Worship
for the Lord’s Day
First
Sunday of Advent
November
29, 2020
Announcements:
·
As
mentioned last week, our sessions have suspended in-person worship until the
first of the year, which makes this Christmas, like Easter, a very
different experience for most of us. We
do so sadly, but want to ensure that all of our members and friends that
normally join us for worship stay safe and that our gathering does not in any way
contribute to one single person getting sick.
·
We
know and understand that this decision will not make anyone happy, but I’ve
been working on some projects and ideas for Advent and Christmas. If you are a member/friend of the
congregations you’ve probably already received a packet to begin the Advent
Season. I will post an adapted
version online each day at this site, like I had been doing with the daily
meditations for most of this year.
·
Since
this Sunday marks the first Sunday of Advent, if you have an Advent
Wreath, you can light your own candle during the service or enjoy the lighting
of our virtual one by clicking on the link below during the Lighting of the
Advent Wreath.
Let’s begin our worship
service together:
Prelude
Call to Worship
(if
you are worshipping with others in your house, feel free to have one person
read the regular text and all others read the highlighted text)
Longing for light, we
wait in darkness. Longing for truth, we
turn to You. Make us Your own, Your holy
people, light for the world to see.
Christ be our
light!
Shine in our hearts. Shine through the darkness.
Christ, be our
light!
Shine in Your Church
gathered and scattered today.
Advent is a time for
the human heart to wait, while trusting God’s eternal time.
How long, O Lord, how
long?
For those waiting for
answered prayer:
Grant your steadfast
patience.
For those waiting in
the face of uncertainty:
Grant unshakable confidence
in Your sovereign provision.
For those waiting for
justice and mercy to reign:
Grant a glimpse of Your
glory in our wounded world.
For all of us waiting
for God’s kingdom to come:
Grant that we might
have the peace of Christ as we wait, the love of Christ as we act, and the
grace of Christ as we speak.
Today we light the first candle which reminds us that
throughout history, God’s people have spent time waiting, wandering and
wondering about the timing of God’s eternal plan. Like the people of old, we long for God’s
presence to illuminate the areas of life where we are called to wait. This morning we echo the words of the
Psalmist, “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait
for the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14)
Lighting the Advent
Wreath
Hymn: O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Prayer of Confession
God of all creation, we
declare that You are the Eternal One.
We confess to You, O Lord, that we easily grow impatient, when Your word
to us is to wait. Ignite within us a new
and everlasting hope. We pray this in
the name of Christ, our Lord. (Silent prayers are
offered) AMEN.
Words of Assurance
In Christ we are made new. We are healed and forgiven, we are challenged
and guided to become those who work for the better rather than those who would
destroy and damage. You call us Your
people, O God, and we are eternally grateful.
AMEN.
Affirmation of Faith –
The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God the
Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ His only Son
our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost; born of the Virgin Mary;
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended
into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall
come to judge the quick and the dead. I
believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life
everlasting. Amen.
Pastoral Prayer:
Help
us pay attention to the many ways in which You enrich our lives, O God. It has become far too easy for us to focus on
the negative – we seem trapped in its spidery strands. Today, we celebrate the beginning of the
season of Advent – the coming of the Holy One.
But before we can begin the celebration we have to acknowledge where we
have fallen short. We need to change our
attitudes of defiance to visions of cooperation. Be with our families, friends, and neighbors
who suffer from illness, sorrow, alienation, marginalization, abuse and
fear. Bring healing and peace to their
lives and their souls. Also Lord, be
with our families, friends, and neighbors who are experiencing great joy and
happiness. May their spirits rejoice in
all these good moments and in Your great gifts.
We offer this prayer, along with our silent requests today.
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 Angels We Have Heard on High
Scripture Readings – Today’s Sermon Video
includes the following Scripture Readings.
So, if you’d prefer to listen to it, scroll down and click on the
highlighted Sermon Title.
Old Testament: Isaiah 64:1-9
O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that
the mountains would quake at your presence— 2as when
fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil— to make your name
known to your adversaries, so that the nations might tremble at your
presence! 3When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect, you came
down, the mountains quaked at your presence. 4From
ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God
besides you, who works for those who wait for him. 5You
meet those who gladly do right, those who remember you in your ways. But you
were angry, and we sinned; because you hid yourself we transgressed.
