Announcements. Opening Song The Holly and the Ivy

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Clement Hicks
5 years ago
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May this candle we light remind us that our journey toward the promise continues: Come, Lord Jesus!

1 Announcements Candle-lighting prayer On this third Sunday of Advent we light the candle of Joy. Our excitement increases: Christ is coming! Those desert places in our lives, like wilting flowers, will bloom again. We will be made strong. We will not be fearful. God remembers us. Sorrow and sighs will end; Joy and gladness blossom. May this candle we light remind us that our journey toward the promise continues: Come, Lord Jesus! Opening Song The Holly and the Ivy Opening prayer We gather, O God, in this worship space mindful of your presence. We are here to rejoice as we wait to see your glory. Help us proclaim the joy you promise. In this hour of worship we ask that you bless us through the inspiration of your Holy Spirit and through the stories of Christ s ministry among us. Amen Reading 1 Is 61:1-2a, The spirit of Adonai is upon me, who has anointed me and has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from our God. I rejoice heartily in my God, who is the joy of my soul; who has clothed me with a robe of salvation and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem, like a

bride bedecked with her jewels. As the earth brings forth its plants, and a garden makes its growth spring up, so will Adonai make justice and praise spring up before all the nations.

2 bride bedecked with her jewels. As the earth brings forth its plants, and a garden makes its growth spring up, so will Adonai make justice and praise spring up before all the nations. Psalm Advent By Daniel Berrigan It is not true that creation and the human family are doomed to destruction and loss-- This is true: For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life. It is not true that we must accept inhumanity and discrimination, hunger and poverty, death and destruction-- This is true: I have come that they may have life, and that abundantly. It is not true that violence and hatred should have the last word, and that war and destruction rule forever-- This is true: For unto us a child is born, and unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, the Everlasting, the Prince of Peace. It is not true that we are simply victims of the powers of evil who seek to rule the world-- This is true: To me is given authority in heaven and on earth, and lo, I am with you, even unto the end of the world. It is not true that we have to wait for those who are specially gifted, who are the prophets of the Church, before we can be peacemakers. This is true: I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your young shall see visions, and your old shall have dreams. It is not true that our hopes for the liberation of humanity, for justice, human dignity, and peace are not meant for this earth and for this history-- This is true: The hour comes, and it is now, that true worshippers shall worship God in spirit and in truth. So let us enter Advent in hope, even hope against hope. Let us see visions of love and peace and justice. Let us affirm with humility, with joy, with faith, with courage: Jesus Christ--the Life of the world. Reading 2 (Meister Eckhart, 14th century) We are all meant to be mothers of God. What good is it to me if this eternal birth of the divine Son takes place unceasingly but does not take place within myself? And, what good is it to me if Mary is full of grace if I am not also full of grace? What good is it to me for the Creator to give birth to his Son if I do not also give birth to him in my time and my culture? Then, then, is the fullness of time: When the Son of God is begotten in us. Gospel Acclamation and Gospel Jn 1:6-8, God be with you. And also with you. A reading from the holy gospel according to John. Glory to you, O God.

A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light.

" So they asked him, "What are you then? Are you Elijah?" And he said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No.

3 A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. And this is the testimony of John. When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him to ask him, "Who are you?" he admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, "I am not the Christ." So they asked him, "What are you then? Are you Elijah?" And he said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No." So they said to him, "Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?" He said: "I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, 'make straight the way of the Lord,'" as Isaiah the prophet said." Some Pharisees were also sent. They asked him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?" John answered them, "I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie." This happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. Hear what the Spirit is saying to us all. Glory and praise! Silent Reflection/Discussion Intercessions God of power and mercy, you blessed the Americas at Tepeyac with the presence of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe. May her prayers help all men and women to accept each other as brothers and sisters. Through your justice present in our hearts may Your peace reign in the world. Hear us as we bring to you our joys and our burdens, silently or aloud. (After each petition, we will sing O God, hear our prayer. ) We offer all these prayers in the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen Gathering at the Table God who is coming to us be with you! And also with you! Lift your hearts to the One who turns barren deserts into seas of grace. We lift them to the God who fills our longings for peace and hope. Beloved of God, let us lift our praise and thanksgiving to our Lord. We come to God's Table with glad songs of joy on our lips. In that first moment of all time, you crafted creation out of chaos, ever-surprising God. Beauty blossomed abundantly in every corner of your gift, everlasting joy and goodness were the playmates you gave to us as

