Advent 4

Song

Psalm

Defend me, O God, and plead my cause
against a godless nation.
From a deceitful and cunning people
rescue me, O God.

Send forth your light and your truth;
let these be my guide.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.

And I will come to your altar, O God,
the God of my joy.
My redeemer, I will thank you on the harp,
O God, my God.

Why are you cast down, my soul,
why groan within me?
Hope in God; I will praise yet again,
my savior and my God.

Reading

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. (...) Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

or

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

Song

Silence

Intercessions

Renew in us, Lord, the joy of your call.
—Be with us, Lord Emmanuel!

Send upon us your Spirit of love: may we never shut our hearts to our neighbor.
—Be with us, Lord Emmanuel!

Renew the unity between Christians: may they manifest your love by their communion.
—Be with us, Lord Emmanuel!

Support those who suffer in their hearts or in their flesh: restore them to peace and health.
—Be with us, Lord Emmanuel!

Welcome those who have died into the life of eternity: may their eyes see the light that never sets.
—Be with us, Lord Emmanuel!

Our Father

Prayer

Jesus, light of our hearts, we would like to remain close to you, never abandoning you by our wayside. And when we come to know our weaknesses, unexpected resources appear within us. How could we refuse an inner vitality that comes from you?

or

May the peace of God, which is beyond all understanding, keep our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.

Songs