Sunday 8 December 2024

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Today is Sunday the 8th of December, the 2nd Sunday of Advent.

Audrey Assad sings, ‘Winter Snow’.

You could've come like a mighty storm

With all the strength of a hurricane

You could've come like a forest fire

With the power of heaven in Your flame

But You came like a winter snow

Quiet and soft and slow

Falling from the sky in the night

To the Earth below

Oh, You could've swept in like a tidal wave

Or a big ocean to ravish our hearts

You could have come through like a roaring flood

To wipe away the things that we've scarred

Oh, but You came like a winter snow

So quiet, so soft, so slow

Falling from the sky in the night

To the Earth below,

Your voice wasn't in a bush burning

No, Your voice wasn't in a rushing wind

It was still, so small

It was hidden

You came like a winter snow

So quiet, so soft, so slow

Falling from the sky in the night

To the Earth below

Today’s reading is from the Book of Baruch.

Baruch 5:1-9

Take off the garment of your sorrow and affliction, O Jerusalem,

and put on for ever the beauty of the glory from God.

Put on the robe of the righteousness that comes from God;

put on your head the diadem of the glory of the Everlasting;

for God will show your splendour everywhere under heaven.

For God will give you evermore the name,

‘Righteous Peace, Godly Glory’.

Arise, O Jerusalem, stand upon the height;

look towards the east,

and see your children gathered from west and east

at the word of the Holy One,

rejoicing that God has remembered them.

For they went out from you on foot,

led away by their enemies;

but God will bring them back to you,

carried in glory, as on a royal throne.

For God has ordered that every high mountain and the everlasting hills be made low

and the valleys filled up, to make level ground,

so that Israel may walk safely in the glory of God.

The woods and every fragrant tree

have shaded Israel at God’s command.

For God will lead Israel with joy,

in the light of his glory,

with the mercy and righteousness that come from him.

In this reading, we hear about the promises of God: that sorrow and affliction may be cast off, and that God will lead His people with joy, mercy and righteousness.

The Prophet Baruch employs an image which is later taken up by John the Baptist: 'That every high mountain and the everlasting hills be made low, and the valleys filled up, to make level ground'. What does this mean to you? How might it speak to you today?

Advent is a season of waiting, of hope and of expectation. As the days become darker, so too the light burns more brightly. What is it that you hope for during this season?

As this time of prayer comes to an end, take a moment to share freely both your sorrows as well as your hopes with God, perhaps praying for a future that may be filled with hope.

O Wisdom,

Lord and Ruler

Root of Jesse

Key of David

Rising Sun

King of the Nations

Emmanuel

Come, Lord Jesus.