Planning. Advent 3. December Things to keep in mind this week. Planning ahead. Ecumenical Prayer Calendar. Revised Common Lectionary (Year B)

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1 Planning SAT 23 FRI 22 THUR 21 WED 20 TUES 19 MON 18 SUN 17 Advent 3 Sunday, December 17 Saturday, December Things to keep in mind this week Planning ahead December 2017 S M T W T F S / November 2017 S M T W T F S January 2018 S M T W T F S Revised Common Lectionary (Year B) Isaiah 61:14, 8 11 Psalm 126 or Luke 1:46b 55 1 Thessalonians 5:16 24 John 1:6 8, Liturgical colour: purple or blue If you have Internet access, visit to access Spirit Sightings for connections between current events and the focus passage. Ecumenical Prayer Calendar Benin, Côte d Ivoire, Togo As listed in In God s Hands: Common Prayer for the World, ed. by Hugh McCullum and Terry Mac- Arthur (Geneva: World Council of Churches, 2006). Copyright Wood Lake Publishing Inc Seasons of the Spirit SeasonsFusion Advent Christmas Epiphany

2 Advent, Christmas, Epiphany Focus scripture Psalm 126 Additional scriptures Isaiah 61:1 4, 8 11 or Luke 1:46b 55 1 Thessalonians 5:16 24 John 1:6 8, Shout with Joy Every Advent we remember that we live in in-between time, the already-not-yet time between God s definitive revelation in Jesus the Christ and the ultimate fulfillment of God s reign. Jesus life, death, and resurrection showed the world that God defeats sin and death and brings redemption to all creation. Yet, we still wait with longing to see this new reality unfold. Just as God s people in Jesus day longed for a Messiah, we long for the ultimate reign of God s love, justice, and peace. Focus scripture: Psalm 126 With imagery of praise flanking the psalmist s plea in verse four, Psalm 126 offers a distinct petition. The first three verses recall Jerusalem s fortunes being restored, as if in a dream, with laughing and shouts of joy. The verses speak of the past; they speak of what God has already done. In verse four, the psalmist implores God to restore their fortunes. Verses five and six add detail to the petition, with the psalmist asking for the reversal of weeping into joy. The psalm is brief but clear. Recalling the restoration of Zion, the psalmist cries out for God to restore the fortunes of the community. Believing that God has the power to deliver, the request is specifically for those who sow tears to reap shouts of joy. The psalm reflects the people s faith that the fate of the community hinges on God s willingness to act. The voice of those who returned to Jerusalem after the Phoenician emperor, Cyrus, captured Babylonia and allowed the Hebrew exiles to return to rebuild the temple can be heard. God s people had longed for the time when they would be restored to their homeland and for the renewal of community life. The psalmist captures the joy that accompanied God s rebirth of Jerusalem, the insistence with which the people asked for restoration, and the deep faith that God alone could redeem the people. While this psalm reflects on a particular time in the life of the people of God, it is a resource for God s people at all times as we continue to confess God s power to redeem lives, communities, and God s world; our need to ask God for help; and our faith in God to restore us again. Biblical Background December 17, 2017 Giver of joy, we praise you for your faithfulness in ages past, we beckon you to guide us and lead us this day, and we look forward in hope for a future when you transform the tears of all creation into shouts of joy. Amen. Isaiah 61:1 4, 8 11 describes the healing, restoration, promise, and joy offered to the people of Israel following the return of those in Babylonian exile. The prophet describes good news for the oppressed, broken-hearted, captives, prisoners, and all who mourn. Like the psalmist, the prophet describes a reversal of the people s fate from mourning and being of faint spirit to being filled with gladness and praise (v. 3). The restoration of the community described in verse four is offered to the people and their descendants. Finally, the prophet paints a picture of joy erupting from the people like new growth sprouting from the earth. This passage from Third Isaiah nudges us to ask how restoration, healing, promise, and joy work together for God s purposes to be revealed. 1 Thessalonians 5:16 24 offers instructions, admonishments, a benediction and assurance. The three instructions serve as encouragement to persevere in joy, prayer, and gratitude. The triplet of admonishments reminds the listener to follow the Spirt, listen to the prophets, and abstain from all evil. The benediction assures the listener that God has the power to sanctify and to keep sound and blameless the spirit, soul, and body. Like Isaiah, First Thessalonians reminds us that joy, along with prayer and gratitude, is connected to the restoration, healing, and promise offered by God. John 1:6 8, clarifies the identity of John the baptizer and, in so doing, reveals more of Jesus identity. John connects his actions and teaching to Isaiah s prophecy of a Messiah saying, I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord. John stops short of saying Jesus is the Messiah, but tells the listeners that the way is being made straight: for one who is among them, but not known. John the baptizer came as a witness to testify to the light, the light of all people. Images of water cutting through dry land (Psalm 126) and a path in the wilderness (John 1) remind us that there is not place or situation God cannot redeem, and we shout with joy. 64 Seasons of the Spirit SeasonsFusion Advent Christmas Epiphany Copyright Wood Lake Publishing Inc. 2017

