ST. ANDREW’S

DECEMBER  9th   2021     ADVENT TWO: PEACE

LIGHTING OF THE CANDLE OF PEACE

 

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

St. Andrew’s welcomes you to this online worship service as we celebrate the 2nd Sunday of Advent. May the Peace of Christ be with you.
Thank you Rev. Shirley Cochrane for leading our worship today. We continue to pray for Rev. Ena van Zoeren as she recovers from surgery. May God grant you healing, restoration and his peace.
Our Loonie Offering for the month of December is going to go to the SAFE House. For more information check out the “Recent Posts” to the right of your screen.

ADVENT CALL TO WORSHIP

Peace is the light that sheds understanding.

Peace is the promise of God.

Peace is found when God’s order and justice are brought to the world.

We await the birth of the Prince of Peace

A voice in the wilderness cries out:

 Prepare the way of the Lord!

Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill be made low.

The crooked shall be made straight, and rough places, smooth.

A voice in the wilderness cries out:

All people shall see the salvation of God!

Lift up your hearts in expectation!

We will lift up our praise to the One who is coming

into the world once more.

 

HYMN      128 There’s a voice in the wilderness crying

 

There’s a voice in the wilderness crying,
a call from the ways untrod:
prepare in the desert a highway,
a highway for our God!
The valleys shall be exalted,
the lofty hills brought low;
make straight all the crooked places
where the Lord our God may go!
O Zion, that bringest good tidings,
go up to the heights and sing!
Proclaim to a desolate people
the coming of their King.
Like the flowers of the field they perish,
like grass our works decay,
the power and pomp of nations
shall pass like a dream away,
But the word of our God is steadfast;
the arm of the Lord is strong;
God stands in the midst of nations,
and soon will right the wrong.
God shall feed the flock like a shepherd,
the lambs will gently hold,
to pastures of peace will lead them,
and bring them safe to the fold.

 

PRAYER OF INVOCATION

Holy Spirit. You are the voice that calls us from our wandering, setting us on a new path. You are the living water that purifies us, baptizing us for service in the world that so badly needs your love. Refresh us in this time of worship, and reignite our desire to serve you each and every day. Glory, honour and praise be yours now and always, Holy One, Holy Three, One God, our Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier. God of peace and promise, you are the giver of life, living in us through the power of your Spirit  Hear  us now as we humbly confess before you …..

 

UNISON PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Merciful God,  our baptism proclaims the washing away

of our sin  and the start of our new life in Christ.

 But we confess that we still live in sin. We sin against

you and one another, in what we do and in what we fail to do.

We excuse ourselves, and take comfort in familiar habits

and traditions. Forgive us when we mistake such comfort

for the peace you offer us in Christ Jesus.

Prepare our hearts to embrace new ways of following him.

In Jesus name we pray.  AMEN

 

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, proclaimed this hope: “By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, giving light to those in darkness, guiding our feet in the way of peace.” Receive God’s tender mercy today. Trust that God’s peace will prevail for all those who seek forgiveness in Jesus’ name.

 Today I bring a visual reminder of the forgiveness that is offered in baptism.   Pour water into the font

 

THE PEACE

Jesus assured his disciples  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not  give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled  and do not be afraid. May the peace of Christ be with you

 

HYMN       515   Out of deep unordered water

 

1.Out of deep, unordered water

God created  life and land

world of bird and beast, and later

two-some people, woman, man

Chorus:

There is water in the river

bringing life to tree and plant.

Let creation praise its giver:

there is water in the font.

 

2.Water on the human forehead,

birthmark of the love of God,

is the sign of death and rising;

through the sea there runs a road.

Chorus

 

3.Standing round the font remind us

of the Hebrews’ climb ashore.

Life is hallowed by the knowledge:

God has been this way before.

Chorus

There is water in the river

bringing life to tree and plant.

Let creation praise its giver:

there is water in the font.

 

SCRIPTURE READINGS

 

Luke 1: 68 – 80

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71 salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
72 to show mercy to our ancestors
and to remember his holy covenant,
73     the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
75     in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79 to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.

 

Luke 3: 1-6

3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2 during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.
5 Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth.
6 And all people will see God’s salvation.”

