of a new world order, a Beatitudes world order, a world order of love, justice and peace. In this new world, the most vulnerable people are the most favored and blessed. The poorest are the center of attention. The hungry are given the greatest feasts. And all those wealthy and greedy and power-mad whom the old world order used to favor and bless, well, they fall to the mercy of the great equalizing force of God's justice.

What is swifter than a killing blade or mightier than despair? The Word sung into being by God and amplified through Mary's Magnificat: Love Incarnate. This is the Word sung for us now, and humanity has never needed to hear it more than now. The blade, the bullet, the despair of those broken by war and poverty and inequality, these are the great forces of our world that seem as though they will engulf and devour us. But we have everything we need to resist this darkness, because know the truth of the Word, the Word that is the first and last Word of this existence, the Alpha and Omega Word, as we light the final candle of Advent - and what is its name? Love. Unconquerable, unengulfable, undevourable Love. The Love of a young girl. The Love of a newborn baby. The Love of a friend who gives his life for his friends. Let Love come.

 

Questions for Reflection

- The Word came into the world through Mary, and even before the Word was flesh, the Word was her song. What is the name of the song singing in you this season?

- Bring to mind something that is feeling difficult in your life right now. Imagine that difficulty as a line in Charles Murphy's poem. What is your difficulty's antidote? An example might be "stronger than illness". Allow yourself to feel the tug of tension in the statement you create. Then, release it to God. How does it feel to surrender your difficulty to God?

- Name five different kinds of love that you have experienced. Are these ways of loving easy? Now, name something, or someone, that is difficult to love. What kind of love would you call this? Does God love what you find difficult to love?

Prayers

We bring before God someone whom we have met or remembered today 

We bring to God someone who is hurting tonight and needs our prayer

We bring to God a troubled situation in our world 

We bring to God, silently, someone whom we find hard to forgive or trust

We bring ourselves to God that we might grow in generosity of spirit, clarity of mind, and warmth of affection

We offer our thanks to God for the blessings in our lives

We name before God those who have died.

 

Now to God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or conceive, by the power which is at work among us, be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all ages. Amen.               

Accept our thanks for all you have done, O God. Our hands were empty, and you filled them.

May Christ’s holy, healing, enabling Spirit be with us every step of the way, and be our guide as our road changes and turns, and the blessing of God our Creator, Redeemer and Giver of life be among us now and remain with us forever. Amen.

Reflections this month offered by: Kathleen Schmidt