Advent Reflection – Tuesday 22 December 2009
December 22, 2009
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.
This doxology (words of praise) is not in Luke’s version of the prayer, and is not in the earliest manuscripts of Matthew’s either. It’s thought that it was added for use in congregational worship. While most scholars do not consider it part of the original text of Matthew, and modern translations do not include it, it has been part of the prayer since early times…quite possibly the earliest piece of Christian writing outside the New Testament. It takes us back to the beginning of the prayer, reminding us of God’s centrality to all of life, and the holiness and glory of God that is all around us.
What words of praise would you use to acknowledge the glory of God all around?
Come, O Christ, come.
Teach us to pray.
Open our eyes to the holiness and glory of God in our midst.
Help us to be present to God, this Advent.
Amen.
