Psalm 122, one of the psalms of ascent, hardly seems appropriate for the first Sunday of Advent, yet the creators of the Revised Common Lectionary deemed it so. I was very tempted to choose another Psalm for this week but decided to dig a little deeper to understand further the place of Psalm 122 within the context of Advent and the other texts for the day in the RCL.
The biggest hurdle was this psalm’s focus on Jerusalem. Yes, I want peace for Jerusalem; I desire peace for all people, but still the psalm felt distant, removed from my own experience. But as Christians we read the Old Testament and the psalms through the lens of the New Testament. Jerusalem for New Testament Christians is not a physical space so much as any place in which Christ is present, particularly the church.
With that in mind, when we read this psalm, its connection with Advent becomes clearer. We are on a journey towards Christ, a pilgrimage from darkness to light. As we come closer to Christ, our desire for justice and peace grows. This is why Christ came into this world. This is the Advent journey of hope.
Psalm 122—A Journey of Hope
[This litany could be used as part of the opening of worship with or without the candle lighting. It is meant for one voice with the congregation reading the bold portion.]
Call to Worship
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
—Isaiah 2:3 NRSVUE
Lord, we are waiting.
We are ready for the journey to begin.
I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord!”
Our feet are standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
—Psalm 122: 1–2 NRSVUE
Lord, we are waiting.
We are here, standing in your presence.
Jerusalem—built as a city
that is bound firmly together.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord,
as was decreed for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
For there the thrones for judgment were set up,
the thrones of the house of David.
—Psalm 122:3–5 NRSVUE
Lord, we are waiting.
We are here in your presence where we await your justice.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
Peace be within your walls
and security within your towers.”
For the sake of my relatives and friends
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your good.
—Psalm 122:6–9 NRSVUE
Lord, we are waiting.
While we wait we work for peace—
peace for Jerusalem, peace for your church, peace for the world.
O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord!
—Isaiah 2:5 NRSVUE
Lord, we are waiting,
but as we wait we journey on in hope.
Advent Candle Lighting
Today we light the candle of hope.
As we await the coming of the Messiah,
we do so as a people on a journey,
from darkness to light,
towards justice and peace.
We journey with hope,
for Christ is coming to set the world a-right.
[Lighting of the first Advent candle.]
Sung Response
“Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus” Wesley
or
“Hope Is a Candle” (st. 1) Leach
