My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
For he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
The Almighty has done great things for me,
And holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
In every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
He has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
And has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel,
For he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers,
To Abraham and his children forever.
Canticle 15, Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55)

The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Today we remember the visitation of the Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth. Mary is an enigmatic figure in the Episcopal Church. Some who are on the more Anglo-Catholic way are deeply devoted to Mary, remembering her as Theotokos, God-bearer, a specially chosen vessel for the greatest gift to mankind. Others on a more Protestant path may look at Marian devotion a bit suspiciously, part of the cult of the saints that the Protestant reformation did away with.

Mary is, first of all, a prime example of obedience and willingness to do God’s will at any cost. I also see in Mary a woman who was not afraid to ask questions, to ponder what was said to her, and come to considered conclusions. She had no problem asking Gabriel, “How can this be?” She did not seem intimidated at the presence of an angelic being, but desired clarity. She shows us that we, too, can ask questions of God.

Mary is also a symbol of joy in difficult circumstances. As an unmarried pregnant Jewish woman, she had nothing positive to look toward according to her culture’s standards – either Joseph, her betrothed, would put her away and she would spend her life in isolation, or she would be stoned. Yet she believed the promise of God and in the midst of what could have been very frightening, and she rejoiced at the role she had been given. “My soul praises the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…” She recognized the greatness to which she had been called, and was willing to undergo whatever was necessary for God’s purposes to be accomplished in her life.

When Mary and Elizabeth greeted one another, even the unborn John the Baptist rejoiced at the coming of the Christ. Through their bonds of friendship and support, Mary and Elizabeth model to us the strength of deep and abiding relationship with our brothers and sisters.

Finally, Mary, Theotokos, God-bearer, reminds us that we, too have been called to be God-bearers – to carry the message of the good news of Jesus Christ in both words and action to our church family, our communities, and this broken world.

Collect for the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin:

Father in heaven, by your grace the Virgin Mother of your Incarnate Son was blessed in bearing him, but still more blessed in keeping your word: Grant us who honor the exaltation of her lowliness to follow the example of her devotion to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. AMEN

Debra’s Midweek Meditation
"When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.

Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability." Acts 2:1-4

There is a lot to be said about fire and the spiritual life.
We feel the heat of fire right through the Old and the New Testaments, but nowhere is it as hot as the scene of Pentecost. These tongues of flame hit the disciples and move them to prophecy and a whole new way of making and being church.

How do we hear this story in 2006, I wonder?
Is it too dramatic for belief-a one-time only occurrence--or are we waiting for the tongues of flame to land on us so that we might speak in tongues and prophecy about the kingdom?

The Pentecostal flame still burns bright in the church. We hear the stories of the faith and the Spirit is still translating them into language we can understand.

For us, perhaps, the idea of spiritual fire is more akin to a sunset reflecting off water or a candle burning in the darkness.

"There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it."
(Edith Wharton)

If the candle is the fire of the Spirit then how will we become clear enough, calm enough, transparent enough to reflect what we experience?

We must stand in the fire long enough to be warmed by it, and then take that warmth with us into the world.

Stand and take.
Absorb and share.
Be warmed and then warm others.

Blessings, Debra

It just had to be you, God. Too much doesn’t make
Sense.
And yet everything makes sense.
Everything feels out of kilter. And yet everything is in
Divine order.
It just has to be you, God.
The only way to know for sure is to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
I won’t know standing in the same place.
Hmmmm…I wonder what’s on this path. I believe
I’ll follow it and see where it leads me.
- Renita J. Weems

Daily Morning Prayer
http://www.episcopalchurchingarrettcounty.org/morning_prayer.htm

This week at St. James
Friday: LAX Splash on all five fields
Saturday: LAX Splash; 11:00 Baptismal Prep
Sunday: Baptisms at 10:15; Commissioning of Vestry and Community Leaders; 11:45 Confirmation Lunch and Rehearsal
Monday 10:00 Narnia Book Study; Academy Field Day
Tuesday 6:00 Confirmation/Reception candidates meet with Bishop Rabb; 7:00 Confirmation Liturgy
Wednesday 8:30 Healing Eucharist; 8:40 SJA Graduation Rehearsal; 1:30 SJA Moving Up Day; Graduation Dance

Prayers, Etc.

For our eighth grade graduates, high school graduates, and those graduating from college.

For Art and Erica Callaham, as they make their transition to be our newest clergy family at St. James

For those who are deployed and their families.

For those about to be confirmed.

For those on our prayer list:
Dot; Sue; Lori; Bill; Sarah; Joel
Toni; Anna; Lelia; Philip; David
Leib and Carlyn; Lovisah

O God of peace, who has taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and in confidence shall be our strength: By the might of your Spirit, lift us, we pray, to your presence, where we may be still and know that you are God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN

In Closing:

Holy Virgin Mary,

There is no one like you born in the world
Among women,
Daughter and Handmaid of the most high,
Sovereign King, the heavenly father,
Mother of our most holy Lord Jesus Christ,
Spouse of the Holy Spirit.
Pray for us
With St. Michael the archangel
And with all the powers of the heavens
And with all the saints
Together with your most holy beloved Son,
Lord and teacher.

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning is now, and will be forever. AMEN
(Office of the Passion of St. Francis of Assisi)

Pax et Bonum,
Loree+

<- Back to Parish News