Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord
who minister by night in the house of the Lord.
2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary
and praise the Lord.
3 May the Lord bless you from Zion,
he who is the Maker of heaven and earth.
Today’s readings are Mark 10 and Psalm 134. I recently had a very similar text to write on and chose the portion “let the children come to me”. You may recall, I wrote about my first grade teacher and about how teachers in general can be so influential early in our lives. I was talking with Jennifer about having this same text and she suggested writing on the Psalm as she had done the same thing recently.
The Psalm today is very short and to the point. I certainly have enjoyed the Psalms this fall as an extra portion of our daily devotion. For today’s post, I am going to focus on “Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord.” During this season of Advent, we have opportunities to pause and reflect on the Christmas season. I always love the start of Advent, the color that starts to appear, the white lights that people hang in the church, and that first Sunday message on Hope. The hope of Christ’s coming, hope shining for us in darkness and hope for the world as we lite the first candle in the Advent wreath.
This past Sunday, we focused on Peace during the second Sunday in Advent. In our church, the message given was around peacemakers. We lite the second candle to remind us that Jesus is the Prince of Peace. His light helps us find ways to share God’s peace with others. We were reminded of John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus. We also had our choir sing Gloria in D Major by Vivaldi. It is always a wonderful way to experience the holiday season.
(Translated to English)
Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace to people of good will.
We praise you,
We bless you,
We adore you,
We glorify you,
We give you thanks for your great glory.
Lord God, heavenly King,
O God, almighty Father.
Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son,
Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,
You take away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us;
You take away the sins of the world,
Receive our prayer,
You are seated at the right hand of the Father,
Have mercy on us.
For you alone are the Holy One,
You alone are the Lord,
You alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
With the Holy Spirit,
In the glory of God the Father.
Amen.
When I was growing up, my father was a pastor but he was also a voice and choral conducting professor. He would take us to so many concerts, some his own and some at other venues. One year, he took us to New York to hear a choir sing in at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church. It was not even Christmastime but there was a special choir performing this same piece. I remember as a child being in awe of the church and this massive choir joining so loudly in praise. Every time it is sung, I feel at peace. I feel my shoulders relax as I sink into the pew and take in all the words.
For your listening pleasure:
As I watched this clip, it brought this same peace and happiness to me that the choir did in New York City and that I experienced this past Sunday with our choir.
(I kept watching more videos :-). Years ago this video circulated on Youtube.com. Please take a moment and enjoy this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXh7JR9oKVE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnCLNp02zgM
May the Peace of the Lord be with You today and always.