Reading 1
The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor,
to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,
to announce a year of favor from the LORD
and a day of vindication by our God.
I rejoice heartily in the LORD,
in my God is the joy of my soul;
for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation
and wrapped me in a mantle of justice,
like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,
like a bride bedecked with her jewels.
As the earth brings forth its plants,
and a garden makes its growth spring up,
so will the Lord GOD make justice and praise
spring up before all the nations.
Gospel
A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
but came to testify to the light.
And this is the testimony of John.
When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests
and Levites to him
to ask him, “Who are you?”
He admitted and did not deny it,
but admitted, “I am not the Christ.”
So they asked him,
“What are you then? Are you Elijah?”
And he said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
So they said to him,
“Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us?
What do you have to say for yourself?”
He said:
“I am the voice of one crying out in the desert,
‘make straight the way of the Lord,’”
as Isaiah the prophet said.”
Some Pharisees were also sent.
They asked him,
“Why then do you baptize
if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?”
John answered them,
“I baptize with water;
but there is one among you whom you do not recognize,
the one who is coming after me,
whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”
This happened in Bethany across the Jordan,
where John was baptizing.
“Gaudete in Domino semper”.May we always rejoice in the Lord.Blessings to all…
My house burned down Oct 22 1993. Had to buy a new Bible and in it was a “read thru entire in a yr schedule” have been moving thru each yr since. The beauty is the old is informative on all current
aspects of life and the events of the NT . Both are indispensable and valuable every day!
That is wonderful– not the house fire– the new Bible! 🙏❤️
I too have a reading every day….’Our Daily Bread’ and another inspiring little book. I write the theme on a chalkboard in the garage so I can remember it throughout the day.
God bless the unfortunate and bring joy to those needing help.
Jesus Calling is another daily read book. nice little pocket size.
“God has given unto man freedom of will, that he may choose between good and evil. For God desires that man shall come to him of his own choice, not like a slave that serves for hire, but like a son who serves his father in love.”
– Sholem Asch, The Nazarene
Yes!!!🙏❤️
Thank you! The only thing I would add to the Word of God is on American Thinker this morning.:Now Is Our Moment by Jeffrey Folks. It is a wonderful uplifting non political article that I believe Sundance and treepers would like. It is inspired and shouts out Live Your Best Life, just like Sundance says. God is speaking to us everyday to those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. Have a peaceful and joy-filled Sunday!
I read that article as well Barb and thought the same. What a wonderful “thing” we have been given.
Peace to All
Seek the Light
Amen!!
and a peaceful and joy-filled every day after that!
While the source(KJV, NIV, etc.) may be contended to a degree, the context of the article and the subsequent comments provides for, as El Rushbo so eloquently opined, a ‘teachable moment’.
The key element to bible study is to compare scripture with scripture.
In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus, speaking in a Nazarene synagogue, quoting from Isa 61: 1-2, said;
‘To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.(period/stop)’ as opposed to Isaiah 61:2 which proclaims ‘the acceptable year of the Lord,(comma/pause).’
Jesus gave a perfect(go figure) example of rightly dividing the ‘word of truth’ 2 Tim 2:15
The ‘day of vengeance’ refers to the tribulation which is yet to come as we are currently in the age of grace(until the church/body of Christ is caught up/raptured) 1 Thess 4:17
Trust God. Fear not.
Merry Christmas to all.
Nice theory…use scripture to interpret scripture….I know of multiple theologies that all profess that and quote chapter and verse to support their beliefs…but the outcomes are all different. Their hermeneutics are diverse so that creates the differing beliefs, not just in eschatology but also in the Sacraments.
I like your last two sentences…those are undisputable!!!
FWIW, the Masoretic text used in the KJV and most modern Bibles re: the Old Testament sourcing can be quite different from the Septugint (LXX). That might explain certain things. Our Lord used the latter as the former, the Masoetic text, only began to be translated circa 700 AD. (Yes, that’s A.D.) The Septugint was translated from Hebrew around 200 BC.
The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls was a huge event, and after decades of work, these pieces confirm the Septugint over against the Masoretic. Amd let’s not forget the whole isssue of the Paleo-Hebrew script versus the Hebrew alphabet Jews use now. That latter began to be used at the time of the Babylonian exile.
Again, FWIW.
Sorry, it’s “Septuagint”, not “septugint”. But my commment has vanished so I can’t correct. Just sayin’.
and to all a Good Night. Always Trust in the Lord. Man will disappoint every single time. But not our Lord.
O Emmanuel by Malcolm Guite
O come, O come, and be our God-with-us
O long-sought With-ness for a world without,
O secret seed, O hidden spring of light.
Come to us Wisdom, come unspoken Name
Come Root, and Key, and King, and holy Flame,
O quickened little wick so tightly curled,
Be folded with us into time and place,
Unfold for us the mystery of grace
And make a womb of all this wounded world.
O heart of heaven beating in the earth,
O tiny hope within our hopelessness
Come to be born, to bear us to our birth,
To touch a dying world with new-made hands
And make these rags of time our swaddling bands.
Amen for what was foretold by Isaiah and witnessed by John the Baptist!
Thank you for faithfully bringing us His Word. May God bless you and yours, and all.🙏❤️
“O Almighty God, gracious provider and giver of life, we anxiously await the celebration of your birth. Like the people of long ago, our ancestors in faith, we, too, are in need of light, in need of direction, in need of your Word, to show us the way. Our busy lives and the consumerism that surrounds us make it difficult to recognize your kingdom and to hear your voice. Help us Lord, to focus on you. Amen.
my God, my Father.
Rejoice!
I have so much praise and gratitude for today’s mass. The readings, the Eucharist, the music. All gifts.
Precious gifts for all.
I kept whispering REIGN CHRIST, COME, REIGN!!!!!!!!
And Vespers is at 4:00. Amen.
I love Vespers and Compline at this time of year. So magical!
thank you all and God bless each and everyone who remains quiet
In the Advent wreath, today is the Shepherd’s candle aka the joy candle. Believers have one true Shepherd and now, more than ever, we need to be following Him.
“Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.”
>>
”I rejoice heartily in the LORD,
in my God is the joy of my soul;
for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation …”
Beautiful, glorious Scripture.
Words of Truth and Life.
Thanks be to God for His salvation, through His Son, Jesus Christ.
🙏🏻
The collect for the third Sunday in Advent, from the Book of Common Prayer:
O Lord Jesu Christ, who at thy first coming didst send thy messenger to prepare thy way before thee: Grant that the ministers and stewards of thy mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready thy way, by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, that at thy second coming to judge the world we may be found an acceptable people in thy sight, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
I made an advent picture with 5 candles, one for hope, peace, already colored purple…one pink joy this Saturday, and purple love the next Saturday.
The center is white for Victory.
Advent is preparing our hearts for Christmas, the gift of Jesus.
I learned watching the documentary, The Days of Noah: The Flood (great watch) that in the 16th century, Catholic leaders changed the sabbath from Saturday to Sunday.
I now observe that Saturday, but it really is no different from the other 6 days because I have my devotional every day, not just on the Sabbath.
I don’t ask for much, but for this day I ask for prayers for the only person I know, that is having surgery to remove infection from a foot; he is diabetic.
May God bless everyone here and help you stay safe and help you remember to dwell on things, gifts, we have been given and pray for those not so lucky.
Amen.