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SUMMARY:Fourth Sunday in Advent\, 21st December\, Holy Eucharist 11.30am
DTSTART:20251221T113000Z
DTEND:20251221T123000Z
DTSTAMP:20260418T164429Z
UID:11393242025-12-21 11:30:00+00:00achurchnearyou
CATEGORIES:
DESCRIPTION:Today we remember the visit of the Blessed Virgin Mary\, pregn
 ant with Jesus\, to her cousin\, Elizabeth\, who was also pregnant\, with 
 John the Baptist. \n\nMary leaves her home in Nazareth immediately after t
 he Angel Gabriel has appeared to her - to give her the astonishing news th
 at she was in fact carrying the Son of the Lord Most High - and goes into 
 the hill country of Judah\, a journey of some 100km. And there she finds E
 lizabeth\, by far her senior in years\, now in her sixth month of pregnanc
 y\, And Mary stays some three months\, so probably until the birth of John
 . \n\nAnd doubtless with their both being pregnant\, Mary wants to see how
  Elizabeth is faring\, and indeed share some of her own experience. But it
  feels as if she was also just checking out\, verifying even\, what it was
  that the Angel had said to her…..just making sure that this was somethi
 ng real. God speaks clearly\, very clearly\, but we don’t always hear cl
 early\, as our own hesitations and our anxieties can sometimes get in the 
 way.\n\nI never bought into the story that Mary was this meek and mild lit
 tle servant of the Lord\, all ‘doing thy will’ and a bit too pious for
  this world. No\, this was a girl with some spirit\, but a girl with doubt
 s\, anxieties\, looking for reassurance - so a very ordinary teenager. In 
 fact the most extraordinary thing about her was her very ordinariness – 
 and yet\, that she got up off the sofa\, she steps up to what is required 
 of her\, and she does something amazing.\n\nOurs is a God who chooses to w
 ork through the ordinary\, who trusts every step of his plan\, of his miss
 ion\, of his Word\, to people – actually people like us\, with our hesit
 ations\, our concerns\, our busy-ness\, and our lack of confidence. That i
 s why the young Mary is such a strong confidant and role model for so many
  people. And it is also our assurance that the God who comes into our worl
 d in the baby Jesus is a God for everyone - not just the posh\, the wealth
 y or the righteous!\n\nClick 'More Info' below to see a recitation of Rowa
 n Williams 'Advent Calendar'
LOCATION:St George's Church\, Málaga
URL:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQBPBhQCsxE
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