Let Us Go Forth and Not Be Offended
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For December 11, 2022:
Let Us Go Forth and Not Be Offended
by Katy Stenta
Matthew 11:2-11
In the News
Too often Christianity has been used as a religion to be a mark of offense. Tis the season to debate the war on Christmas, what colors are best for the Advent candles, and this particular year we can be offended by whether or not you have a live and in person service on Sunday morning (which is actually Christmas Day this year). The Supreme Court is hearing a case of a Christian woman who refuses to (pre-emptively) host gay couples on her wedding website service. No homosexual couple has requested the service — nor is any such couple likely to want to pay for such a s service from someone who denies their love and personhood, but that is beside the point. This woman wants the right to be offended out in public and the court to rule that she is right to discriminate against this group of people as a part of her Christian faith. Similarly Tish Warren — who is part of an anti-LGBTQIA denomination — wants the right to be politely anti-queer and for everyone to be nicer to people like her. She has written an op-ed stating her right to be offended when people do not treat her nicely.
One of my colleagues once stated that the Christian should strive to be the least offended person in the room. To be Christian is to act in love, to empathize with the person in jeopardy, which is completely different than to be offended by the situation. Examples in the news of deserving real empathy would be the World Cup, where thousands of workers have died building the stadium and human rights offenses being committed against women and queer people, which is something that should hurt and anger all of us.
Then there is the heartrending, war-motivated, sexist and racist imprisonment of Brittney Griner, the US basketball star who is currently in a work camp and seems to be out of reach even for a prisoner exchange. This, likewise, is something that does not offend us, but should shock and amaze all our sense of righteousness. Thus, the question of being offended is not a Christian one at all. Perhaps when we are offended we need to rethink what is happening.
In the Scriptures
This week’s gospel text is the comforting news that Jesus gives to John in prison. Right after this, Jesus promises “my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (v. 30) This is good news to ease the soul. As mysterious and difficult as this passage can be to follow, it is okay that we do not get all of it. Jesus is here to ease our burden, not to add to it. Jesus is sending good news to John in prison. He doesn’t seem embarrassed or offended by John, and is encouraging John to do the same. He seems to be telling John to “take heart.” Complicated or difficult things aren’t inherently offensive. What a helpful message for Advent!
In the Sermon
“And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” (v. 6) Jesus passes this word along to John after describing a whole list of healing actions that can be taken in the name of the Christ. In an era where it is fashionable (in some circles) to take offense on behalf of Christ, Christianity and the like, to tell someone in prison that Jesus is not ashamed or embarrassed, is good news indeed. Jesus does not deal in shame. What a word to feast on. God deals in healing and bringing good news the poor. Jesus is not someone dressed in soft robes, sitting around waiting for things to happen. He is not afraid to get his hands dirty and tell people the truth. What a comfort to the bombastic John the Baptist. What a comfort to us, hungry in the season of Advent, for some joy. Jesus is not embarrassed by our fumbling good news. It all counts. It is all good. Remember his burden is easy and his yoke is light. Let us go forth and not be offended. Thanks be to God.
SECOND THOUGHTS
God’s Direction App
by Mary Austin
Isaiah 35:1-10
“Why are we leaving thirty minutes early?” my co-worker demanded, as we drove to an event together. “And why are we going this way?”
After I moved to the DC Metro area for a new call in 2019, I set my direction app to avoid highways, so I could learn the area. Then Covid came, and I never traveled with anyone else. Two years later, when Covid ended and people got into my car, everyone questioned my road choices. They wanted to take the highways. The big, beautiful, fast highways. They had the same enthusiasm Isaiah has for the big roads that take us straight to our destination.
Roads — and other forms of transportation — are important to everyone who needs to get somewhere. If you’re seeing more orange barrels and cones as you travel this holiday season, you’re seeing the flow of federal dollars into our local areas. The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides $550 billion dollars “over fiscal years 2022-2026 in new federal investment in roads, bridges, and mass transit, water infrastructure, resilience, and broadband.” The Highway Safety Improvement Plan allocates more than 15 billion dollars “to make travel safer, including protecting people outside of vehicles, such as people walking, biking, or using mobility assistive devices, thereby reducing the number of lives lost on the nation’s highways, bridges, and roads.”
And we have more than highways to transport us now. “Americans’ transportation habits are changing, and further disruption may be approaching. New mobility options continue to roll out at a dizzying pace. Uber, Lyft and other shared transportation services continue expanding throughout the US. Telecommuting rates are on the rise, keeping people plugged in remotely (and out of their cars). Baby boomers, the generation that loves driving the most, are reaching the age where they just don’t do it as much. Urban centers are being flooded with electric bicycles and scooters, shifting how urban Americans get from point A to point B. As technology continues rapidly advancing, the deployment of autonomous vehicles will undoubtedly alter travel and commuting patterns.” We have light rail, trains, bus systems and even scooters to get us around.
