Collect for 4th Sunday of Advent
God our redeemer,
who prepared the Blessed Virgin Mary
to be the mother of your Son:
grant that, as she looked for his coming as our saviour,
so we may be ready to greet him
when he comes again as our judge;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen
Isaiah 7.10-16
Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. Then Isaiah said: ‘Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.
This is the word of the Lord.
All Thanks be to God.
Psalm 80.1–8, 18–20
1 Hear, O Shepherd of Israel, you that led Joseph like a flock;
2 Shine forth, you that are enthroned upon the cherubim, before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
3 Stir up your mighty strength and come to our salvation.
4 Turn us again, O God; show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.
5 O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry at your people’s prayer?
6 You feed them with the bread of tears; you give them abundance of tears to drink.
7 You have made us the derision of our neighbours, and our enemies laugh us to scorn.
8 Turn us again, O God of hosts; show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved. 18 Let your hand be upon the man at your right hand, the son of man you made so strong for yourself.
19 And so will we not go back from you; give us life, and we shall call upon your name.
20 Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts; show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.
Romans 1.1-7
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
This is the word of the Lord.
All Thanks be to God.
Gospel Reading
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.
All Glory to you, O Lord.
Matthew 1.18-end
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel’, which means, ‘God is with us.’ When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
All Praise to you, O Christ.
Post Communion
Heavenly Father,
who chose the Blessed Virgin Mary
to be the mother of the promised saviour:
fill us your servants with your grace,
that in all things we may embrace your holy will
and with her rejoice in your salvation;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen