Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious Majesty, to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen
TODAY AT ST. MARY’S
Our Advent collect in the Book of Common Prayer speaks of casting off darkness and putting on light — as we keep our eyes on Christ, who came to us first in great humility, and will be returning in glory. We will be exploring this theme of turning from the dark into the light during the introits of our Advent services. We will begin each Sunday morning in the darkened church, reminding us that the world, in rejecting God, fell into darkness. Next, we will hear the proclamation of the light that Christ brought into our darkness, to banish sin and death. The bell is our calling, to wake up from sleep, and follow Christ by casting off our sinful nature and putting his nature, the armour of light. Our introit, “The Advent Prose” chanted to a haunting melody, consists of verses from Isaiah and are a plea from the prophets, the patriarchs, the whole church, who together await the Messiah. The imagery unites things heavenly and earthly as the heavens prepare for the Saviour to descend and the earth prepares to welcome him. As rain comes from the sky and quenches the earth, onto to evaporate, so too the Messiah will descend to save his people and ascend into heavenly glory. We recall past sins and seek forgiveness, as we await the birth of Christ for our redemption and the whole of creation. Continue reading “December 3rd, 2017 – First Sunday in Advent”