All of this investment in better, safer roads reminds us that highways, bridges, and roads are typically the work of governments. In Isaiah’s time, roads belonged to the king, who maintained them so his armies could travel out and back in. Now, Isaiah is making a claim that the roads belong to God, full of God’s provision even for those who get lost. Better than that, the whole desert is transformed. The dry land is suddenly full of water, as flowers bloom and the ground is lush and rich. People find their prayers answered — for sight, for hearing, for healing, for speech. The abundance of God can’t be contained. It overflows wherever it goes.
We listeners get Isaiah’s vision on the Third Sunday of Advent, the “pink candle Sunday,” the Sunday dedicated to joy in the midst of our preparations. We celebrate God’s abundant and transforming gifts as we wait for the coming of the Christ child.
Isaiah is reassuring for the geographically challenged. He promises that on God’s highway, “No traveler, not even fools, shall go astray.” I feel seen — and encouraged. For me, “the lady,” as we call the direction app at our house, is a frequent travel companion. But on God’s highway, I won’t need “the lady.” Her directions will give way to God’s greater direction for my life.
The prophet takes us through the full range of God’s grace, which comes to people who have any need, and then to creation itself. God’s power reverses the usual order of physical decline for people, and then brings lush abundance even to the desert. Nothing is impossible in this vision of God’s re-creation of the world.
When God comes to town, there’s a sure path on this road, even those of us who often lose our way toward God. This is the “holy way,” leading us toward God. Held in God’s wayfinding care, we can’t go astray, in the great overflowing of God’s abundant grace. The prophet tells us that “the ransomed of the Lord shall return…everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”
This is better than a bike lane, better than a road free of potholes, better than a fast highway. This is the overflowing care of God, guiding our steps and giving us cause to rejoice. This is evidence of God at work in our midst!
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Dean Feldmeyer
James 5:7-10
The author opens this passage with two words that apply to Advent as much as any other: Be patient. But regardless of our age or station, patience is a rare commodity as we enter the run-up to Christmas.
Those Darn Candles
Every year when we light the first Advent candle my mind suddenly and unexpectedly takes me back to my childhood, sitting in church, next to my mother trying to help her coral my younger brothers and sister while my dad sang in the choir. I would watch as that candle was lit and the liturgy was read and I would think, “Oh, man. Three more candles before Christmas gets here. That’s like, forever.”
Then, suddenly I am snatched out of my reverie and thrust back into my adult body and I think, “Oh, dear Lord. Only three more candles until Christmas. I’d better get moving.”
* * *
You Can’t Go Back
James Bain wasn’t angry about spending 35 years of his life in prison for a horrific crime that he didn't commit. "How can I be?" he told Business Insider. "You can't go back."
Bain actually felt blessed for his experience, comparing himself to Joseph, a biblical character who was wrongfully imprisoned before emerging with greater power to create change.
Bain was convicted of breaking and entering, kidnapping, and rape in 1974 and sentenced to life in prison. He spent the next 35 years transferring between six different prisons across the state of Florida. Until his conviction, he'd never had more than a few parking tickets.
From his first day in the system, Bain maintained his innocence, even pleading with the court for DNA testing on five different occasions.
In 2009, the Innocence Project of Florida, a state branch of a national nonprofit dedicated to exonerating innocent prisoners, offered to help him with the case.
Less than eight months later, the court finally agreed to DNA testing, which proved Bain couldn't have committed the rape. The state vacated his sentenced after Bain had spent 35 years behind bars — the longest time served by an innocent man eventually freed using DNA evidence.
* * *
For A Crime He Didn’t Commit
How many times do we have to hear that phrase before we finally admit that we are neither smart enough, honest enough, or moral enough to have capital punishment in our laws?
Kash Delano Register, 53, spent 34 years in jail for murder before he finally walked free in 2011, after the sisters of the case's sole witness said their sibling lied in court.
In a similar case, after spending 27 years in prison for rapes and attacks prosecutors now say he did not commit, Thomas Haynesworth started a new life as a free man in 2018.
At his mother’s cozy bungalow, where a spare bedroom always waited for him, Haynesworth ate the Chinese takeout he had been craving — chicken fried rice for lunch. For the first time in his life, he placed a call on a cellphone. It was his 46th birthday, and he was finally home.
* * *
The End Of Patience
Patience used to be considered a virtue. Today, not so much. Impatience is considered not just a virtue but something like an entitlement, while patience is considered a sign of weakness, of giving up and allowing others to make you do something you don’t want to do, namely, wait.
One of the reasons our culture has lost its ability to exhibit patience is electronic media.
