Friday 16 December 2022

Today is Friday the 16th of December, in the third week of Advent.


Josh Garrels sings, ‘O Come O Come Emmanuel’.


O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appears
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel
O come, our Dayspring from on high
And cheer us by thy drawing nigh
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!

Today’s reading is from the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah 56:1-3, 6-8


Thus says the LORD:
Maintain justice, and do what is right,
for soon my salvation will come,
and my deliverance be revealed.
Happy is the mortal who does this,
the one who holds it fast,
who keeps the sabbath, not profaning it,
and refrains from doing any evil.
Do not let the foreigner joined to the LORD say,
‘The LORD will surely separate me from his people’;
and do not let the eunuch say,
‘I am just a dry tree.’
And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,
to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD,
and to be his servants,
all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it,
and hold fast my covenant—
these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.
Thus says the Lord GOD,
who gathers the outcasts of Israel,
I will gather others to them
besides those already gathered.

As we gallop towards the end of Advent, today’s reading reminds us that moral integrity is expected of us, now and always. We hear the prophet say, “Maintain justice, and do what is right… my salvation will come”. Does this say anything to you today?

In a society where there was a tendency to look down on “immigrants”, is there a message to us in the lines, “the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants”?

What do you understand by the expression “a house of prayer for all peoples”? How do you imagine it?

Now listen once more as the passage is read for a second time. Is there one idea that leaps out at you from it?

Finally, gather together all the thoughts that have come to you in this time of prayer, even if they seemed a bit untidy. Then place them, just as they are, before the Lord.


O Wisdom
Lord and Ruler
Root of Jesse
Key of David
Rising Sun
King of the Nations
Emmanuel
Come, Lord Jesus