Advent
Hopeful waiting. Expectancy. Longing. Things are not right within us nor in the world around us, so we wait. We wait for the arrival of King Jesus. The word “advent” comes from the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming” or “arrival.” During Advent we remember the first coming of Jesus and we long for his second coming. Robert Webber explains Advent as, “a corporate spiritual journey that calls for expectant waiting and readiness for the coming of the Christ. When the Church travels this journey and treats it as a discipline of life and prayer, the joy of Christmas is immeasurably intensified.”
- Calling -
O Lord, open our lips.
And our mouth shall proclaim Your praise.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen. Alleluia!
Our King and Savior now draws near:
O come, let us adore him. Alleluia!
- Constitution -
Read/Listen, Meditate, Pray, and Contemplate on God’s Word, remembering that God is with you and ready to speak to you because he loves you.
Between December 17th - 23rd, the Isaiah readings correspond with the antiphons. See page 5 of the Advent Guide.
Praying the Psalms
Psalm 107
[1] Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
[2] Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
whom he has redeemed from trouble
[3] and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
[4] Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to a city to dwell in;
[5] hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
[6] Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
[7] He led them by a straight way
till they reached a city to dwell in.
[8] Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
[9] For he satisfies the longing soul,
and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
[10] Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
prisoners in affliction and in irons,
[11] for they had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
[12] So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
they fell down, with none to help.
[13] Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
[14] He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
and burst their bonds apart.
[15] Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
[16] For he shatters the doors of bronze
and cuts in two the bars of iron.
[17] Some were fools through their sinful ways,
and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
[18] they loathed any kind of food,
and they drew near to the gates of death.
[19] Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
[20] He sent out his word and healed them,
and delivered them from their destruction.
[21] Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
[22] And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!
[23] Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the great waters;
[24] they saw the deeds of the LORD,
his wondrous works in the deep.
[25] For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
[26] They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their evil plight;
[27] they reeled and staggered like drunken men
and were at their wits’ end.
[28] Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
[29] He made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
[30] Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
[31] Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
[32] Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
[33] He turns rivers into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,
[34] a fruitful land into a salty waste,
because of the evil of its inhabitants.
[35] He turns a desert into pools of water,
a parched land into springs of water.
[36] And there he lets the hungry dwell,
and they establish a city to live in;
[37] they sow fields and plant vineyards
and get a fruitful yield.
[38] By his blessing they multiply greatly,
and he does not let their livestock diminish.
[39] When they are diminished and brought low
through oppression, evil, and sorrow,
[40] he pours contempt on princes
and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
[41] but he raises up the needy out of affliction
and makes their families like flocks.
[42] The upright see it and are glad,
and all wickedness shuts its mouth.
[43] Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;
let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD.
Psalm 108
A Song. A Psalm of David.
[1] My heart is steadfast, O God!
I will sing and make melody with all my being!
[2] Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!
[3] I will give thanks to you, O LORD, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
[4] For your steadfast love is great above the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
[5] Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
[6] That your beloved ones may be delivered,
give salvation by your right hand and answer me!
[7] God has promised in his holiness:
“With exultation I will divide up Shechem
and portion out the Valley of Succoth.
[8] Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet,
Judah my scepter.
[9] Moab is my washbasin;
upon Edom I cast my shoe;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
[10] Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
[11] Have you not rejected us, O God?
You do not go out, O God, with our armies.
[12] Oh grant us help against the foe,
for vain is the salvation of man!
[13] With God we shall do valiantly;
it is he who will tread down our foes.
Old Testament Reading
2 Chronicles 26
[1] And all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. [2] He built Eloth and restored it to Judah, after the king slept with his fathers. [3] Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. [4] And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. [5] He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper.
[6] He went out and made war against the Philistines and broke through the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabneh and the wall of Ashdod, and he built cities in the territory of Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines. [7] God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabians who lived in Gurbaal and against the Meunites. [8] The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread even to the border of Egypt, for he became very strong. [9] Moreover, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate and at the Valley Gate and at the Angle, and fortified them. [10] And he built towers in the wilderness and cut out many cisterns, for he had large herds, both in the Shephelah and in the plain, and he had farmers and vinedressers in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil. [11] Moreover, Uzziah had an army of soldiers, fit for war, in divisions according to the numbers in the muster made by Jeiel the secretary and Maaseiah the officer, under the direction of Hananiah, one of the king’s commanders. [12] The whole number of the heads of fathers’ houses of mighty men of valor was 2,600. [13] Under their command was an army of 307,500, who could make war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy. [14] And Uzziah prepared for all the army shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows, and stones for slinging. [15] In Jerusalem he made machines, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and great stones. And his fame spread far, for he was marvelously helped, till he was strong.
[16] But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the LORD his God and entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. [17] But Azariah the priest went in after him, with eighty priests of the LORD who were men of valor, [18] and they withstood King Uzziah and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have done wrong, and it will bring you no honor from the LORD God.” [19] Then Uzziah was angry. Now he had a censer in his hand to burn incense, and when he became angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead in the presence of the priests in the house of the LORD, by the altar of incense. [20] And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead! And they rushed him out quickly, and he himself hurried to go out, because the LORD had struck him. [21] And King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death, and being a leper lived in a separate house, for he was excluded from the house of the LORD. And Jotham his son was over the king’s household, governing the people of the land.
[22] Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from first to last, Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz wrote. [23] And Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the burial field that belonged to the kings, for they said, “He is a leper.” And Jotham his son reigned in his place.
New Testament Reading
Revelation 13
[1] And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. [2] And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. [3] One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. [4] And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”
[5] And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. [6] It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. [7] Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, [8] and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. [9] If anyone has an ear, let him hear:
[10] If anyone is to be taken captive,
to captivity he goes;
if anyone is to be slain with the sword,
with the sword must he be slain.
Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.
[11] Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. [12] It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. [13] It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, [14] and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. [15] And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. [16] Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, [17] so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. [18] This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.
The "O" Antiphons of Advent
Isaiah 28:16–17
[16] therefore thus says the Lord GOD,
“Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion,
a stone, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:
‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’
[17] And I will make justice the line,
and righteousness the plumb line;
and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
and waters will overwhelm the shelter.”
- Communion -
Pray for yourself, others, our church, our neighbors, and the world.
Pray the Lord’s Prayer & the collect of the week:
Our Father who art in heaven...
Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
- Commission -
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Amen. (Romans 15:13)
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord and our neighbors.