Of the dark past
A child is born;
With joy and grief
My heart is torn.
Calm in his cradle
The living lies.
May love and mercy
Unclose his eyes!
Young life is breathed
On the glass;
The world that was not
Comes to pass.
A child is sleeping:
An old man gone.
O, father forsaken,
Forgive your son!
Prayer
O Lord, raise up, we pray, your power
and come among us,
and with great might succour us;
that whereas, through our sins and wickedness
we are grievously hindered
in running the race that is set before us,
your bountiful grace and mercy
may speedily help and deliver us;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
to whom with you and the Holy Spirit,
be honour and glory, now and for ever.
Justice, mercy and peace
St John the Baptist, Leonardo, The Louvre, Paris.
"John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins." Mark 1:4
"Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem"
and "Ev'ry valley shall be exhaled" (Isaiah ch 40)
from Messiah by GF Handel,
sung by Albert Guardiola, tenor.
May the Lord, when he comes, find us watching and waiting. Amen.
