Psalm 122 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 122 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord!"
Verse 2Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.
Verse 3Jerusalem-built as a city that is bound firmly together.
Verse 4To it the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
Verse 5For there the thrones for judgment were set up, the thrones of the house of David.
Verse 6Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May they prosper who love you.
Verse 7Peace be within your walls, and security within your towers."
Verse 8For the sake of my relatives and friends I will say, "Peace be within you."
Verse 9For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.
Devotion
The city, the community, the gathering of God's people, is known as a city of peace. It is from this place of peace that God's word comes forth. And it is to this place of peace that our footsteps take us. This is not a place of fear. It is not a place of harsh words, back-biting, a place of lies or deceit. The city of peace, Jerusalem, is not a walled-in city that defends itself against outsiders and fiercely protects all its borders. All the tribes of the Lord—certainly here the twelve tribes of Israel, but representing the tribes, the nations, the peoples of the world—yearn and come towards this city, this community. The yearning of all peoples is security, justice, a good life for friends, family, for all people. Our Advent yearning and hope is one of peace.
Prayer
O God of peace, envelop us, our friends and family in that peace which only you can give. Amen.