A Service of Prayer

in the Celtic Tradition

For advent IV: “Love Sunday”
(Various Sources Old and Modern)
For the Week of Sunday, December 20, 2020
The Rev.Dr. Chris McMullen, Parish of Upper Kennebecasis

Call to Worship: “The Coming”

And God held in his hand
A small globe. Look, he said.
The son looked. Far off,
As through water, he saw
A scorched land of fierce
Colour. The light burned
There; crusted buildings
Cast their shadows; a bright
Serpent, a river
Uncoiled itself, radiant
With slime.
On a bare
Hill a bare tree saddened
The sky. Many people
Held out their thin arms
To it, as though waiting
For a vanished April
To return to its crossed
Boughs. The son watched
Them. Let me go there, he said.
(R.S. Thomas, Everyman’s Poetry, ed. Anthony Thwaite
[London: J.M. Dent, 1996], 72.)
Hymn of Praise
“Love Came Down at Christmas” CP # 131
Love came down at Christmas,
love all lovely, love divine;
love was born at Christmas:
star and angels gave the sign.
(Continued…)
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Worship we the Godhead,

love incarnate, love divine;
worship we our Jesus,
but wherewith the sacred sign?
Love shall be our token;
love be yours and love be mine,
Love to God and to all men,
love for plea and gift and sign.
Christina Rosetti (1830-1894) © 1987 Hope Publishing Co.
Used with permission, CCLI # 2319023
Prayer of Approach
O being of Life!
O Being of peace!
O Being of time!
O Being of eternity!
O [Loving] Being of eternity!
Keep me in good means,
Keep me in good intent,
Keep me in good estate,
Better than I know to ask,
Better than I know to ask!
Shepherd me this day,
Relieve my distress,
Enfold me this night,
Pour upon me your grace,
Pour upon me your grace!
Guard for me my speech,
Strengthen for me my love,
Illumine for me the stream [of life],
Succour me until death,
Succour me until death [and life beyond death]!
(Adapted from Dougall McaAulay, cottar, Benbecula, trs. Alexander Carmichael,
Carmina Gadelica: Hymns and Incantations Collected in the Highlands and Islands of
Scotland [1899; Modern Edition, Edinburgh: Floris Books, 1992, 2006] # 232, p. 205.)

Psalm 89: 1-7,14-21,25-37

1-4
Your love, God, is my song, and I’ll sing it!
I’m forever telling everyone how faithful you are.
I’ll never quit telling the story of your love—
how you built the cosmos
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and guaranteed everything in it.

Your love has always been our lives’ foundation,
your fidelity has been the roof over our world.
You once said, “I joined forces with my chosen leader,
I pledged my word to my servant, David, saying,
‘Everyone descending from you is guaranteed life;
I’ll make your rule as solid and lasting as rock.’”
5-7
God! Let the cosmos praise your wonderful ways,
the choir of holy angels sing anthems to your faithful ways!
Search high and low, scan skies and land,
you’ll find nothing and no one quite like God.
The holy angels are in awe before him;
he looms immense and august over everyone around him.
God-of-the-Angel-Armies, who is like you,
powerful and faithful from every angle?
14-18
…The Right and Justice are the roots of your rule;
Love and Truth are its fruits.
Blessed are the people who know the passwords of praise,
who shout on parade in the bright presence of God.
Delighted, they dance all day long; they know
who you are, what you do—they can’t keep it quiet!
Your vibrant beauty has gotten inside us—
you’ve been so good to us! We’re walking on air!
All we are and have we owe to God,
Holy God of Israel, our King!
19-21
A long time ago you spoke in a vision,
you spoke to your faithful beloved:
“I’ve crowned a hero,
I chose the best I could find;
I found David, my servant,
poured holy oil on his head,
And I’ll keep my hand steadily on him,
yes, I’ll stick with him through thick and thin.
25-37
…I’ve put Ocean in his one hand, River in the other;
he’ll call out, ‘Oh, my Father—my God, my Rock of Salvation!’
Yes, I’m setting him apart as the First of the royal line,
High King over all of earth’s kings.
I’ll preserve him eternally in my love,
I’ll faithfully do all I so solemnly promised.
I’ll guarantee his family tree
and underwrite his rule.
(Continued…)
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If his children refuse to do what I tell them,

if they refuse to walk in the way I show them,
If they spit on the directions I give them
and tear up the rules I post for them—
I’ll rub their faces in the dirt of their rebellion
and make them face the music.
But I’ll never throw them out,
never abandon or disown them.
Do you think I’d withdraw my holy promise?
or take back words I’d already spoken?
I’ve given my word, my whole and holy word;
do you think I would lie to David?
His family tree is here for good,
his sovereignty as sure as the sun,
Dependable as the phases of the moon,
inescapable as weather.”
(Eugene Peterson, The Message, © 1993, 2002, 2018)
Prayer for Grace
[Father,] Calm us to wait for the gift of Christ.
[Jesus,] Cleanse us to prepare us for the [Christian way].
[Spirit,] Teach us to contemplate the wonder of Christ.
[Holy Three-in-One,] Anoint us to bear the life of Christ.
Let us attend, the Word of God
Comes to us.
Illumine our hearts, O Lord,
Implant in us a desire for your truth;
May all that is false within us flee.
(Adapted from Ray Simpson, Lindisfarne Liturgies For Christian Festivals
[Stowmarket, Suffolk UK: Kevin Mayhew Ltd, 2015], pp. 16, 14))