I used to hate going to the BMV where I had to stand in line, waiting my turn at the window, only to be told by a surly, burned-out government apparatchik that I didn’t have the right paperwork or I was too late or too early to do what I wanted to do. Often the line would be an hour or more and we would all kill the time by adding our voices to the chorus of complaints being lifted up by the person in front of or behind us in the line.
Then, one day, it occurred to me to take along whatever book I happened to be reading at the time. I was always complaining that I didn’t have enough time for the reading that I wanted to do and this would afford an opportunity for me to lose myself in a novel or informative non-fiction tome.
Then, along came cell phones and now I can take not just one book but a whole library with me wherever I go. The only complaint I ever have is that I didn’t get to finish the chapter I was on before my name was called.
Just incidentally, I’ve noticed that lots of people in line are now reading something on their cell phones as they stand in line and their attitudes aren’t quite as impatient as they once were. As a result, the clerks aren’t as surly and defensive as they once were. Or maybe it’s just me.
Anyway, the good news is that waiting in line is no longer the pain it used to be. The bad news is that, thanks to our cell phones, we rarely get the chance to develop patience.
* * *
Isaiah 35:1-10
In Isaiah’s hymn to hope, he describes the return of the children of Israel who have been exiled in Babylon for three generations and their joyful return to Judah, their home. Using the metaphor of a wide, well paved highway, he describes how the journey will be an easy one, filled with joy.
Bucket List Highways In U.S.A.
Do you enjoy driving? Are you craving a fun road trip? Well, save up your pennies because gas ain’t cheap, but there are still some highways in the United States well worth the expense. Here are five highways you should drive before you die. Call them Bucket List Highways:
• Route 66 — Of all the famous American highways, Route 66 is by far the most iconic. It’s been featured by name in countless movies and put into song time and time again. Route 66 covers 2,000 miles of midwestern countryside, stretching from Illinois to California. It features countless scenic views and ghost towns and it winds through the Grand Canyon in Arizona.
• Pacific Coast Highway — Alternatively known as Highway 1, it mainly runs along the steep cliffs of the California coastline, but it also winds though Redwood forests along the way. As you have probably seen in countless movies and television shows, the views are absolutely spectacular, and the weather is perfectly suited to put the top down on your convertible for the entire ride.
• Great River Road — Another lengthy highway with spectacular views of water, the Great River Road trades coastline for the rivers edge as it runs for 3,000 miles along the edge of the Mississippi. The ten-state stretch is rich in cultural and scenic diversity, beginning in Lake Itasca in Minnesota and running all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana.
• Blue Ridge Parkway — If you want to take on a highway that doesn’t stretch for thousands of miles, check out the Blue Ridge Parkway. You aren’t going to see much water here as the 469-mile road will take you through the forests of the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina. While much shorter than the rest, the Blue Ridge Parkway may have the most beautiful panoramic views of any road in America.
• Going-To-The-Sun Road — This one really packs a punch in a short drive. Stretching for just 50 miles, Going-To-The-Sun Road is the only road that takes you to Glacier National Park in Montana. The road reaches a peak of 6,000 feet above sea level, hence the name.
* * *
Route 66
Last summer my daughter took a job in Las Vegas, Nevada, and asked us to help her drive across country from Columbus, Ohio, with the dogs and the delicate things she didn’t want to trust to the moving company. Her being our daughter, of course, we agreed.
The trip took four days and at one point, somewhere in Arizona, I was looking over a roadmap I had ordered online before we left and noticed that the highway we were driving on was paralleling Route 66 or, as they call it in Arizona, “Historic Route 66.” I had heard of Route 66 and even watched the TV show by that name when I was a young teenager. I even sang about it when I was part of a jazz vocal quintet. But I’d never seen it up close.
So, I talked my wife and daughter into getting off the highway and following the historic road for a few miles. As we did so I went online and stumbled upon Kristy’s blog, Lost on Route 66, which contained some fascinating facts. Next time you go out west, take a look. But until then, here are some of the facts she’s collected about this amazing and fascinating highway that is called America’s Mother Road:
Matthew 11:2-11
This is a complex and difficult text. Finding a single “preachable” point may be difficult but not impossible.
A Fight Against Oppression
In this complex and often confusing passage, says Montague Williams, writing in The Christian Century magazine (December 2022), John the Baptizer has some doubts about Jesus being the Messiah. He wasn’t, after all, acting very Christlike. The Christ was supposed to overthrow the powers of this world and bring in the Kingdom of God. Instead, Jesus is hanging out with disreputable folk — tax collectors, prostitutes, fishermen, and shepherds. Eeeewww!
So, John sends his disciples straight to the source to ask Jesus the question straight up: “Are you the real deal or should we keep looking?” Jesus answers with a version of “what you see is what you get.” He then gives them visible evidence that he does, indeed, fulfill all of the criteria that Isaiah preached about.