3 Reflection and Focus December 17, 2017 Reflecting on the Word Adapt and use for youth and adult studies, sermon seeds, lay worship teams. Connecting with life Reflect on a time when you have shouted with joy. Was it an audible shout, or did you express joy in another way? Scripture Psalm 126 reflects on the past with praise, makes a plea for the present situation, and paints a picture of what the future could look like when God acts. Joy is most fully expressed when God s past faithfulness is remembered. How do you call on your joy as you make petitions to God? How do you express your joy as you anticipate God s action in your life? Praise pours from so many of the psalms, but the phrase shout with joy is rare. Where else do we hear about God s people shouting with joy? How is joy different from happiness? The psalmist provides an image of sowing tears and reaping joy. How can joy sit side by side with weeping or tears? When have you sown tears? When have you reaped joy? How do you believe God was involved in that transformation? Isaiah 61:1 4, 8 11 describes restoration, healing, promise, and joy working together. When have you and/or your faith community experienced restoration, healing, promise, and/or joy? How do you see the restoration described in verse one and two being accomplished in Christ? Verse eight equates justice with the restoration of the people of Israel. Focus for Worship, Learning, and Serving On this third Sunday of Advent, we hear of the power of God to restore God s people and the communities they inhabit. We hear how God s people shout for joy in response to restoration, in anticipation of restoration, and even in times when no sign of hope is visible, and the people cling to God s promise to be faithful and act. We have probably faced each of these situations in the ups and downs of life, but have we maintained our Advent, Christmas, Epiphany Knowing that the people attributed the destruction of the Northern and Southern Kingdom, the Babylonian exile, and the people s return from exile to God, how are you challenged by this understanding of God s punitive justice and restorative justice? How does this match or challenge your understanding of God s justice? The prophet says that God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up. In what situation has righteousness and/or praise been your unmediated response to God s activity in your life? 1 Thessalonians 5:16 24 asks the listeners to perpetually do many things (rejoice, pray, and give thanks), to perpetually abstain from many things (every form of evil), and then offers assurance that God will be faithful. How can this passage be heard as comfort and blessing? While these words can be heard as instructions to be complacent, how might they be instructions to be defiant and not accept the current situation as permanent or unchangeable? John 1:6 8, In what way does joy accompany light? How is joy a part of preparing or making straight the way for Christ? How does your life, as an individual and as a church, reflect God s calling in a way that would provoke people to ask, who are you? Connecting scripture and life This week s readings show that shouts of joy can be the harvest sown in tears, an act of defiance, and an unmediated response to God s justice. How do you, individually and as a church, express your belief that God has the power to restore lives and restore communities? joy? Sometimes joy comes exuberantly, and sometimes joy comes with focus and determination to remind God that we expect God to act and to remind the world that we will not accept the reality of human suffering. Empowered by these scriptures, let us shout for joy and praise God until we all find our way home and rest in the love and justice of God. Copyright Wood Lake Publishing Inc Seasons of the Spirit SeasonsFusion Advent Christmas Epiphany

4 Shout with Joy Prepare Worship Outline December 17, 2017 NOTE: All of these suggestions are mere starting points; adapt, delete, and add according to your local needs. Recruit volunteers needed for worship: singers, dancers, and percussionists for the processional (ensure a diverse group of people young and old and people with different abilities); three for the candle lighting liturgy on p. 12; four for the prayer of confession. Choose an option for hearing Psalm 126. For the Bible story, arrange for a storyteller to present the story Song of Happiness on p. 70. For the dramatic reading, arrange for two narrators. Narrator 1 wears colourful and/ or celebratory clothes. Narrator 2 wears monotone and simple clothes. Bring items for setting the worship space: Advent wreath and candles, set strips of paper (purple, rose, white, and green) and pens or pencils on seats. Option: Prepare to project the Fox 10 video by Judy Scott, or tell the story (see p. 69). You might choose to print the art image Mountains Melt Like Wax on your bulletin covers (in the Images to Project and Print folder on the Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, CD and the web version of SeasonsFUSION). You might also include one of the art engagement ideas described in Connecting