December 3rd, 2023

1st Sunday of Advent

Prelude
Lighting the Advent Candle

 

How does a weary world hope?
By telling stories of hope, by lighting candles in the night, and planting seeds in the winter that will bloom in the spring.
By praying for children as they grow, and picking up trash on the sidewalk.
By insisting that small acts can make a difference. There are a million ways to practice hope.
So today we light the candle of hope as a reminder and a charge.
With God’s help, may we bring hope into a weary world. Amen. 

The Candle is Lit
All sing:  O holy night! the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope- the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!
Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!
Liturgy:  A Sanctified Art, used with permission
O Holy Night:  Public Domain 

 

Welcome and Announcements 

Hymn:  110 Come thou long expected Jesus

 

Prayer of Adoration 

God in this season suspended between hope and fulfillment,
may we never forget what you have done in Jesus, what you still do in and among us, and what you will yet do to usher in your new Kingdom. 
Until that day comes, may we be overwhelmed by your mercy, which flows in wave after wave.  May we be honest about the darkness within us, and perceptive of the light around us.  May we make straight the path for the Lord, that together we may see God’s glory revealed. 

As we come to God in confession we bring our full, messy, honest selves. And in the midst of that mess, God tells us that we are loved, claimed, and forgiven. There is no greater joy than that. So let us join in the prayer of confession. Let us connect with our merciful God. 

Prayer of Confession: 
God of laughter, God of open front doors and family reunions, we confess that we often doubt good news.
We move through this world waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting for life to fall apart, waiting for our humanity to get the best of us. Instead of leaning into joy, we lean into scarcity. We lean into fear. We lean into isolation. Forgive us for forgetting that joy is amplified when shared.
Heal the wounds we have from past hurts, and teach us how to open our hearts to you, and your world. Show us how to find joy in connection as we labour with those around us. Amen. 

Assurance of Pardon 

when we come before God with the truth of our lives, God meets us as we are. The door is thrown open. There is laughter. There is joy. There is embracing—and it is holy. So trust this; believe this and remember this: You are claimed. You are loved. You are forgiven. And you are sent to serve. Find joy in that. Amen! 

The Peace 

May the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you
Passing the Peace 

Hymn:  118  Hark the glad sound

Scripture:

Psalm 80: 1-7 
Mark 13:  24-37 

Sermon:  Jesus is coming to a weary world  

Today is the first Sunday of Advent.  Generally, we spend these Sundays talking about Jesus coming into the world.  Most years the Scripture passages talk about the upcoming birth of a baby.   

Angels come and go.   

The donkey is taken out of the stable.   

And we all turn our eyes firmly toward Bethlehem, where the light of the star proclaims his coming. 

But some years the Scriptures take a very apocalyptic tone and we hear about the warrior king whose coming will usher in a new age and a new world.   

 

This is one of those years.   

 

The theme we will be following this year is called, A Weary World rejoices.  I found these resources at an Advent planning event presented by St. Andrew’s Hall via Zoom. 

We talked about this resource and how following the pandemic and during this current recession it seems as if the world and the people are weary. 

I don’t know about you all, but there are days when I feel as if the last three years have an emotional and physical assault.  The pandemic.  Being sick and enduring treatment.  Having a best friend die and then a cousin die.  Attending too many memorial services online.  Sick friends. Family struggles. 

 

When I listen to the request made for prayers on Sunday and through the week, I understand that for many of you, those same things have played out through these past few years.   

 

 

Those of us who have lived a good many years, are aware that life is full of tragedy and tough years.  Nothing new here, all of our lives cycle through good and difficult years.  And yet in many ways the cumulative effect of the last few years have affected all of us.  Social scientists speak of us all as having come through a trauma. 

 

In many ways it seems as if the world has also come through a trauma.   

Wars, rumour of war.   

Disasters.   

Political upheaval.   

Financial upheaval.   

But all is not lost.  

