Advent 3 (12.14.14 Sermon Audio)

Our own April Karli invites us to joy through the eyes of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Here are the quotes and links mentioned:

“The real Mary was a dangerous woman. She was dangerous to the powers that be because she predicted the powers that will be. She was dangerous to the likes of Herod and Augustus, emperor of Rome, because she claimed that her son was born to be king. Her claim meant that neither Herod nor Augustus would be king.
And, instead of sitting back hoping good things would happen for Israel, Mary turned the wheel of history to make things happen for Israel. This made Mary a dangerous woman with a mission to accomplish. As a dangerous woman, Mary threatened the fabric of the Jewish society and (however hard it might be to fathom) the Roman Empire.

Mary was a muscular, wiry woman whose eyes were aglow with a dazzling hope for justice and whose body evoked a robust confidence in the God who was about to turn the world upside down through her son.” — Scot McKnight in The Real Mary
Malala interview on The Daily Show
“Sorrow is so woven through us, so much a part of our souls, or at least any understanding of our souls that we are able to attain, that every experience is dyed with its color. This is why, even in moments of joy, part of that joy is the seams of ore that are our sorrows. They burn darkly and beautifully in the midst of joy, and they make joy the complete experience that it is. But they still burn.” — Christian Wiman in My Bright Abyss