Day 266 | Thursday, 10 December 2020

Day 266 - Audio Version

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Day 266 | Thursday, 10 December 2020

39 new cases were reported yesterday in the county which is now at 2,075 total cases.  There has been an additional death bringing that total to 21.  There are 320 active cases with 1,703 in isolation.  Case totals in 14701 are at 535, Dunkirk 396, Fredonia 355, Lakewood 64, Bemus Point 67 and Mayville 68.

“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”
Stanza 4.

“O come, thou root of Jesse’s tree,
an ensign of thy people be;
before thee rulers silent fall;
all peoples on thy mercy call. 
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee,  O Israel.”

Antiphon 4: “O ROOT OF JESSE, who stands for an ensign of the people, before whom kings shall keep silence and to whom the Gentiles shall make their supplication: Come, and deliver us and tarry not.” 

Isaiah 11:1-9 A shoot from Jesse’s stump CEB
 11 A shoot will grow up from the stump of Jesse; a branch will sprout from his roots.  2 The Lord’s spirit will rest upon him, a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of planning and strength, a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord.  3 He will delight in fearing the Lord.  He won’t judge by appearances, nor decide by hearsay.  4 He will judge the needy with righteousness, and decide with equity for those who suffer in the land.  He will strike the violent with the rod of his mouth; by the breath of his lips he will kill the wicked.  5 Righteousness will be the belt around his hips, and faithfulness the belt around his waist. 6 The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat; the calf and the young lion will feed together, and a little child will lead them.  7 The cow and the bear will graze.  Their young will lie down together, and a lion will eat straw like an ox.  8 A nursing child will play over the snake’s hole; toddlers will reach right over the serpent’s den. 9 They won’t harm or destroy anywhere on my holy mountain. The earth will surely be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, just as the water covers the sea.

The Message
1 A green Shoot will sprout from Jesse's stump, from his roots a budding Branch. 2 The life-giving Spirit of God will hover over him, the Spirit that brings wisdom and understanding, The Spirit that gives direction and builds strength, the Spirit that instills knowledge and Fear-of-God. 3 Fear-of-God will be all his joy and delight. He won't judge by appearances, won't decide on the basis of hearsay. 4 He'll judge the needy by what is right, render decisions on earth's poor with justice. His words will bring everyone to awed attention. A mere breath from his lips will topple the wicked. 5 Each morning he'll pull on sturdy work clothes and boots, and build righteousness and faithfulness in the land. A Living Knowledge of God 6 The wolf will romp with the lamb, the leopard sleep with the kid. Calf and lion will eat from the same trough, and a little child will tend them. 7 Cow and bear will graze the same pasture, their calves and cubs grow up together, and the lion eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child will crawl over rattlesnake dens, the toddler stick his hand down the hole of a serpent. 9 Neither animal nor human will hurt or kill on my holy mountain. The whole earth will be brimming with knowing God-Alive, a living knowledge of God ocean-deep, ocean-wide. 10 On that day, Jesse's Root will be raised high, posted as a rallying banner for the peoples. The nations will all come to him. His headquarters will be glorious.

“This is one of the best-known and most beloved passages of Scripture.  The early Christian church found in Jesus the fulfillment of such an expectation and has always read this text as messianic expectation.”
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O Lord our God, we continue our journey of expectation during these days of Advent.  O come to us Emmanuel, root of the tree of Jesse.  Bring us your peace, calm our fears and offer us hope for these days.  Lord, hear our prayers.  Amen