CW* Trinity 1 - The Visitation

1 Samuel 2:1–10 (NRSVue)

Hannah prayed and said,

“My heart exults in the Lord;

my strength is exalted in my God.

My mouth derides my enemies

because I rejoice in your victory.

There is no Holy One like the Lord,

no one besides you;

there is no Rock like our God.

Talk no more so very proudly;

let not arrogance come from your mouth,

for the Lord is a God of knowledge,

and by him actions are weighed.

The bows of the mighty are broken,

but the feeble gird on strength.

Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,

but those who were hungry are fat with spoil.

The barren has borne seven,

but she who has many children is forlorn.

The Lord kills and brings to life;

he brings down to Sheol and raises up.

The Lord makes poor and makes rich;

he brings low; he also exalts.

He raises up the poor from the dust;

he lifts the needy from the ash heap

to make them sit with princes

and inherit a seat of honor.

For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,

and on them he has set the world.

He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,

but the wicked will perish in darkness,

for not by might does one prevail.

The Lord! His adversaries will be shattered;

the Most High will thunder in heaven.

The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;

he will give strength to his king

and exalt the power of his anointed.”

Romans 12:9–16 (NRSVue)

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil; hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal; be ardent in spirit; serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; pursue hospitality to strangers.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be arrogant, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are.

Luke 1:39–49 (NRSVue)

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 lowly state 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;

My Soul magnifies the Lord.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Exodus 40:34–35 (NRSVue)

Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

Tension - Gen. walking in the garden; fall & slavery; out of slavery.

Beginning of the Gospel is the angel’s annunciation to Mary, “Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee.” And Mary’s response, “Be it done unto me according to thy word.” Mary then described in the same language as the tabernacle.

The figure of Mary, who is full of grace, is then what happens when the levitical sacrificial system is fullilled. The system which allowed God to come and dwell in his creation. To tabernacle with his people.

What does this say about the sacrifical system? What does this say about sacrifice? What sacrifice is? What sacrifice acheives and how it acheives it? Is sacrifice something transactional or something relational? Is sacrifice something which satisfies justice or is it something which satisfies a broken heart?

In the words of the famous philosopher, Elton John, “It's a human sign, When things go wrong, It's no sacrifice, No sacrifice at all.” In order for relation to be restored there often has to be a sacrifice of some kind. A giving up of something in us. Power structures.

Catholic catechism.

Very different to the evangelical understanding of sacrifice. Mary as model in paradigm shift, soul magnifies the Lord.

My experience at Mary Mags.

In seeing Jesus, we see the end of the story of God and Israel and we understand that story better. In seeing Mary, we see the end of the story of Jesus and the world and we understand that story better.

What Jesus has acheived historic box tick which we trust or way of being which we imitate. Love God and love each other.

East facing/West facing (take out if not enough time).

Visits Elizabeth and John kicks; like us in this world?

Angelus. The beginning of the Gospel.

Carry the embryo of Jesus around with us, our souls sharing in the groaning of creation, waiting on the children of God to be born. Share what’s inside with the world so that they, like Elizabeth, might feel that kick inside them of something unseen and that, when we do fully behold Jesus, we too, with John, can say, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.”

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.