Christlike behavior has to do with overthrowing the powers of oppression not with violence but with compassion and love. A good point to make in Advent.
* * *
A Work In Progress
Then, Jesus, when he might have fallen upon John with criticism for his doubt, tells his listeners that John the Baptizer is not just a prophet but a great prophet in the tradition of Elijah and no one has done more or better at turning people toward the Kingdom of God.
However…and there’s always a “however” with Jesus, isn’t there? However, even John is still a work in progress and, in the Kingdom, he would be considered lower than the low.
That we are all works in progress, even the greatest among us, would be a good point to make in a sermon, would it not?
* * *
Toward More Reliable Eyewitness Testimony
John wants eyewitness testimony. Are you or are you not the one who is foretold? But there’s a problem with eyewitness testimony, one that often makes faith absolutely essential in life.
So untrustworthy is eyewitness testimony, that in 2015, the Wisconsin law firm of Buting, Williams, and Stilling reported in their corporate newsletter three proposed ways to make eyewitness testimony more reliable in court.
The changes, all supported by the Innocence Project, the State Bar Association, and the District Attorneys Association of New York, would begin during the investigation itself. During lineups and photo lineups, witnesses would be asked to identify the person who best matches their memory of the suspect. But because these lineups are often facilitated by an investigator who may already have his or her own leads and hunches, subtle cues may influence the witness, even if neither the witness nor the investigator realizes that this is happening.
So, this legal coalition also recommended that lineups and photo lineups should be conducted by investigators who are not involved in the case. This will all but ensure that unconscious bias is not transmitted to witnesses.
If and when a witness makes an identification, they should also be asked about how certain they are that this person is the suspect. By the time a case goes to trial, many witnesses have become certain of their choice, if only because they have received positive feedback that has strengthened their confidence. Eyewitness identification will likely be more trustworthy in cases where witnesses show certainty right away.
No word on whether these actions have been put into place.
* * *
Psalm 146:5-10
The psalmist praises YHWH for being a god who champions the poor and stands for the oppressed.
The Christmas Shoes (No, not the song.)
The story of the kindness of a seventh-grade boy in New York went viral in mid-November for spending his allowance on new shoes for a classmate who was being bullied.
It happened at the Buffalo Creek Academy Charter School.
Bryant Brown Jr., the school’s dean of culture, posted a photo of the two students on Facebook to share their story.
Romello “Mello” Early noticed some classmates were bullying his friend, Melvin Anderson, for the shoes he wore. Mello was so upset that he asked his mom if he could use his allowance money or forgo Christmas gifts to buy Melvin a new pair of Nikes.
“My student Melo [sic] told me he was tired of other students picking on Melvin about his shoes. Melo used his allowance and bought Melvin some [new, Nike] shoes,” Brown wrote alongside the photo. “This is what I live for. Be that helping hand.”
* * * * * *
From team member Chris Keating:
Isaiah 35:1-10
Strengthen The Weak Knees
The joyful hope of Isaiah provides a balm for souls blistered by grief and pain. Perhaps this week’s candle of joy can offer similar hope to those who may be experiencing grief this Advent season. In her review of the new Marvel Studios movie, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Presbyterian minister Brooke Scott notes that the movie excels in honoring the realities and difficulties associated with grief.
The movie continues the story set forth by the 2018 blockbuster, “Black Panther,” which starred the late Chadwick Boseman. The actor’s 2020 death prompted a quick rewrite of the sequel. The result is a story that demonstrates contrasting experiences of grief. As Scott observes:
We see how grief moves women to lead and do what men around them either couldn’t or wouldn’t do. We get to see beautiful, Black women of several different shades on screen who are powerful, vulnerable, emotional, protective, innovative, funny and creative.
The movie traces the experiences of grief and loss on multiple levels. We see the people of Wakanda mourning the loss of their beloved King T’Challa, played by the late Boseman. His mother, the queen, immerses herself in the powers and rituals of ancient beliefs, while his sister attempts to manage her grief through science and technology. Meanwhile, we are introduced to the Talokan people, an ancient tribe of indigenous persons who have chosen to the live “below the surface” as a response to the cruelty and violence of colonization. Their submerged grief manifests itself in a rage much different than the hope of either Isaiah or Queen Ramonda.
What emerges is a story similar to the hope of Isaiah. Pain and grief are tempered into hope and love and become a source of courage. The women of Wakanda respond to grief with new resolve, vulnerability, and immense strength. “Wakanda Forever” offers insights into the inherent tensions between science, technology, emotions, and ritual.
