Isaiah of old prayed, “Let the earth open wide her mouth; as justice descends, O heavens,
like the dew from above, like gentle showers, let salvation fall from the skies; let justice spring up and salvation bud forth.” Come gentle rain of Advent-tide, soak deep into my heart, calling forth signs of an early spring. Make buds appear on my heart’s barren rosebush and blooms on its dried flower stalks. Come showers of silence and wet my soul; soak deeply with your fertile fingers, dripping heaven’s dew. May I come forth from my times of prayer as from a bath: dripping wet from a sacred soaking,
refreshed, renewed, revitalized. Advent prayer of December stillness, dampen my dry soul, coax forth green leaves of the Spirit
and bring forth buds of bright flowers
as green trees flicker with magic lights
and green wreath circles whirl on front doors, red-bowed in festive joy. May soggy souls ooze out awesome gifts, for Emmanuel, God-among-us, is awakened from a yearlong slumber
by gentle mists of Advent longing
and is eager to give gifts of love,
presents of your presence. Radiant Rain God, make me your brimful cloud, ready to shower down Emmanuel’s justice and peace
upon all I meet.
Edward Hayes, 1931 – 2016, Catholic Priest, Kansas City
God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment: “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked?
Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
Loving Lord, at the beginning of this Lenten season, we are met with the challenge of handing over every bit of our lives that do not come from You. To rid ourselves of what clutters our lives, and all that distracts us from the simple truth of Your love for us.
Your prophets have called us to change the way we worship— to make internal sacrifices instead of external ones. To seek justice, and love kindness, and walk humbly with You each and every one of our days.
If we don’t give anything up for Lent, then let us at least give up this: that we might cease living in ways that disconnect us from You, for every one of our steps is like a circle around Your temple. Perhaps this Lent, we can give up our way and give ourselves to Your way for us.
So, lead and guide us on this Lenten way. May we walk with Jesus toward the hill just outside of Jerusalem. May we like Him take up our cross and follow, spending each moment of our lives living responsively to You, just as Christ Himself did. For that is the faithful way.
Amen
Patrick Ryan, Presbyterian pastor in West Virginia.
He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.
He ate grass like a cow, and he was drenched with the dew of heaven.
He lived this way until his hair was as long as eagles’ feathers
and his nails were like birds’ claws.
“After this time had passed, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven.
My sanity returned, and I praised and worshiped the Most High
and honored the one who lives forever.
His rule is everlasting, and his kingdom is eternal. All the people of the earth are nothing compared to him. He does as he pleases among the angels of heaven and among the people of the earth. No one can stop him or say to him, ‘What do you mean by doing these things?’
“When my sanity returned to me, so did my honor and glory and kingdom.
My advisers and nobles sought me out,
and I was restored as head of my kingdom,
with even greater honor than before.
“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the King of heaven.
All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud.”
Image from Art4TheGlryOfGod by Sharon under Creative Commons license
Our world carries the scars of the way we live, Jesus; the preferential treatment given to the few who are wealthy and powerful and famous leaves the rest ignored and neglected; the desperate quest for more leaves all of us feeling less, enjoying less; the self-protective aggression we embrace to feel safe leaves us and others wounded and frightened; the apathetic disregard for the suffering, the grieving, the dying leaves us disconnected from our own humanity, from our ability to feel and to care.
We need our world turned upside down, Jesus; We need our self-importance and self-sufficiency to be undermined; We need a new way of being that is built on a whole new set of values:
Humble the powerful and exalt the humble, we pray; Fill the hungry with good things, and keep the satisfied from taking even more; Give us the wisdom to let a Child lead us into a world of justice and love; into the joy of sacrifice and service and simplicity.
O come, Emmanuel, and ransom your captive people. Amen.
John van de Laar, South African Methodist worship minster
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord— and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
prayer & verse 
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