Third Sunday of Advent

Zephaniah 3:14-18
Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!

The LORD has removed the judgement against you, he has turned away your enemies; The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst, you have no further misfortune to fear. On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem: Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!

The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a mighty saviour; He will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, He will sing joyfully because of you, as one sings at festivals. I will remove disaster from among you, so that none may recount your disgrace.

Isaiah 12: 2-6
God indeed is my saviour; I am confident and unafraid. My strength and my courage is the LORD, and he has been my saviour.

With joy you will draw water at the fountain of salvation, and say on that day: Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name; among the nations make known his deeds, proclaim how exalted is his name.

Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement; let this be known throughout all the earth.

Shout with exultation, O city of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel!

Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!

Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near. Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.

Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Luke 3:10-18
And the crowds asked him, "What then should we do?" He said to them in reply, "Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise."

Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him, "Teacher, what should we do?" He answered them, "Stop collecting more than what is prescribed."

Soldiers also asked him, "And what is it that we should do?" He told them, "Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages."

Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah.

John answered them all, saying, "I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." Exhorting them in many other ways, he preached good news to the people.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, Universal King

Daniel 7:13-14
“I gazed into the visions of the night.
And I saw, coming on the clouds of heaven,
one like a son of man.
He came to the one of great age
and was led into his presence.
On him was conferred sovereignty,
glory and kingship,
and men of all peoples, nations and languages became his servants.
His sovereignty is an eternal sovereignty
which shall never pass away,
nor will his empire ever be destroyed.”

Psalm 92:1-2,5
The Lord is kíng, with májesty enróbed;
the Lórd has róbed himself with míght,
he has gírded himsélf with pówer.

The wórld you made fírm, not to be móved;
your thróne has stood fírm from of óld.
From all etérnity, O Lórd, you áre.

Trúly your decrées are to be trústed.
Hóliness is fítting to your hóuse,
O Lórd, until the énd of tíme.

Apocalypse 1:5-8
Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, the First-born from the dead, the Ruler of the kings of earth. He loves us and has washed away our sins with his blood, and made us a line of kings, priests to serve his God and Father; to him, then, be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen. It is he who is coming on the clouds; everyone will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the races of the earth will mourn over him. This is the truth. Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega” says the Lord God, who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.

John 18:33-37
“Are you the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked. Jesus replied, “Do you ask this of your own accord, or have others spoken to you about me?” Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? It is your own people and the chief priests who have handed you over to me: what have you done?” Jesus replied, “Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of this kind.” “So you are a king then?” said Pilate. “It is you who say it,” answered Jesus. “Yes, I am a king. I was born for this, I came into the world for this: to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.”

We're presented with four visions of the nature of Christ's kingship. Two are from the Old Testament: Daniel describing him entering heaven; the psalm writers singing of him enthroned. And two are from the New Testament: John's vision of him telling us that Christ is the king we've read about; and one from John's gospel describing him at the mercy of Pilate.

Can you think of any kings? Do you recognise any of these kings?

[Edward VIII] [Juan-Carlos I] [Charles I] [Henry VIII]
[Louis XVI] [Charlemagne] [Herod Antipas] [Faisal II] William III]

What do you think a king or queen is like?

• Noble
• Just
• Wealthy
• Corrupt
• Unreliable
• Dependable
• Convenient
• Powerful

How do you think Christ is different from earthly kings?

• Eternal
• Humble
• Universal
• Crucified

Which parts of the readings do you think tell you most about the sort of king Christ is?

When, later in Mass, we say the Our Father, remember that Christ is a king, and what it means to pray that his kingdom should come.

Thirtieth Sunday of the Year

Jeremiah 31:7-9
For thus says the LORD: Shout with joy for Jacob, exult at the head of the nations; proclaim your praise and say: The LORD has delivered his people, the remnant of Israel. Behold, I will bring them back from the land of the north; I will gather them from the ends of the world, with the blind and the lame in their midst, The mothers and those with child; they shall return as an immense throng. They departed in tears, but I will console them and guide them; I will lead them to brooks of water, on a level road, so that none shall stumble. For I am a father to Israel, Ephraim is my first-born.

Psalm 126
When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, then we thought we were dreaming.
Our mouths were filled with laughter; our tongues sang for joy. Then it was said among the nations, "The LORD had done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us; Oh, how happy we were!
Restore again our fortunes, LORD, like the dry stream beds of the Negeb.
Those who sow in tears will reap with cries of joy.
Those who go forth weeping, carrying sacks of seed, Will return with cries of joy, carrying their bundled sheaves.

