A PRAYER FOR THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
OT
Isaiah 2
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.
Come, Jesus of Nazareth
Come and lead us to your house
on the mountain of truth
For we are a people run wild
in the streets
Arming ourselves
against stranger and neighbor
Fearing the violence
hiding behind our fortresses
Come, Jesus of Nazareth
Come and lead us to your house
on the mountain of justice
Arbitrate between the rich and the poor
the mighty and the weak
Raise up the trampled
strengthen the weary
Turn out the gluttonous
lower the powerful
Come, Jesus of Nazareth
Come and lead us to your house
on the mountain of peace
For we are a warring people
arming ourselves for conquest
Nations rising up against nations
fortifying to beat back invaders
Abandoning the widows and the orphans
to survive on their own
Come, Jesus of Nazareth
Come and lead us to your house
on the mountain of shalom
Break our swords
bend our guns
shatter our storehouses
of death and destruction
May we learn not the ways of war
but study the paths of peace
Come, Jesus of Nazareth
Come and lead us to your house
on the mountain of love
For we strain to know one another
preferring to nod as an acquaintance
and not as a neighbor
Avoid knowing or caring
desiring distance to intimacy
safety to risking
Come, Jesus of Nazareth
Come and lead us to your house
on the mountain of reconciliation
Break down the walls
that divide us
Bring us together as one
One people
One faith
One God
Come, Jesus of Nazareth
Come and lead us to your house
on the mountain of justice
and peace
shalom
and righteousness
Amen
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