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Scripture Focus: Revelation 11.15
“The kingdom of the world has become
the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah,
and he will reign for ever and ever.”
Reflection: Prayers of Joy :: Joy of Advent
By John Tillman
As we conclude the third week of Advent and move to the fourth and final Sunday of this season of anticipation, we prepare our hearts with the joyful prayers of Revelation which follow the seventh trumpet. The joy we experience now through the Holy Spirit has its culmination here. The joy of Advent is true joy and has been held in hearts across the centuries.
Prayers of Joy
We thank you, Lord, for the true joy, ours in Advent.
Advent’s joy exists despite and within all circumstances.
It is joy in plenty and pleasure, but also in pain and want.
It is the joy of Zechariah and Elizabeth
Who suffered years of hopelessness before a spark of joy came to them
It is the joy in Zechariah’s prophecy
Seeing an end to earthly suffering
It is the joy Mary sang of
The lowly lifted and the proud humiliated
It is the joy the shepherds could see
A child born to Mary and to them and to us
A child born to fulfill God’s promise to Eve.
This is the great joy of the good news shepherds were sent to seek.
It is the joy John the Baptist knew
His ministry faded and suffered, yet Christ’s grew
It is the joy of Jesus
Healing and feeding masses who did not understand
Masses who followed with wrong motives
It is the joy of Christ on the cross
Despising the shame
Eyes set on the joy before him.
It is the joy of the resurrection
First witnessed by Mary Magdalene
The first to tell the gospel to others
This joyful good news, this impossible gospel, passed on to us today is the only source of true and lasting joy that will last into eternity.
We join the prayer of heavenly elders, who fall in worship, saying:
“The kingdom of the world has become
the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah,
and he will reign for ever and ever.”
Come, Lord Jesus!
Enter our hearts now.
Enter our world through our hands and speech.
And finally, at the day of our Father’s choosing, enter our skies
And rest your feet on Earth, with your restoring justice.
“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
the One who is and who was,
because you have taken your great power
and have begun to reign.”
Come reign in us, Lord, so that you can reign through us.
Amen.
*Handel’s Messiah, Full Symphony Performance (Recording of Live Broadcast), (2:32) Sydney Philharmonic Symphony and Choirs
Divine Hours Prayer: A Reading
Now his mother and his brothers arrived, and standing outside, sent in a message asking for him. A crowd was sitting round him at the time the message was passed to him, “Look, your mother and brothers and sisters are outside asking for you.” He replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers? Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother.” — Mark 3.31-35
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.
Today’s Readings
2 Chronicles 24 (Listen -5:07)
Revelation 11 (Listen -3:24)
This Weekend’s Readings
2 Chronicles 25 (Listen -5:12) Revelation 12 (Listen -2:58)
2 Chronicles 26 (Listen -4:00) Revelation 13 (Listen -3:20)
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