first Tuesday in Advent, morning

[hermionesviolin]

First Church is doing 7am morning prayer on weekdays during Advent, so for the second morning in a row I have gotten up 20 minutes earlier (i.e., now 5:40am) and attended. I intend to keep it up for the duration of Advent.

Tuesday has us read the Canticle of Zechariah (Monday is the Magnificat), and I'd forgotten how much I love it.

[I'm not sure exactly which version we used, so I'm just pulling the NRSV and inclusifying it; I think the prayer service is all fairly well inclusified/non-hierarchicalized ... though whatever Bible Ian was reading from this morning for the daily lectionary had an overabundance of "Sovereign Lord."]

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
     for you will go before the Holy One to prepare the way,
to give knowledge of salvation to God's people
     by the forgiveness of their sins.
By the tender mercy of our God,
     the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
     to guide our feet into the way of peace.

It reminds me of a sermon Tiffany preached about how we are all called to be John the Baptist -- to prepare the way of our God.

After a couple days of unseaonably warm weather, it is appropriately beautiful winter weather today (i.e., mid-30s F right now).

And leaving my house twenty minutes early means I see the sunrise again (fiery orange tinged with red yesterday, soft pink today).

I also remembered to make my future-dated Christmas post yesterday.

Comments

[wisdomeagle]

I used part of the Canticle of Zechariah as the benediction in my Advent morning prayer service:

We are commended to be prophets of the Most High:
Friends, go before the Lord to prepare the way.
Give knowledge of salvation to all people;
announce the forgiveness of their sins.
By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us, +
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.
Amen

Go forth in the way of [hope/peace/joy/love]!
Thanks be to God!

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

I stole a copy of the prayer service this morning (in part because I wanted to make a full copy, and in part because one set had the page numbers switched on the last page and I told Ian yesterday and he didn't fix it so I am fixing it myself) so here's our responsive reading of the Canticle of Zechariah:

Blessed be the Sovereign God of Israel, who has looked favorably on the people and redeemed them. God has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of God's servant David; As God spoke through the mouth of the holy prophets of old, that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.

You will have joy and gladness.

God has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered God's holy covenant, the oath that God swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness before God all our days.

You will have joy and gladness.

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before God to prepare God's ways; To give knowledge of salvation to the people by the forgiveness of their sins. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, To give light to those who sit in night and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

You will have joy and gladness.

[The front page of the service says, "the Morning Prayer service we do is inspired by the morning service of Benedictine Monks. It has been modified using the Morning Prayer service in the New Century Hymnal as a guide."]