If you do not already know it, do visit the Oremus (‘Let Us Pray’) website at http://www.oremus.org. I subscribe to their daily email of Anglican liturgy, about which they say:

oremus is a form of daily prayer which is distributed each day via email at 1700 GMT (either 12 noon or 1 pm Eastern Time).
It is also available on this site at www.oremus.org. To join the email distribution list, visit the list administration page.

This post is a shortened version of today’s email, with my insertion of sung versions of the hymns and chants

 

 

OREMUS for December 19: O Radix Jesse

Blessed are you, God of mercy and might! You sent your Son, the Word born in silence, to be born as the majestic fruit of Jesse’s stem, standing as a sign to the people of Israel, and King before whom all kings shall shut their mouths and whom all nations shall seek.

For these and all your mercies, we praise you: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Blessed be God for ever!

A Tender Shoot

A tender shoot hath started
Up from a root of grace,
As ancient seers imparted,
From Jesse’s holy race,
It blooms without blight,
Blooms in the cold bleak winter
Turning darkness into light.

This shoot Isaiah taught us
From Jesse’s root should spring,
The Virgin Mary brought us
The branch of which we sing,
Our God of endless might,
Gave her this child to save us
Thus turning darkness into light.

Words anonymous 16th century
Tr. William Bartholomew (1793–1867)

FIRST READING [Isaiah 53:7-12]:
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By a perversion of justice he was taken away.  Who could have imagined his future? For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people. They made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.  Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain. When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days; through him the will of the Lord shall prosper. Out of his anguish he shall see light; he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge. The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

 

HYMN: Es ist ein Ros Entsprungen

Words: tanzas 1-2: German, fifteenth century carol; trans. Theodore Baker, 1894.

stanzas 3-4: Friedrich Layritz (1808-1859); trans. Harriet Reynolds Krauth (1845-1925).

 

Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming from tender stem hath sprung! of Jesse’s lineage coming, as those of old have sung. It came, a floweret bright, amid the cold of winter, when half spent was the night.  Isaiah ’twas foretold it, the Rose I have in mind; with Mary we behold it, the Virgin Mother kind. To show God’s love aright, she bore to us a Savior, when half spent was the night.  The shepherds heard the story proclaimed by angels bright, how Christ, the Lord of glory was born on earth this night. To Bethlehem they sped and in the manger they found him, as angel heralds said.  This Flower, whose fragrance tender with sweetness fills the air, dispels with glorious splendor the darkness everywhere; true man, yet very God, from sin and death he saves us, and lightens every load.

 

SECOND READING [2 Peter 1.162.3]:
For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honour and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’ We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain.  So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.  But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive opinions. They will even deny the Master who bought thembringing swift destruction on themselves. Even so, many will follow their licentious ways, and because of these teachers the way of truth will be maligned. And in their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their condemnation, pronounced against them long ago, has not been idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

 

Prayer:

As we look forward to your coming, we call to mind our sins.

 

The hatred which divides nation from nation, race from race, class from class:

Father forgive.

 

The covetous desires of people and nations to possess what is not their own:

Father forgive.

 

The greed which exploits the work of human hands and lays waste the earth:

Father forgive.

 

Our envy of the welfare and happiness of others:

Father forgive.

 

Our indifference to the plight of the imprisoned, the homeless and the refugee:

Father forgive.

 

The lust which dishonors the bodies of men, women and children:

Father forgive.

 

The pride which leads us to trust in ourselves and not in God:

Father forgive.

 

O Root of Jesse,

master of the universe and ruler of the house of Israel, your mighty acts have rescued remnants of your people from the midst of slavery, exile, war, and holocaust:

Raise your scepter over us, that your saving rule may be extended to all people in all places, for the sake of him whom we know as Lord of all, even Jesus, the Christ. Amen.

Awaiting his coming in glory, let us pray as our Savior has taught us:

 

– The Lord’s Prayer –

 

[Music may be found here ]

 

O come, thou Branch of Jesse’s tree,

free them from Satan’s tyranny

that trust thy mighty power to save,

and give them victory o’er the grave.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

shall come to thee, O Israel!

 

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The psalms are from _Celebrating Common Prayer_ (Mowbray), (c) The Society of Saint Francis 1992, which is used with permission.

The biblical passage is from The New Revised Standard Version (Anglicized Edition), copyright (c) 1989, 1995 by the Division of Christian Education of  the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.