For the fourth Sunday in Advent, Rev. Cari tackles the thorny question of the “virgin conception” head-on. The texts are Isaiah 7:10-16, and Matthew 1:18-23, and after opening by singing part of a “recitative” from Handel’s Messiah, she launches right in.

At issue is the Hebrew word ‘almah, which gets translated into the Koine Greek word parthenos which finally lands in English as virgin. Also at issue is the context and world-view of the people “receiving” this meaningful vocabulary, and the theology it carries, along the centuries.

In the end, Cari quotes a poem by Steve Garnas-Holmes, which invites us to embrace even the uncertainties of our lives, in trust that God is indeed with us.