Isaiah 25

6 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples

a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines,

of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.

7 And he will destroy on this mountain

the shroud that is cast over all peoples,

the covering that is spread over all nations;

8 he will swallow up death forever.

Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces,

and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth,

for the Lord has spoken.

9 It will be said on that day,

“See, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us.

This is the Lord for whom we have waited;

let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

A Litany of Hope

Leader:

In a world rushing from Thanksgiving to Christmas,

Advent calls us to slow down—

to pause, breathe, and wait.

People:

Christ, Hope of all the Earth,

teach us to wait with open hearts.

Leader:

We remember Israel,

longing for deliverance

and waiting for the God who saves.

People:

We wait with them

and trust the God who keeps His promises.

Leader:

Our hope is not in circumstances or accomplishments,

but in the God who prepares a feast,

destroys the shroud,

swallows death,

and wipes away every tear.

People:

This is our God.

This is the One we have waited for.

Leader:

So even in darkness,

we light this candle—

a small flame that tells the truth of the greater Light:

God is at work, and one day the darkness will end.

People:

Christ, Hope of all the Earth,

shine in us and through us.

Make your hope visible in our world.

Isaiah 2

The Future House of God

1 The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

2 In days to come

the mountain of the Lord’s house

shall be established as the highest of the mountains

and shall be raised above the hills;

all the nations shall stream to it.

3 Many peoples shall come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

to the house of the God of Jacob,

that he may teach us his ways

and that we may walk in his paths.”

For out of Zion shall go forth instruction

and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

4 He shall judge between the nations

and shall arbitrate for many peoples;

they shall beat their swords into plowshares

and their spears into pruning hooks;

nation shall not lift up sword against nation;

neither shall they learn war any more.

5 O house of Jacob,

come, let us walk

in the light of the Lord!

Psalms 122

Song of Praise and Prayer for Jerusalem

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

1 I was glad when they said to me,

“Let us go to the house of the Lord!”

2Our feet are standing

within your gates, O Jerusalem.

3 Jerusalem—built as a city

that is bound firmly together.

4 To it the tribes go up,

the tribes of the Lord,

as was decreed for Israel,

to give thanks to the name of the Lord.

5 For there the thrones for judgment were set up,

the thrones of the house of David.

6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:

“May they prosper who love you.

7Peace be within your walls

and security within your towers.”

8For the sake of my relatives and friends

I will say, “Peace be within you.”

9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,

I will seek your good.