**Please note this service is based on the format of the Anglican Church
of Canada. Unless otherwise indicated, all prayers come from the Book of
Alternative Services (BAS) and the hymns from the Book of Common Praise (BCP). Other
hymns and prayers have been sourced to give appropriate credit.
**NRSV translation used for the readings, unless otherwise stated.
Opening Prayer
The Spirit and the church cry out:
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
All those who await his appearance pray:
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
The whole creation pleads:
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
A candle burns, the first marker of our Advent
journey.
As we set out, may we travel full of hope.
As
we set out, God of journeys, let your hope travel with us.
A
candle burns, the second marker of our Advent journey.
As
we continue, may we seek to find peace.
As we continue, God of
journeys, speak to us of peace.
A
candle burns, the third marker of our Advent journey.
As
we continue, may we travel with joy.
As we continue, God of
journeys, fill us with your wisdom.
Opening
Hymn – Blest Are the Pure in Heart (BCP #439)
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with
you all.
And
also with you.
Collect for Purity
The Trisagion (BCP #707)
Collect of the Day
Let us pray.
God of power and mercy, you call us once again
to celebrate the coming of your Son. Remove those things which hinder love of
you, that when he comes, he may find us waiting in awe and wonder for him who
lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
The Readings
A reading from the Book of Zephaniah 3.14-20
Sing aloud, O
daughter Zion;
shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult
with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
The Lord has taken
away the judgments against you,
he has turned away your enemies.
The king of Israel,
the Lord, is in your midst;
you shall fear disaster no more.
On that day it shall
be said to Jerusalem:
Do not fear, O Zion;
do not let your hands grow weak.
The Lord, your God,
is in your midst,
a warrior who gives victory;
he will rejoice over
you with gladness,
he will renew you in his love;
he will exult over
you with loud singing
as on a day of festival.
I will remove
disaster from you,
so that you will not bear reproach for it.
I will deal with all
your oppressors
at that time.
And I will save the
lame
and gather the outcast,
and I will change
their shame into praise
and renown in all the earth.
At that time I will
bring you home,
at the time when I gather you;
for I will make you
renowned and praised
among all the peoples of the earth,
when I restore your
fortunes
before your eyes, says the Lord.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks
be the God.
Canticle 3 (Song of Thanksgiving, Isaiah
12.2-6)
Surely, it is God who saves me;
I will trust in him and not be afraid.
For the Lord is my stronghold and my sure
defence,
and he will be my Saviour.
Therefore you shall draw water with rejoicing
from the springs of salvation.
And on that day you shall say,
Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his name;
make his deeds known among the peoples;
see that they remember that his name is
exalted.
Sing the praises of the Lord, for he has done
great things,
and this is known in all the world.
Cry aloud, inhabitants of Zion, ring out your
joy,
for the great one in the midst of you is the
Holy One of Israel.
A reading from the First Letter from Paul to
the Phillipians 4.4-7
Rejoice in the Lord
always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone.
The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the
peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and
your minds in Christ Jesus.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks
be to God.
Gradual
Hymn – Wait for the Lord, Whose Day is Near (BCP
#94)
The Lord be with you.
And
also with you.
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
according to Luke 3.7-18
Glory
to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
John said to the
crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned
you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not
begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you,
God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax
is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good
fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
And the crowds asked
him, “What then should we do?” In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats
must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.”
Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what
should we do?” He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for
you.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them,
“Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be
satisfied with your wages.”
As the people were
filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning
John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, “I
baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not
worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy
Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing
floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with
unquenchable fire.”
So, with many other
exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.
The Gospel of Christ.
Praise
to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Sermon
Guest speaker - Rt Rev Geoff Woodcroft, Bishop of the Diocese of Rupert's Land
I walked in late to a
gathering last week, but just in time to hear a colleague say, Merry Christmas,
ya brood of vipers. It was kind of rip-off from Home Alone’s “Merry Christmas
ya filthy animal” line. It made me smile, as I thought of walking into the room
at that precise moment.
There are lots of those
moments in our lives, times in which everything of the universe seemed to align,
and that moment happened captured timelessly in memory. Sure my moment was a
funny joyful thing, but I can assure you from personal experience that this
happens in all manner of times and places, and only sometimes joyfully.
