A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall…
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On that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and glory of the survivors of Israel. From Isaiah 4:2-6, NRSV We may be familiar from another passage in Isaiah with the image of the rod coming from the stem of Jesse and…
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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. From Isaiah 2:1-5, NRSV As Advent begins and our attention turns to the coming of Christ, we are…
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Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each…
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Then I saw a great white throne and the one who sat on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, the book of life.…
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After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority; and the earth was made bright with his splendour. He called out with a mighty voice,‘Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! Apocalypse 18:1-2,21-23,19:1-3,9, NRSV Today’s reading opens with an angel crying out a prophecy about the fall of Babylon. The city of Babylon,…
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Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like the Son of Man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand! Another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to the one who sat on the cloud,…
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Then I looked, and there was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion! And with him were one hundred and forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. Apocalypse 14:1-5, NRSV The Book of Apocalypse (or Revelation) is the final book of the New Testament which charts the trials and…
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The Lord said to you: It is you who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over Israel.’ So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel. 2 Samuel 5:1-3, NRSV…
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But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and those who saw them were terrified. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, ‘Come up here!’ And they went up to heaven in a cloud while their enemies…
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