Saturday, November 27, 2010

A reading for the turn of the Church year

From the Daily Office Lectionary, Year Two, for Saturday of Proper 29 (in other words, the last day before the First Sunday of Advent launches a new Church year):

Philippians 2:1-11

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.


Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.



The end of last year's telling of the story, knowing the glory and exaltation. The start of a new year, learning again to appreciate the costly gift and the humble giving.

"Our King and Savior now draws near: Come, let us adore him."

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