Readings for Sunday December 5

Sunday December 5          Advent 2

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Psalm 148
These three psalms are especially appropriate on Sundays, the mini-anniversary of the resurrection. All creation praises God—the heavens, the earth—including fog, sea monsters, and “creeping things” (perhaps even insects or worms)—and humanity—rulers, young people and old people—all things without exception praise God together. Notice that the sequence is taken from the first creation story in Genesis: first the heavens, then creatures of the water, then creatures of the land, and finally people.

Psalm 149
Songs of joy at God’s victory. The joy of military victories toward the end of the psalm was their way of saying that God has conquered all injustice.

Psalm 150
A scene of riotous joy as every conceivable instrument and every creature praises God.

Amos 6: 1-14                            What’s Amos about?
Amos predicts that there will be terrible consequences for those who scorn justice in order to live in luxury. This is a devastating critique of leadership obsessed with wealth. King David, who lived 500 years earlier, astonishingly is criticized by Amos for his indulgent wealth—Amos says that not even the great King David could ignore God’s call to justice.

Luke 1: 57-68                            What’s Luke about?
John’s birth parallels that of Jesus—John’s mother also had conceived against all odds, his name is given by divine intervention (John’s name, “God is gracious” is given miraculously by his father), and a song of praise to God is sung about him for the great things he will do.  John, the older of the two, will inspire the people to trust that God is about to free them from Rome and Jesus will join that expectation and John’s movement.

This week’s collect:

Almighty God,
who sent your servant John the Baptist
to prepare your people to welcome the Messiah,
inspire us, the ministers and stewards of your truth,
to turn our disobedient hearts to you,
that when the Christ shall come again to be our judge,
we may stand with confidence before his glory;
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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