6We have all become like one who
is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade
like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. 7There
is no one who calls on your name, or attempts to take hold of you; for you have
hidden your face from us, and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity. 8Yet,
O Lord,
you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the
work of your hand. 9Do not be exceedingly angry,
O Lord,
and do not remember iniquity forever. Now consider, we are all your people.
New Testament: Mark 13:24-37
24“But in
those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
25and the stars will be falling from heaven,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
26Then they will see ‘the Son
of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. 27Then he will send out the
angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to
the ends of heaven.
28“From
the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth
its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29So
also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the
very gates. 30Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all
these things have taken place. 31Heaven
and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
32“But
about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son,
but only the Father. 33Beware, keep alert; for
you do not know when the time will come. 34It is
like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in
charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the
watch. 35Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the
house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at
dawn, 36or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. 37And
what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”
Sermon
–
Keep Alert for Angel Messengers!
Thanksgiving is over! For all practical purposes, only the carcass
and the leftovers remain. I don’t know
about you, but my family feasted well, we gave thanks to God for the blessings
that we did receive this year even though it wasn’t a typical year by a long
stretch, fellowshipped with family and friends by phone call and zoom, and even
though the Macy’s Day Parade lacked some of the hallmarks of previous year’s,
we still got to watch it. My only
disappointment was that the Steelers game got postponed due to the Coronavirus,
but on the plus side, in its place, I took a couple of naps and we watched a
movie. So now, in a gathering rush, it’s
on to Christmas! Advent is here!
But for all of our normal rushing
about this time of year, Advent is really a season that calls us to wait and
maybe, just maybe, we’ll really understand the meaning of advent this
year. Because most of us don’t wait well
and this year we are forced to wait – to wait until it is safe again to be with
larger groups of family and friends, wait until there is a vaccine against this
pandemic virus that has swept the world, and wait until we can worship together
again.
During these four
Sundays of Advent, we are invited to wait patiently and to pray diligently for
the coming of the Christ Child. It is a
time of preparation, not just the preparing for the material Christmas; the
wrapping and decorating of packages and trees, but also the preparing for the
spiritual Christmas; the interior re-arrangement of our hearts, making room for
God’s love to be welcomed with joy.
We begin by being watchful and opening
our hearts to God’s plans. In Isaiah 64,
we read that the prophet cried out loud to God saying, “O that you would tear
open the heavens and come down…to make your name known…so that the nations
might tremble at your presence!” And in
the gospel according to Mark we read about the unpredictability of God’s plans;
the unknown hour or day. “Beware, keep
alert; for you do not know when the time will come.”
Long ago, a young woman was surprised
by an angel, when Gabriel came knocking on her door and sent shock waves
through Mary’s teenage heart (not to mention all of history). The messenger from heaven handed her a script
for a play in which she unknowingly had been cast in the leading role. Caught totally unaware by what Gabriel
declared to her, Mary nonetheless opened the door of her heart to hear his
message.
In the sixth month, God sent the angel
Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee; to visit a young woman who was engaged
to a man named Joseph. Her name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings,
you who are highly favored! The Lord is
with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at the
angel’s words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid,
Mary, you have found favor with God. You
will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name
Jesus. He will be great and will be
called the Son of the Most High…”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary
answered. “May it be to me as you have
said.” Then the angel left her.
We know this story so well that we
tend to gloss over what a completely disruptive event this could possibly have
been for young Mary. Her world was no
longer the predictable one it had been just the day before. Everything had changed.
Beware, keep
alert, for there are angel messengers among us, who give us words that disrupt
our every day lives, that speak to us of unpredictable futures, who encourage
us to face those unknown futures.
The world in
which Mary lived was a difficult one, true.
Israel was an oppressed nation.
Roman dominion was the cause of constant stress and fear. But people’s private worlds were largely
their private concern. This, however,
was not to be for Mary. God’s plans for
her had just preempted whatever control she had grown accustomed to. She could have panicked. Certainly.
She could have thought the worst and painted a doomsday scenario. I think most people would have. But she didn’t. She willingly opened the door to God’s plans
and in the process stepped into a season of wonder. A season of watchfulness. A time
to see just how great God really is. Maybe it’s time we did the same – open the
door and step into a season of wonder.
