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Rejoicing with the Prophets Marci Alborghetti LITURGICAL PRESS Collegeville, Minnesota www.litpress.org
Marci Alborghetti is the author of 18 books published internationally. Her most recent titles include The Miracle of the Myrrh and The Christmas Glass. She and her husband, Charlie Duffy, divide their time between New London, Connecticut, and Oakland, California, where they are members of an African American Catholic Church, Saint Columba. She is also a contributor to Daily Guideposts. Cover design by Stefan Killen Design. Cover photo Thinkstock. Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition 1989, 1993, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. 2013 by Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, microfilm, microfiche, mechanical recording, photocopying, translation, or by any other means, known or yet unknown, for any purpose except brief quotations in reviews, without the previous written permission of Liturgical Press, Saint John s Abbey, PO Box 7500, Collegeville, Minnesota 56321-7500. Printed in the United States of America. ISBN: 978-0-8146-3851-4
Contents December 1 O Come, O Come, Immanuel 6 December 2 Prophet of Repentance 8 December 3 David s Covenant with His Ancestor 10 December 4 Angelic Prophet 12 December 5 Mothers and Sons 14 December 6 Beneficent Benedictus 16 December 7 O Little Town of Bethlehem 18 December 8 Not-So-Dumb Animals 20 December 9 The Prophet s Prophet 22 December 10 Prince of Peace 24 December 11 A New Day Coming 26 December 12 Fulfillment 28 December 13 Leveling the Playing Field 30 December 14 A Messiah for All People 32 December 15 The Spirited Servant 34 December 16 The Egyptian Connection 36 December 17 Dawn in the Hinterlands 38 December 18 Martyred Prophet 40 December 19 King David Bows to the King of Kings 42 December 20 Serving the Shepherd 44 December 21 Unimaginable Image 46 December 22 The Tough Love Prophet 48 December 23 The Magnificent, Marvelous Cornerstone 50 December 24 Tender Comfort, Ransomed Messiah 52
December 1 O Come, O Come, Immanuel Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel [God with us]. (Isa 7:14) When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce that she would conceive and bear Jesus, we are not surprised when she questions how this will happen. She s a virgin. It s a logical question. But what about the question Mary doesn t ask? She is not at all perplexed by Gabriel calling Jesus the Son of the Most High, to whom the Lord God will give the throne of David forever. Wouldn t this be as confounding as the idea of a pregnant virgin? Not for Mary, or any other good Jew who, like their parents and their parents unto many ancestral generations, had been eagerly anticipating the Messiah. All of the Jewish prophets, including Samuel, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and many of the lesser known prophets, had written and talked about the coming of the Messiah. Waiting for the Messiah to come and free Israel from 6
December 1 7 its physical and spiritual bonds was part of Jewish life. Of all the prophets who predicted Jesus, Isaiah was perhaps the most eloquent, and he remains the most quoted among Christians. His words about the Messiah are incorporated into prayers, Advent Scripture readings, and even Christmas carols and hymns. Though Mary may have been surprised to learn she would be the holy vessel through which God s promise to his people would be fulfilled, she was not surprised by the advent of the Messiah. Mary was well aware of God s promise. As we anticipate Christmas, are we? PRAY: Mary, as I prepare myself to celebrate Jesus birthday from my own perspective, help me to remember that his birth was the culmination of history for all God s people.