* * *
Isaiah 35:1-10
Advent Superbloom
Isaiah’s vision of hope deserves to be heard with the volume turned all the way up. Chapters of gloom and doom are interrupted by this spectacular intrusion of a desert in full bloom, a phenomenon most often called a superbloom. This explosion of color of when many species of long-dormant wildflowers bloom at approximately the same time. This stunning occurrence, writes Ernie Cowan, produces two emotions in the hearts of desert wildflower enthusiasts: “hope and reality.” The difference between those emotions is rainfall.
“There is always hope that winter rains will be generous,” writes Cowan, “bringing the reality of a spring desert covered in yellows, purples, reds and indigos as wildflowers add seasonal color to the desert.” But Cowan notes that there was “something out of whack” this fall in Southern California’s Anza-Borrego desert near San Diego.
Cowan reported that “a well-spaced series of summer and fall thunderstorms brought an unusual amount of rainfall to the Anza-Borrego Desert, and to the surprise of early fall visitors the wildflower bloom is in full glory, even beyond some spring blooms seen in more normal years.” Cowan’s column evokes Isaiah’s sense of resounding joy:
The large, white flowers of the Jimson weed dot the desert landscape, and other flowers emerging include the deep purple indigo bush, barrel cactus and bright red chuparosa. Nature is happy. And it’s not just the flowers. The whole cycle of life is energized. The huge sphinx moth and their large caterpillars are out and about. Desert iguanas and prehistoric looking chuckwalla lizards are basking in the spring-like sunshine.
Even the flying ants and pesky gnats were on scene within a week of the heavy rains, and the magnificent desert bighorn sheep have thousands of acres of lush indigo bush to thrive on as they prepare for breeding season.
* * *
Luke 1:46b-55
Mary’s Song vs. The Cacophony of Christmas
Mary sings of the power of God disrupting systems of greed and injustice. She offers praise and gratitude to the one who has filled her with good things. It is a song worth pondering any time of year, but perhaps more so when the pernicious ear worms of Christmas have been playing nonstop since Halloween.
Last year, the research gurus at YouGov surveyed 1,000 US adults about their tastes in Christmas music. While the results are likely up for debate among some (including those who insist that Die Hard is a Christmas movie), it appears the two least favorite Christmas songs are “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer,” and “Santa Baby.” Those choices might not elicit strong debate, but one must wonder what sort of universe will allow “Jingle Bells” (9th) to be on the same list as “Last Christmas” (tied for 5th)?
* * * * * *
WORSHIP
by George Reed
Call to Worship
One: May we magnify the Lord and rejoice in God our Savior.
All: God has looked with favor on our lowliness.
One: The Mighty One has done great things for us.
All: God has shown strength with a mighty arm.
One: Our God has brought down the powerful and lifted up the lowly.
All: God has filled the hungry with good things in abundance.
OR
One: The Christ comes to lead us along the path to life and peace.
All: Our hearts long for the joy that awaits us.
One: God longs for us to return to our Creator and Redeemer.
All: With hope we welcome the Christ who comes to us.
One: The Christ comes to lead all creation into God’s realm.
All: We will join in inviting all to God’s banquet hall.
Hymns and Songs
Hope of the World
UMH: 178
H82: 472
PH: 360
NCH: 46
CH: 538
LBW: 493
W&P: 404
Hail to the Lord’s Anointed
UMH: 203
H82: 616
AAHH: 187
NCH: 104
CH: 140
LBW: 87
ELW: 311
AMEC: 107
Renew: 101
My Soul Gives Glory to My God
UMH: 198
CH: 130
LBW: 882
Tell Out, My Soul
UMH: 200
H82: 437/438
W&P: 41
On Eagle’s Wings
UMH: 143
CH: 77
ELW: 787
W&P: 438:
CCB: 97
Renew: 112
Renew: 112
By Gracious Powers
UMH: 517
H82: 695/696
PH: 342
NCH: 413
ELW: 626
W&P: 75
Lift Every Voice and Sing
UMH: 519
H82: 599
PH: 563
AAHH: 540
NNBH: 457
CH: 631
LBW: 562
ELW: 841
W&P: 729
AMEC: 571
STLT 149
I Want Jesus to Walk with Me
UMH: 521
PH: 363
AAHH: 563
NNBH: 500
NCH: 490
CH: 627
W&P: 506
AMEC: 375
O Christ, the Healer
UMH: 265
NCH: 175
CH: 503
LBW: 360
ELW: 610
W&P: 638
Renew: 191
Lead Me, Lord
UMH: 473
AAHH: 145
NNBH: 341
CH: 593
Renew: 175
People Need the Lord
CCB: 52
Make Me a Servant
CCB: 90
Music Resources Key
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God of wholeness:
Grant us the wisdom to seek your way
that we might be made whole;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We worship you, O God of wholeness, because you have shown us the way into your healing presence. Help us to choose wisely so that we may take the path to wholeness and life. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our traveling roads that lead to destruction and death.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have shown us the way that leads to you, to wholeness, and to life and yet we wander lost and alone. Where you offer us a path of joy and peace, we choose despair and conflict. Time after time we choose the road to destruction instead of taking you pathway to eternal life. Help us to make a new choice this Advent Season and to truly prepare our hearts for the coming of the Christ. Amen.
