Psalm 42; Zechariah 8:1-17; Matthew 8:14-17 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 42; Zechariah 8:1-17; Matthew 8:14-17 on biblegateway.com
Devotion
“For there shall be a sowing of peace; the vine shall yield its fruit, the ground shall give its produce, and the skies shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things” (Zech. 8:12). As I write these words in early September, I wonder if we will be any closer to peace in the world by the time we get to the third week of Advent. Yet we know that God continues to heal and exorcise the world of the demons of war and disease.
Prayer
“Our hope and expectation, O Jesus, now appear; arise, O Sun so longed for, o’er this benighted sphere. With hearts and hands uplifted, we plead, O Lord, to see the day of earth’s redemption that sets your people free!” – “Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers,” ELW 244