People's Prayers

Monday, December 16, 2024

Prayers of the People: In the Shelter of Shaddai ~ 4th Sunday of Advent '24 WLC* Yr C

For Sunday, December 22, 2024, Readings: Exodus 20:1-21, Psalm 91, Romans 8:14-25, Luke 1:46-56

For in six days the CREATOR OF ALL made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them; and God rested the on the seventh day; therefore the EVER-LIVING GOD blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it. [Exodus 20:11]

She who settles in the shelter of the Most High, who stays in the shadow of Shaddai [at her breast]: She will say to the SHELTERING GOD, “My refuge and my stronghold; my God, in her I trust.” [Psalm 91:1-3]

It is that same Spirit who bears witness with our spirit that we are daughters and sons of God. 17 And if daughters and sons, then heirs, heirs of God and heirs with Christ, if it is true that we suffer with Christ so that we may also be glorified with Christ… For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. [Romans:16-17, 24-25]

“My soul magnifies the Holy One, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for God has looked with favor on the lowliness of God’s own womb-slave. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is God’s name. [Luke 1:46-49]

With her expansive titles for God, especially in this excerpt from Exodus, Dr. Gafney gives us, as always, a continuing fresh opportunity to reflect on our non-limited God. Her womanist translation of Psalm 91 is likely a significant challenge to very many readers yet it is an invitation to think about what draws us in and/or what pushes us away from this poetic vision and the ever important "why".

Hope, for me, is the important takeaway in the reading from Romans just beyond the reassurance that we are all heirs of God and heirs with Christ. We are not reprieved from suffering but rather we can wait with patience for our hope to be realized.

And then it is time to listen, to hear, to feel deeply, the beauty of the exchange between two kinswomen and consider who they were in their time and who they have become to us. The elder Elizabeth, was a barren woman for so many years until suddenly she is with child, a very important child, John, the Baptizer, who will prepare the way of the Lord. In her day she was likely ostracized in her community for most of her adult life, or at the very least considered a failure because of her seeming infertility. The much younger Mary, generally considered to be between the ages of 12-14, recently told by an Angel that she is bearing the Son of God, (can you imagine?!), would perhaps bear shame in her community as well as the uncertainty of Joseph, her betrothed, because of her condition. Would he be able to come to terms with this mystery in such a time? Would we, in our own time? (Of course, we already know he'll have an angelic visitation of his own in Matthew 1:18-25, and will be a loving, protective husband.)

These women come together and speak to us, to awaken us from the haze of frantic preparations for a celebration that is increasingly more earth-bound than spiritual. In their greetings to each other we discover the unexpectedness of this moment of expectation, the message of embracing the twists and turns of life, and recognizing that God is present at all times ~ when we feel elated and when we feel shamed or anxious or uncertain. We are not alone in the darkest of times or in the happiest. Jesus comes as the face of God to sanctify and save us. Stop, sit, breathe in the peace of the quiet. Even as the clock and calendar call, let us not race ahead, but remain in the stillness for a time, in the space between not yet and almost, savoring the expectation of Christ's birth, and finding an unexpected freshness in the joy of anticipation for the Holy One. In days of worry, anger, fear, grief, or any other part of life that is unsettling, let us find our inner faith made stronger in knowing that the One Who is coming, is already here, for us each to be in the shelter of Shaddai*** all together as His own.

*Readings for our Parish in this Year C are from The Rev. Dr. Wilda [Wil] Gafney, Womanist biblical scholar, and is the Right Rev. Sam B. Hulsey Professor of Hebrew Bible at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas. She is the author of A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church Yr C, here after designated on my posts as WCL and translator of its biblical selections. Learn more about her and her work at her website: https://www.wilgafney.com/ [for slightly more detail, see my blog post for December 1, 2024, Advent I WCL, see link below] The readings and prayers of the people follow.

