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(c) 2010, Linda Witte Henke (www.lindahenke.com). All rights reserved.

Posted here with permission of the artist.

O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel:

qui aperis, et nemo claudit; claudis et nemo aperit:

veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris, sedentem in tenebris et umbra mortis.

Service of Light

Greeting/Invocation

 We light three Candles on the Advent Wreath, and say or sing:

Light and Peace in Jesus Christ our Lord!

~Thanks be to God!

 

Let your face shine on us, O God;

~And we shall be saved.

 

ADVENT EVENING HYMN

We sing the appropriate verse from this well-known and beloved Advent Carol

O come, O Key of David, come, and open wide our heav’nly home;

Make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path to misery.

 

O come O Flow’r of Jesse’s stem, From every foe deliver them

That trust your mighty pow’r to save, And give them vict’ry o’er the grave.

 

O come, O come, great Lord of might, who to your tribes on Sinai’s height

In ancient times once gave the law, in cloud, and majesty, and awe.

 

O come, O Wisdom from on high, Who orders all things mightily;

To us the path of knowledge show, And teach us in her ways to go.

 

Rejoice! Rejoice!  Emmanuel Shall come to you, O Israel.

 

SERVICE OF THE WORD

PSALMODY

 Psalm 88/89b

He shall sit upon the throne of David,

and of his kingdom there shall be no end, alleluia!

Of old you spoke in a vision.

To your friends, the prophets you said:

I will set a crown on this warrior,

chosen from among the people.

 

I have found David my servant,

with my holy oil I have anointed him.

My hand will always be with him

and my arm will make him strong.

 

No enemy will ever ensnare him,

no schemer will bring him down.

I will crush all of his foes

and smite those who hate him.

 

My truth and my love will be with him;

by my Name his strength will be exalted.

I will stretch out his hand to the Sea

and his right hand as far as the River. 

 

He calls out to me: “My Father,

my Rock, the God who saves me.”

I will count him my first-born;

the most noble of all the rulers on Earth.

 

I will honor my promise of love,

keep my covenant with David forever,

I will establish his royal house,

his throne as firm as the heavens.

 

Should his children forsake the law

and abandon the path I decreed,

if they violate my precepts

or do not respect my commands;

I will chastise them for their rebellion

and correct them because of their guilt.

 

But I shall not withdraw my love:

my truth will never fail.

I will not break my covenant

nor ever revoke my word. 

 

Indeed, I have sworn by my holiness,

I cannot lie to David:

His house shall last forever.

His throne is like the sun,

constant as the moon,

everlasting as the sky. 

 

Glory to the ONE and to the WORD

And to the BREATH of Love!

As always before,

so now and evermore.  Amen

He shall sit upon the throne of David,

and of his kingdom there shall be no end, alleluia!

 

READING —  Ezekiel 34:15-16

I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest, says Adonai Elohim.  The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal, shepherding them rightly.

 

Silent Reflection

Responsory  

R. When Israel was a child I loved them, * and out of Egypt, I called my own.

V. I led them with cords of compassion, with leading strings of love.

     *and out of Egypt, I called my own.

V. Glory to the Abba and to the Word and to the Holy Breath of Love.

Canticle of Mary          Luke 1:46-55

O Key of David, and scepter of the house of Israel:

what you open no one closes, when you close, no one can open.

 Come and free from their prison chains those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death!

It is customary to make the sign of the cross at the beginning of the Gospel Canticle.

My heart + is radiant with the Lord,

My whole being delights in God my Savior.

 

All people now will call me blessed

For God has loved this humble handmaid.

The Almighty has shown me great favor

Holy is the NAME,

 

Whose mercy embraces the faithful,

From one generation to the next.

The mighty arm of God,

Scatters the proud in their own conceit,

 

Pulls tyrants from their thrones

While lifting up the lowly:

Fills the famished with bounty,

And reveals the emptiness of riches.

 

Rescues lowly Israel,

Sharing such loving kindness,

As promised to our ancestors

To Abraham and Sarah, and their descendants forever.

 

Glory to the ONE and to the WORD

and to the BREATH of Love!

As always before,

so now and evermore.  Amen

O Key of David, and scepter of the house of Israel:

what you open no one closes, when you close, no one can open.

 Come and free from their prison chains those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death!

 

SERVICE OF PRAYER

Litany

We  pray to the one who rescues us from darkness

and in hope we cry out:  ~ Come Lord Jesus

 

Heal those who suffer from illness or injury.  ~Come Lord Jesus.

 

Comfort those who grieve the loss of loved ones. ~Come Lord Jesus.

 

Gather into one family all the peoples of the Earth.  ~Come Lord Jesus.

 

Find those who have lost their way. ~Come Lord Jesus.

 

Renew again your covenant with all creation. ~Come Lord Jesus.

 

Teach us to pray…

Our Dear Abba in heaven …

 

Final Prayer and Blessing

 

Creator and Redeemer of humankind, your eternal Word took flesh in the house and family of David.  His justice is the key which unlocks the chains of racism, sexism, and classism; his truth  is the key which unlocks the prisons of arrogance, ignorance, and fear; his compassion is the key that leads to freedom, flourishing and the fullness of life.  May the celebration of his birth in just a few days, close  and lock the door to selfishness and sin that  we may join him and your Holy Spirit in renewing the face of the Earth;  For

you live and reign in the power of justice and love,  one God forever and ever.  Amen.

 

All may make the sign of the Cross as we say:

May the One who makes peace rain down from the heights,

+ shower us and all on Earth with freedom and new life.

~ Amen.

 

Let us bless Adonai.

~Thanks be to God.

 

 

Those who wish may end evening prayer with the Marian Antiphon for Advent.

Marian Antiphon

Loving Mother of our Savior, holding open heaven’s only hope, Star for steerage in this vastness, rise to help us, save the sinking.  Nature’s greatest  Wonder: you have borne your own true Maker, giving human life to him. Virgin ever, before and after, that Good News from Gabriel, Word of Life for living, tell it now: mercy to all people!

 

The angel of the Lord brought the message to Mary. ~ And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

 

Let us pray.  We ask, O God, that we who have been privileged to receive the Good News of the Incarnation of Christ, you Son, may be prepared through his passion and cross to approach also the glory of his resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.  Amen.