Friday 5 December
Antiphon: O Lord, hear my voice when I cry: have mercy upon me and answer me.
Dionysius (1444-1502) Fresco: The widow's mite and Healing of two blind men.
Ferapontovo Monastery, Vologda Oblast, Russia.
Isaiah 29:17-24
Shall not Lebanon in a very little while
become a fruitful field,
and the fruitful field be regarded as a forest?
On that day the deaf shall hear
the words of a scroll,
and out of their gloom and darkness
the eyes of the blind shall see.
The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord,
and the neediest people shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.
For the tyrant shall be no more,
and the scoffer shall cease to be;
all those alert to do evil shall be cut off—
those who cause a person to lose a lawsuit,
who set a trap for the arbiter in the gate,
and without grounds deny justice to the one in the right.
Therefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham,
concerning the house of Jacob:
No longer shall Jacob be ashamed,
no longer shall his face grow pale.
For when he sees his children,
the work of my hands, in his midst,
they will sanctify my name;
they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob,
and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
And those who err in spirit will come to understanding,
and those who grumble will accept instruction.
Psalm 27.9-17
O Lord, hear my voice when I cry:
have mercy upon me and answer me.
My heart has said of you, ‘Seek his face’:
your face, Lord, I will seek.
Do not hide your face from me:
or thrust your servant aside in displeasure;
For you have been my helper:
do not cast me away or forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
Though my father and my mother forsake me:
the Lord will take me up.
Teach me your way, O Lord:
and lead me in an even path,
for they lie in wait for me.
Do not give me over to the will of my enemies:
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and those who breathe out violence.
But I believe that I shall surely see the goodness of the Lord:
in the land of the living.
O wait for the Lord;
stand firm and he will strengthen your heart:
and wait, I say, for the Lord.
Matthew 9.27-31
As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, crying loudly, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David!’ When he entered the house, the blind men came to him; and Jesus said to them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ They said to him, ‘Yes, Lord.’ Then he touched their eyes and said, ‘According to your faith let it be done to you.’ And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly ordered them, ‘See that no one knows of this.’ But they went away and spread the news about him throughout that district.
Psalm of an Advent Ear
With prayerful pleas
and Advent songs of longing,
I await the birth of God’s Anointed One.
Come, O Gift of heaven’s harmony,
and attune my third ear,
the ear of my heart,
so that I may hear,
just as Mary, faithful woman of Israel, heard.
O God, the time is short,
these days are too few
as I prepare for the feast
of the birth of Mary’s son.
Busy days, crowded to the brim,
with long lists of gifts to buy
and things that must be done.
Show to me, also your highly favoured child,
how to guard my heart
from noise and hurry’s whirl,
so that I might hear your voice
calling my heart to create an empty space
that might be pregnant with heavens fire.
Quiet me within,
clothe my body in peacefulness,
that your Word
once again may take flesh—
this time, within me—
as once it did in holy Mary,
long Advent days ago.
—Edward Hays. Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim. New Edition. (Forest of Peace, 2008), p. 177.
Psalm 27.7-10. Free Church of Scotland Psalmody Conference, 2018
7. Ye gates, lift up your heads on high;
ye doors that last for aye,
Be lifted up, that so the King
of glory enter may.
8. But who of glory is the King?
The mighty Lord is this;
Ev'n that same Lord, that great in might
and strong in battle is.
9. Ye gates, lift up your heads; ye doors,
doors that do last for aye,
Be lifted up, that so the King
of glory enter may.
10. But who is he that is the King
of glory? who is this?
The Lord of hosts, and none but he,
the King of glory is.
May the Lord, when he comes, find us watching and waiting. Amen.