“Sunday Before Advent” by Christina Rossetti

Sunday Before Advent

The end of all things is at hand. We all
Stand in the balance trembling as we stand;
Or if not trembling, tottering to a fall.
The end of all things is at hand.

O hearts of men, covet the unending land!
O hearts of men, covet the musical,
Sweet, never-ending waters of that strand!

While Earth shows poor, a slippery rolling ball,
And Hell looms vast, a gulf unplumbed, unspanned,
And Heaven flings wide its gates to great and small,
The end of all things is at hand.

Christina Rossetti

Before 1893

Source: The Poetical Works of Christina Georgina Rossetti, with a Memoir and Notes by William Michael Rossetti (1904), Page 179.

 

 

Show Your Power and Mercy: A Prayer for Advent

Show your power and mercy
on all people who are bound
in the fetters of superstition
or the dreariness of unbelief, idolatry, false doctrine,
or utter careless ungodliness.
May Christ come also to them,
and establish among them
his kingdom of light, truth, and righteousness.
O eternal Father,
with your eternal Son and your Holy Spirit,
may you be praised and worshiped
at all times and in all places,
now and forever. Amen.

-Riga Prayer Book, 1707, from Prayers from the Collection of Baron Bunsen. Based on the translation of Catherine Winkworth and found in Prayers from the Evangelical-Lutheran Heritage by Paul C. Stratman.

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – First Week of Advent 2017 (Year B)

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – First Week of Advent 2017 (Year B)

Our Faithful Savior Will Come Again

“Our awe-inspiring heavenly Father knows our sins (Isaiah 64:1-9). Restore us, O Lord God, that we may be saved (Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19). God is faithful (1 Corinthians 1:3-9). We must keep an ever-present watch, for Jesus is coming again (Mark 13:24-37).”

-Thomas Oden in Ancient Christian Devotional

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Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Christ the King 2017 (Year A)

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Christ the King 2017 (Year A)

Our King and Shepherd

God made us and we are His (Psalm 100), the sheep of His pasture who worship Him and take comfort in his guidance (Psalm 95). Our Good Shepherd will look after, and search for, His lost sheep (Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24). We pray for wisdom and enlightenment so that we may know Christ better (Ephesians 1: 15-23), longing for Christ to come and say, “You who are blessed, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world (Matthew 25:31-46).”

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The Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Twenty Fourth Sunday after Pentecost 2017 (Year A)

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Twenty Fourth Sunday after Pentecost 2017 (Year A)

Using Our Talents

“We plead with God for mercy on our situations, submitting to him and looking to him for help (Psalm 123). We use our gifts and talents wisely (Matt. 25:14-30) until his anticipated return (1 Thess. 5:1-11) and judgment (Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18).”
-Thomas OdenAncient Christian Devotional 

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The Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Twenty Third Sunday after Pentecost 2017 (Year A)

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Twenty Third Sunday after Pentecost 2017 (Year A)

Waiting in Hope and Obedience

“God does not want lip service; he wants obedience from us (Amos 5:18-24). God is our powerful help and deliverer (Psalm 70 and Psalm 78); because we love him, we seek a pure heart and motives (Matthew 25:1-13), knowing that in Jesus, we have the assurance of salvation and eternal life (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).”
-Thomas OdenAncient Christian Devotional 

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