** In some of Dr. Gafney’s notes for this week she explains her use of the word slave in Exodus 20:2,4,17 in which the Hebrew root is the same as serve in v.4 and also for “worship” in other translations. Also, in v 10 the sojourner, she says, “The text is clear that they are ‘your’ sojourner or immigrant [neighbor]; they belong to the community.” Her choice to use “explicitly feminine language…mirrors and inverts traditional translation” and she invites “readers to pray the song reflecting on any perceived barriers in the use of feminine language as universal language.” In Psalm 91, for example, Dr. Gafney says that the divine title Shaddai***means ‘the Breasted One’; a shad is a woman’s breast in Hebrew. In her book for Year C, Dr. Gafney explains her process and sources of translation of each reading she uses, which is impossible to offer in this space. Fascinating and illuminating, not merely because of the womanist highlighting, but for a greater appreciation of and fresh perspective in each biblical reading as most are not, or rarely, used in Sunday preaching or Daily Lectionaries. For slightly more information see: https://prayersofthepeople.blogspot.com/2024/11/prayers-of-people-advent-ure-begins.html

Readings for Advent IV – December 22, 2024

Exodus 20:1-21: Now God declared all these declarations: 2 I am the HOLY ONE your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves. 3 There shall be no other gods for you in my face. 4 You shall not make for yourself an idol of any form that is in the heavens on high, or that is on the earth below, or that is in the waters under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them: I the THUNDER OF SINAI your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of parents upon children to the third and the fourth [generation] of those who hate me. 6 And faithfully loving to the thousandth [generation] of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7 You shall not lift up as a trifling thing the Name of the MAJESTY OF THE AGES your God, for the JUDGE OF ALL FLESH will not acquit anyone who lifts up as a trifling thing the Name of the FIRE OF SINAI. 8 Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy. 9 Six days shall you labor and do all your work. 10 Now the seventh day is a sabbath to the WOMB OF CREATION your God; you shall not do any work—you, your daughter or your son, your female slave or your male slave, your livestock or [the sojourner] your immigrant [neighbor] in your towns. 11 For in six days the CREATOR OF ALL made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them; and God rested the on the seventh day; therefore the EVER-LIVING GOD blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it. 12 Honor your mother and your father, so that your days may be long in the land that the FAITHFUL ONE your God is giving you. 13 You shall not murder. 14 You shall not commit adultery. 15 You shall not steal. 16 You shall testify against your neighbor [as] a lying witness. 17 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s woman, or female slave or male slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s. 18 When all the women, children, and men saw the thunder and the lightning—and the sound of the trumpet!—and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and they trembled, and they stood far off. 19 And the people said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen, yet do not let God speak to us or we shall die.” 20 Then Moses said to the people, “Fear not for it is only to test you that God has come, and for the sake that the fear of God would be upon you all so that you do not sin.” 21 Then the women, children, and men stood far off while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.

Psalm 91: 1 She who settles in the shelter of the Most High, who stays in the shadow of Shaddai [at her breast]: 2 She will say to the SHELTERING GOD, “My refuge and my stronghold; my God, in her I trust.” 3 For she will deliver you from the snare of the huntress and from the devastating pestilence. 4 She will cover you with her pinions, and under her wings shall you find refuge; a shield and buckler are her faithfulness. 5 You shall not fear the terror of night, or the arrow that flies by day; 6 nor even the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or the destruction that ravages at noonday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, yet near you, it shall not approach. 8 Only glance with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. 9 For you, the SAVING GOD is your refuge, the Most High, your habitation. 10 No evil shall befall you, no plague come near your tent. 11 For her angels will she command for you, to keep you in all your ways. 12 On their hands shall they carry you, lest you strike your foot against a stone. 13 On the lion and the adder shall you tread; you will trample the young lion and the serpent. 14 For she who is bound to me, I will deliver her; I will exalt her, for she knows my Name. 15 When she calls me, I will answer her. I will be with her in trouble; I will rescue her and honor her. 16 With long life shall I satisfy her, and show her my salvation.