The Baptizer sure has
something in mind that Luke describes in well-rehearsed theology which is
before us these last two Sundays. There are elements of the Baptist’s story
that are actually shocking, and elements of great subtlety which we might miss,
like John’s own version of Isaiah’s prophecy, and wait, John being a prophet in
the first place (especially when he denies being one).
A loner, out in the
wilderness, on a strange diet, and drawing large crowds to himself, is one who
catches my attention, but I observe from a distance – I don’t want to get to
close to that one, eh. His words are familiar, but his context is disturbing,
and I must dig deeper into that context. . .
Tiberius, Herod,
Pontius Pilate, Philip, Lysanias were the powerhouse team of roman rule in the
lands of the people of the One God during Jesus and John’s lives; also Annas
and Caiaphas represented the high-priesthood at the same time, again very
powerful people in the sight of the harried and hapless rural and urban folk.
This is important for us to understand the power, volatility and hopelessness –
a powder-keg if you will, and this prophet, soon to be jailed, is flicking lit
matches to while away his time, waiting for the timeless Son of God.
John calls the crowds
who gather for baptism by him a “brood of Vipers”, which is a wild concept to
me because I always thought that the reference was toward the Pharisees and Sadducees,
and not with those seeking a righted direction in life. Leading off my teaching
of generosity, stewardship and missional activities with “You know, you really
suck?” is never a good move, and the more I think about this, the more
uncomfortable I am with John calling the crowds a brood of vipers.
We assume that John was
wonderfully gifted as a public speaker and theologian, one whose message could
be transmitted easily by word of mouth. That sets the stage for us further,
that the crowd, the people of the One God of Israel, are an intelligent people,
with knowledge of God, the festivals, and fasts had again lost their way; but
God was calling them back to something…
So, what was John
up-to, what did he think he was doing when he called they who were coming for
the message a Brood of Vipers? I have done what many modern preachers do when
stumped by the 2000-year-old Christian Testament – I went straight to Wikipedia
on the interweb. Vipers, and particularly Gaboon vipers, found throughout
Africa and southern Israel, are different from most other venomous snakes and
reptiles, in that they could be thought-of as forgiving, that is slow to act,
retaliate, or be the aggressor in a sudden meeting with another member of God’s
creation. This does not imply that they are safe, or without power. The viper
is unlike mambas and puff adders of the region who instantaneously strike-out
and bite multiple times upon first encounter with a perceived threat. The
viper, however, when it eventually strikes sinks its 2” fangs deep into its
opponent and hangs on until it’s victim is dead.
So let’s return to our
metaphor: I am calling out to you, you who have come seeking repentance,
forgiveness and healing. You are powerful, yet you have forgotten how to use
your power, or where it continually comes from. You have come, not in malice or
evil, but out of your present context of they who are oppressed. You, created
in the image of God, each of you, you are perfect and beautiful; yet hidden
from the creator, afraid and bewildered as to what you should be doing. Yes, a
brood, a great many, a human family, a lost flock, divided and seemingly conquered
and powerless. But you have heard and understood the voice of one calling out
in the wilderness, and you have heeded that call. Something deep down inside of
you, perhaps the DNA of Christ, calls you to come together into one great brood,
living in forgiveness, especially with they who are near. John calls you to
right relationships in all the earth, and not just with the other vipers, but
with every interdependent entity that God has made to share and support life.
The viper when it
strikes latches on for life, it is committed, powerful and fully dedicated to
the task. And what task might that be asks the general public?
"Whoever
has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do
likewise."
Even
tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, "Teacher, what
should we do?"
He said to them, "Collect no more than the amount prescribed for
you."
Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what should we do?" He said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages."
Only you, living in
right relationship with one another know how to figure-out what God is speaking
to this branch of the Body of Christ. Yet another chapter is coming to
completion in your story, which can only mean that a new chapter begins. How do
you, as the One Body, now interpret the Baptist’s message. The viper-like
crowds, perfectly and beautifully made come out of their hiding places within
normalization, fear of the unknown etc. The Baptist now continues the call with
you; what do you hear?
As the
people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts
concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,
John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one
who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of
his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
You are the Body of Christ living and breathing today, and
together as One Body, you have the strength of viper’s venom to catalyze
powerful change happen in the world, and especially in this locality – do you
know this? Now is the time, in the Baptist’s care, to reimagine your call in
God’s mission, and I shall support you in every way I can to enable that.