Scripture Lesson
John 3:16; I John 4: 10-19
Meditation
(For Advent IV, “Love Sunday”)
Affirmation of Faith
“An Early Welsh Affirmation of Faith”
Almighty Creator,
It is You Who made the land and the sea…
The world cannot comprehend your glory,
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in song bright and melodious,

Even though the grass and trees should sing,
all your wonders, O my true Lord!
The Father created the world by a miracle;
It is difficult to express its beauty and truth.
Yet in praise we must try!
With miracles many, Jesus came,
Redeeming a people for himself,
restoring our true nature
In death and resurrection.
The power by which the world was made
--the Spirit, high and holy,
yet intimate,
deserves praise above all as well.
It is not too great a toil
To praise the Holy Trinity!
Purely, humbly, and in creative joy,
We should delight in praising the Trinity
And follow the Son of Mary
In love, and faith, and courage.
Yes, it is not too great a toil
To praise the Holy Trinity!
(From the “Juvencus Manuscript,” Wales, c. 950 AD
Adapted from the translation by Oliver Davies, Celtic Christianity in Early Medieval Wales
[Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1996], pp. 50 f.)
Prayers of Intercession
We pray for ourselves
[during this busy season of spiritual depth,
yet too many distractions]:
Circle me, O God, encircle me with your presence.
Keep joy within, keep bitterness out;
Keep generosity within, keep greed out;
Keep love within, keep self-seeking out;
Keep light within, keep darkness out.
In the name of the Sacred Three,
the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen
(Continued…)
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We pray for those on our heart

[especially those for whom the Christmas holidays
may be bittersweet with mourning and regret]:
Circle, O God, (name the person(s) you are praying for),
encircle them with your presence.
Keep wholeness within, keep sickness out;
Keep hope within, keep despair out;
Keep peace within, keep turmoil out;
Keep light within, keep darkness out.
In the name of the Sacred Three,
the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen
We prayer for Peacemakers
[especially those who must serve or witness in dangerous days,
separated from their families and loved ones]:
Circle, O God, those who work for peace
(you may wish to specifically name people),
encircle them with your presence.
Keep wisdom within, keep folly out;
Keep strength within, keep weariness out;
Keep hope within, keep despair out;
Keep light within, keep darkness out.
In the name of the Sacred Three,
the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen
We pray for victims of violence and injustice
Circle, O God, (name people and places),
encircle them with your presence.
Keep truth within, keep falsehood out;
Keep compassion within, keep hard-heartedness out;
Keep love within, keep hatred out;
Keep light within, keep darkness out.
In the name of the Sacred Three,
the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen
(Courtesy Harehills Lane Baptist Church, Chapeltown, Leeds, UK, April 8, 2020.
https://www.facebook.com/harehillslanebc/posts/123374115959275.)

Prayer of Thanksgiving
May I be thrall to beauty
Through all my days,
Yet not forget my duty,
Thy gift to praise.
(Continued…)
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May the thrush thrill me with

His passion note,
Yet, thrilling, mind me ‘tis
An angel’s throat.
Give me to trace Thy mind
In all mind makes,
In all things fair to find
Love for our sakes.
(Alistair Maclean, Hebridean Altars: The Spirit of an Island Race [London: Hodder &
Stoughton, 1937; Reprint, Eugene OR: Wipf & Stock, 2013], p. 36.)

The Lord’s Prayer

(Tune: “it Came Upon a Midnight Clear”)
Our Father, Lord on heav'n's high throne,
Most holy be your name;
Your kingdom come, your will be done
On earth - in heav'n the same.
Give us this day the food we need;
Forgiven may we be.
Into temptation do not lead:
From evil set us free.
Yours is the kingdom; unto you
In grateful love we bow;
And yours the pow'r; Lord let us view
Your mighty presence now.
The glory yours; your praise be sung
By angel hosts and men
In ev'ry land, by ev'ry tongue
Forevermore! Amen
(Courtesy the Anglican Parish of the Tobique, Plaster Rock NB)
Hymn
“Child in the Manger” MP # 71
Child in the manger, Infant of Mary,
Outcast and Stranger, Lord of all,
Child Who inherits all our transgressions,
All our demerits on Him fall.
(Continued…)
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Once the most holy Child of salvation

Gently and lowly lived below.
Now as our glorious mighty Redeemer,
See Him victorious over each foe.
Prophets foretold Him, Infant of wonder;
Angels behold Him on His throne.
Worthy our Savior of all their praises;
Happy forever are His own.
Mary MacDonald (1789-1872) (Traditional Gaelic from the Carmina Gadelica, 1899,
# 254, Floris Books edition [1992], 2006] p. 225)
trs. Lachlan MacBean (1853-1931) (Public Realm)

The Benediction
This holy season, let
the wisdom of the Wonderful Counsellor enlighten you,
the strength of the Mighty God empower you,
the love of the Everlasting Father enfold you,
the peace of the Prince of Peace be about you;
And the Blessing of the Loving, Holy Three,
Lover, Beloved, and Love Eternal, be with you,
Now and forever more!
(Adapted from David Adam, Traces of Glory: Prayers for the Christian Year B
[London: SPCK, 1999], p. 17.)