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Intercessions for Fourth Sunday of Advent Year C – 23rd December

The Collect

God our redeemer,who prepared the Blessed Virgin Mary to be the mother of your Son: grant that, as she looked for his coming as our saviour, so we may be ready to greet him when he comes again as our judge; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

First Reading: Micah 5.2-5a

The Lord says to his people: But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labour has brought forth; then the rest of his kindred shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth; and he shall be the one of peace.

Psalm: Luke 1.46

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; *he has looked with favour on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed; *the Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his name.
He has mercy on those who fear him, *from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm *and has scattered the proud in their conceit,
Casting down the mighty from their thrones *and lifting up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things *and sent the rich away empty.
He has come to the aid of his servant Israel, *to remember his promise of mercy,
The promise made to our ancestors, *to Abraham and his children for ever.

Second Reading: Hebrews 10.5-10

When Christ came into the world, he said, ‘Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,but a body you have prepared for me;  in burnt-offerings and sin-offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, “See, God, I have come to do your will, O God”(in the scroll of the book it is written of me).’ When he said above, ‘You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt-offerings and sin-offerings’ (these are offered according to the law), then he added, ‘See, I have come to do your will.’ He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. And it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Gospel reading: Luke 1.39-45(46-55)

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!” And Mary said:“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me – holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants for ever, even as he said to our fathers.”

 


December 23rd is the day of the eighth Advent antiphon in the English Sarum rite :

Virgin of Virgins, how shall this be? for neither before thee was any like thee, nor shall there be after: Daughters of Jerusalem, why marvel ye at me? the thing which ye behold is a divine mystery.

[Virgo virginum, quomodo fiet istud? Quia nec primam similem visa es nec habere sequentem. Filiae Ierusalem, quid me admiramini? Divinum est mysterium hoc quod cernitis.]

The antiphons formed part of Evensong, and so I suppose are not strictly relevant to the time of day for which most of you are probably writing intercessions. However, the lectionary (which includes the magnificat twice for emphasis) seems to reflect this last antiphon, and I suggest we base our response on it. (Paul’s letter to the Ephesians 3.8-20 expresses the idea well). Perhaps:

Lord, grant us to share in the divine mystery of Christ’s coming: in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 


God of all hope and joy, open our hearts in welcome, that your son Jesus Christ at his coming may find in us a dwelling prepared for him.

Lord, grant us to share in the divine mystery of Christ’s coming: in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Lord, as we once again prepare for Christmas, help us to make time in all our busyness for quiet prayer and contemplation; that we may reflect upon the wonder of your love and allow the reality of the Saviour’s birth to permeate our hearts and minds and souls. So may our joy be deeper, our worship more real and our lives worthier of Christ’s incarnation and sacrifice.

Lord, grant us to share in the divine mystery of Christ’s coming: in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Lord, look with loving kindness upon your Church. As we struggle to be a body worthy of Christ’s name, we ask you to help us heal our divisions by focussing on the great panorama of the coming of the Kingdom rather than the minute details of the route we may take.

Lord, grant us to share in the divine mystery of Christ’s coming: in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Lord, we rejoice in the love of our homes. We pray for all who have enriched our lives by their goodness, all who have accepted us and cared for us. We pray for all who are separated from those that they love, either by physical or emotional distance. We pray for all who are alone, that they may not feel lonely.

Lord, grant us to share in the divine mystery of Christ’s coming: in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Lord, we pray for all who are hungry for acceptance, who are hungry for love, all who long to be needed. We remember all who are ill at this time, and those who are anxious for them. We pray especially for….

Lord, grant us to share in the divine mystery of Christ’s coming: in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Lord, you came to earth that in your power and love we might ascend into heaven; bless those whom we love that have departed this life with the gift of life and love eternal.

Lord, grant us to share in the divine mystery of Christ’s coming: in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Heavenly Father, who chose the Blessed Virgin Mary to be the mother of the promised saviour: fill us your servants with your grace, that in all things we may embrace your holy will and with her rejoice in your salvation;**

Lord, grant us to share in the divine mystery of Christ’s coming: in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

 

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The Light has Come via Seed Resources by: Tim Coleman “The image tries to convey the cosmic impact of the birth of Christ”

The prayers today are based on Angela Ashwin’s Advent prayers in ‘The Book of a Thousand Prayers’ and in David Adam’s ‘Glimpses of Glory’. The last prayer marked ** is an ‘optional extra’ taken from the Visual Liturgy text for the 4th Sunday of Advent. If you intend to use it, it might just be worth checking with whoever is taking the service that they will not be using it also.

4 comments on this post:

UKViewer said...
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Thanks Laura 🙂

19 December 2012 21:20
Christine Vince said...
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Hi this is such a help to me as I prepare Intercessions for this Sunday.. Thank you!

17 December 2015 21:20
Jean said...
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Thank you for posting these Intercessions. I found them to be very helpful.

18 December 2015 20:05
Christopher Chater said...
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Again many thanks as I prepare of the intersessions next Sunday

13 December 2016 12:59

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