**Please note this service is based on the format from “Out of the Blue” © 2022 by Barn Geese Worship. Used by permission of Barn Geese Worship and adapted by Rev. Jennifer Marlor.
**NRSV translation used for the readings, unless otherwise stated.
Introduction
For God,
change can be small, evolutionary, atomic. A crumbled resistance, a slightly
different direction, a fresh idea in the middle of the night.
For God, change can rain down
like a tempest, a flood in every street that sweeps into our lives with energy
that does not yield or listen.
God is urgently waiting to
finally arrive.
God, we have been waiting for
you, too.
Yet you often arrive before
we notice: in the place we did not expect, in the word we did not hear.
Do not be afraid, your angels always
say, right before you change a life.
You are here to change this place. We are not afraid.
Thanksgiving for
Baptism
God, you have
given water your power to end and your capacity to nurture life again. So, we
remember the rainwater that fell on Noah and his family, a flood that no creature could return
to the cloud. We remember the water of the Red Sea that stepped aside to let
your people walk to liberation and swept away the enemies of freedom. And in
Advent, we remember that your salvation breaks forth like water from a womb: a
sign that your child will be born to us once more, and nothing can stop this.
In the waters of baptism, we have been submerged in this same powerful sign.
God, pour out the water of
life. Carry us in the current of your irresistible will. Pull us with the
steady tide of your tenderness. When we swim against you, sweep us into your
mercy. We cannot control your salvation; your love flows everywhere, even over
our heads.
God, thank you for the water that breaks the grip of the world and erodes the edifice of sin. Thank you for the water that nurtures life as it begins again. Amen.
Gathering Hymn –
The Greeting
Peace to you and welcome, from the God who has always known you, the Savior
who is already born, the Spirit who listens before you ask.
And also with you.
Lighting of the
Advent Wreath
In deep blue darkness, lighting a
single candle creates only uncertainty.
Light dances around uncertain shapes, and the dark refuses to yield its
secrets.
The flame from the candles
on our Advent wreath represents our flickering glimpse of the goodness God has
hidden in divine darkness.
In time we will apprehend
every blessing hinted from ancient prophecies and prepared under the cover of
deep darkness.
But not yet, not fully.
There is a moment when we no longer need a light in the darkness. Perhaps
dawn has come to fill every corner of the room with sunlight. Or, we have grown
so familiar with our surroundings that we can find our way without sight. Or,
the person we have longed to know now rests by our side, peacefully breathing.
God’s goodness has always grown quietly in our midst, like the infant who
has grown just out of sight, just beyond our touch.
This final candle represents
the moment we see and hold, out of the blue, God’s promise for ourselves.
Prayer of the Day
Let us pray.
Stir up
your power, Lord Christ, and come. With your abundant grace and might, free us
from the sin that hinders our faith, that eagerly we may receive your promises,
for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
forever.
Amen.
Readings
A reading from
the book of Isaiah (7:10-16)
Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. Then Isaiah said: ‘Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.
Word of God,
Word of Life.
Thanks be to God.
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
you
who lead Joseph like a flock!
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine
forth
before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh.
Stir up your might,
and
come to save us!
Restore us, O God;
let
your face shine, that we may be saved.
O Lord God of hosts,
how
long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
You have fed them with the bread of tears,
and
given them tears to drink in full measure.
You make us the scorn of our neighbours;
our
enemies laugh among themselves.
Restore us, O God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved.
A reading from the letter from Paul to the
Romans (1:1-17)
Paul, a servant
of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the
gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh
and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of
holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we
have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among
all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, including yourselves who are called
to belong to Jesus Christ,
To all God’s
beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints:
Grace to you
and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
First, I thank
my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed
throughout the world. For God, whom I serve with my spirit by announcing the
gospel of his Son, is my witness that without ceasing I remember you always in
my prayers, asking that by God’s will I may somehow at last succeed in coming
to you. For I am longing to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual
gift to strengthen you – or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by
each other’s faith, both yours and mine. I want you to know, brothers and
sisters, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been
prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as I have among the
rest of the Gentiles. I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to
the wise and to the foolish – hence my eagerness to proclaim the gospel to you
also who are in Rome.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, ‘The one who is righteous will live by faith.’
