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Tonight’s reading
Luke 1:25, 42-45 “the Lord has done this for me… In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people. … In a loud voice she exclaimed Blessed are you (Mary) among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy, Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”
Revelation 1:4-5 “Grace and peace to you from He who is, and who was, and who is to come … from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.”
Revelation 22:20 “‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”
Additional references: Genesis 30, the Book of Ruth
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
It came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth
To touch their harps of gold;
"Peace on the earth, good will to men
From heaven's all-gracious King" –
The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels sing.
Still through the cloven skies they come
With peaceful wings unfurled,
And still their heavenly music floats
O'er all the weary world;
Above its sad and lowly plains
They bend on hovering wing,
And ever o'er its Babel-sounds
The blessed angels sing.
But with the woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long;
Beneath the angel-strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not
The love-song which they bring; –
Oh hush the noise, ye men of strife,
And hear the angels sing!
And ye, beneath life's crushing load,
Whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps and slow,
Look now! for glad and golden hours
Come swiftly on the wing; –
Oh, rest beside the weary road
And hear the angels sing!
For lo! the days are hastening on
By prophet bards foretold,
When with the ever circling years
Comes round the age of gold;
When Peace shall over all the earth
Its ancient splendors fling,
And the whole world give back the song
Which now the angels sing
Joy to the World
Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
𝄆 And heaven and nature sing, 𝄇
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.
Joy to the world! the Saviour reigns;
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
𝄆 Repeat the sounding joy, 𝄇
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
𝄆 Far as the curse is found, 𝄇
Far as, far as, the curse is found.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
𝄆 And wonders of His love, 𝄇
And wonders, wonders, of His love
Reflection Questions
What are you waiting for/hoping for in your life?
Have you had any experiences with timing being painful but beautiful?
What if anything has made waiting easier for you? Or do you find waiting getting harder as you’re getting older?
