Isaiah 2:1-5

All the passages we will be reading from the Hebrew Scriptures throughout Advent this year come from the prophet Isaiah. In The Good News Translation of the Bible, today’s reading is titled “Everlasting Peace” and may seem more appropriate to Peace Sunday than Hope Sunday. But it is a vision of a future of peace that is something that is something we all hope and long for.

Psalm 122 VU845

Psalm 122 praises Jerusalem saying “There the thrones of justice stand”. Somehow I wonder at that description today. But it also calls us to “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” and that I definitely think applies today.

Romans 13:11-14

Both our Epistle and Gospel readings this morning call us to readiness. Paul warns that, “the night is far gone, the day is near.” We must be awake and ready at all times.

Matthew 24:36-44

Like Paul, Matthew warns that we need to be ready, but in Matthew we are reminded that no one knows the day or the hour when the Divine will be revealed to us, and therefore we must be ready at all times.