Word of God, Word of Life.
Thanks be to God.
Gospel
Acclamation
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according
to Matthew. (1:18-25)
Glory to you, O Lord.
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
‘Look, the
virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel’,
which means, ‘God is with us.’ When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.
The Gospel of our Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon
Guest Sermon - Frank Logue
God
breaks into human history bringing divine plans to fruition through ordinary
people. We see this pattern all through scripture, from the patriarch Abraham
to the persecutor of Christians, Saul, who becomes the Apostle Paul. And from
Deborah and Esther, who bring hope to their people, to Mary Magdalene, who was
a witness to the Resurrection sent as the “apostle to the apostles” with the
Good News.
This pattern of God working through people is no
less true in the most important divine plan in history, as the Word became
flesh in Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us. God used Mary and Joseph in a plan to
turn the world upside-down, which was really setting everything right once
more, in Jesus. Knowing them as St. Mary and St. Joseph can hide the fact that,
though this couple was amazing, unique in all history even, they were also very
much human.
In our Gospel reading, we see that Joseph is a
person with hopes and dreams for his own life, who found himself taking this
critical role in history. When we meet Joseph, he is engaged to Mary and learns
that she is pregnant. God uses a dream to get Joseph’s attention. Joseph
hearing from an angel in his sleep is not so different from what you and I can
experience. Sure, we can sometimes have dreams that get our attention, but we
can also find the Holy Spirit breaking into our imagination. More often, God
uses messengers to get our attention, like Mary’s relative Elizabeth, who
confirmed what Mary had already heard from the angel. God often uses other
people to assist us in seeing what God is doing in our lives. A godly friend
can be very important as we test out whether our great idea is something the
Holy Spirit is prompting us to do.
God does not make anyone act but rather invites us
to take part in what God is doing in the world. In Luke’s Gospel, we read of
how the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, with Mary later responding, “Let it be
with me according to your word.”
Here in Matthew’s Gospel, we find Joseph wanting to
do the right thing. Breaking an engagement took a divorce decree, and divorce
had to be requested by either party and witnessed by three others to be legal,
so it was not as easy a matter as it might be today to end an engagement.
Joseph wants to handle this in a way that would not harm Mary. Then an angel
comes to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to
take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people
from their sins.”
Joseph believes the dream and Matthew tells us,
“When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him;
he took her as his wife.” Joseph accepted the invitation to participate in
God’s plan of salvation, just as Mary had already done.
So, Joseph marries Mary. She has a child whom
Joseph names Jesus, which means “God saves.” God will save and God will do it
through Jesus, but Mary and Joseph were essential to the plan. Mary had to
consent to the pregnancy and Joseph to the marriage.
God rarely acts in history with this sort of
intervention. Jesus will anger a hometown crowd with this assertion years
later, saying, “The truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of
Elijah, when the heaven was shut up for three years and six months, and there
was a severe famine over all the land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them
except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel
in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman
the Syrian.”
Through the Incarnation, we see how God acts, even
in the extraordinary case of the birth of Jesus. While God becoming human in
Jesus is a once-in-all-history event, God does regularly prompt people like you
and me to take part in God’s hopes and dreams for our world. We are invited to
participate in what God is doing through serving others, as though we are
serving Jesus.
Jesus describes this in the Parable of the Sheep
and the Goats, describing the actions of the faithful: “I was hungry and you
gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a
stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick
and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Those who cared
for others will be surprised, not knowing that they cared for Jesus, who will
then explain, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of
these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”
This parable is all the more poignant when we see
Jesus’ humble origins. The King of Creation was not born in a palace to a life
of luxury. After Jesus is born, Mary and Joseph will take him to the Temple to
offer two turtledoves; the Torah required a lamb together with either a
turtledove or a pigeon to be offered for the birth of a son or daughter.
