Monday 2 December

Jerusalem

Mosaic Jerusalem, Michoel Muchnik
"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:" Psalm 122.6.

I was glad when they said to me: 'Let us go to the house of the Lord. ' (Ps. 122.1)

Isaiah 2:1-5

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

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.
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.
He shall judge between the nations,
and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.

O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord!

Psalm 122

1 I was glad when they said to me:
   'Let us go to the house of the Lord. '
2 And now our feet are standing:
   within your gates, O Jerusalem;
3 Jerusalem which is built as a city:
   where the pilgrims gather in unity.
4 There the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord:
   as he commanded Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 There are set thrones of judgement:
   the thrones of the house of David.
6 O pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
   may those who love you prosper.
7 Peace be within your walls:
   and prosperity in your palaces.
8 For the sake of my kindred and companions:
   I will pray that peace be with you.
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God:
   I will seek for your good.

Matthew 8:5-11

When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him and saying, ‘Lord, my servant is lying at home paralysed, in terrible distress.’ And he said to him, ‘I will come and cure him.’ The centurion answered, ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, “Go”, and he goes, and to another, “Come”, and he comes, and to my slave, “Do this”, and the slave does it.’ When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, ‘Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

Psalm 122, Sha'alu shelom Yerushalayim,
composed by Raimund Rennebaum and sung by Waltraud Rennebaum.
From the Album Rennebaum: Ma'Alot - The Songs of Ascents (Psalms 120-134, 139), 2007.

Ps122

Humankind, by Kerry Hardie

We carry the trust.
It was not imposed on us,
nor are we heedless.
Sometimes the stillness stands in the woods
and lies on the lake. We move like drowned beings
through clouded waters.
Sometimes we wake to spent leaves
blowing about in the yard. A door bangs.
A woman – vigorous – shakes a rug into the wind.
The red dog shudders and rises and listens.
Uncertain light shines the grasses.
Wealth sits in inner rooms, staring.
These are our days.
Walk them.
Fear nothing.

Almighty God,
you make us glad with the yearly remembrance
of the birth of your Son Jesus Christ:
grant that, as we joyfully receive him as our redeemer,
so we may with sure confidence behold him
when he shall come to be our judge;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.