Holy Communion for the fourth Sunday of Advent: celebrant the Revd Tola Badejo.
Junior Church takes place at the same time in the hall.

First reading: Hebrews 10. 5-10
Gospel: Luke 1. 39-55

Both of today's readings emphasise the way Jesus turns the world upside down. The first reading begins part way through Paul's explanation of the unique nature of Christ's sacrifice of himself: he has just stated that 'It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins', and he goes on to explain how the words of Psalm 40, where the psalmist recognises that God does not want animal sacrifices, relate to Jesus. It takes some imagination to appreciate that Paul, like Jesus, was telling devout and observant Jews that the way they expressed their faith was mistaken; that they had placed the form of their rituals before the meaning the rituals were intended to convey.

In the Gospel, Mary visits her older cousin Elizabeth, who herself is pregnant with John the Baptist. The painting above by Fra Angelico clearly shows Elizabeth as an elderly woman whose late pregnancy is a miraculous answer to prayer, and it captures a moment of intimacy between Maty and Elizabeth, both of whom now know they have a crucial role in God's plan. The second half of the reading has become known as the Magnificat (after its opening word in Latin); it is Mary's hymn of praise and thanksgiving, in which she finds different ways of contrasting God's values with the worldly values we easily come to accept. On the one hand, the readings are inspiring and reassuring; on the other, they both challenge us to examine our own priorities and prejudices.