However, Leviticus 12:8 noted that poor families could offer two birds instead,
as a lamb would present a financial hardship. The Holy Family qualifies for
what amounts to a hardship discount. Jesus will later serve others on the road
where he is frequently a guest who relies on the hospitality of others, as a
stranger welcomed by others. Jesus sees the needs around him everywhere among
the members of his human family.
God will find a way to care for those in need,
using someone else if we fail to respond. God will work out God’s purposes
through whoever is willing to listen to the promptings of their hearts. While
you and I will not be invited to such a momentous task as Joseph, we no less
can take part in what God is doing. Jesus makes it clear that small acts of
providing food for the hungry and drink for the thirsty are of eternal
significance. In these small yet meaningful ways, we get to participate in the
coming Reign of God by being God’s hands and feet in the world. This is part of
how God breaks into human history, bringing divine plans to fruition through
ordinary people.
As we journey these last days to our celebration of
Jesus’ birth, our eyes should be open anew to how God is giving us the
opportunity to respond to a divine invitation. For in caring for those in need,
we are serving the Emmanuel, the God who is with us, in Jesus. When we show
care for those who would otherwise be lost and left out, we are doing so for
the one whose First Advent we celebrate, even as we await Jesus’ coming again
in glory. Amen.
Hymn of the Day –
Advent Creed
We believe in God:
The
Source of all things.
The
God of Abraham and Sarah.
The
Holy One who freed the slaves from Egypt.
The
God who is steadfast love and mercy.
The
God who made a straight path in the wilderness and who promises to make all
things new.
We believe in Jesus:
The
Messiah, who is Emmanuel: God with us.
He
is King-of-Kings yet born of Mary.
Jesus
showed God’s love through healing and teaching,
Jesus
chose the way of servant-suffering by dying on a cross.
After
three days he rose from the dead.
He
is the Lord, the first born of the new creation.
We believe in the Holy Spirit:
The
One who inspires faith.
Who
has spoken through the prophets and preachers and common people,
The
One who breathes new life into the church and the world,
The
Lord and giver of life.
Who
is making all things new.
We
believe that God is still creating,
We
believe that Jesus is present with us.
We
believe that the Holy Spirit is calling us forth in love and mercy.
This is our hope, this is our faith. Amen.
Prayers
of Intercession
As we prepare for the fullness of
Christ’s presence, let us pray for a world that yearns for new hope.
Silence
God our shepherd, let your Spirit move with power throughout the church.
Give discernment and wisdom to our bishops, pastors, deacons, and lay leaders.
Take away our fear, so that we serve and love, confident that you are guiding
us.
God, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
God our source, awaken us to the beauty of the earth and the marvelous
variety of life. Unite humankind in repairing and caring for your creation.
Protect creatures and habitats in peril due to rising seas and warming
temperatures.
God, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
God our vision, raise up leaders in every nation who dream of freedom and
justice for all people. We pray for the work of international organizations
that promote peace and human rights.
God, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
God our helper, come to the aid of all who cry out to you. Shelter migrants,
refugees, and those fleeing war and famine. Bring relief to individuals and
families experiencing hunger, homelessness, or impoverishment. Comfort any who
are isolated or lonely.
God, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
God our Emmanuel, you are with us in our life together. We give you thanks
for gathering us in worship and fellowship, and we remember those who cannot be
present. Watch over those who travel. Heal the sick and speed their recovery.
God, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
God our hope, you bring life out of death, and you promise to be our God
forever. Shine upon the faithful who now rest in the fulfillment of your
promise and bring us also into your blessed reign of peace.
God, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
God of our longing, you know our deepest needs. By your Spirit, gather our
prayers and join them with the prayers of all your children. In Jesus’ name we
pray.
Amen.
The
Peace
The
peace of Christ be with you always.
