And you, Bethlehem Ephrathah
being small among the clans of Judah,
from you
for me
one will go out
to rule over Israel
and their going out will be
from the days of old,
from the former days.

Therefore he (God) will give (them up)
-until the time when
the one who is in labour gives birth
and the rest of his brothers/sisters will return
to the sons / daughters of Israel.

And he will stand and shepherd (the people)
in the strength of the LORD
by the majesty of the name of the LORD, his God
and they shall dwell (in peace)
for at that time he will be magnified
even to the ends of the earth.

And this one will be peace:
for if Assyria comes to our land
and marches into our fortresses
we will raise up against them seven shepherds
and eight leaders of people.

Grant, Lord,
that we may hold to you without parting,
worship you without wearying,
serve you without failing;
faithfully seek you,
happily find you,
and forever possess you,
the only God,blessed now and for ever.
Amen

St Anselm

Therefore (John) said to the crowds, who had come out to be baptized by him:
‘You, family of snakes, who told you to flee from the coming wrath?’

‘So ‘make‘ fruits, worthy of repentance
and do not begin to say among yourselves:
“We have Abraham, as our father.”
For I say to you “God can raise from these stones children for Abraham”.
So already the axe is laid at the root of the trees,
Then, a tree that does not ‘make‘ good fruit
will be cut down, and thrown into fire.’

And the crowds were asking him:
‘Then, what should we do?’

He answered them:
‘The one who has two tunics,
let them share with one who has none,
and the one who has food
must do likewise’

Tax collectors even came to be baptized
and they said to him:
‘Teacher what should we do?’
So he said to them:
‘Collect no more than you are required to!’

And soldiers asked him:
‘And us – what must we do?’
And he said to them:
‘Don’t shake anyone down, nor falsely accuse anyone,
and be content with your wages.’

And,
the people being expectant
and wondering in their hearts about John
that perhaps he might be the Messiah,
John answered them all:
“I baptize you by water,
but a stronger one than me is coming,
I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals.
He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit, and fire.

His winnowing fork is in his hand
to clean out his threshing floor
and to gather the wheat into his barn,
but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.

So in this way, with many other exhortations
he proclaimed the good news to the people.

Sing, Daughter Jerusalem!
Shout, Israel!
Rejoice and exult
with all your heart
Daughter Jerusalem!
The LORD has removed the judgments against you,
he has turned back your enemy
the King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst,
do not fear evil again.
On that day it will be said to Jerusalem:
‘Do not fear, Zion,
Do not let your hands drop.
And the LORD God is in youe midst,
a mighty one who saves
he will rejoice over you with gladness
he will quieten you by his love
he will exult over you with a shout of joy.

The people who grieve because of festivals
I have gathered from you
they are a burden to her
a reproach

Behold I will deal with all who afflict you at that time
and I will will rescue the lame
and the scattered I will gather
I will change…
to praise and to renown
in all the earth
… her shame

At that time I will bring you in
and at the time I gather you together
I will make you renowned
and praised among all the peoples of the earth;
when I return your fortunes
before your eyes
says the LORD.

O Lord Jesus Christ,
stay beside me to defend me,
within me to guide me,
before me to lead me,
and above me to bless me,
that with you and in you,
I may live, and move and have my being,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

(unknown)

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,
(when) Pontius Pilate was governing the Judeans
and Herod was the ruler of Galilee
and Philip, his brother was the ruler of Iturea and Trachonitis
and Lysanius was ruler of Abilene
and during the high priesthood of Anna and Caiaphas –
the word of God came upon John,
the son of Ze chariah
in the desert.

And he came to all the region of the Jordan preaching
a baptism of repentance
for the forgiveness of sins.

As it is was written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
‘A voice crying in the the wilderness,
Prepare the way of the Lord,
Make straight his path.
Every valley shall be filled,
and ever mountain and hill will be made low.
And the crooked will be straight
and the rough ways will be made level.
And all humanity will see the salvation of God.

Lord God,
you feed us with the living bread from heaven;
you renew our faith,
increase our hope,
and strengthen our love.

Teach us to hunger
for Christ who is the true and living bread,
and to live by every word
that comes from your mouth,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

I give thanks to my God,
in every remembrance of you,
always
in every prayer of mine
for you all,
with joy,
when making my prayer,
because of your partnership in the gospel
from the first day until now. ,
Having been convinced of this very thing:
that the one who began
among you
a good work
will surely complete (it)
at the day of Christ Jesus.

