Irreverently Reverend

  Advent III 57  When the time came for Elizabeth to have her child, she gave birth to a boy.  58  Her neighbors and relatives celebrated with her because they had heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy.  59  On the eighth day, it came time to circumcise the child. They wanted to name him Zechariah because that was his father’s name.  60  But his mother replied, “No, his name will be John.” 61  They said to her, “None of your relatives have that name.”  62  Then they began gesturing to his father to see what he wanted to call him. 63  After asking for a tablet, he surprised everyone by writing, “His name is John.”  64  At that moment, Zechariah was able to speak again, and he began praising God. 65  All their neighbors were filled with awe, and everyone throughout the Judean highlands talked about what had happened.  66  All who heard about this considered it carefully. They said, “What the...

  Fourth Sunday of Advent   In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country,  40  where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.  41  When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit  42  and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.  43  And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?  44  For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy.  45  And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” 46  And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47      and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48  for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.     Sure...