Voice: Doreen
Today is Friday, 19th of December. The night has passed, and the day lies open before us; let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day
and the new Season of Advent,
may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and for ever.
Amen.
We read Psalm 146
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
3 Put not your trust in princes,
in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.
5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
6 who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever;
7 who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free;
8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the sojourners;
he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
10 The Lord will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord!
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as It was in the beginning, is
now, and shall be forever. Amen.
Matthew 18
1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Who is the greatest?
We are obsess with success.
And it has to be on top of the highest podium. Number two won’t do.
Who is the greatest? What is the greatest? Where is the greatest?
The disciples asked this question too.
And who did Jesus put on the top podium? Surprisingly, a child. An anonymous child.
And He said, “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Humility. That is the gift that Jesus Christ introduced to the world at the first Christmas. It was an unusual and novel idea, that humility can be associated with God. For everything about Christmas is marked by lowliness, from the peasant girl chosen to be the mother to the place of birth, where there were more animal witnesses than human.
It has been observed, ““That God is great is a truth mankind did not need a divine revelation to discover. That God is humble—that truth only Christmas taught us.”
Jesus did not appear as Saviour in his full divine superpower glory. He was born into our world as a little child.
John Donne marvels at the mystery of incarnation in his poem The Annunciation:
Thou hast light in dark, and shut’st in little room,
Immensity cloistered in thy dear womb.
He lived and walked the path of humility and self-giving love. He modelled for us what true greatness. And if we want to join his heavenly company, we too need to humble ourselves, like the little child.
We pray this Prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen.
As we close, be blessed by this carol sung by One Voice Children Choir
Noël, oh, Noël, aah
What Child is this who laid to rest
On Mary′s lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet
While shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing
Haste, haste to bring Him laud
The Babe, the Son of Mary
Why lies He in such mean estate
Where ox and lamb are feeding?
The end of fear (end of fear) on us who here
The silent Word is pleading
Nails, spear shall pierce Him through
The cross be borne for me, for you (for us)
Hail, hail the Word made flesh
The Babe, the Son of Mary
Aah, aah, aah, aah
Noël, oh, Noël
Born is the King of Israel
So bring Him incense, gold and myrrh
Come peasant, king to own Him (to own him)
The King of kings salvation brings
Let loving hearts enthrone Him
Raise (raise), raise a song on high (song on high)
The virgin sings her lullaby (lullaby)
Joy, joy for Christ is born
The Babe, the Son (the Babe, the Son) of Mary
The Babe, the Son of Mary
Link to today’s Morning Office
About This Daily Devotion
This weekday devotion is drawn from the Morning Office and is part of a project initiated by Revd Canon Terry Wong, with contributions from clergy and members across various parishes. Each entry includes selected readings from the appointed Psalm and another Scripture passage, accompanied by a reflection and prayer. An audio option is also available, often ending with a hymn or song. We encourage you to both read and listen.
Our aim is to help Anglicans engage more deeply with our rich liturgical tradition, while meeting the devotional needs of today’s believers. This project began on Ash Wednesday 2025 and is offered on weekdays only.
For feedback, please write to us at terrywong@anglican.org.sg
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