Hebrews 5:1-6
Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset by weakness and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. No one takes this honour upon himself but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.

In the same way, it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest, but rather the one who said to him: "You are my son; this day I have begotten you"; just as he says in another place: "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."

Mark 10:46-52
They came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, son of David, have pity on me." And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, "Son of David, have pity on me."

Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take courage; get up, he is calling you." He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man replied to him, "Master, I want to see." Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you." Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.

Hail Holy Queen, Mother of mercy
Hail our life, our sweetness and our hope.
To thee do we cry, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears,
To thee do we send up our sighs,
Mourning and weeping in this vale of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate,
Thine eyes of mercy towards us,
And after this, our exile,
Show unto us the blessed fruits of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

Pray for us O holy Mother of God,
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Where does your sense of belonging come from?

Holy Trinity

Deuteronomy 4:32-40:
"Ask now of the days of old, before your time, ever since God created man upon the earth; ask from one end of the sky to the other: Did anything so great ever happen before? Was it ever heard of?

Did a people ever hear the voice of God speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live?

Or did any god venture to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, with his strong hand and outstretched arm, and by great terrors, all of which the LORD, your God, did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?

This is why you must now know, and fix in your heart, that the LORD is God in the heavens above and on earth below, and that there is no other.

You must keep his statutes and commandments which I enjoin on you today, that you and your children after you may prosper, and that you may have long life on the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you forever."

Psalm 33
For the LORD'S word is true; all his works are trustworthy.
The LORD loves justice and right and fills the earth with goodness.
By the LORD'S word the heavens were made; by the breath of his mouth all their host.
For he spoke, and it came to be, commanded, and it stood in place.
But the LORD'S eyes are upon the reverent, upon those who hope for his gracious help,
Delivering them from death, keeping them alive in times of famine.
Our soul waits for the LORD, who is our help and shield.
May your kindness, LORD, be upon us; we have put our hope in you

Romans Chapter 8
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, "Abba, Father!"

The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

Matthew 28: 16 - 20
The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.

When they saw him, they worshipped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God [Jn 1:1]

The Holy Spirit is God, one and equal with the Father and the Son, of the same substance and also of the same nature …yet he is not called the Spirit of the Father alone … but the Spirit of the Father and the Son [DS 490] The Trinity is one. The Father is that which the Son is, the Son is that which the Father is, the Father and the Son that which the Holy Spirit is, by nature one God. [DS 530:26] Each of the persons is the divine nature. [DS 804] God is one, but not solitary. He is not the Father who is the Son, nor is the Son he who is the Father, nor is the Holy Spirit he who is the Father or the Son [DS 530:25] The Father is related to the Son, the Son to the Father, and the Holy Spirit to both. They are called three persons in view of their relations, and we believe in one nature. Everything in them is one where there is no opposition of relationship. The Father is wholly in the Son and wholly in the Holy Spirit; the Son is wholly in the Father and wholly in the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is wholly in the Father and wholly in the Son [DS1331]	We believe in one God, The Father, the Almighty Maker of heaven and earth, Of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ The only Son of God Eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, True God from true God, Begotten not made, Of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us men, and for our salvation, He came down from heaven: By the power of the Holy Spirit He became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, And became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate: He suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again, in accordance with the Scriptures; He ascended into heaven And is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory To judge the living and the dead, And his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, The Lord, the giver of life, Who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy, catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, And the life of the world to come.	In eternity God brings forth his understanding of himself, as the child is the conception and image of the parent. And this is represented in our history by the coming of Jesus, all that we celebrate at Christmas. In eternity God the Child, the very image of the Father is eternally dependent on the Father for his whole being. He comes forth from the Father, and this is represented in our history by the loving obedience of the Word made flesh. All that we celebrate in Holy Week and Easter. In eternity God the Parent breathes forth the Joy he takes in his image, his Child. And this is represented in our history by the breathing forth of the Spirit. All that we celebrate at Pentecost. God the eternal parent. God the eternal Child. God the eternal Joy. This is the life of God. This is the life we look forward to sharing, as the child looks forward to sharing in grown-up life. It does not matter that we do not understand it. It does not matter that we only get hints and glimpses of it in the story of Jesus. It does not matter that we cannot imagine how we could attain it. For God the Father, through his Son, is even now sending us the Holy Spirit so that we shall ourselves live that life of love and joy for eternity. [McCabe – God, Christ and Us]
	Let nothing trouble you, let nothing frighten you. Everything passes. God never changes. Patience obtains all. Whoever has God wants for nothing. God alone is enough. [St Teresa of Avila] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all [Jn 15:26]