IF ANOTHER GROUP OF THE CHORUS SINGS THE KEY OF KEY PART IT MIGHT BLEND IN WELL. EITHER THE SOPRANOS, ALTOS & BARITONE'S SING ON THE OTHER KEY.
HE IS AN AWESOME GOD. RULER OF EVERYTHING. CREATOR OF UNIVERSE.
The Hands That First Held Mary's Child
-When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him & took Mary home as his wife.
Matthew 1:24
The hands that first held Mary's child were hard from working wood,
from boards they sawed & planed & filed & splinters they withstood
This day they gripped no tool of steel, they drove no iron nail,
but cradled from the head to heel our Lord, newborn & frail
When Joseph marveled at the size of that small breathing frame,
& gazed upon those bright new eyes & spoke the infant's name,
& angel's words he once had dreamed poured down from heaven's height,
& like the host of stars that beamed blessed earth with welcome light.
"This child will be Emmanuel, not God upon the throne,
but God with us, Emmanuel, as close as blood & bone."
The tiny form in Joseph's palms confirmed that he had heard,
& from his heart rose hymns & psalms for heaven's human word.
The tools that Joseph laid aside a mob would later lift
& use with anger, fear, & pride to crucify God's gift.
Let us, O Lord, not only hold the child who's born today,
but charged with faith may we be strong to follow in his way.
By Thomas H. Troeger, 1985
An Advent Prayer
Almighty God,
Who, having created all worlds & mankind,
has profoundly pitied us;
who has come to us that we should be saved,
not of our merit, but of your unquenchable love;
look on us that worship in comfort,
in light & warmth,
in health & prosperity,
in pride & in presumption:
For,
have all glory,
you became incarnate in the dishonor
of a departed line of kings;
having all riches,
you became incarnate in the poverty
of the working class;
having all illumination,
you became incarnate in the darkness
of night & obscurity;
having all wisdom,
you became incarnate in the confounding simplicity
of a child;
having all life,
you became incarnate in the emptiness
of a virgin's womb;
having all power,
you became incarnate in the weakest form
of human life -a male infant(God in the flesh)
help us to recognize
our shame, our poverty,
our darkness, our foolishness,
our emptiness, our weakness,
that we are in need of you.
And then...
become incarnate in us.
Let your servant depart in peace, O Lord,
full of the vision of your salvation,
ready to make it plain before all the forces of the earth.
We pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
By Paul A. Richardson
