Reading:
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the Lord God is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth. Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 12: 2-6) Reflection These verses from Isaiah are a praise song to the Lord. At this time of year, we are singing many praise songs to the Lord – commonly know as Christmas carols. One of my favorite Christmas traditions when growing up was to go Christmas Caroling. We really would sing praises to the Lord and spread the joy of the season even in the darkest coldest nights. I know that last year we were not together singing carols, but the joy and hope that the carols shared was uplifting. This year, even if we are not back to doing all the joyful things together, hopefully the Christmas carols bring you some joy and comfort. --Charlene Rineer Prayer God of the heavens and earth we give you praise. We thank you for all you have given us. We especially thank you for your grace and salvation. As we prepare for Christmas and sing the joyous carols give us peace. Amen. Our devotions are based on this Sunday’s Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). The RCL is a three-year cycle of readings telling the story of our Christian faith and corresponding to the season church calendar. On any given Sunday, we are hearing and praying and examining the same Scripture with millions of Christians around the world. In our current Year C, the Old Testament readings progress through the Prophets and have the theme of the day that it is connected to the Gospel reading. The Psalm, a song the congregation sings in response to the Old Testament reading, most often corresponds to the theme of the Hebrew Lessons and/or that of the Gospel Lesson. The lesson from the Epistles or from Acts typifies the church’s focus on the meaning of Christ for today. The Gospel lesson is connected to the season of the Church Year. This year, our gospel readings are from Luke, who writes that Jesus is the universal Savior and the perfect Son of Man. In the current season of Advent, we long for Christ’s coming: Christ coming as a baby; Christ coming again; Christ in our lives today.
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