Romans 8:14-25: Now as many as are led by the Spirit of God are daughters and sons of God. 15 For you all did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall again into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption through which we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 It is that same Spirit who bears witness with our spirit that we are daughters and sons of God. 17 And if daughters and sons, then heirs, heirs of God and heirs with Christ, if it is true that we suffer with Christ so that we may also be glorified with Christ. 18 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the daughters and sons of God; 20 for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the daughters and sons of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; 23 and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Luke 1:46-56: “My soul magnifies the Holy One, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for God has looked with favor on the lowliness of God’s own womb-slave. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is God’s name. 50 God’s loving-kindness is for those who fear God from generation to generation. 51 God has shown the strength of God’s own arm; God has scattered the arrogant in the intent of their hearts. 52 God has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; 53 God has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. 54 God has helped God’s own child, Israel, a memorial to God’s mercy, 55 just as God said to our mothers and fathers, to [Hagar and] and Sarah and Abraham, to their descendants forever.” 56 And Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months and then returned to her home.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE PRAY

Leader: ~ MAJESTY OF THE AGES, OUR GOD, magnify our faith to rejoice again in the coming of our Savior. Look with favor upon us, Mighty One, keep Your loving kindness within us to share with others, as we know the strength of Your own arm will lift us all. Feed our sisters and brothers who are hungry and without shelter; and may the sojourners among us feel safe and valued as our neighbors.

O SHELTERING GOD

RESPONSE: Our Refuge and our Stronghold

~ MAJESTY OF THE AGES, OUR GOD, help us to lift up all bowed low in this World, in our Nation, and in our Community from war in its many guises, from the poverty of heart and spirit, and anger born of fear. Fill us with the courage and constancy to remind our earthly leaders to persevere in the cause of peace, justice, and mercy for all of Your children of every size, color, age, and struggle. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O SHELTERING GOD

Our Refuge and our Stronghold

~ MAJESTY OF THE AGES, OUR GOD, grant peace, relief, and hope to all enduring chronic illness, poverty, or emotional anguish, and bring comfort to all who love them and give them care. We now join our hearts to pray aloud for those in need… add your own petitions

O SHELTERING GOD

Our Refuge and our Stronghold

~ MAJESTY OF THE AGES, OUR GOD, unburden the hearts of all who grieve with the assurance of new life for all who now rest forever in Your radiant glory. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O SHELTERING GOD

Our Refuge and our Stronghold

~ MAJESTY OF THE AGES, OUR GOD, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently… add your own petitions

O SHELTERING GOD

Our Refuge and our Stronghold

~ MAJESTY OF THE AGES, OUR GOD, infuse extra energy, spiritual strength, and frequent reminders for self-care upon those anointed to offer Your Word and Sacraments, guiding us to discover daily Your Love and Will, in and for our lives. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O SHELTERING GOD

Our Refuge and our Stronghold

The Celebrant adds: EVERLIVING GOD, as we make ready to receive the One who comes, even as He is already here, restore us to Your purpose that the fruits of our life’s labors may always be a reflection of Your infinite blessings. We ask through Jesus, our Joyful Expectation; and the Holy Spirit, Your Sacred Breath; who together with You, live and reign as One God, now and forever. Amen.

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Monday, December 9, 2024

Prayers of the People: Stirred Up in Faith ~ 3rd Sunday of Advent RCL '24 Yr C

For Sunday, December 15, 2024, Readings: Zephaniah 3:14-20, First Song of Isaiah/Canticle 9,

Philippians 4:4-7, Luke 3:7-18

The Lord, your God, is in your midst...he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love. [Zephaniah 3:17]

Surely it is God who saves me; I will trust in him and not be afraid…the Lord is my stronghold and my sure defense, and he will be my Savior... [Canticle 9/Isaiah 12:2, 5]

Rejoice in the Lord always…The Lord is near. Do not worry...And the peace of God, that passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. [Philippians 4:6]

Bear fruits worthy of repentance…One who is more powerful than I is coming…He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. [Luke 3:8a, 16b,c]

In the midst of this otherwise reverently penitential Advent, our season of waiting for the Nativity of Jesus, we come to our Sunday of Rejoicing. In an older tradition, it was "Gaudete Sunday” [gow-day-tay] from the Latin for rejoice. The rose candle, the symbol of joy, will be lighted as a sign of our call to be joyous in the nearness of God, in the coming of Christ. This is the time to experience the excitement that in Christ we will be baptized with the Holy Spirit and the fire to spark our faith into action. Paul, in this portion of his letter to the Philippians is quite specific by saying Do not worry about anything, because the Lord is near with the peace that surpasses all understanding. It’s hardly easy to relax and not worry in a world seemingly mad with war, fear and anger, division and hate. Yet all the readings for today exhort us to rejoice, exult, and sing ~ even John the Baptizer, while issuing some serious warnings ~ proclaimed the good news to the people about the One who is coming. Paul did believe, for a while, that he and his followers would know the full Second Coming of Christ in their time. Succeeding generations through millennia have felt the same yet, of course, we do not know when it will happen, only that our faith assures us that it will happen.

