Thursday December 15 Advent 3
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Psalm 50
This psalm imagines God’s response to the people carrying out their religious practices but doing evil and abandoning justice. Rather than simply reacting or punishing, God lays out the case as if God were taking them to court—the idea is that God is being completely fair and getting an unbiased opinion about what the people have done. They have refused to be thankful for what God has done for them in rescuing them from Egypt and have substituted religion for being just to their own poor people and if this continues there will be consequences, but if they return to justice and thanksgiving all will be well.
Isaiah 9: 18—10: 4 What’s Isaiah about?
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 What’s Matthew about?
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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