 

SERMON

Holy God, through your scriptures, you have revealed your Word in scripture to your people across many generations. In the fullness of time, you revealed your Living Word in Jesus Christ. Now, by the power of your Holy Spirit, open our minds and hearts to you, so that we find new ways to follow you faithfully in this generation.

 

Sometimes a lectionary reading  will send me off on so many tangents its difficult to stay focused That happened this week – very interesting  – raising all kinds of questions  and even some answers

As we continue our Advent Journey  we take a brief  but important look at  one who  is considered  the first witness  to the dawning age of the Messiah.  John , who would become known as “ The Baptizer “ was the only child of an elderly priest, Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth .  Both were descendants of the lineage of Aaron so  belonged to a priestly family.

It was a rare occasion the day Zechariah is chosen by lot to burn the incense offering within the temple, beyond where the worshipers  are gathered in prayer. Imagine his reaction when suddenly this figure  appears, standing face to face with him. Not only that, this angel tells him his wife will give birth to a son. “ Here’s the  thing – “your son will  ready the people  for the coming of  the promised messiah “  “yeah – right ! she’s too old !”  The angel folds his arms, raises his eyebrows “ I am Gabriel – sent by God  with this message. Seem as you chose to disbelieve  not one word  will come out of your mouth until after the baby is born  You are to name him John,” .

Zechariah is a long time within the Holy of Holies. When he emerges, the people who were beginning to be very concerned, realize  that something most unusual has happened but the priest can give them no answers.  His time of temple duty finally comes to an end and Zechariah returns home. Can you imagine the confusion Elizabeth experiences  when her husband returns from temple duty unable to coherently share the good news ?

Elizabeth hides for 5  months . However she realizes “ The Lord has done this for me. He has shown his favour and taken away my disgrace among the people (1:25 )  About this time  her  young kinswoman Mary  arrives with the news of her pregnancy.  For three months  the two of them  share in the joys and challenges of pregnancy together

The joy in the family is shared with  the relatives and neighbours when  wee John makes his appearance,  When readying him  for the eighth day ritual Elizabeth tells them  her son is to be called John.  “ No no – you have to call him by a name of one of your relatives – It’s tradition ! “ Zechariah  is consulted . and after receiving a tablet to write on, he too confirms “ His name is John”

Immediately  Zechariah’s voice returns.  In the beautiful scripture  we read, he  joyfully expresses praises for the Lord God and explains the  reason his son is born.  This  announces the beginning of a reversal of fate for humanity ,standing in a period of spiritual lack in need of God’s deliverance.

This brief text takes the reader into the hope for a new promise fulfilled first through John the Baptist and then through Jesus.

The text reminds us that we live in a cycle of both the declaration and fulfillment of God’s promises in prophetic utterances.

Luke’s Gospel proclaims: God does not remain distant from the world. God’s reign enters time and space on the stage of world history, where life is too often constrained by people and events beyond one’s control.

The Bible as adopted by most protestant denominations  is the one presented in the King James version.  Later versions in modern languages follow the same format.   However there are many theological writings which were considered in the early centuries and the councils in their  wisdom,  put them aside. However  there are adoptions  such as the New Jerusalem Bible  which  include  some of those  not included for  some reason or another. I have one of those editions  which I was given when I was  involved in a lengthy bible study with  a group of folks in the Rupert Anglican congregation – a long time ago.

In my research this week , one of the expanded lectionary  readings touched on the Book of Baruch.  If this person is one you are not  familiar with, Baruch left his position as royal scribe to become the assistant of the prophet Jeremiah . Most scholars believe  Baruch  is the scribe  who recorded most of the Book of Jeremiah

Advent is often presented as a time of expectation, preparation, hope, generosity, and gratitude. Baruch, chapter 5, the deuterocanonical text for this week: shares. this hopeful vision of Advent

Take off the garment of your sorrow and affliction, O Jerusalem,
and put on forever the beauty of the glory from God.
Put on the robe of the righteousness that comes from God;
put on your head the diadem of the glory of the Everlasting;
for God will show your splendor everywhere under heaven.
For God will give you evermore the name,
“Righteous Peace, Godly Glory” (Baruch 5:1-4).

God shows up to interrupt misery and lack with an intention to restore and sustain the people.

