Sundays at All Hallows (December 14, 2025)

Welcome to Sundays at All Hallows

This Sunday is the third Sunday of Adventide. It is also the second Sunday before the Feast of the Nativity, commonly called Christmas Day.

This Sunday’s service follows the structure of the service for a Service of the Word outlined in the Church of Ireland’s The Book of Common Prayer (2004), as did three previous Sunday’s services.

This Sunday’s message is a reflection on the part that Old Testament prophesy plays in Matthew’s Gospel and its implications.

GATHERED IN GOD’S NAME

Open this link in a new tab to hear Linda R. Lamb’s arrangement of NUN KOMM, DER HEIDEN HEILAND (Savior of the Nations, Come) for hand bells and hand chimes.

The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.

Through Christ, let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Hebrews 13:15

Open this link in a new tab to hear an updated version of Charles Edward Oakley’s “Hills of the North, Rejoice,” as published in Singing the Faith (2011).

1 Hills of the North, rejoice,
river and mountain-spring,
hark to the advent voice;
valley and lowland, sing.
Christ comes in righteousness and love,
he brings salvation from above.

2 Isles of the Southern seas,
sing to the listening earth,
carry on every breeze
hope of a world's new birth:
In Christ shall all be made anew,
his word is sure, his promise true.

3 Lands of the East, arise,
he is your brightest morn,
greet him with joyous eyes,
praise shall his path adorn:
your seers have longed to know their Lord;
to you he comes, the final word.

4 Shores of the utmost West,
lands of the setting sun,
welcome the heavenly guest
in whom the dawn has come:
he brings a never-ending light
who triumphed o'er our darkest night.

5 Shout, as you journey home,
songs be in every mouth,
lo, from the North they come,
from East and West and South:
in Jesus all shall find their rest,
in him the universe be blest.

Let us confess our sins to God our Father.

Silence

Heavenly Father,
we have sinned against you and against our neighbour
in thought and word and deed,
through negligence, through weakness,
through our own deliberate fault;
by what we have done
and by what we have failed to do.
We are truly sorry and repent of all our sins.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ who died for us,
forgive us all that is past;
and grant that we may serve you in newness of life
to the glory of your name. Amen.

Merciful Lord,
grant to your faithful people pardon and peace,
that we may be cleansed from all our sins,
and serve you with a quiet mind;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Bruce E. Ford’s setting of “Holy God, Holy and Mighty” (Trisagion).

Holy God
holy and mighty
holy immortal one
have mercy upon us

Holy God
holy and mighty
holy immortal one
have mercy upon us

Holy God
holy and mighty
holy immortal one
have mercy upon us

Let us pray.

Silence

O Lord Jesus Christ,
who at your first coming sent your messenger
to prepare your way before you:
Grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries
may likewise so prepare and make ready your way
by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
that at your second coming to judge the world
we may be found an acceptable people in your sight;
for you are alive and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end. Amen.

Almighty God,
Give us grace to cast away the works of darkness
and to put on the armor 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 and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD

A reading from the Book of Isaiah.
Isaiah 35: 1-10

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly,
and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
the majesty of our God.

Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
‘Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God.
He will come with vengeance,
with terrible recompense.
He will come and save you.’

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then the lame shall leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water;
the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp,
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

A highway shall be there,
and it shall be called the Holy Way;
the unclean shall not travel on it,
but it shall be for God’s people;
no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray.
No lion shall be there,
nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
but the redeemed shall walk there.
And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Silence

Open this link in a new tab to hear Todd Agnew’s setting of “My Soul Magnifies the Lord (Magnificat).

1 My soul magnifies the Lord,
My spirit rejoices in my Savior,
He has seen the humble state of my heart,
and now all will call me blessed.

Praise the almighty God;
he's done great things for us,
Holy is his name,
His mercy is free for those who fear his justice,
May generation to generation
loudly proclaim his fame.

2 He has shown the strength of his hands
and brought down the mighty from their pretense,
He scattered the pride in their hearts
and lifted the lowly to meet him.

