Advent 2

In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Isaiah 40:3, in The Book of Common Prayer, 1979

Psalm 72

Give the king your justice, O God,

    and your righteousness to the royal son!

² May he judge your people with righteousness,

    and your poor with justice!

³ Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people,

    and the hills, in righteousness!

⁴ May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,

    give deliverance to the children of the needy,

    and crush the oppressor!

⁵ May they fear you while the sun endures,

    and as long as the moon, throughout all generations!

⁶ May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,

    like showers that water the earth!

⁷ In his days may the righteous flourish,

    and peace abound, till the moon be no more!

⁸ May he have dominion from sea to sea,

    and from the River to the ends of the earth!

⁹ May desert tribes bow down before him,

    and his enemies lick the dust!

¹⁰ May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands

    render him tribute;

may the kings of Sheba and Seba

    bring gifts!

¹¹ May all kings fall down before him,

    all nations serve him!

¹² For he delivers the needy when he calls,

    the poor and him who has no helper.

¹³ He has pity on the weak and the needy,

    and saves the lives of the needy.

¹⁴ From oppression and violence he redeems their life,

    and precious is their blood in his sight.

¹⁵ Long may he live;

    may gold of Sheba be given to him!

May prayer be made for him continually,

    and blessings invoked for him all the day!

¹⁶ May there be abundance of grain in the land;

    on the tops of the mountains may it wave;

    may its fruit be like Lebanon;

and may people blossom in the cities

    like the grass of the field!

¹⁷ May his name endure forever,

    his fame continue as long as the sun!

May people be blessed in him,

    all nations call him blessed!

¹⁸ Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

    who alone does wondrous things.

¹⁹ Blessed be his glorious name forever;

    may the whole earth be filled with his glory!

Amen and Amen!

Isaiah 11:1-10

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,

    and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

² And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,

    the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

    the Spirit of counsel and might,

    the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

³ And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,

    or decide disputes by what his ears hear,

⁴ but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,

    and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;

and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,

    and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

⁵ Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,

    and faithfulness the belt of his loins.

⁶ The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,

    and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,

and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;

    and a little child shall lead them.

⁷ The cow and the bear shall graze;

    their young shall lie down together;

    and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

⁸ The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,

    and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.

⁹ They shall not hurt or destroy

    in all my holy mountain;

for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord

    as the waters cover the sea.

¹⁰ In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.

Anthem

"The Lamb"

Text William Blake; Music John Tavener

 Romans 15:8-13

For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, ⁹ and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,

“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,

    and sing to your name.”

¹⁰ And again it is said,

“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”

¹¹ And again,

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,

    and let all the peoples extol him.”

¹² And again Isaiah says,

“The root of Jesse will come,

    even he who arises to rule the Gentiles;

in him will the Gentiles hope.”

¹³ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Hymn

Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming

Matthew 3:1-12

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ² “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” ³ For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord;

    make his paths straight.’"

⁴ Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, ⁶ and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹ And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰ Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ¹¹ “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Hymn

On Jordan's Bank the Baptist's Cry 

On Jordan's bank the Baptist's cry

announces that the Lord is nigh;

awake and hearken, for he brings

glad tidings of the King of kings.

     Then cleansed be every breast from sin;

     make straight the way for God within,

     prepare we in our hearts a home

     where such a mighty Guest may come.

For thou art our salvation, Lord,

our refuge and our great reward;

without thy grace we waste away

like flowers that wither and decay.

     To heal the sick stretch out thine hand,

     and bid the fallen sinner stand;

     shine forth and let thy light restore

     earth's own true loveliness once more.

All praise, eternal Son, to thee,

whose advent doth thy people free;

whom with the Father we adore

and Holy Ghost for evermore.

Words: Charles Coffin, 1736; Tune WINCHESTER NEW

Prayer

Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Collect for the Second Sunday in Advent, The Book of Common Prayer, 1979

Scriptures from the English Standard Version except as noted