But there are other more disconcerting forces at work in Advent alongside hope. To use the old-world language: Advent is also a season of fire and brimstone. It’s a time of judgment, upheaval, and refinement. As such, Advent weaves together Christianity’s most enduring themes about a God who enters the messiness of this world in order to save it.

Another  alternate  text comes from Malachi 3.  Malachi  may not be his name  but his title  which in Hebrew  means  “my messenger”. This text is among God’s final Old Testament prophetic words before the Messianic Son of God arrives on the scene

I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way

before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come

to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire,

will come,” says the Lord Almighty. (v1)

 

Farther in the text Malachi includes identifying and exposing acts of unfaithfulness. Malachi  reminds us that the world into which the Messiah comes is at a cosmic breaking point. Human beings’ excessive and persistent unfaithfulness to God and one another threatens to undue the created order. For the sake of the world, God sends a messenger to announce God’s coming.

Luke 3:1-6 sets the stage for John the Baptist’s prophetic call by introducing an A-list of earthly powers: Collectively they hold all the authority and might that wealth, military prowess, or ancestry can command. Indeed, the world to which God sends the Messiah is a world held captive to earthly forms of domination and influence

For Luke, the word of God does not come to any of those influential men of power, nor to the political territories over which they have command. It comes instead to one lone man out in the wilderness: Hear again the words uttered centuries previously  by Isiah (Isaiah 40:3-5 )

A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the Lord;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God

Filled with the Holy Spirit before his birth (Luke 1:15), John is born to be a prophet (1:76). , If John were following the family business, he would be engaged in work associated with the Temple in Jerusalem where God is said to dwell. Instead he is out in the wilderness, the region around the Jordan (3:3),

,The wilderness in biblical writings often represents vulnerability and uncertainty. In Luke it is a place of testing and of hunger (Luke 4:1-2; 9:12), sometimes danger or destruction (Luke 15:4; 21:20) or being lost and then found (Luke 15:4). Thus, the wilderness is where and how God’s people learn to depend on God.

The purpose of John’s prophetic calling is not only to prepare the way of the Lord but to prepare the people to receive the Lord through repentance for the forgiveness of sin .Not only do raised-up valleys and flattened mountains lead to smooth passages, but they also represent radical transformation

Baptism was not instituted by John .The Jewish tradition had this immersion  ritual  possibly for the acceptance of those who were joining the Jewish faith. John’s baptizing  is a rite of repentance – a preparatory  act signifying  cleansing and purifying  from judgement  in looking forward to the coming Messiah.  John fulfills his calling to “go before” the Lord (Luke 1:17, 76) “to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins” (Luke 1:77).

Nothing looks the same; everything is changed. This is a world set right by being turned on its head—not by the top-down power that is so often prized by humans, but by the upside down power of God.

Early in January , our lectionary reading  will give us the details of the  Baptism of Jesus  through John . I plan to speak more on Baptism then , But Ena  may be back with us by then  so briefly I am reminding us  that it is good for us to remember our Baptism

In my nine and a half years association with this congregation I am not aware that we have celebrated Baptism . Understandable,  as  we are  vibrant “grey” congregation.  Yet  from time to  time  I believe  we do need to celebrate our baptism. I suspect many of us don’t remember our Baptism – I know I don’t. I was only six weeks old when my parents  presented me to God

We as Christians  regard  Baptism as  a sign of our faithfulness  and a sign of divine grace  in acceptance  of us into God’s family . There are  many stances and ways  on how Baptism  may be administered

It’s important to note that these events–new creation, judgment, and deliverance–are all the works of God. The beauty of baptism is that it actually points us away from ourselves, what we do, and onto the Creator-Judge who delivers us out of the sea of death and iniquity. How does he do this? Well, Jesus Christ went down into the sea of our sins and conquered them when he rose from the dead. When we are baptized either as an infant  or as an adult, it is a sign of our union with him; we have been delivered through death in his death and raised with him to new life (Rom 6:4). In Jesus, we are new creations, and our baptisms are a sign of that reality!

Jesus himself encouraged  his disciples and  followers to be part of the Body. Matthew 28:19-20 says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

Very little is certain about the post-pandemic world, except for the promise represented by John’s proclamation. In the wilderness: God enters this time and this space in this period of history, so that “all flesh shall see the salvation of God” (Luke 3:6).