Praise the almighty God;
he's done great things for us,
Holy is his name,
His mercy is free for those who fear his justice,
May generation to generation
loudly proclaim his fame.
Proclaim his fame.
We proclaim,
proclaim his fame.

3 He has filled the hungry with good things...
and the rich he sent, empty, away,
He hath remembered his servant Israel,
and we will remember him always, always.

Praise the almighty God;
he's done great things for us,
Holy is his name,
His mercy is free for those who fear his justice,
May generation to generation proclaim,
Praise the almighty God;
he's done great things for us,
Holy is his name,
His mercy is free for those who fear his justice,
May generation to generation
loudly proclaim his fame.

A reading from the Letter of James.
James 5: 7-10

Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

Silence

Open this link in a new tab to hear Philip Doddridge’s “Hark the Glad Sound.”

1 Hark the glad sound! the Saviour comes,
the Saviour promised long:
let every heart prepare a throne,
and every voice a song.

2 He comes, the prisoners to release
in Satan's bondage held;
the gates of brass before him burst,
the iron fetters yield.

3 He comes, the broken heart to bind,
the bleeding soul to cure,
and with the treasures of his grace
to enrich the humble poor.

4 Our glad hosannas, Prince of peace,
thy welcome shall proclaim;
and heaven's eternal arches ring
with thy belovèd name.

A reading from the gospel according to Matthew.
Matthew 11: 2-11

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me.’

As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written,

“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.”

Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Silence

“Are You the Promised One?”

In this Sunday’s gospel reading John the Baptist who had recognized Jesus as the promised Messiah (John 1:29-34), while languishing in prison, appears to suffer doubt about Jesus’ identity. He sends word to Jesus by his followers, asking Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”

On the basis of the wording of the question and Jesus’ response, some interpreters of this passage conclude that it was not John the Baptist who was experiencing doubt. Rather it was John the Baptist’s followers.

Jesus’ response in “‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them….” Put briefly, the prophecies of the Old Testament like the ones in Isaiah 35 are being fulfilled.

Jesus’ words were meant to reassure John the Baptist or the followers of John the Baptist, as the case may be, and the readers of Matthew’s Gospel, as we shall see, that he was the Promised One, the Messiah, the Christ.

Jesus’ fulfillment of Old Testament prophesy is a theme that runs throughout Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew compiled his Gospel primarily for a Jewish readership, a readership with whom Old Testament prophecy carried substantial weight and who, like John the Baptist and Jesus himself, would suffer persecution.

Jesus’ teaching, not just his performance of miracles and his proclamation of the good news, the teaching found in the Sermon on the Mount and elsewhere in Matthew’ Gospel is also a fulfillment of Old Testament prophesy. See Isaiah 54:13 and Jeremiah 31: 31-34. Jesus himself alludes to the prophesies in John 6:45.

Even the miraculous birth and prophetic ministry of John the Baptist are a fulfillment of Old Testament prophesy. See Isaiah 40:3, Malachi 3:1, and Malachi 4:5-6. Jesus in this Sunday’ gospel reading recognizes John the Baptist as a prophet, the first prophet in 430 years since the prophet Malachi.

To a large extent Matthew’s narrative are intended to show how Old Testament prophesy was fulfilled in Jesus, in his life, death, and resurrection. It shows how much store Matthew and those for whom he compiled his Gospel put in Old Testament prophecy. It also shows that they, like Jesus himself, regarded the Old Testament not just as a collection of human reflections on the divine but as God’s revelation of himself to humankind.

Most importantly Matthew and the other early Christian saw the Old Testament as pointing to God’s ultimate revelation of himself in Jesus. They took to heart Jesus’ words in John 14:9-10, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.”

Among the implications of Jesus’ words is that we should read the Old Testament through a lens, the lens of Jesus himself, of his words and his example, properly understood and not twisted to suit ourselves.

While Jesus may no longer be physically with us, having ascended into heavenly realms, his Spirit dwells in the hearts of those who believe in him. And his influence is evidenced in their adherence to his teaching and example, in the good they do, the good which spring from a vital faith in him, and in a transformed life, one fruitful in the things of the Spirit—"love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

For those seeking reassurance that Jesus is indeed the Promised One, the Messiah, the Christ, it is to this evidence they now must listen and look—the lives of those in whom Jesus is truly making a difference. If we think about it, what they will be hearing and seeing is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophesy too, “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

Silence

Open this link in a new tab to hear Maggi Dawn’s “Into the Darkness of This World.”