So on this first
Sunday of Advent, I want you to know that Christmas is that “season of wonder”,
but only for those who are willing, just as Mary was, to be open to the
possibilities. To those who are willing
to step into the unknown; to watch, wait, wonder and witness, the incredible
gifts that God has in store for us. It
can be a season of wonder if we are willing to open our heart’s door to God’s
plan.
And what can we
expect? During this season of wonder,
when we open the door of our heart to God’s plans, we may be surprised to
realize that his plans begin with a reminder of God’s great love. That was the first part of the angel
Gabriel’s message to Mary. “God highly
favors you, Mary!” God is with you! God is by your side! God loves you!
And that is a
message some of us dearly need to hear from God, that we, like Mary, are loved
by God!
You know, while
the Thanksgiving holiday is pictured in the media as a “Kodak” moment of family
unity, often in reality it is anything but a time of family unity. I do know that after Thanksgiving, some of us
can be deeply depressed and we need to be reminded that God loves us. And that’s what Gabriel tells Mary! And that’s what God tells us.
Christmas too,
can be a dreaded time of year for some of us.
We might be entering December feeling alone, defeated, afraid and
unloved. Now is the time to be watchful,
to open our heart’s door just a crack and listen for God’s Angel Messengers who
say to you, “Greetings, dear child. God
highly prizes you. God is with you!”
As we are
watchful, listening, being alert this Advent season, and as we open the door of
our heart’s to God’s plans, we may expect to see something else. We may be reminded again that God’s agenda
always points to others. When Gabriel
came to Mary, he included others in his message to her. She doesn’t get to keep Jesus all to
herself. He is to be a King the world
has never seen before and will never see again.
The “others” in Gabriel’s message include the rich and the poor, the
powerful and the powerless, the mighty and the lowly, the colorful and the
colorless. It is not good news until it
is shared with others.
So when we are
watchful this Advent season, when we open our hearts to God’s plans just a
crack, we will discover “others” standing there, waiting, perhaps to get into
our lives, or out of some mess in theirs, or just wanting not to be alone. Who are the others in your life who may need
a word of encouragement, as well?
When Mary said,
“yes” to Gabriel’s message to her, she said “yes” to God’s plans and to the
world to know her and love her in return.
What kind of plans could God possibly have for you and for all those
others that we have yet to “let in”? We
may be introduced to some life-changing meetings this holy season.
How many of you
are familiar with Waldo, in the Where’s Waldo books? If you know what I’m talking about, then you
know that Waldo books are not books you read.
There are no words in Waldo books.
They are to be searched. Waldo
books are picture books. On each page
there is a complicated, busy scene of people and buildings and parks and
who-knows-what-else that all blend together because of the similar color
scheme. But somewhere on every page is a
little man with black glasses and a red-and-white striped stocking cap. His name is Waldo. Your job, if you choose to accept it, is to
find Waldo on every page.
I don’t often
find Waldo right away, but kids never fail to find him. I think because they are determined to find
him and are willing to search for him and not give up. I usually don’t have the time or the energy
to spend looking for Waldo.
This time of year
tends to resemble the pages of a Where’s Waldo book. It’s busy and blurred and everything runs
together. Under normal circumstances I
often have red lines and black lines and arrows and meeting times that
crisscross and overlap all over my calendar this time of year. When we try to find God at Christmastime,
it’s like trying to find Waldo. “It’s
impossible”, we say, but we know that isn’t really true. There is a way. This season of wonder unfolding before us
requires of us hearts that are willing to crack just a little from the
“coldness” we are holding within, a watchfulness for God’s incredible plans in
our lives – in Jesus’s own words in Mark – Keep Watch, and a determination to
set our sights on what really matters.
This season of
wonder requires that we exercise a little more courage like Mary who put her
life in God’s hands. This season of
wonder requires that we listen to the angels’ messages around us that we are
loved “inside and out”. This season of
wonder invites us to reach out to “others” around us. And in so doing, I’m quite convinced that the
Christ Child will appear before us, not by magic, but by grace and blessing.
Beware, keep
watch there are angel messengers among us!
And God’s message of love is coming to you! AMEN
Hymn Let’s Worship and Adore Him
Benediction
Be
alert, keep watch, there are angel messengers among us! God is all around us, even in these moments
of darkness and the unknown. Be ready to
joyfully serve God in ministries of peace and justice through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Go in peace and may the peace of
God always go with you. AMEN.
Postlude
