Third Sunday in Advent: Year A

Old Testament: Lectio Divina

Pray:
Christ, you are the Way.
Help me to wait patiently for your Spirit as I listen for your guidance today.

Isaiah 35:1-10 (NRSV)
35:1 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus
35:2 it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God.
35:3 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.
35:4 Say to those who are of a fearful heart, "Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you."
35:5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
35:6 then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert;
35:7 the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
35:8 A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not travel on it, but it shall be for God's people; no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray.
35:9 No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there.
35:10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Read Isaiah 35:1-10 aloud slowly, listening for the overall sense and feel of the passage.

Read Isaiah 35:1-10 aloud again, even more slowly.  As you read pause to imagine, with as much detail as you can, each and every image used in the passage.  

Read Isaiah 35:1-10 again.  This time, listen prayerfully for which image is most vivid to you.  
​To which image do you feel drawn?

Lift up that image to God in prayer.  What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this image?

Respond to God in prayer.

Take time to rest in God's love.  
You don't have to do or say anything; simply be present with God, until you feel ready to move on.  

The Magnificat: Reflection

Luke 1:46b-55 (NRSV)
1:46b "My soul magnifies the Lord, 
1:47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
1:48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
1:49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
1:50 His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
1:51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
1:52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly;
1:53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.
1:54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,
1:55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."

Questions for Reflection:
1.  Mary sings this song after receiving the frightening news from a divine messenger that she will become pregnant with Jesus, although she is not married. Yet she sings, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior."  When have you felt called by God to do something that was difficult for you?  How did you respond?  
2.  "For the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name."  For whom else does Mary's song say God has done great things?  What were these great things?
3.  What "great things" has God done in your life?  Take a moment to allow your soul to magify the Lord, and to let your spirit rejoice in God your Savior.

New Testament Reading: Visio Divina

As you read this Scripture, allow yourself to meditate on both the words and the image below.

How does this image speak to your spirit?  
What invitation is God's Spirit offering your spirit through this image and Scripture?

Gospel: Integration

Matthew 11:2-11 (NRSV)
11:2 When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples
11:3 and said to him, "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?"
11:4 Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see:
11:5 the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.
11:6 And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me."
11:7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind?
11:8 What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces.
11:9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
11:10 This is the one about whom it is written, 'See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.'
11:11 Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Song for Reflection: 
The Canticle of the Turning
by 
Rory Cooney
(Upper Room Worshipbook #16)

My soul cries out with a joyful shout that the God of my heart is great,
and my spirit sings of the wondrous things that you bring to the ones who wait.
You fixed your sight on your servant's plight, and my weakness you did not spurn,
so from east to west shall my name be blest. Could the world be about to turn?

My heart shall sing of the day you bring. Let the fires of your justice burn.
Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near, and the world is about to turn!

Though I am small, my God, my all, you work great things in me,
and your mercy will last from the depths of the past to the end of the age to be.
Your very name puts the proud to shame, and to those who would for you yearn,
you will show your might, put the strong to flight, for the world is about to turn.

My heart shall sing of the day you bring. Let the fires of your justice burn.
Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near, and the world is about to turn!

From the halls of power to the fortress tower, not a stone will be left on stone.
Let the king beware for your justice tears ev'ry tyrant from his throne.
The hungry poor shall weep no more, for the food they can never earn;
There are tables spread, ev'ry mouth be fed, for the world is about to turn.

My heart shall sing of the day you bring. Let the fires of your justice burn.
Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near, and the world is about to turn!

Though the nations rage from age to age, we remember who holds us fast:
God's mercy must deliver us from the conqueror's crushing grasp.
This saving word that out forebears heard is the promise which holds us bound,
'til the spear and rod can be crushed by God, who is turning the world around.

My heart shall sing of the day you bring. Let the fires of your justice burn.
Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near, and the world is about to turn!

Prayer

God, you are the Way in the wilderness,
a stream of Living Water in the desert,
the Song that our souls long to sing.
As wait patiently for your return,
may we never be patient with injustice.
Strengthen our weak hands;
make firm our feeble knees;
fill us with your Spirit,
and free us from our fear.
Turn our hearts and world
away from hate, and toward your love.
Amen.