A SERVICE OF PRAYER AT NOON
December 15, 2022
Welcome
Prelude
Dialogue
O Come Emmanuel, come.
We yearn for your presence among us.
O Come Emmanuel, come.
We yearn for your heavenly home in your kingdom.
O Come Emmanuel, come.
Stay with us until the Son of God appears.
O Come Emmanuel, come.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
The peace of God which surpasses all human understanding, the love of Christ that guards our hearts and minds, and the joy and comfort of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Amen.
Mid-Day Prayer for Advent
Stir up your power, Lord Christ, and come. With your abundant grace and might, free us from the sin that hinders our faith, that eagerly we may receive your promises, for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
1Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock!
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
2before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh.
Stir up your might,
and come to save us!
3Restore us, O God;
let your face shine, that we may be saved.
4O Lord GOD of hosts,
how long will you be angry with your people's prayers?
5You have fed them with the bread of tears,
and given them tears to drink in full measure.
6You make us the scorn of our neighbors;
our enemies laugh among themselves.
7Restore us, O God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved.
17But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand,
the one whom you made strong for yourself.
18Then we will never turn back from you;
give us life, and we will call on your name.
19Restore us, O LORD God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved.
Gloria Patri
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be. Amen.
First Reading Romans 1: 1-7
1Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, 3the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, 6including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
7To all God's beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Second Reading God Becomes Human by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
God becomes human, really human. While we endeavor to grow out of our humanity, to leave our human nature behind us, God becomes human, and we must recognize that God wants us also to become human – really human. Whereas we distinguish between the godly and the godless, the good and the evil, the noble and the common, God loves real human beings and the real world against all their accusers…But it’s not enough to say that God takes care of human beings. This sentence rest on something infinitely deeper and more impenetrable, namely, that in the conception and birth of Jesus Christ, God took on humanity in bodily fashion. God raised his love for human beings above every reproach of falsehood and doubt and uncertainty by himself entering into the life of human beings as a human being, by bodily taking upon himself and bearing the nature, essence, guilt and suffering of human being. Out of love for human beings, God becomes a human being. He does not see out the most perfect human being in order to unite with that person. Rather God takes on human nature as it is.
"Dietrich Bonhoeffer -- God is in the Manger; Reflections on Advent and Christmas," compiled and edited by Jana Riess; 2010 Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, KY
Reflection
Magnificat
We praise you, Lord, and our spirits rejoice in you – our Saviour;
For you take notice of the unnoticeable, and transform them into the blessed;
You are strong and true to yourself and all that is good in everything you are and do and say; and you do great things for us;
Through the ages you have shown compassion to those who trust you,
And in your strength you have scattered those who are arrogant and abusive;
You have made the thrones of tyrants topple and you have made humble people into leaders of many;
You have cared for and provided for those who have nothing,and you have left the over-satisfied with empty hands;
You have always been a help to your people, and have shown mercy when we have gone astray;
You made this promise to our ancestors, and you continue to stay true to it even now.
We praise you, Lord, and our spirits rejoice in you – our Saviour. Amen.
A Prayer-Paraphrase of Luke 1: 46-55, by John van der Laar, copyright 2008, used with permission.
Prayer
Lord's Prayer
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.
Benediction
The God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing, so that we may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit, through Christ Jesus, for whom we wait. Amen.
Hymn
Away in the Manger
ELW 277
Away in a manger, no crib for his bed,
the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head;
the stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay,
the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.
The cattle are lowing; the baby awakes,
but little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes.
I love you, Lord Jesus; look down from the sky
and stay by my cradle till morning is nigh.
Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask you to stay
close by me forever and love me, I pray.
Bless all the dear children in your tender care
and fit us for heaven, to live with you there.
Liturgical Text and Music, from Evangelical Lutheran Worship and sundaysandseasons.com, © 2006, 2020, and 2022 Augsburg Fortress, Reprinted and/or streamed with permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies License #SAS016761. All rights reserved.
Away in the Manger, Text: North American, 19th cent. Music: James R. M\urray, 1841-1905. Public domain.