 

I encountered this statement in a meme this week:   things are not getting worse—they are being uncovered.  We must hold each other tight and continue to pull back the veil.  (anonymous) 

 

That to me seems like an amazing statement of faith, that conveys to all of us the courage to look at life in a new way, not with despair; but rather with the confidence that comes from knowing that God is in charge. 

 

Today’s Scripture lessons remind us that what we go through, and what the world goes through is always held in the palm of God’s hand.  

  

The Psalm reminds us that God always makes his face shine on us, and that he will revive us again.  Scott Hoezee writes that this psalm teaches us that the Incarnation of Jesus was the human face of God shining upon us.  In Jesus God restores us and saves us. 

He makes links to the Revelation of John, and invites us to ponder the vision of a heavenly city, that in due course, will descend to become the new earth.   

Think of it:   

no pollution,  

no climate change,  

no earthquakes,  

no pandemics,  

no illness,  

no death,  

no war.  

 It will usher in the age of peace and justice.  It will be a time of rejoicing.  The weary world will in all actuality rejoice and so will all the people of the world. 

This psalm points us to the Son of Man, who will come and be the one to set all things right.  His first Advent as a human started that process, and that process will be complete when he returns as a warrior-king.   

 

When we turn our attention to the reading from Mark, we can see that war of Armageddon play out.   

Complete destruction and desolation.   

Persecution of believers.   

Earthquakes and famines.    

All manner of difficulties that will be the most dreadful time ever known on earth.  A time of danger for pregnant women and mothers of babies.  A time so dreadful, that we are warned to pray that it will not happen in winter.   

 

If the world feels weary now, imagine how weary it will be then. 

Yet the commentators warn us not to look at the coming devastation and to look instead for the hope that Mark speaks of.   

I take that to mean that we must bravely pull back the veil and reveal what it hides, but in the process to keep our eyes on God, and trust that in those days God will be in control and will redeem everything that happens.    

In order for God to reclaim and restore everything, then this world and the way that it operates will no longer exist.  It will be shaken to the pillars and all manner of devastation will be let loose until Jesus returns.  When Jesus does return, then we will be rescued from a world that we cannot survive, as the Creator recreates everything. 

 

It is to Jesus that we must turn our eyes, if we are to see the hope that is coming for us and the world.  The signs will be easy to see. 

 

Mark speaks of the sign of the fig tree.  The commentator Harmon, says that this sign is both a blessing and a form of weariness and will require our patience.   

The budding fig tree is full of leaves, and with the leaves comes the promise of fruit.  But as a person who owns fig trees, Harmon warns that we need to be very patient. 

It seems that fig trees have leaves for a very long time before the fruit appears.  After that it takes another very long time before the fruit ripens.  When that happens you have to pick the fruit before the racoons come and strip the tree. 

 

I remember the experience of growing up with cherry trees.  You watch the fruit inch its way to ripeness and you plan to start picking the next day, only on the day to find that the tree had been stripped by the birds. 

 

This is why Mark warns about watchfulness.   

Yet we are also warned that we cannot put all of our watchfulness onto the day of the Lord’s coming.  We are to be aware of the passage of time, the ripening of the figs, so to speak, but it is not our only focus. 

Our primary focus is to be doing the Lord’s work.   

Advent waiting is active waiting.  While we watch we keep working, busy doing the master’s work.  The Master expects to come back to a household that is still being run as if he was present. 

 

Kerschner says that living as if the Master is present is about being active in hope.  We can be in confusion about the events we see unravelling around us, but it cannot take us away from what we are called to do.  In fact, it should make us double-down on doing the Master’s work. 

The destruction of the world and the wars and conflict that is all around us, is all the more reason to put our efforts into the work of peace and justice.   

We can see that the work of justice being done is inadequate.  NATO, the UN, the World Court and all other agencies are frail and full of frail people.  Sometimes they simply devolve into political maneuvering.   

And yes, we feel pain when we think of how they have failed the world.   

 

Do we understand how we must respond?   