And also with you.
Offering Hymn –
Offering Prayer
Let us pray.
God, we have labored and
toiled for our money
and our time and our
families and our freedom.
We have cherished what we
thought was ours.
Yet in a moment, we
recognize that every truly good thing
was a treasure we had taken
from your open hand.
We give you these gifts as
a sign of your love and faithfulness.
Use them to grow more hope
in this world.
All this we ask in your
holy name.
Amen.
Great
Thanksgiving
Holy Jesus, be our guest. For you are already here.
God is with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts in praise.
We lift them to our God.
Let us give thanks to the God of our
salvation.
It is right to give our thanks and praise
Holy God, once you made
humankind you could do nothing but love them.
Holy Spirit, once you called
the prophets,
you gave them words to afflict
and words to heal,
and they could do nothing but
speak them.
Holy Jesus,
once you committed to take the
human frame,
you walked the path to the
end.
You did not rush through
childhood.
You never used your power for yourself.
You faced your enemies on
their terms.
You taught your friends until
they learned.
You allowed yourself to die
the same way you were born:
as a fragile person,
in a filthy place,
where bare flesh and blood were spilled to give life.
This is rarely a kind world,
but you love it anyway.
This was rarely an innocent
world,
but you saved it anyway.
We are rarely peaceful people,
but you have swaddled us in peace.
We will always hunger for
healing.
Nurse us with grace
Sanctus
While Pilate rested in his
palace,
and the city of Jerusalem
slept,
while the priests set their
plot in motion,
the disciples sat down at the
table.
The bread was on the table;
the wine was in the glass.
This was the night for which
Jesus was born.
Even if you know this is part
of God’s plan,
you might still grieve.
To say goodbye to your closest
friends,
who do not know you will die.
To end the chapter of
friendship with the one you love,
before they turn away.
Even good days bring sadness
and loss.
And it was a good day, that
final day, filled with certainty and hope,
when Jesus lingered at the
table and took that bread and cup.
That night,
the night in which he was
betrayed,
our Lord Jesus took bread,
and gave thanks,
broke it, and gave it to his
disciples, saying:
Take and eat; this is my body,
given for you.
Do this for the remembrance of
me.
Again, after supper, he took
the cup,
gave thanks, and gave it for
all to drink, saying:
This cup is the new covenant
in my blood,
shed for you and for all
people
for the forgiveness of sin.
Do this for the remembrance of me.
At a meal like this, we savour the
food while it lasts;
we cling to love before we
step out of reach.
And we pray that God will give
us each day the blessing we share in this place.
Holy Spirit, just as you made
a stable into a nursery fit for the sovereign of heaven, you make this table a
holy cradle for salvation.
You fashion this bread and
wine into the presence of Christ’s love.
And you make us your people,
who can never separate from you again.
The Lord’s Prayer
So, we pray as Jesus taught us.
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 trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.
Invitation
to communion
People of God, come to the table
and encounter the God who
waits to love you.
Thanks be to God!
Distribution of communion
Table
Blessing
The body
and blood of our Lord
Jesus
Christ strengthen you
and keep
you in his grace.
Amen.
Prayer
after communion
As we have feasted around the table,
let us pray.
Faithful God,
in this meal you have
remembered your mercy,
bringing heaven to earth in
the body and blood of Christ.
As we wait for the day when
all your promises will be fulfilled,
sustain us and strengthen
us by this holy mystery.
Guide us toward your
promised future,
coming to birth in Jesus
Christ our Savior and 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 God almighty, ☩ the Son, and the Holy Spirit be amongst you and remain with you always.
Amen.
Sending
Hymn –
Dismissal
God, we do not know the end to
which you call us.
God, let us be your
servants, wherever this road goes.
God, you could have judged us,
but you chose us.
You have made us worthy so
we might speak your words.
You alone guide us down the
path that leads to life.
Every other path is no
longer a path for me.
Go in peace. Serve the lowly.
Thanks be to God.
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