Merry Christmas, ya brood of vipers
Affirmation of Faith
Let
us confess the faith of our baptism, as we say the Nicene Creed:
We believe in
one God,
the Father,
the Almighty,
maker of
heaven and earth,
of all that
is, seen and unseen.
We believe in
one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son
of God,
eternally
begotten of the Father,
God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from
true God,
begotten, not
made,
of one being
with the Father.
Through him
all things were made.
For us and for
our salvation
he came down
from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified
under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father.
With the Father and the Son
he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic
and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism
for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
The Prayers of the People
In joyful expectation let us pray to our Saviour and Redeemer, saying, “Lord Jesus come soon.”
O Wisdom, from the mouth of the Most High, you reign over all things to the ends of the earth: come and teach us how to live.
Lord Jesus, come soon!
O Lord, and head of the house of Israel, you appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush and you gave the law on Sinai: come with outstretched arm and ransom us.
Lord Jesus, come soon!
O Branch of Jesse, standing as a sign among the nations, all kings will keep silence before you and all peoples will summon you to their aid: come, set us free and delay no more.
Lord Jesus, come soon!
O Key of David and sceptre of the house of Israel, you open and none can shut; you shut and none can open: come and free the captives from prison.
Lord Jesus, come soon!
O Morning Star, splendour of the light eternal and bright Sun of righteousness: come and enlighten all who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death.
Lord Jesus, come soon!
O King of the nations, you alone can fulfil their desires: Cornerstone, you make opposing nations one: come and save the creature you fashioned from clay.
Lord Jesus, come soon!
O Emmanuel, hope of the nations and their Saviour: come and save us, Lord our God.
Lord Jesus, come soon!
Compassionate One, we look to the stormy sky of political unrest, help us to pay attention to the cries for mercy, peace and justice among us.
Come Holy Spirit Come!
Earth keeper, we look to the polluted sky of an ailing planet, help us pay attention to the ways we can mend and tend the earth, your creation.
Come Holy Spirit Come!
This morning we pray for those who have asked our prayers.
We continue to pray for the people of British Columbia and the Eastern Provinces as they deal with the after effects of flooding. We pray for Kentucky and other areas of the United States as they deal with the effects of devastating tornadoes. We pray for all those in the world who continue to deal with the Covid pandemic, hoping that all will have access to vaccines soon.
O God of Advent, of Christmas, of Hope, of Peace on Earth, of Joy and in our lives; we come to you this morning as your children—your good/bad, loving/hateful, creative/destructive, trusting/suspicious children. We come to you as whole people, bringing all that is beautiful and all that is ugly about us. We bring our imperfect selves to you because we have heard your word that unto us a Saviour is born.
We pray knowing that we need a Saviour that at our best we are not good enough, that at our most loving we are shallow and selfish, that at our most faithful we have our doubts, that in our most self-appraising moments we don’t understand much about ourselves. But, we come in confidence because we know of the Christ child whose birth we will soon celebrate. We know the beautiful example of his life; we know the tragic, but wonderful significance of his death. We know that because he lives we have life.
We confess that we don’t manage life very well. We sometimes think ourselves too good; at other times we think ourselves too bad. We have trouble accepting foibles and frustrations as well as faithfulness and fortitude. We marvel that Jesus was your Incarnation and agree that because of him you understand human weakness but we find it hard to understand accept our own weakness.
Our special prayer for this season is that you will free us to know your love. Help us to know the real miracle of Christ’s birth - that of your love for us. It is strange, Lord, but we are able to accept other more “far-out” miracles, but find it hard to believe that one - that you love us and we don’t even have to pretend to be something we are not. We thank you for the revelation of your love in that Bethlehem child. We pray that as we experience your love we may be able to accept ourselves and accepting and loving ourselves will enable us to accept and love one another.
We pray in the name of Christ, who has come and is coming. Amen.
Confession and Absolution
Dear friends in Christ,
God is steadfast in love and infinite in mercy;
God welcomes sinners and invites them to the
table.
Let us confess our sins, confident in God’s forgiveness.
(silence)
Most merciful God,
We
confess that we have sinned against you
in
thought, word, and deed,
by
what we have done,
and
by what we have left undone.
We
have not loved you with our whole heart;
we
have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
We
are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
for
the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have
mercy on us and forgive us,
that
we may delight in your will,
and
walk in your ways,
to
the glory of your name. Amen.