4 we strolled through your Garden. But we became too nearsighted to see the grace awaiting us in your infinite heart. Hamstrung by arrogance, we walked the burning sands of sin, limping down that dusty road to death's prison. You sent Isaiah and Miriam, Hannah and Amos, to call us home, but our ears were stuffed with the world's empty promises. Then, you asked Jesus to walk the holy way, leaving glory to be born in a stable. Therefore, with those who have been raised, and those who long for your coming, we join the choirs of angels who forever sing of your glory: Holy, holy, holy, God who fills the hungry! All creation sees the glory of the LORD. Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is the One who comes saying, 'Be strong, do not fear!' Hosanna in the highest! Holy are you, Hope-full Heart, and all creation calls your Child, our Savior, Jesus Christ, blessed. Listening to you weeping in the night for your lost children, he set aside eternity's riches to come: to fill the shallows of our souls with your grace; to snatch us away from those wild beasts called sin and despair; to pay the ransom for those kidnapped by death. And so, as we prepare to celebrate his birth, as we journey once again the holy ways, seeking to hear and proclaim his life, death and resurrection, we whisper of that mystery we call faith: Christ died, scattering sin from our hearts' imagination; Christ arose, knocking death off its throne; Christ will come again, according to the promise made to our ancestors. May the gift of your Spirit, Advent's Hope and Peace, be poured out on the simple gifts of the bread and the cup, and on those who come simply to find healing and hope. And when we have been fed by your surprising grace and filled with your peace, may we go forth to the world, where our weak hands will become calloused by compassion; where we will bend our feeble knees, reaching down to lift up the fallen; where we will become fountains of living water for those parched by the wilderness of their lives. Then, when sorrow and sighing have been chased away from us, and we gather with all generations around your Table in heaven, everlasting joy will be our song, and gracious hope will be our refrain, as we sing to you through all eternity, God in Community, Holy in One. Amen. (c) 2010 Thom M. Shuman O Divine Womb, birthing forth the river of blessing which runs through all, Soften the ground of our being, and hallow in us a space for the planting of thy presence. In our depths, sow thy seed with its greening-power that we might be midwives to thy Reign. Then, let each of our actions bear fruit in accordance with thy desire. Impart to us the wisdom to bring forth the gifts of the earth and share them daily according to the needs of each being, and restore that which has been usurped by injustice to its rightful owners, as we restore to others that which is not our own.

5 Do not let us be seduced by that which would divert us from our purpose, but make us sensitive to the moment at hand. For from thy fertile soil is born the creativity, the life-energy, and the dance, from birthing to birthing. Amen. rendered by Mark Hathaway Sharing of bread and song: Magnificat (Taizé) Silent reflection Meditation Advent (a poem based on Rev. 22:20 by W. H. Smaw) I am. I was. I will be. I was born on a cold night in a cold place Unnoticed, unheralded by cold people Who turned my mother away. On that night were you listening? On that night the "least of your brothers" was me. Now do you see, do you hear and do you care? In your life do you see me In the ragged men and women Who search the cold street Looking for my reflection in your heart? Do you hear my voice in Their muttered plea or in their tear? Do you hear me when your friend turns to you To ask forgiveness and trust? Do I not forgive you always? Do I not give you a merciful ear? In this season I was born unto you Fulfilling the promise of God s care. Look for me, listen to me Closing Prayer and Blessing Let us go in joy, for we have heard the good news. Let us go in love, for we have experienced God s great love. Let us go forgiven, to extend that forgiveness to others. Let us go in peace, for that is God s gift to all whose hearts and minds are in Christ Jesus.

6 And: May God bless us and keep us. May God s face shine upon us. May God be gracious to us, and grant to us, and to all our broken world, peace. May the blessing of Almighty God, the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit, come upon us and remain with us forever. Amen. Closing Song O Come, O Come, Emmanuel #36 (vv1-4)

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