Tuesday 2 December
Antiphon: They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
Tree of Jesse from Capuchin's Bible, c.1180, Bibliothèque nationale de France
"A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots." Isaiah 11.1.
Incarnation
by Denise Day Spencer, 1999
He stands,
poised on the brink of two worlds:
One, land of eternal day,
the other, earth of mire and clay.
Behind Him,
legions of heavenly host,
bright faces covered, praising,
all chanting, voices raising.
Before Him,
chaos yawning, swift and deep,
known, yet unknown. Fear unfurling,
death and darkness churning, swirling.
He turns.
One last look at golden glory.
The Three part; He is now One.
The Father’s voice says, "Go well, my Son."
He leaps
into the abyss.
His next memory will be a Mother's kiss.
Isaiah 11.1-10
A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.
Psalm 122
I was glad when they said to me :
‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’
And now our feet are standing :
within your gates, O Jerusalem;
Jerusalem which is built as a city :
where the pilgrims gather in unity.
There the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord :
as he commanded Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
There are set thrones of judgement :
the thrones of the house of David.
O pray for the peace of Jerusalem :
may those who love you prosper.
Peace be within your walls :
and prosperity in your palaces.
For the sake of my brothers and companions :
I will pray that peace be with you.
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God :
I will seek for your good.
Luke 10.21-24
At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’
Then turning to the disciples, Jesus said to them privately, ‘Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.’
O Lord our God,
make us watchful and keep us faithful
as we await the coming of your Son our Lord;
that, when he shall appear,
he may not find us sleeping in sin
but active in his service
and joyful in his praise;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
G. F. Handel. The King shall rejoice. Coronation Anthem no. 3. HWV 260 (1727).
I — The King shall rejoice in thy strength, O Lord.
II — Exceeding glad shall he be of thy salvation.
III — Glory and worship hast thou laid upon him,
Thou hast prevented him with the blessings of goodness,
And hast set a crown of pure gold upon his head.
IV — Alleluia. (Psalm 21: 1, 2, 3, 5)