What will be our part?   

What will we be called to do? 

Barbara Taylor Brown tells the story of a congregation in Georgia who’s minister responded to the race riots around them by wrapping the Christ candle in barbed wire. 

 

Today we lit the first candle of Advent.   

We see those candles on the table, and the Christ candle is surrounded by symbols of hope, love, joy and peace.  All the candles add their light in support of the Christ candle, just the same way we add our labour to support the work of Christ. 

But when we look at the Candle wrapped in barbed wire, we can see that it’s light is just as strong as it always has been.  That has not changed.  The light of Christ is already here; but there is still work to be done.  It is therefore our duty to continue to do the work of justice and peace; and to bring love and hope to a weary world.   

The minister who put that Candle in the sanctuary said, “There is still darkness between us and the light.”   

 

When we serve in this weary world, despite our own weariness, we understand what he means, don’t we?  What we do illuminates the darkness between us and Christ.  What we do may even remove some of the barbs between us and Christ. 

More importantly, what we do brings the light of Christ to those who are trying to see in the darkness.   

 

When we look round, we like the preacher in Georgia, see the dissonance.  We live in the not yet. 

Jesus has come and he will come again.  But in the meantime, there is work to be done. 

The work of justice,  

Of empathy,  

Of prophetic imagination,  

Of listening,  

Of naming and speaking to the darkness,  

and ultimately reconciliation and peace. 

 

No one of us can do it all, but if we look to what the Spirit is revealing to us, we will see what we can offer this weary world, and see those places where we can bring our light to shine. 

 

Do you remember the words of the children’s hymn, Jesus bids us shine.  It speaks of this truth, reminding us that we are all those candles that shine for Jesus. 

The words are simple:   Jesus bids us shine with a pure clear light, like a little candle burning in the night, in this world is darkness so we must shine, you in your small corner and I in mine.  (Public Domain) 

We are called to make a difference in the world.  That is why Advent is important to our faith, because it reminds us that when we observe the state of the world, we still shine.  When we shine, this is critically important for our faith and for this world.  Maybe especially now.  Our maybe now is where we perfect our glow, so that we can shine boldly into the future. 

Amen 

 

 

Hymn:  115 Hail to the Lord’s Anointed

 

Offering and Offertory
Doxology 830

Offertory Prayer 

Gathering Prayer Requests
Prayers of the People and the Lord’s Prayer 

God of today and God of tomorrow, We come to you this morning  to thank you for the way that joy binds us together. Thank you for contagious laughter, for inside jokes, for stories around dinner tables that can make us laugh until we cry. Thank for the familiar sound of a loved one’s chuckle, and for the universality of smile lines. What a gift you have given us. Daily you remind us that joy is better when shared, so today we thank you for all those people of faith, with whom we share joy.  

Thank you for the people who spark joy in us. Thank you for the people who pull us out of our shells, who teach us how to dance and show us how to laugh. Thank you for those who declare, “Blessed are you.” In a moment of gratitude, we silently lift their names to you now. Moment of silence for the naming of our joy-bearers and our joy.  

 

 

How does a weary world rejoice?  We rejoice when we share our burdens with one another, and bring them before you in prayer.  So gracious God, as we bring our prayers this day, be comfort for us.  

WE pray for the needs of the congregation and community 

 

 

 

We pray for the weary world, that your presence may be known 

 

Thank you for bringing us closer to you in prayer, and thank you that you have answered.  We promise we will do our best to keep finding one another, we will do our best to open the door to one another, to you, and to the joy that connection brings. Together we unite our voices in hope, praying the words your son taught us to pray, saying together: 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 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, for ever.  Amen

Communion Service 

Invitation to Communion 

Our Holy God, is  here. He is  inviting us in— into his Word, into relationship, and deeper into joy, as we meet with him at the table he has provided.  God calls to us saying, Come.  Come with your doubts, come with your hopes,  come with your inadequacies, come with your weariness  and he will become your strength. 