One: The God who made the way in the wilderness offers a way for you. Take God’s path to healing and wholeness and offer peace and joy to others.
Prayers of the People
Praise and glory to you, O God, for you come to us once again to bring us to hope, love, joy, and peace. Once again you show us the way to life that is in harmony with you, with others, and with all creation.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have shown us the way that leads to you, to wholeness, and to life and yet we wander lost and alone. Where you offer us a path of joy and peace, we choose despair and conflict. Time after time we choose the road to destruction instead of taking you pathway to eternal life. Help us to make a new choice this Advent Season and to truly prepare our hearts for the coming of the Christ.
We give you thanks for all that you have blessed us with to this day. We thank you for the gift of creation and all that it provides for us. We thank you for ways in which your creation reflects your love and care. We thank you for this season which calls us to take time to prepare for your coming and for the hope you offer.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our need. We pray for those who find this time of the year hard as they are reminded of all the things they do not have that others enjoy in abundance. We pray for those who think that piling up more things will make them happy. We lift up into your light those who stumble in their own darkness. We pray that we might be better reflections of the presence of your Christ in this world.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
* * * * * *
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Impossible to Get Lost
by Tom Willadsen
Isaiah 35:1-10
Today is Gaudete Sunday, joy is the theme for the 3rd Sunday of Advent. Churches that have Advent wreaths often have one pink and three purple candles; today is the day of the pink candle. ‘Gaudete” is the Latin word for “rejoice.” In English “rejoice” is a verb, but we do not have a verb for “joicing” the first time. All this is background for today’s message for the little ones.
After they have gathered up front ask them to name things that make them happy, things that fill them with joy. Some of them may mention that they’re looking forward to Christmas and how happy the presents they’re anticipating make them.
Point out that today is different from the other days in Advent because the focus is on joy and that’s why we have a different colored candle.
Is pink a happier color than purple? The Church thinks so, but what do you think?
Be ready to share a thing or two that makes you happy, that fills you with joy. The Isaiah passage has some good suggestions. The one I will be sharing is from verse 9: “No traveler, not even fools, shall go astray.”
I get lost a lot. I make a lot of wrong turns. As a Transitional Pastor I move to new communities often. The idea that it will be impossible to get lost on God’s road in the wilderness fills me with joy.
Prayer: God of all, we thank you for all the things that bring us joy. We remember that you are the Source of everything we need to live and be happy. In Jesus’ name we thank you. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, December 11, 2022 issue.
Copyright 2022 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
- Let Us Go Forth and Not Be Offended by Katy Stenta. Let the Christian be the least offended person in the room.
- Second Thoughts: God’s Direction App by Mary Austin based on Isaiah 35:1-10.
- Sermon illustrations by Dean Feldmeyer and Chris Keating.
- Worship resources by George Reed.
- Children's sermon: Impossible to Get Lost by Tom Willadsen based on Isaiah 35:1-10.
Let Us Go Forth and Not Be Offended
by Katy Stenta
Matthew 11:2-11
In the News
Too often Christianity has been used as a religion to be a mark of offense. Tis the season to debate the war on Christmas, what colors are best for the Advent candles, and this particular year we can be offended by whether or not you have a live and in person service on Sunday morning (which is actually Christmas Day this year). The Supreme Court is hearing a case of a Christian woman who refuses to (pre-emptively) host gay couples on her wedding website service. No homosexual couple has requested the service — nor is any such couple likely to want to pay for such a s service from someone who denies their love and personhood, but that is beside the point. This woman wants the right to be offended out in public and the court to rule that she is right to discriminate against this group of people as a part of her Christian faith. Similarly Tish Warren — who is part of an anti-LGBTQIA denomination — wants the right to be politely anti-queer and for everyone to be nicer to people like her. She has written an op-ed stating her right to be offended when people do not treat her nicely.
One of my colleagues once stated that the Christian should strive to be the least offended person in the room. To be Christian is to act in love, to empathize with the person in jeopardy, which is completely different than to be offended by the situation. Examples in the news of deserving real empathy would be the World Cup, where thousands of workers have died building the stadium and human rights offenses being committed against women and queer people, which is something that should hurt and anger all of us.
Then there is the heartrending, war-motivated, sexist and racist imprisonment of Brittney Griner, the US basketball star who is currently in a work camp and seems to be out of reach even for a prisoner exchange. This, likewise, is something that does not offend us, but should shock and amaze all our sense of righteousness. Thus, the question of being offended is not a Christian one at all. Perhaps when we are offended we need to rethink what is happening.
