30th November 2024
Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. Isaiah 45:22
You Lord, are the source of all good things:
We praise you.
You call us to tend and care for your creation:
May we strive to do your will.
You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives:
May we live together in peace.
A reading from Jeremiah 23: 5-6
The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’
A reflection on Isaiah 40:3-5
A voice cries out: In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord –
Let us open our hearts and minds to receive the wisdom of God,
to attune our ears to the word of God,
and focus our eyes to see the wonder of God’s creation.
A voice cries out: Make straight in the desert a highway for our God –
Let us set straight the trajectory of decisions
that will cut carbon emissions,
that will cut the use and abuse of plastics
and that will target a sustainable future.
A voice cries out: Let every valley be lifted up –
Let us share our national wealth
to cancel the impossible debts of the majority south,
to give them the financial power to adapt to climate change
and to lift their people out of poverty.
A voice cries out: Let every mountain and hill be made low –
Let us remove all that impedes the development of other economies,
let us share our technology and resources,
let us remove unequal trade restrictions
and let us be ready to learn from others in return.
A voice cries out: Let the uneven ground become level,
and the rough places a plain –
Let us make level the global playing field,
treat everyone as equals, removing all prejudice and bias,
welcoming the stranger and the migrant,
and embracing everyone as brother and sister.
A voice cries out: Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed –
Let us recognise that we are all one creation,
that together we reveal the glory of God’s gift to us,
and all of us our able to reflect that glory throughout our lives.
A voice cries out: Let all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’
Amen. Amen. Amen.
The Green Tau 