Almighty God,

give us grace to cast away the works of darkness

and to put on the armour of light,

now in the time of this mortal life,

in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility;

that on the last day,

when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge the living and the dead,

we may rise to the life immortal;

through him who is alive and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.

or

Almighty God,

as your kingdom dawns,

turn us from the darkness of sin to the light of holiness,

that we may be ready to meet you

in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Readings

Isaiah 2.1-5

2The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 

² In days to come
   the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
   and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it. 
³   Many peoples shall come and say,
‘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.’
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
   and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 
⁴ He shall judge between the nations,
   and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
   and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
   neither shall they learn war any more. 

⁵ O house of Jacob,
   come, let us walk
   in the light of the Lord!

This is the word of the Lord.

AllThanks be to God.

Psalm 122

1  I was glad when they said to me, •
   ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’
2  And now our feet are standing •
   within your gates, O Jerusalem;
3  Jerusalem, built as a city •
   that is at unity in itself.
4  Thither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, •
   as is decreed for Israel,
      to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5  For there are set the thrones of judgement, •
   the thrones of the house of David.
6  O pray for the peace of Jerusalem: •
   ‘May they prosper who love you.
7  ‘Peace be within your walls •
   and tranquillity within your palaces.’
8  For my kindred and companions’ sake, •
   I will pray that peace be with you.
9  For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, •
   I will seek to do you good.

Romans 13.11-end

11 Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; ¹²the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armour of light; ¹³let us live honourably as in the day, not in revelling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarrelling and jealousy. ¹⁴Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. 

This is the word of the Lord.

AllThanks be to God.

Gospel Reading

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.

AllGlory to you, O Lord.

Matthew 24.36-44

36 ‘But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³⁷For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, ³⁹and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. ⁴¹Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. ⁴²Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. ⁴³But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

AllPraise to you, O Christ.

Post Communion

O Lord our God,

make us watchful and keep us faithful

as we await the coming of your Son our Lord;

that, when he shall appear,

he may not find us sleeping in sin

but active in his service

and joyful in his praise;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.