So it is right for me to feel this (way)
about you all
because
I have you all
in my heart
– both in my chains
and in also the defense of the gospel,
you all have been my partners in grace.

For God is my witness
that I long for you all
with the compassion of Christ Jesus.

And this is my prayer:
that your love might
abound more and more,
in wisdom
and in all knowledge,
so that you might decide what is best
in order that you will be pure and blameless
on the day of Christ,
bearing the fruit of righteousness
through Jesus Christ
for the glory and praise of God.

Almighty God,
purify our hearts and minds,
that when your Son Jesus Christ comes again as judge and saviour
we may be ready to receive him,
who is our Lord and our God.
Amen.

Eternal Light, shine into our hearts;
Eternal Goodness, deliver us from evil;
Eternal Power, be our support;
Eternal Wisdom, scatter the darkness of our ignorance:
That we may seek your face
with all our heart and mind and soul and strength. Amen.

Alcuin

Watch me! I am sending my messenger
and he will clear the road before me.
Suddenly the Lord
-whom you are seeking,
will come to his Temple
and the messenger / angel of the covenant
– whom you long for,
behold he is coming.
Says the LORD of hosts.

And who can endure the day of his coming?
And who can stand when he appears?
For he will be like the fire of the refiners
like the lye of the washers.

He will act like a refiner and a purifier of silver
and he will purify the sons of Levi
and he will refine them like gold and silver.
And they will bring to the LORD a right offering.
And the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD
as in the days past, and in former years.

Almighty God,
purify our hearts and minds,
that when your Son Jesus Christ comes again as judge and saviour
we may be ready to receive him,
who is our Lord and our God.

God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

And there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars,
and upon the earth
(there will be) distress
among the nations
confused
by the sound
of sea and waves,
people will be fainting from fear
and from the expectation of what is coming to the world,
and then they will see
the Son of Man coming in a cloud
with power and great glory.
Then as these things begin to happen
look up
and raise your heads
because your redemption is near.

And he told them a parable:
Look at the fig tree and all the trees.
When they put out their leaves,
you, yourselves, watch and know
that summer is near.
In the same way,
when you see these things happening
know that the Kingdom of God is near.
Truly I tell you
in no way,
will this generation pass away
until all these things have happened.
Heaven and earth will pass away
but my words will never ever pass away.

Watch out for yourselves
so that your hearts may not be weighed down
with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life
and that day come upon you suddenly
as a snare.
For it will come all who live upon the whole earth
so be alert at all times
praying to escape all things about to happen
and to stand before the Son of Man.

Eternal Light, shine into our hearts,
Eternal Goodness, deliver us from evil,
Eternal Power, be our support,
Eternal Wisdom, scatter the darkness of our ignorance,
Eternal Pity, have mercy upon us;
that with all our heart and mind
and soul and strength we may seek thy face
and be brought by thine infinite mercy
to thy holy presence;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Alcuin (735-804)

How can we thank God
to repay you
for all the joy with which we rejoice
because of you
before our God,
-night and d ay we e arnestly pray
to see your face
and to make complete
that which is lacking in your faith?

So may God himself, and our Father,
and our Lord Jesus
make straight our path to you.
Then may the Lord make you increase and overflow
in love for one another
and for all,
just as we also
(abound in love)
for you,
so that your hearts
may be strengthened,
blameless in holiness,
before God and our Father
at the coming of our Lord Jesus,
with all his holy ones.

Lord, you have given me so much,
I ask for one more thing –
a grateful heart.

George Herbert

There, days are coming (Yahweh’s declaration)
when I shall act on the good word
that I spoke concerning Israel’s household and Judah’s household.
In those days and at that time
I shall grow for David a right shoot,
and he will implement authority and righteousness in the country.
In those days Judah will find deliverance,
and Jerusalem will dwell with confidence,
and this is what it will be called: “Yahweh Is Our Righteousness”.’

Be thou a bright flame before me,
Be thou a guiding star above me
Be thou a smooth path below me
Be thou a kindly shepherd behind me
Today – tonight -forever
Amen.

St Columba