Come, for this is a table where all are invited and all are welcome. 

 

Communion Hymn:  542 Let all mortal flesh keep silence

The Apostle’s Creed 539 the book of praise 

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 will come 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 

 

Warrant 

That we may fulfill our Lord’s intention for us, we take these natural elements of bread and wine, setting them apart from all common uses to this Holy Mystery and, as Christ gave thanks, we present to God our Prayers and thanksgivings. 

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving 564 BP
The Lord be with you
and also with you
Lift up your hearts
We lift them up to the Lord
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God
It is right to give God thanks and praise 

It is indeed right to praise you, O God of spirit and flesh.  You are the creator of heaven and earth and you have arranged for our well-being the gifts of the cross and of grain and grape.  

We rejoice to come to your table of grace, to feed ourselves with the gifts you give us, and thank you for the love poured out in the blood of Jesus.   

So as we approach your Word, O God, we pray: do not let us pass you by. Do not allow distraction or doubt to get the best of us. Do not let us walk down this road without you. Do not let our weariness become a hindrance. Instead, give us the wisdom to turn and run your way. Give us the wisdom to hear your wisdom, to let it sink into our bones and change us. With hope and gratitude we pray, that we will be strengthened in the Spirit, sensing that he shines in the sunlight, sailing on the wind, and singing in the soul of each of us gathered here.   

In this feast of bread and wine, restore us in your image that our lives might ignite a love to light the world.  Let your presence passing through us infuse the world with joy 

Therefore we join the joyous song of the angels and archangels and we raise our voices in a song of praise, saying 

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory.   

Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. 

In your child, Jesus, you have come among us, teaching us to live in readiness for your reign. Though he was killed, you raised him to life, restoring to us the light of your presence, and enriching us in every way so that we are not lacking in your gifts as we await the day when he comes on the clouds in glory and gathers his faithful ones from the ends of the earth;  all who do right and remember you in their ways.  And in praise we proclaim the mystery of faith: 

Christ has died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again. 

Today we celebrate the Risen Christ who is present among us, and we now ask your presence with us in this feast. 

By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other and one in ministry to all the world, until we feast together at the heavenly banquet in your eternal presence.    

Light of Light, True God of true God, Spirit of holiness, we praise you now, tomorrow and evermore.  Amen. 

Celebrating at the Table 

Hear the words of the Institution of the Holly Supper as they are given to us by the Apostle Paul. 

We celebrate this feast in obedience to Christ’s example and mandate.   

 

Take and Break bread 

The Lord Jesus Christ on the night of his arrest, took bread and after giving thanks to God he broke it and gave it to his disciples saying: 

Take, eat.  This is my body broken for you.  Do this in remembrance of me. 

Pour into and Lift the cup 

In the same way he took cup after supper saying: 

Take and drink.  This cup is the new covenant sealed in my blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.  Do this in remembrance of me. 

Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes again. 

Prayer after Communion
Gracious God, we believe that joy is a sacred gift, existing on a plane deeper than happiness, stemming from the truth that we belong to You. We believe that joy is not meant for isolation. You have taught us that joy is meant to be shared, weaving us together in laughter and in hope.
How does a weary world rejoice? How do a weary people share?  We remember you and know that when joy feels impossibly out of reach, we believe that part of being sacred community is leaning on one another. So together we say to one another and the world: I will share my joy when yours runs out. You will share your joy when mine runs out. And in doing so, we will all see you God, as you desire to be seen. Amen. 

Hymn:  663 God whose giving knows no ending

 

Benediction: 

There is a world out there that is oversupplied with struggle and despair, but drastically under-supplied with hope. 

You however, like Christ, are tomorrow’s people, those who know the future is pregnant with promise and hope. 

Go and live out your hope graciously and courageously. 

The grace of Christ Jesus who is the same today, yesterday and forever, will lead you to the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, and then take you on to those tasks and joys which will prepare you for the greater glory which is to come. 

Amen! 

Sung Blessing