Advent Three (Isaiah 61: 1-4, 8-11)
Number of Readers: 6 (4 women, 2 men)
All Readers From Isaiah, Chapter 61
(Pause)
All Readers:
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me,
Reader 4:
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
Reader 1:
to bind up the brokenhearted,
Reader 5:
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
Reader 2:
and release the prisoners;
Reader 6:
to proclaim the year of the Lords favor,
Reader 3:
and the day of vengeance of our God;
Readers 1, 2, 3:
he has sent me to comfort all who mourn,
Readers 4, 5, 6:
(to provide for those who mourn in Zion )
Reader 1:
to give them a garland
Reader 4:
instead of ashes
Reader 2:
the oil of gladness
Reader 5:
instead of mourning.
Reader 3:
the mantle of praise
Reader 6:
instead of a faint heart.
All Readers:
They will be called oaks of righteousness, (the planting of the Lord,) to display his glory.
Reader 1:
They shall build up the ancient ruins,
Reader 4:
they shall raise up the former devastations.
Reader 2:
They shall repair the ruined cities
Reader 5:
the devastations of many generations.
All Readers:
For I, the Lord, love justice,
Reader 3:
I hate robbery and wrong doing.
Reader 6:
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
All Readers:
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
Readers 4, 5, 6:
Their descendants shall be known among the nations
Readers 1, 2, 3:
and their off spring among the peoples.
All Readers:
All who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.
Readers 1, 4:
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
Readers 2, 5:
my whole being shall exult in my God;
Readers 3, 6:
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
Reader 1:
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
Readers 4, 5, 6:
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
Readers 1, 2, 3:
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
Reader 4:
For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
Readers 1, 2, 3:
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
All Readers:
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.