with the Art (p. 4). Bring song such as I m Gonna Live So God Can Use Me Processional Dim the lights in the worship space in preparation for the processional. Then, slowly turn up the lights as those singing, dancing, and playing percussion instruments enter the worship space. Those processing, enter from several directions. Dancers carry ribbons or another streaming garland; percussionists are encouraged to tie ribbons or garlands to the instruments. The dancers and percussionists and/or all of the gathered worshippers sing We Are Marching in The Light of God. The tempo for the processional should reflect a feeling that everyone is waking up and slowly warming up to the activity of the new day. Dancers and percussionists place their ribbons and instruments on the worship table so that the ribbons and/or garlands hang over the edges of the table. Once the ribbons and instruments have been displayed, sing the song one more time to allow those processing time to return to seats and to allow the worshippers to hear their voices unaccompanied. Gather (Seasons Songbook, vol. 1, #45 on Seasons Music CD, vol. 1. Printed music and recording also available at Seasons MP3 Downloads, Set stations as described on pp Music Suggestions Invocation Pastor de Lassala, James Jacka Coyle; Seasons Songbook, vol. 7. Psalm 30 Donald Schmidt; Seasons Songbook, vol. 5 Let s Go Out Leigh Newton; Seasons Songbook, vol. 4 We Are Marching in Light of God/Siyahamba Traditional South African; Seasons Songbook, vol. 4 I m Gonna Live So God Can Use Me Traditional African American; Seasons Songbook, vol. 1 Jump for Joy Pat Mayberry; Seasons Songbook, vol. 1 You Shall Go Out with Joy/Trees of the Field Steffi Geiser Rubin and Stuart Dauermann A chart that shows the licence holder(s) for each song in each of the 9 Seasons of the Spirit Music Volumes can be found at Click on Library; Seasons Music Information. Please contact a licence holder for permission to duplicate. Sing We Are Marching in the Light of God. Repeat four times during the processional, replacing the word marching with words dancing/singing/praising/praying. The processional should last for the duration of singing the song three times. The processors will return to their seats as the song is sung the fourth time, We are praying in the light of God. Call to worship From Isaiah 61:1, 10 The Message One: The spirit of God is on me because God anointed me; All: sent me to bring good news to the poor, One: heal the heartbroken, All: announce freedom to all captives, One: I will sing for joy in God, All: explode in praise from deep in my soul. One: Come, let us worship. 66 Seasons of the Spirit SeasonsFusion Advent Christmas Epiphany Copyright Wood Lake Publishing Inc. 2017

5 Worship Outline December 17, 2017 Opening prayer Giver of joy, fill our hearts with praise as we gather to worship you. As your light fills the room, pushing out the darkness, so, too, let your light shine within us that there is no shadow of fear left within us in this hour. Remind us of your presence and your faithfulness in all times and all places. Let your light shine through us, illuminating your way in this not-yet-perfected world. Amen. Advent candle lighting If you are lighting Advent candles, the Advent Candle Lighting Liturgy can be found on p. 12. Prayer of confession All: We hear the instruction to rejoice and praise you, gracious God, in every situation; yet, there are many times when joy and praise do not percolate from our hearts. Voice One: When have you been too busy or tired to praise God? Pause. Voice two: When has your situation been so bad that the last thing you were going to take the time to do was to thank and praise God? Pause. Opening the word Moving into the focus scripture One: Twice in the six verses of Psalm 126, we hear that God s people respond to God with shouts of joy. We want to be among those shouting for joy, but there are many things that quell our joy. Invite people to close their eyes and reflect on the following. Pause between each question to give time for recall and reflection. When have you felt truly joyful? How have you responded to God with joy? What keeps you from rejoicing? How does this faith community show joy? How is joy expressed in worship? How is joy expressed in community life? What stands in the way of this faith community s joy? Engage Voice three: When have you looked at the suffering of others and wondered why God has seemingly forgotten to love justice, righteousness, and peace? Pause. Maybe it was a time when a family friend was struggling with illness. Pause. Maybe it was a time when you had knowledge of a child whose needs were not being met. Pause. Maybe it was a time when a conflict in a foreign land had victims who have suffered more than is fathomable. Pause. Voice four: Our hearts want to lament. We weep. We feel angry. We do not rejoice, and we do not praise you. Forgive us. All: Forgive us for expecting your justice and your peace to blossom when we see the suffering in the world. Remind us that you are always at work, bringing good news to the oppressed, binding up the broken-hearted, and proclaiming liberty to the captives. Help us see what others cannot see. Help us see the tendrils of your justice sprouting up. Help us rejoice and do justice even when our spirits are week. Amen. Words of affirmation One: God says: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; All: