Christmastide
Rejoice! Advent, the season of waiting, has given birth to the joy of Christmas. Christmas is not a single day but a season of twelve days. Twelve days to linger over the mysterious and shocking reality that God has come, but not as we would have expected. The incarnation, that the eternal Son of God has come in humility as a baby, is at the heart of Christmas. Jesus was born, given to us as a gift, the gift of his life to save our own. Jesus, fully God and fully man, will forever have a body like ours. May we never doubt God’s commitment to rescue his creation. Rejoice!
- 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!
Alleluia. Unto us a child is born:
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.
Praying the Psalms
Psalm 37
Of David.
[1] Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not envious of wrongdoers!
[2] For they will soon fade like the grass
and wither like the green herb.
[3] Trust in the LORD, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
[4] Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
[5] Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him, and he will act.
[6] He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.
[7] Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
[8] Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
[9] For the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.
[10] In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.
[11] But the meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in abundant peace.
[12] The wicked plots against the righteous
and gnashes his teeth at him,
[13] but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he sees that his day is coming.
[14] The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose way is upright;
[15] their sword shall enter their own heart,
and their bows shall be broken.
[16] Better is the little that the righteous has
than the abundance of many wicked.
[17] For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
but the LORD upholds the righteous.
[18] The LORD knows the days of the blameless,
and their heritage will remain forever;
[19] they are not put to shame in evil times;
in the days of famine they have abundance.
[20] But the wicked will perish;
the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures;
they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.
[21] The wicked borrows but does not pay back,
but the righteous is generous and gives;
[22] for those blessed by the LORD shall inherit the land,
but those cursed by him shall be cut off.
[23] The steps of a man are established by the LORD,
when he delights in his way;
[24] though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the LORD upholds his hand.
[25] I have been young, and now am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
or his children begging for bread.
[26] He is ever lending generously,
and his children become a blessing.
[27] Turn away from evil and do good;
so shall you dwell forever.
[28] For the LORD loves justice;
he will not forsake his saints.
They are preserved forever,
but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
[29] The righteous shall inherit the land
and dwell upon it forever.
[30] The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks justice.
[31] The law of his God is in his heart;
his steps do not slip.
[32] The wicked watches for the righteous
and seeks to put him to death.
[33] The LORD will not abandon him to his power
or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.
[34] Wait for the LORD and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on when the wicked are cut off.
[35] I have seen a wicked, ruthless man,
spreading himself like a green laurel tree.
[36] But he passed away, and behold, he was no more;
though I sought him, he could not be found.
[37] Mark the blameless and behold the upright,
for there is a future for the man of peace.
[38] But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
the future of the wicked shall be cut off.
[39] The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;
he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
[40] The LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
Psalm 38
A Psalm of David, for the memorial offering.
[1] O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath!
[2] For your arrows have sunk into me,
and your hand has come down on me.
[3] There is no soundness in my flesh
because of your indignation;
there is no health in my bones
because of my sin.
[4] For my iniquities have gone over my head;
like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
[5] My wounds stink and fester
because of my foolishness,
[6] I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;
all the day I go about mourning.
[7] For my sides are filled with burning,
and there is no soundness in my flesh.
[8] I am feeble and crushed;
I groan because of the tumult of my heart.
[9] O Lord, all my longing is before you;
my sighing is not hidden from you.
[10] My heart throbs; my strength fails me,
and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.
[11] My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague,
and my nearest kin stand far off.
[12] Those who seek my life lay their snares;
those who seek my hurt speak of ruin
and meditate treachery all day long.
[13] But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,
like a mute man who does not open his mouth.
[14] I have become like a man who does not hear,
and in whose mouth are no rebukes.
[15] But for you, O LORD, do I wait;
it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
[16] For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me,
who boast against me when my foot slips!”
[17] For I am ready to fall,
and my pain is ever before me.
[18] I confess my iniquity;
I am sorry for my sin.
[19] But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,
and many are those who hate me wrongfully.
[20] Those who render me evil for good
accuse me because I follow after good.
[21] Do not forsake me, O LORD!
O my God, be not far from me!
[22] Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation!
Old Testament Reading
Zechariah 13:2–9
[2] “And on that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. [3] And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD.’ And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies.
[4] “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, [5] but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.’ [6] And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?’ he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.’
[7] “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
against the man who stands next to me,”
declares the LORD of hosts.
“Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;
I will turn my hand against the little ones.
[8] In the whole land, declares the LORD,
two thirds shall be cut off and perish,
and one third shall be left alive.
[9] And I will put this third into the fire,
and refine them as one refines silver,
and test them as gold is tested.
They will call upon my name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, ‘They are my people’;
and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”
New Testament Reading
John 16
[1] “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. [2] They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. [3] And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. [4] But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.
“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. [5] But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ [6] But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. [7] Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. [8] And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: [9] concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; [10] concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; [11] concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
[12] “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. [13] When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. [14] He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. [15] All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
[16] “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” [17] So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” [18] So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” [19] Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? [20] Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. [21] When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. [22] So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. [23] In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. [24] Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
[25] “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. [26] In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; [27] for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. [28] I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
[29] His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! [30] Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” [31] Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? [32] Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. [33] I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
- 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...
O God, you make us glad by the yearly festival of the birth of your only Son Jesus Christ: Grant that we, who joyfully receive him as our Redeemer, may with sure confidence behold him when he comes to be our Judge; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
- Commission -
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be with you, and remain with you always.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord and our neighbors.