(Mic.5:1-4 or Rm.8:28-30; Ps.13:6,Is.61:9; Mt.1:1-16,18-23 Note: I shall treat of both first readings) "It is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived this child." "God is with us," brothers and sisters, and how has He chosen to come among us but through a woman, but through a virgin found with child? And this Virgin daughter of Israel from "Bethlehem-Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah" – she the humblest of the chosen people, the meekest servant of our race – has been thus greatly blessed "according to His decree," for she is the first whom God "predestined to share the image of His Son." She is the first of Christians prepared and called by the Lord, and now "in turn glorified" in His presence. It is her birth, it is her role in our salvation we celebrate today, for by her complicity with the will of God "now His greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth; He shall be peace." The fact that "God makes all things work together for the good of those who have been called" is evident both in the situation of Mary's life as Mother of the Lord and in the very fact of her call itself. First of all, God chooses this woman, this humble creature of the chosen race of His most humble creation to participate with Him in bringing His Son and His salvation into the world. The lengthy genealogy at the start of our gospel also bears witness to the very human nature of Jesus, whose "family record" can indeed be traced so precisely, and among whose ancestors are many who were far less perfect than He – including a prostitute, an adulterer, and evil kings. God chooses to come through man, through a woman, to make quite real His redemptive power over the sins of our race, to put flesh to the eternal Word of the Father. And in the particular situations of Mary's life, we see how difficulties, how "bitterness," if you will, is turned to sweetness, too, for we note that Joseph was prepared to divorce his yet-to-be wife when found with child, and we know that the prophet tells us a sword shall pierce her heart as well as her Son's; but that notwithstanding, and indeed through that cross she bears with Him, she shall find the glorification promised all children of the Most High. She certainly shares now in the fruits of His redemption. And we also share in these same fruits, brothers and sisters. We are likewise predestined and called and justified and glorified if we make ourselves as obedient as our Mother in the faith. He "whose origin is from of old" is with us now, too, and so we should "sing of the Lord, 'He has been good to me'" as we "rejoice in [His] salvation" at work within us, a salvation whose coming was prepared in the birth of the Immaculate Virgin Mary and by the power of the Holy Spirit brought to us through she who shares our own flesh. Written, read & chanted by James Kurt; produced by Carie Fortney. Muisc by Carie Fortney; used by permission. ******* O LORD, through the Blessed Virgin Mary you have sent your only Son to save us from our sins – may He be always with us. YHWH, your Son has come among us through the Virgin Mary, to be with us and save us from our sins. May we welcome Him into our lives as has Mary, as has Joseph, and so find ourselves led to glory with you. In you do we trust; let us sing of your salvation. So humbly Jesus has come to us, through a humble virgin, a child called by you to share His image, to encompass Him with devotion that she might bear Him to us – and He has allowed Himself to be made so humble, to be found in her womb as a child of our race. He has come to this place, O LORD, as the leaven of peace and truth that the darkness which surrounds us might be dispelled by His majestic presence. O let His glory reach to the ends of the earth! By the Holy Spirit, Mary has conceived and served to bring Christ to us. Prepare us, O LORD, as you have prepared her to fulfill your Word among us.