In the Scriptures
This week’s gospel text is the comforting news that Jesus gives to John in prison. Right after this, Jesus promises “my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (v. 30) This is good news to ease the soul. As mysterious and difficult as this passage can be to follow, it is okay that we do not get all of it. Jesus is here to ease our burden, not to add to it. Jesus is sending good news to John in prison. He doesn’t seem embarrassed or offended by John, and is encouraging John to do the same. He seems to be telling John to “take heart.” Complicated or difficult things aren’t inherently offensive. What a helpful message for Advent!
In the Sermon
“And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” (v. 6) Jesus passes this word along to John after describing a whole list of healing actions that can be taken in the name of the Christ. In an era where it is fashionable (in some circles) to take offense on behalf of Christ, Christianity and the like, to tell someone in prison that Jesus is not ashamed or embarrassed, is good news indeed. Jesus does not deal in shame. What a word to feast on. God deals in healing and bringing good news the poor. Jesus is not someone dressed in soft robes, sitting around waiting for things to happen. He is not afraid to get his hands dirty and tell people the truth. What a comfort to the bombastic John the Baptist. What a comfort to us, hungry in the season of Advent, for some joy. Jesus is not embarrassed by our fumbling good news. It all counts. It is all good. Remember his burden is easy and his yoke is light. Let us go forth and not be offended. Thanks be to God.
SECOND THOUGHTSGod’s Direction App
by Mary Austin
Isaiah 35:1-10
“Why are we leaving thirty minutes early?” my co-worker demanded, as we drove to an event together. “And why are we going this way?”
After I moved to the DC Metro area for a new call in 2019, I set my direction app to avoid highways, so I could learn the area. Then Covid came, and I never traveled with anyone else. Two years later, when Covid ended and people got into my car, everyone questioned my road choices. They wanted to take the highways. The big, beautiful, fast highways. They had the same enthusiasm Isaiah has for the big roads that take us straight to our destination.
Roads — and other forms of transportation — are important to everyone who needs to get somewhere. If you’re seeing more orange barrels and cones as you travel this holiday season, you’re seeing the flow of federal dollars into our local areas. The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides $550 billion dollars “over fiscal years 2022-2026 in new federal investment in roads, bridges, and mass transit, water infrastructure, resilience, and broadband.” The Highway Safety Improvement Plan allocates more than 15 billion dollars “to make travel safer, including protecting people outside of vehicles, such as people walking, biking, or using mobility assistive devices, thereby reducing the number of lives lost on the nation’s highways, bridges, and roads.”
And we have more than highways to transport us now. “Americans’ transportation habits are changing, and further disruption may be approaching. New mobility options continue to roll out at a dizzying pace. Uber, Lyft and other shared transportation services continue expanding throughout the US. Telecommuting rates are on the rise, keeping people plugged in remotely (and out of their cars). Baby boomers, the generation that loves driving the most, are reaching the age where they just don’t do it as much. Urban centers are being flooded with electric bicycles and scooters, shifting how urban Americans get from point A to point B. As technology continues rapidly advancing, the deployment of autonomous vehicles will undoubtedly alter travel and commuting patterns.” We have light rail, trains, bus systems and even scooters to get us around.
All of this investment in better, safer roads reminds us that highways, bridges, and roads are typically the work of governments. In Isaiah’s time, roads belonged to the king, who maintained them so his armies could travel out and back in. Now, Isaiah is making a claim that the roads belong to God, full of God’s provision even for those who get lost. Better than that, the whole desert is transformed. The dry land is suddenly full of water, as flowers bloom and the ground is lush and rich. People find their prayers answered — for sight, for hearing, for healing, for speech. The abundance of God can’t be contained. It overflows wherever it goes.
We listeners get Isaiah’s vision on the Third Sunday of Advent, the “pink candle Sunday,” the Sunday dedicated to joy in the midst of our preparations. We celebrate God’s abundant and transforming gifts as we wait for the coming of the Christ child.
Isaiah is reassuring for the geographically challenged. He promises that on God’s highway, “No traveler, not even fools, shall go astray.” I feel seen — and encouraged. For me, “the lady,” as we call the direction app at our house, is a frequent travel companion. But on God’s highway, I won’t need “the lady.” Her directions will give way to God’s greater direction for my life.
The prophet takes us through the full range of God’s grace, which comes to people who have any need, and then to creation itself. God’s power reverses the usual order of physical decline for people, and then brings lush abundance even to the desert. Nothing is impossible in this vision of God’s re-creation of the world.