While enjoying the Joy, we must also take the Baptizer’s message to heart and take some prayerful time to contemplate our sins. That winnowing fork of Jesus, John speaks of, will gather the faithful but send the chaff that doesn't bear good fruit ~ the unrepentant ~ to burn with unquenchable fire. As I race to hang the stockings with care, I need to consider how am I actually living into the faith that I claim? From these readings it sounds as if my murmurs of familiar words on Sunday morning aren’t quite enough to keep me out of that burning refuse. Church of England Bishop John R.H. Moorman wrote in The Path to Glory in 1960:

“Perhaps the greatest obstacle to reformation of life is fear of what other people will think. If we start to pray, will they think we are getting pious? If we try to be honest, will they think us fussy? If we show forgiveness, shall we be thought weak? And so on. But the ‘baptism of repentance’ demands courage. It is part of the testing and the judgment which is going on all the time in the human soul.”

Although this is the third Sunday of Advent, it’s a fresh, new moment in time. A chance to begin again, to discover that our God, our Christ, our Holy Spirit is truly in our midst, present, teaching, renewing us in love, and filling us with holy fire. Let us turn our focus toward our God ~ that is, to bear fruits worthy of repentance ~ to refresh our minds and hearts by worship, praise, and prayer. It is time to reconcile who we are in faith with who we want to become as a faith-filled person. What must I do differently to be thankful, joyful, and live faithfully? This is the time to look through rose-colored glasses to see the joy that lights up the darkness.

In the Episcopal Tradition, this Sunday is nicknamed “Stir Up Sunday” which comes from the Opening Collect in the Advent 3 Liturgy: “Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever.”

Together in faith we become a spiritual orchard bearing only good fruit, gathered by Christ, our Savior, stirred up in Faith, and brought Home. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice! [Philippians 4:4]

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O God, our Stronghold, stir up our faith that our trust in You will free us from fear and worry. Renew us by Your love as we give You thanks with great rejoicing, exalting Your name by every thought and action of our lives.

                                                     O Lord, our Sure Defense
     RESPONSE: Guard our hearts and minds in Christ

~ O God, our Stronghold, infuse us with such joy again for the birth of our Christ, that we turn away from the tide of hatred and division around us. Guide us to inspire all who design or impose their political pathways on this world, this nation, and this community, to turn toward justice, compassion, and mercy. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                      O Lord, our Sure Defense
                                                      Guard our hearts and minds in Christ

~ O God, our Stronghold, restore health and hope for all afflicted with serious illness, addiction, or despair, and strengthen all who give them love and support. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need… add your own petitions

                                                      O Lord, our Sure Defense
                                                      Guard our hearts and minds in Christ

~ O God, our Stronghold, soothe the grieving with the comfort of knowing that You have gathered those we love into the blissful splendor Your Eternal Home. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                      O Lord, our Sure Defense
                                                      Guard our hearts and minds in Christ

~ O God, our Stronghold, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently… add your own petitions

                                                      O Lord, our Sure Defense
                                                      Guard our hearts and minds in Christ

~ O God, our Stronghold, grant special grace and enduring eagerness to all anointed to serve You in Your Church, as they draw us to You on our journey to salvation. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                      O Lord, our Sure Defense
                                                       Guard our hearts and minds in Christ

The Celebrant adds: Most Holy God Who is always in our midst, continually revive our desire to bear good, worthy, and faith-filled fruit in our souls. Turn us always to You, that we may receive and experience the depth of Your love for us with each and every breath we are given and to give, in turn, to all we meet. We ask through the Good News of Jesus our Christ; and the Holy Spirit, the Fire of our faith; who together with You reign as One God, in glory, now and forever.  Amen.