Verse 1
Into the darkness of this world;
Into the shadows of the night;
Into this loveless place You came,
Lightened our burdens, eased our pain
And made these hearts Your home.
Into the darkness once again,
Oh come, Lord Jesus, come

Chorus
Come with Your love
To make us whole.
Come with Your light
To lead us on.
Driving the darkness
Far from our souls.
O come, Lord Jesus, come.

Verse 2
Into the longing of our souls;
Into these heavy hearts of stone;
Shine on us now Your piercing light,
Order our lives and souls aright
By grace and love unknown.
Until in You our hearts unite,
Oh come, Lord Jesus, come.

Chorus
Come with Your love
To make us whole.
Come with Your light
To lead us on.
Driving the darkness
Far from our souls.
O come, Lord Jesus, come.

Verse 3
O Holy Child, Emmanuel;
Hope of the ages, God with us,
Visit again this broken place,
Till all the earth declares Your praise,
And Your great mercies own.
Now let Your love be born in us,
O come, Lord Jesus, come.

Last Chorus
Come with Your love
To make us whole.
Come with Your light
To lead us on.
Driving the darkness
Far from our souls.
O come, Lord Jesus, come.
Come in Your glory
Take Your place.
Jesus, the Name above all names.
We long to see You face to face,
O come, Lord Jesus, come.

Let us confess our faith, as we say:

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER

Let us pray for all people and for the Church throughout the world.

Almighty God, your Son Jesus Christ has promised that you
will hear us when we ask in faith: receive the prayers we offer.

We pray for the peace of the world and the welfare of your holy Church.

Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

We pray for our Bishop N. and for all the clergy and people.

Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

We pray for [Charles our King][N., our President], for the leaders of the nations, and for all in authority.

Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

[We pray for seasonable weather, and for an abundance
of the fruits of the earth.

Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.]

[We pray that we may share with justice the resources of
the earth, and live in trust and goodwill with one
another.

Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.]

We pray for the aged and the infirm, for widows and
orphans, and for the sick and suffering.

Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

We pray for the poor and oppressed, for prisoners and captives, and for all who care for them.

Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

We pray for ourselves and for each other.

Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

We praise you, Lord God, for the communion of saints, and
for the glorious hope of the resurrection to eternal life.

Sustain us, O God,
with the power of your love
on our journey to meet the One who is coming:
strengthen our weak hands,
make firm our feeble knees,
and open blind eyes to the dawning of your kingdom,
so that our hearts may rejoice
as we behold the majesty of our God.
We ask this through your Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

Accept our prayers through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who taught us to pray,

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Christopher Idle’s “When the King Shall Come Again.”

1 When the King shall come again
all his power revealing,
splendour shall announce his reign,
life and joy and healing:
earth no longer in decay,
hope no more frustrated;
this is God's redemption day
longingly awaited.

2 In the desert trees take root
fresh from his creation;
plants and flowers and sweetest fruit
join the celebration.
Rivers spring up from the earth,
barren lands adorning;
valleys, this is your new birth,
mountains, greet the morning!

3 Strengthen feeble hands and knees,
fainting hearts, be cheerful!
God who comes for such as these
seeks and saves the fearful.
Deaf ears hear the silent tongues
sing away their weeping;
blind eyes see the lifeless ones
walking, running, leaping.

4 There God's highway shall be seen
where no roaring lion,
nothing evil or unclean
walks the road to Zion:
ransomed people homeward bound
all your praises voicing,
see your Lord with glory crowned,
share in his rejoicing!

THE SENDING FORTH OF GOD’S PEOPLE

Eternal God and Father, by whose power we are created and
by whose love we are redeemed: guide and strengthen us by
your Spirit, that we may give ourselves to your service, and
live every day in love to one another and to you; through Jesus
Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.

[Let us go now in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ. Amen.]