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Welcome to the Imagination 
Redeemed podcast where we follow

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the great stories further up and
further in In Pursuit of the 

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Life of Christ. 
Hello everyone, welcome to the 

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Imagination Redeemed podcast. 
I'm one of your hosts, Sarah 

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Howell. 
And as Advent draws to an end 

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and as we look forward to the 
celebration of Christ's birth, 

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we wanted to present to you Lucy
Shaw's poem, Mary's Song as a 

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reflection. 
And it's so rich that the poem 

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doesn't need much more. 
By way of introduction Mary's 

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Song by Lucy Shaw Blue homespun 
and the bend of my breast Keep 

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warm the small hot naked star 
fall into my arms rest you who 

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have had so far to come. 
Now nearness satisfies the body 

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of God. 
Sweetly quiet he lies whose 

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vigor hurled a universe he 
sleeps, whose eyelids have not 

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closed before his breath so 
slight it seems no breath at 

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all. 
Once ruffled the dark deeps to 

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sprout a worm. 
Charmed by dove's voices, the 

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whisper of straw, he dreams, 
hearing no music from his other 

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Spears. 
Breath, mouth, ears, eyes. 

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He is curtailed who overflowed 
all skies, all years older than 

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eternity. 
Now he is new, now native to the

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Earth. 
Now native to Earth as I am 

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nailed to my poor planet, caught
that I might be free, blind in 

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my womb to know my darkness 
ended. 

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Brought to this birth, for me to
be newborn and for him to see me

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mended, I must see him torn. 
As this poem reminds us, limits 

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aren't the end of the story, 
They are an opportunity. 

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It is into the midst of our 
world's limitations that the God

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of the universe slips. 
After months of darkness in a 

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womb, God is not afraid of 
constriction. 

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Beginning on that one unique 
dark night, He instead works 

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within time and space and offers
us the invitation to participate

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with him. 
We embody godly generosity and 

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joviality as a community full of
hope, precisely in the space and

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time allotted to us, not in one 
grand gesture, but in the 

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habitual creation of 
concentrated warmth and cheer, 

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in making rich foods and hot 
drinks and telling stories and 

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lingering as we see each other 
more fully in long conversations

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by the fire. 
We're loving having this winter 

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conversation with you, and after
Christmas our winter content 

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will continue to focus on this 
theme, but we wanted to wish you

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a Merry Christmas in the 
meantime, and a few notes for 

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what the life of the Ansem 
Society is doing. 

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Looking ahead into the new Year,
there are a couple of things 

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worth drawing your attention to.
1st, if this podcast has been 

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helpful to you this year, will 
you make a year end gift to help

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us keep it going? 
You can do so at 

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anselmsociety.org. 
And 2nd, starting in mid 

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January, Brian Brown, our 
Executive Director and one of 

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the hosts of me on this podcast 
is going to be teaching a six 

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week online course on the 
Christian imagination. 

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And in that we will delve into 
the foundations of so much of 

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what we do here. 
Brian's been teaching this 

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course face to face in person in
a couple of different venues for

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years, but we have finally made 
it accessible on an online 

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format. 
So tickets are now available and

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they are going fast. 
And with that, I will leave you 

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guys with just a word of thanks.
Thank you for being with us in 

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this whole year. 
Thank you for the ways that you 

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have already helped and 
partnered with us. 

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Merry Christmas and have a happy
new Year. 

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And I'll close this out by 
reading again, and see Shaw's 

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poem, Mary's Song. 
Blue, homespun, and the bend of 

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my breast. 
Keep warm the small hot naked 

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star. 
Fall into my arms. 

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Rest you who have had so far to 
come. 

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Now nearness satisfies the body 
of God. 

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Sweetly quiet he lies whose 
vigor hurled a universe he 

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sleeps, Whose eyelids have not 
closed before his breath so 

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slight it seems no breath at 
all. 

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Once ruffled the dark deeps to 
sprout a worm. 

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Charmed by dove's voices, the 
whisper of straw, he dreams, 

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hearing no music from his other 
Spears. 

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Breath, mouth, ears, eyes. 
He is curtailed. 

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Who overflowed all skies, all 
years older than eternity. 

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Now he is new now native to 
Earth as I am nailed to my poor 

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planet, caught that I might be 
free. 

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Blind in my womb to know my 
darkness ended. 

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Brought to this birth for me to 
be newborn and for him to see me

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mended. 
I must see him torn. 

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Go in peace. 
The Imagination Redeemed podcast

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is a production of the Anselm 
Society. 

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It's easy to see this world as 
disenchanted and to give up hope

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that there's more. 
But you were made to see the 

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world with the eyes of heaven 
and to live a bountiful life 

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that participates in the life of
God, like in the great stories. 

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To help make the show possible, 
go to anselmsociety.org/podcast 

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25 and make a donation. 
The Anselm Society is a place 

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where you can come in and 
experience that beauty, joyful 

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celebration, and ancient wisdom 
and go out renewed, bringing 

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that life to your vocation, 
home, and church. 

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Learn more at anselmsociety.org 
and join us next time as we 

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pursue a renaissance of the 
Christian imagination together.