Prayers of the People: Stir Up Our Joy ~ 3rd Sunday of Advent '24 WLC* Yr C

For Sunday, December 15, 2024, Readings: Isaiah 12:1-6, Psalm 118:1-9,

Revelation 1:4-6, 8, 12-18; Luke 1:39-45

You will say in that day, “I will give thanks to you, Redeeming One, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, then you confronted me. Behold! God is my salvation; I will trust and I will not fear, for Yah** [She Who Is] GOD is my strength and my might and has become my salvation.”

Give thanks to the ANCIENT OF DAYS who is good; God’s faithful love is everlasting! Let the children of Rachel, Leah, Bilhah, and Zilpah say, “God’s faithful love is everlasting!”…Let those who revere the FIRE OF SINAI say, “God’s faithful love is everlasting!” [Psalm 118:1-2, 4]

…Grace to you and peace from the One who is and who was and who is to come…and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of those who reign on the earth…”Fear not; I am the First and the Last and the Living One. I was dead, and look! I am alive forever and ever!” [Revelation 1:4b,5,17b-18a

Now when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb...the baby in me leaped for joy. Now blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of those things spoken to her by the Holy One.”

On this Third Sunday of Advent, we light the rose-colored candle to symbolize the joy and anticipation of Christ's birth which is now in sight. In the Anglican/Episcopal Church tradition there is an informal title of "Stir Up Sunday" for this day in the Book of Common Prayer because the opening Collect [a prayer that collects or gathers the themes of the day or service] begins with the phrase: “Stir up your power, O Lord...” The message of this day and this week is "Gaudete," [gow-day-tay] from the Latin for rejoice and it gives us a slight respite from some of the more penitential aspects of this sacred Season that is found in the Revised Common Lectionary. This day is also about the intentional seeking of joy through our personal/home preparations for Christmas. The music and decorations often bring smiles for those of us fortunate to have memories of ourselves as children or our own children with growing anticipation as we leave our US Thanksgiving holiday behind and await the wide eyes on Christmas morning. (Perhaps, some preparation comes with more of a secular mindset than we’d like to admit.)

For us as adults, this week is also a sobering moment to consider all those near to and far from us, who are suffering in our country and the world from the ravages of war and domestic or other terrorism and violence, the effects of devastating fires, the still terrible conditions of recent hurricanes and earthquakes, or for those who live in abject poverty, among many more hardships. The now annual arrival of Flu, COVID, RSV, etc., with their attending miseries of isolation, further infection and/or death for so many add to the growing anxieties over political issues here and around the globe. Yet now is the time to remember to experience the true joy of Christ's first coming. “Celebration,” in a culture of excess, offers us an opportunity to look beyond the artificial trappings, fun and exciting as they are, and intentionally seek to find the authentic message. Now is the time to restore our part in relationship with Jesus, to find new ways to rejoice in and with our Faith, and to discover, again, the true reason for the season and ways to carry that over into our every day of living. Now is the time, pre-New Year’s Resolutions, to take on a renewed commitment to stir up our joy by giving to and seeking a message from our Christ each and every day in prayer with thanksgiving.

** In one important note this week, Dr. Gafney’s explains Yah [She Who Is] GOD: “’Yah’ (as in hallelujah/hallelu-yah) is, according to grammatical form, feminine…In some contemporary Jewish feminist practice and prayer…a feminine name for God…also the first syllable of the unpronounceable of YHWH…there are no strictures on pronouncing the first syllable. In Isaiah 1:2, I offer a feminine reading option in brackets for those who so choose.” Dr. Gafney explains her process and sources of translation of each reading she uses in her book, which is impossible to offer in this space. Fascinating and illuminating, not merely because of the womanist highlighting, but for a greater appreciation of and fresh perspective in each biblical reading as most are not, or rarely, used in Sunday preaching or Daily Lectionaries. For slightly more information: See: https://prayersofthepeople.blogspot.com/2024/11/prayers-of-people-advent-ure-begins.html

Dr. Gafney's Readings for Advent III, December 15, 2024:

Isaiah 12:1-6: You will say in that day, “I will give thanks to you, Redeeming One, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, then you confronted me. 2. Behold! God is my salvation; I will trust and I will not fear, for Yah [She Who Is] GOD is my strength and my might and has become my salvation.” 3. Then you all shall with joy draw water from the wells of salvation. 4. And you all shall say in that day, “Give thanks to the GOD OF OUR SALVATION, call on God’s name; acclaim God’s deeds among the nations, make known that God’s name is exalted.” 5. Sing praises to the MIGHTY GOD, who has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth. 6 Shout [daughter]! Sing [daughter]! [Daughter,] you who dwell in Zion! For great in your midst [daughter] is the Holy One of Israel!

Psalm 118:1–9; 14–21: 1 Give thanks to the ANCIENT OF DAYS who is good; God’s faithful love is everlasting! 2 Let the children of Rachel, Leah, Bilhah, and Zilpah say, “God’s faithful love is everlasting!” 3 Let the house of Elisheba’s descendants say, “God’s faithful love is everlasting!” 4 Let those who revere the FIRE OF SINAI say, “God’s faithful love is everlasting!” 5 Out of my distress I called on YAH, THE ARK OF SAFETY; the FAITHFUL GOD answered me and set me in a broad place. 6 With the DREAD GOD on my side I do not fear. What can the children of earth and Eve do to me? 7 The FEARSOME GOD is for me, to help me; I shall look [down] upon those who hate me. 8 Better is it to shelter in the SAVING GOD than to trust in the woman-born. 9 Better is it to shelter in the SAVING GOD than to trust in the high-born. 14 The MIGHTY GOD is my strength and my might and has become my salvation. 15 The sound of song and of salvation is in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the MOST HIGH is mighty; 16 the right hand of the MIGHTY GOD is exalted; the right hand of the MOST HIGH is mighty.” 17 I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the ANCIENT OF DAYS. 18 The MERCIFUL GOD has punished me severely, but to death did not hand me over. 19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the FOUNT OF JUSTICE. 20 This is the gate of the LIVING GOD; the righteous shall enter through it. 21 I thank you for you have answered me and have become my salvation.

Revelation 1:4–6, 8, 12–18: John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you all and peace from the One who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before God’s throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of those who reign on the earth. To Jesus who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us to reign, priests serving his God and Father, to Christ be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Sovereign God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” 12 And I turned to see whose voice spoke with me and turning, I saw seven golden lampstands. 13 And in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Woman, wearing a robe (down to the feet) and with a golden sash wrapped around their chest. 14 Their head and hair were white as wool, white as snow and their eyes were like a flame of fire. 15 Their feet were like fine bronze, like that refined in a furnace, and their voice was like the sound of many waters. 16 And they had in their right hand seven stars and from their mouth a sharp two-edged sword came and their face was like the sun shining with all its power. 17 Now when I saw [the one like the Son of Woman], I fell at their feet as dead. Then they placed their right hand on me, saying, “Fear not; I am the First and the Last 18 and the Living One. I was dead, and look! I am alive forever and ever! And I have the keys of Death and of Hades.”

Luke 1:39–45: Mary set out in those days and went to the hill country with haste, to a Judean town. 40 There she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 Now when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 Elizabeth exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 From where does this [visit] come to me? That the mother of my Sovereign comes to me? 44 Look! As soon as I heard the sound of your greeting in my ear, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Now blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of those things spoken to her by the Holy One.”

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O GOD OF OUR SALVATION, infuse our conscious preparations for the celebration just ahead, with many every-day faith-filled moments reminding us to look beyond the holly and holiday for the Hope, Peace, and Joy we can find before, on, and always after the Holy Day of our Savior’s birth.

O ANCIENT OF DAYS

RESPONSE: Your Faithful Love is Everlasting

~ O GOD OF OUR SALVATION, infuse us with such joy for the birth of our Christ again, that we turn away from the tide of hatred and division around us. Guide us to inspire all who design or impose their political pathways on this world, this nation, and this community, to turn toward justice, compassion, and mercy. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O ANCIENT OF DAYS