The Spirit of the Lord our God fell on the prophet's heart,
Anointing him to bring good news to those once kept apart;
To bring release to prisoned ones and captive bonds destroy.
Pray for the freeing joy of God; pray for that freeing joy.
The Spirit of the Lord did fall out in the wilderness,
On one sent out there to foretell the One who comes to bless;
To preach repentance to the folk, the powerful to annoy.
Seek out the wildsome joy of God; seek out that wildsome joy.
The Spirit of the Lord did lead an angel to proclaim
Unto a woman who would bear the Son of God in name;
She sang of lifting up the low, God's saving to deploy.
Go share the soulful joy of God; go share that soulful joy.
The Spirit of the Lord calls us to live this joy today,
In prayer and gratitude, you see the will of God at play
To sanctify you, keep you sound, your witness to employ.
Now live the saving joy of God; now live that saviing joy.
TEXT: Charles Spence Freeman, December 2023, after Advent 3B verses
(Isaiah 61:1, John 1:6-8, Luke 1:46-55, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24)
MUSIC: Tune CAROL, Richard Storrs Willis, 1850.
I suppose it was inevitable that I would revisit some of these Advent hymns. Here a hymn that focused on the epistle reading only (one I still consider a favorite) has a contrast in this text that seeks to touch on multiple readings for Advent 3B (even if the Magnificat is somehow relegated to an *alternate* reading, I will never accept that failure and will incorporate it into every Advent that involves me).
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