Thursday December 17 Advent 3
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Psalm 50
This psalm imagines God’s response to the people doing evil and abandoning justice. Rather than simply reacting or punishing, God lays out the case as if God were going to court – the idea is that God is being completely fair and getting an unbiased opinion about what the people have done. They have substituted religion for being just and if this continues there will be consequences.
Isaiah 9: 18 – 10: 4
Evil acts like a forest wild fire consuming everything – greed knows no limits. There will be no escape from the consequences of oppressing those without power – “writing oppressive statutes…making orphans your prey.”
Matthew 3: 1-12
John, announcing the coming of the saviour, challenges people to change their life priorities. That is the challenge of Christmas for us.
This week’s collect:
God of power and mercy,
you call us once again
to celebrate the coming of your Son.
Remove those things which hinder love of you,
that when he comes,
he may find us waiting in awe and wonder
for him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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