Above: Icon of the Magnificat
Image in the Public Domain
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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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Micah 5:1-5
Luke 1:46-56
Hebrews 10:5-10
Luke 1:39-45
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The Fourth Sunday of Advent is, appropriately, a time to focus on the Messiah. As I wrote in the previous post, Zephaniah 3:14-20 is not a messianic prophecy. Micah 5:105 is, however.
The Magnificat is a beautiful and a familiar text. Perhaps the main problem one has when reading a familiar text is going on autopilot. I challenge you, O reader, as much as I challenge myself, to resist that temptation. Read the Magnificat again, with eyes as fresh as possible. Consider the theme of reversal of fortune; that theme is prominent in the Gospel of Luke. Does that portrayal of God make you uncomfortable? Does it challenge any of your values?
The Magnificat is one of the texts that remind me of an observation I read on the back of a church bulletin years ago:
The purpose of the Gospel is to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable.
That description applies to the Gospel of Luke.
Then turn with me, O reader, to Hebrews 10:5-10, usually a text for Good Friday. One may recall that the Passion Chorale is present in the Christmas Oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach. Reading Hebrews 10:5-10 on this Sunday and hearing Hans Leo Hassler‘s Passion Chorale in the Season of Christmas reminds us of why the Incarnation occurred.
That becomes very uncomfortable quite quickly. If we find it uncomfortable, we need to consider how Jesus felt on the cross.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 11, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JOHN SWERTNER, DUTCH-GERMAN MORAVIAN MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, HYMN TRANSLATOR, AND HYMNAL EDITOR; AND HIS COLLABORATOR, JOHN MUELLER, GERMAN-ENGLISH MORAVIAN MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMNAL EDITOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT AENGUS THE CULDEE, HERMIT AND MONK; AND SAINT MAELRUAN, ABBOT
THE FEAST OF SAINT EULOGIUS OF SPAIN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF TOLEDO, CORDOBA; AND SAINT LEOCRITA; ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS, 859
THE FEAST OF FRANCIS WAYLAND, U.S. BAPTIST MINISTER, EDUCATOR, AND SOCIAL REFORMER
THE FEAST OF SAINT PAL PRENNUSHI, ALBANIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1948
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Adapted from this post:
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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