As we speak the truth of our lives, God who is
faithful and just, restores us and brings us home again and again.
Almighty God have mercy upon you,
pardon and deliver you from all your sins,
confirm and strengthen you in all goodness,
and keep you in eternal life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Peace
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And
also with you.
Offertory
Hymn – There's a Voice in the Wilderness (BCP #106)
Prayer over the Gifts
**Although
not physically at our church buildings to share our offering together I would
encourage you to set your offering of money aside so that it can be dropped off
or placed in the church once services resume, to mail your offering to the
church, or to make donations online. Please remember ministry is still taking
place.
Let us pray.
God of hope, renew in us the joy of your
salvation and make us a living sacrifice to you, for the sake of Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.
This service was created for in-person worship. For those
worshiping on your own, you may either read the Eucharistic prayer, or skip
ahead to the Lord's Prayer.
Eucharistic Prayer 2
The Lord be with you.
And
also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We
lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It
is right to give our thanks and praise.
We give you thanks and praise, almighty God,
through your beloved Son, Jesus Christ,
our Saviour and Redeemer.
He is your living Word,
through whom you have created all things.
By the power of the Holy Spirit
he took flesh of the Virgin Mary
and shared our human nature.
He lived and died as one of us,
to reconcile us to you,
the God and Father of all.
In fulfilment of your will
he stretched out his hands in suffering,
to bring release to those who place their hope
in you;
and so he won for you a holy people.
He chose to bear our griefs and sorrows,
and to give up his life on the cross,
that he might shatter the chains of evil and
death,
and banish the darkness of sin and despair.
By his resurrection
he brings us into the light of your presence.
Now with all creation we raise our voices
to proclaim the glory of your name.
Holy and gracious God,
accept our praise,
through your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ;
who on the night he was handed over
to suffering and death,
took bread and gave you thanks,
saying, “Take, and eat:
this is my body which is broken for you.”
In the same way he took the cup,
saying, “This is my blood which is shed for
you.
When you do this, you do it in memory of me.”
Remembering, therefore, his death and
resurrection,
we offer you this bread and this cup,
giving thanks that you have made us worthy
to stand in your presence and serve you.
We ask you to send your Holy Spirit
upon the offering of your holy Church.
Gather into one
all who share in these sacred mysteries,
filling them with the Holy Spirit
and confirming their faith in the truth,
that together we may praise you
and give you glory
through your Servant, Jesus Christ.
All glory and honour are yours,
Father and Son,
with the Holy Spirit
in the holy Church,
now and for ever.
Amen.
And now, as our Saviour Christ has taught us,
we are bold to pray,
Our
Father in heaven,
hallowed
be your name,
your
kingdom come,
your
will be done,
on
earth as in heaven.
Give
us today our daily bread.
Forgive
us our sins
as
we forgive those who sin against us.
Save
us from the time of trial,
and
deliver us from evil.
For
the kingdom, the power,
and
the glory are yours,
now
and for ever. Amen.
Breaking of the Bread
This is the body of Christ.
Behold what you are.
Become what you receive.
Amen.
Communion
This is the table of Christ. It is made ready
for those who love him, and for those who want to love him more. Come, whether
you have much faith or little, have tried to follow, or are afraid that you have
failed. Come. Because it is Christ's will that those who want to meet him,
might meet him here.
These are the gifts of God for the People of
God.
Thanks
be to God.
Share
in the Eucharist
Prayer After Communion
As we have feasted around the table, let us
pray.
All your works praise you, O Lord.
And
your faithful servants bless you.
Gracious
God
we
thank you for feeding us
with
the body and blood of your Son
Jesus
Christ.
May
we, who share his body,
live
his risen life;
we,
who drink his cup,
ring
life to others;
we, whom the Spirit lights,
give light to the world.
Keep us firm in the hope you have set before
us,
so that we and all your children shall be free,
and the whole earth live to praise your name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Blessing
The peace of God, which passes all
understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and
of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord: and the blessing of the Holy and Undivided
Trinity be with you and remain with you always, in the name of God, ☩ Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Closing Hymn – Lord, Dismiss Us
with Your Blessing (BCP #570)
Dismissal
As
we await our coming Saviour,
go
in the peace of Christ.
Thanks
be to God.
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