Remember and celebrate  your Baptism

Prepare the way of the Lord.     AMEN

HYMN                126  On Jordan’s bank

 

On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry
announces that the Lord is nigh;
awake and hearken, for he brings
glad tidings of the King of kings.
Then cleansed be every breast from sin;
make straight the way for God within;
prepare we in our hearts a home
where such a mighty guest may come.
For thou art our salvation, Lord,
our refuge and our great reward:
without thy grace, we waste away,
like flowers that wither and decay.
To heal the sick, stretch out thine hand,
and bid the fallen sinner stand;
shine forth and let thy light restore
earth’s own true loveliness once more.
All praise, eternal Son, to thee,
whose advent sets thy people free,
whom, with the Father, we adore,
and Holy Spirit, evermore.

 

OFFERING

We make our offering today as a sign of our commitment to the reign of Christ among us, trusting that our gifts will accomplish more than we might ever imagine, knowing God will bless them—and us.

 

DOXOLOGY

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;

Praise him all creatures here below

Praise him above ye heavenly host.

Praise Father Son and Holy Ghost

 

OFFERTORY PRAYER

Mighty and Merciful God, we bring our gifts to you, trusting that your blessing will multiply their effects in the world. Use them and us to prepare the way for Christ to enter lives with his compassion and courage, so that the world will know his peace and trust his name.

 

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

 

Come, Christ Jesus, be our guest. Enter our lives today with your blessing. We are lonely for you and the peace you bring. Draw near to us in friendship and faithfulness,  so that in this season of celebration, we may know you are near, and be filled with gratitude, even in the face of challenge and uncertainty. Christ Jesus, coming among us,  Bring us peace.

Come, Christ Jesus, be our guide.   Show us the way to wisdom and gratitude  in the face conspiracy theories and distrust. We thank you for the kindness we know  in friends and good neighbours, in warm houses and warm smiles. We pray for those who have lost their way in life and feel like there is no place to turn. Equip us to reach out to those who need your embrace  and ours. Christ Jesus, coming among us,  Bring us peace.

Come, Christ Jesus, be our hope. Touch us with your healing and grace in every way we need these gifts. We remember before you those we know and those known to you alone who are living with loss or illness this season, those who face depression or discouragement,  all who are worried about the impact of the pandemic, and any who will find it hard to be merry this year.  Lord we give thanks for  our local charities  – for the volunteers at the Thrift shops, and for those who donate goods  so others  may benefit – for the Community foundations  nad the dedication of those who work for our community through them

(Keep silence for 30 seconds)  Shine the light of your comfort into their lives and ours.

 

We pray that the light of Christ will shine brightly and provide comfort to all who are ill, struggling or mourning this Advent season.

…………

Christ Jesus, coming among us,  Bring us peace.

 

We pray for peace in the world: in our churches, in our families and circle of friends, and in our spirits as we prepare to welcome the Christ child among us again.

 

Come, Christ Jesus, and rule in our lives. Claim your rightful place in our hearts. This world is struggling for the justice and mercy you bring. We remember before you places marked by violence and upheaval, and the devastating impacts of the climate crisis. Draw near to all leaders and citizens working for peace and justice. Encourage honourable action and co-operation in confronting global challenges and local needs. Give hope to people under oppression  and those who live with fear or hunger day by day. Hasten the day when the world’s peoples will live as neighbours, reconciled in your truth and freedom. Christ Jesus, coming among us, Bring us peace.

 

Receive our prayers, spoken and unspoken, as we sum up our hope in the words you taught us:

 

THE  LORD’S PRAYER

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.  Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

 

 

HYMN      122   Oh come ,O come Emmanuel;  vs 1-3

 

1, O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

 

O come o come , thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai’s height,
In ancient times didst give the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

 

O come , o come thou Wisdom on high

And order all things far and nigh

To us the paths of knowledge show

And cause us in her way to go

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

 

BENEDICTION

Aaronic Blessing  ; The Lord bless you and keep you The Lord make his face shine upon you And be gracious unto you ; The Lord lift up his countenance upon you And give you peace

 

CLOSING SONG  

May the peace of Christ go with you

And also with you

May the peace of Christ go with you

In all you do    (X2)

Online: Take O Take me as I am