Let us rejoice, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus. Amen. Dramatic reading Two narrators move to the front or centre of the worship space. Narrator 1 wears colourful and/or celebratory clothes. Narrator 2 wears monotone and simple clothes. Narrator 1 stands stage left and Narrator 2 stands stage right. Adapt these suggestions for your worship space and context. Narrator 1: reads verses 1 3 with a sense of joy and awe, gazing from centre to stage left when speaking as a way of referencing the past. Narrator 2 reads verses 4 6 with an emphatic and hopeful tone, gazing centre to stage right when speaking as a way to reference the future. Option Read Judy Scott s Psalm (p. 69), or project the Fox 10 video: Psalm 126 Choose from the following for hearing the focus story. Bible story Have a storyteller present the story Song of Happiness on page 70. After the focus scripture Invite children, young people, and all who wish to move to the stations. Others will remain seated for proclaiming the word. Copyright Wood Lake Publishing Inc Seasons of the Spirit SeasonsFusion Advent Christmas Epiphany

6 After proclaiming the word, you might invite those who have not already done so to move to and around the stations, taking ten minutes or so with a chosen practice. Sing or listen to a song such as I m Gonna Live So God Can Use Me as people gather together again. (Seasons Songbook, vol. 1, #45 on Seasons Music CD, vol. 1. Printed music and recording are also available at Seasons MP3 Downloads, www. seasonsonline.ca). Personal response One: In Psalm 126, we hear of a community rejoicing following God s restoration. We hear a vision of people reaping joy from seeds sown in tears. How has this faith community moved into joy following a time of hardship? How does this faith community express its joy? As you meditate on the candlelight (gesture toward the Advent wreath, which by this week will have three candles burning), reflect on this question: What expressions, words, and deeds will you use to praise God with your life? Invite worshippers to write a response to this question on the strips of paper that can be found near their seats. Once the worshippers have finished responding, ask them to twirl the strips around their pens or pencils to make paper curls. Then, pass baskets to collect the paper curls. If an offering is being collected during worship, it could be collected at the same time as the paper curls, as a way for worshippers to offer the fruits of their labour and their lives. Prayers of the people Restorer of community life, we come before you today to praise you with our lives and to thank you for the reversals we have seen unfold by your love and justice. We have seen families who mourn find renewed purpose in life, prisoners find freedom in new jobs and employers who are willing to give them a chance, and cities and neighbourhoods that have fallen, see rebirth in their streets. Faithful God, we fall short of the vision of being everpraising, ever-joyful, ever-praying, ever-grateful, and ever-hoping. Reshape our lives to match your vision for a restored community. Provoke us to take actions that live into the promises that you have made. Let us take part in your healing of the nations as we One: May the God of peace sanctify you entirely; All: And may your spirit and soul and body be kept Respond Bless Worship Outline December 17, 2017 comfort those who mourn, offer compassion to prisoners, and soothe the broken-hearted. May our words and deeds reflect your promised redemption. You are our strength, and we pray that you strengthen the faint-hearted, the sick, the lonely, those who mourn, those who plead for mercy, and the famished. You restore our lives. Restore your people who feel exiled from your love and care, who live in harm s way, and who have wandered far from your law. Rededicate us to worship you with our lives. Help us sing for joy at all times. We pray in the name of the one for whom we wait, who brings true joy to all people, our saviour, Jesus the Christ. Amen. Affirmation of faith One: Let us affirm what we believe. The God we serve is able. All: So, we live with courage and hope. One: God strengthens the faint-hearted. All: God is strengthening our hearts. One: We serve a just God. All: Injustice will not prevail. One: We are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses from days past and gone. All: What God did for them, God will do for us. Young People: I trust God. All: I believe God. Older people: I am encouraged. All: The joy of God is our strength. One: We fear not. We do not care what people say about the odds of our hopes being fulfilled. We do not care about how the present reality does not match God s vision of restoration, healing, justice, and peace. All: It s not over. It s not over until God says it s over. One: Jesus is coming. All: As we wait for Jesus to come, we wait for God s justice and peace. One: We wait as a community. All: We wait as a community by acting as if God s reign of restoration and healing is near. Amen. Prayer of dedication The prayers we offer, the gifts we give, are like seeds shown in trust that God s love will water these seeds and bring new life, hope, and joy to those who weep. sound and blameless at the coming of Jesus the Christ. 68 Seasons of the Spirit SeasonsFusion Advent Christmas Epiphany Copyright Wood Lake Publishing Inc. 2017