Second Sunday in Advent

Transcription

1 Second Sunday in Advent December 9, 2012 Ann & Trevor Weekes Announcements Lighting of the Advent Candle (Hope and Peace) O God, we joyfully await the coming of the Christ, who enlightens our hearts and dispels the darkness of ignorance and sin. Pour forth your blessings upon us as we light the candles of this wreath; may their light reflect the illumination brought to us by Jesus, our guide and comforter always. Amen Opening prayer Jesus, brother and friend: It happens every year. We think that this will be the year that we have a reflective Advent. But all around us are the signs rushing us to Christmas and some kind of celebration that equates spending with love. We need your help. We want to slow our world down. This year, more than ever, we need Advent, these weeks of reflection and longing for hope in the darkness. Jesus, this year, help us to have that longing. Help us to feel it in our hearts and be aware of the hunger and thirst in our own souls. Deep down, we know there is something missing in our lives, but we can t quite reach for it. We can t get what is missing. We know it is about you, Jesus. You are not missing from our lives, but we might be missing the awareness of all of the places you are present there. Be with us, dear friend. Guide us in these weeks to what you want to show us this Advent. Help us to be vulnerable enough to ask you to lead us to the place of our own weakness, the very place where we will find you the most deeply embedded in our hearts, loving us without limits. Amen. Opening song "Rise Up, Jerusalem" (Tim Schoenbachler) Refrain: Rise up, rise up, rise up, rise up, Jerusalem! Sing out, ring out, sing out, sing out, Jerusalem! Rejoice, the day is near! Verse 1: Sing, all you people, for the day is near. Sing, all you people, wash away your fear. Ev'ryone get ready for salvation is near. Verse 2: A voice in the desert cries "Prepare the way." A voice in the desert cries "Today's the day." Ev'ryone get ready for the Lord is on his way.

2 Verse 3: Rejoice, oh Jerusalem, and start anew. Rejoice, oh Jerusalem, he comes to you. Ev'ryone get ready for the Lord will light the way. Reading 1 Baruch 5 Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery; put on the splendor of glory from God forever: wrapped in the cloak of justice from God, bear on your head the mitre that displays the glory of the eternal name. For God will show all the earth your splendor: you will be named by God forever the peace of justice, the glory of God's worship. Up, Jerusalem! stand upon the heights; look to the east and see your children gathered from the east and the west at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing that they are remembered by God. Led away on foot by their enemies they left you: but God will bring them back to you borne aloft in glory as on royal thrones. For God has commanded that every lofty mountain be made low, and that the age-old depths and gorges be filled to level ground, that Israel may advance secure in the glory of God. The forests and every fragrant kind of tree have overshadowed Israel at God's command; for God is leading Israel in joy by the light of glory, with mercy and justice for company. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6. When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion, we were like dreamers. Then our mouths were filled with laughter, and our tongues with rejoicing. Then they said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them." The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad indeed. Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like the torrents in the southern desert. Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing. Although they go forth weeping, carrying the seed to be sown, they shall come back rejoicing, carrying their sheaves. Gospel alleluia and reading Luke 1:26-38 The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin named Mary betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over

3 the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end." But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" And the angel said to her in reply, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God." Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her. Silent Reflection and Discussion Intercessions for dark places o Be with those living in the darkness of illness. o Be with those in the darkness of life on the streets: drug-users, alcoholics, the mentally-ill cast adrift in a world that they cannot cope with. o Be with those in the darkness of war and conflict; where violence stalks the streets; where violence shares the same house. o Be with those in the darkness of despair; prisoners, refugees, those who are persecuted and oppressed. Be with us. o Where there is darkness in us, shed Your light; where there is love and joy, help us to let them shine out into a dark world. Let us be Your people of hope and light. We hold in the light of Your love others known to us. (add prayers silently or aloud) Gathering at the table God be with you. And also with you. Lift up your hearts. We lift them up to God. Let us give thanks to God our Creator. It is right to give God thanks and praise. We give thanks that at the dawn of history, O God, you formed our forebears and breathed into them the breath of life. When they forgot about you and turned away, you did not turn away from them; your love remained constant. You delivered them from captivity and led them through the wilderness, providing food to eat and water to drink. Your Spirit came upon prophets and empowered them to speak your word of

4 justice and righteousness. By the same Spirit they pointed to the coming of one who would be a sign of your kingdom on earth and through whom salvation would be poured out. O God, we praise you for how your Spirit anointed Jesus to proclaim justice to all peoples, good news to the poor, release for the captives, sight for the blind, liberty for the oppressed, and to announce that the time had come when you would save your people. We thank you, Holy God, for how in him and through him - by his life, and death, and resurrection - you have brought healing and new life to all who would receive it and have opened the way to your kindom for all who truly desire it. We thank you for his first coming among us - for how he is here now in our gathering - and for how he will come again... Come, Lord Jesus, come! Gathered here to remember him in the breaking of bread and the drinking of wine, we pray as he taught us to do: O cosmic Birther of all radiance and vibration. Soften the ground of our being and carve out a space within us where your Presence can abide. Fill us with your creativity so that we may be empowered to bear the fruit of your mission. Let each of our actions bear fruit in accordance with our desire. Endow us with the wisdom to produce and share what each being needs to grow and flourish. Untie the tangled threads of destiny that bind us, as we release others from the entanglement of past mistakes. Do not let us be seduced by that which would divert us from our true purpose, but illuminate the opportunities of the present moment. For you are the ground and the fruitful vision, the birth, power and fulfillment, as all is gathered and made whole once again. Amen. [A translation directly from Aramaic into English by Neil Douglas-Klotz in Prayers of the Cosmos]. These are the gifts of God for the people of God. Breaking and Sharing of the Bread The Cherry Tree Carol Silent Reflection Meditation Advent I wait with quickened hope for crooked paths to straighten, with tough-soul'd anguish, while blinded keepers of the keys shut out God's own. (If such a thing were possible.) I wait, and will not be dismayed. For tiny shoot of Jesse tree

5 took root in me to love transform, give sight set free. by Sr. Christine Schenk, CS Closing prayer and blessing O Holy One, through the darkness, we look for your wisdom. We want our hearts to be open to you. But sometimes in these days, it seems that so many things come between us. Help us to be awake and aware of the radiance you bring to our lives. Help us to be grateful each day for the blessings of family and friends. Let us be peacemakers in our own lives and in the world. We pray especially for this difficult world and those who are so in need of an end to violence. Our hearts beg for this as our Advent prayer today. 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 Every Valley (#74) Happy Birthday, Mary Whitehead!