When God comes to town, there’s a sure path on this road, even those of us who often lose our way toward God. This is the “holy way,” leading us toward God. Held in God’s wayfinding care, we can’t go astray, in the great overflowing of God’s abundant grace. The prophet tells us that “the ransomed of the Lord shall return…everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”
This is better than a bike lane, better than a road free of potholes, better than a fast highway. This is the overflowing care of God, guiding our steps and giving us cause to rejoice. This is evidence of God at work in our midst!
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Dean FeldmeyerJames 5:7-10
The author opens this passage with two words that apply to Advent as much as any other: Be patient. But regardless of our age or station, patience is a rare commodity as we enter the run-up to Christmas.
Those Darn Candles
Every year when we light the first Advent candle my mind suddenly and unexpectedly takes me back to my childhood, sitting in church, next to my mother trying to help her coral my younger brothers and sister while my dad sang in the choir. I would watch as that candle was lit and the liturgy was read and I would think, “Oh, man. Three more candles before Christmas gets here. That’s like, forever.”
Then, suddenly I am snatched out of my reverie and thrust back into my adult body and I think, “Oh, dear Lord. Only three more candles until Christmas. I’d better get moving.”
* * *
You Can’t Go Back
James Bain wasn’t angry about spending 35 years of his life in prison for a horrific crime that he didn't commit. "How can I be?" he told Business Insider. "You can't go back."
Bain actually felt blessed for his experience, comparing himself to Joseph, a biblical character who was wrongfully imprisoned before emerging with greater power to create change.
Bain was convicted of breaking and entering, kidnapping, and rape in 1974 and sentenced to life in prison. He spent the next 35 years transferring between six different prisons across the state of Florida. Until his conviction, he'd never had more than a few parking tickets.
From his first day in the system, Bain maintained his innocence, even pleading with the court for DNA testing on five different occasions.
In 2009, the Innocence Project of Florida, a state branch of a national nonprofit dedicated to exonerating innocent prisoners, offered to help him with the case.
Less than eight months later, the court finally agreed to DNA testing, which proved Bain couldn't have committed the rape. The state vacated his sentenced after Bain had spent 35 years behind bars — the longest time served by an innocent man eventually freed using DNA evidence.
* * *
For A Crime He Didn’t Commit
How many times do we have to hear that phrase before we finally admit that we are neither smart enough, honest enough, or moral enough to have capital punishment in our laws?
Kash Delano Register, 53, spent 34 years in jail for murder before he finally walked free in 2011, after the sisters of the case's sole witness said their sibling lied in court.
In a similar case, after spending 27 years in prison for rapes and attacks prosecutors now say he did not commit, Thomas Haynesworth started a new life as a free man in 2018.
At his mother’s cozy bungalow, where a spare bedroom always waited for him, Haynesworth ate the Chinese takeout he had been craving — chicken fried rice for lunch. For the first time in his life, he placed a call on a cellphone. It was his 46th birthday, and he was finally home.
* * *
The End Of Patience
Patience used to be considered a virtue. Today, not so much. Impatience is considered not just a virtue but something like an entitlement, while patience is considered a sign of weakness, of giving up and allowing others to make you do something you don’t want to do, namely, wait.
One of the reasons our culture has lost its ability to exhibit patience is electronic media.
I used to hate going to the BMV where I had to stand in line, waiting my turn at the window, only to be told by a surly, burned-out government apparatchik that I didn’t have the right paperwork or I was too late or too early to do what I wanted to do. Often the line would be an hour or more and we would all kill the time by adding our voices to the chorus of complaints being lifted up by the person in front of or behind us in the line.
Then, one day, it occurred to me to take along whatever book I happened to be reading at the time. I was always complaining that I didn’t have enough time for the reading that I wanted to do and this would afford an opportunity for me to lose myself in a novel or informative non-fiction tome.
Then, along came cell phones and now I can take not just one book but a whole library with me wherever I go. The only complaint I ever have is that I didn’t get to finish the chapter I was on before my name was called.
Just incidentally, I’ve noticed that lots of people in line are now reading something on their cell phones as they stand in line and their attitudes aren’t quite as impatient as they once were. As a result, the clerks aren’t as surly and defensive as they once were. Or maybe it’s just me.
Anyway, the good news is that waiting in line is no longer the pain it used to be. The bad news is that, thanks to our cell phones, we rarely get the chance to develop patience.
* * *
Isaiah 35:1-10
In Isaiah’s hymn to hope, he describes the return of the children of Israel who have been exiled in Babylon for three generations and their joyful return to Judah, their home. Using the metaphor of a wide, well paved highway, he describes how the journey will be an easy one, filled with joy.
Bucket List Highways In U.S.A.
Do you enjoy driving? Are you craving a fun road trip? Well, save up your pennies because gas ain’t cheap, but there are still some highways in the United States well worth the expense. Here are five highways you should drive before you die. Call them Bucket List Highways:
• Route 66 — Of all the famous American highways, Route 66 is by far the most iconic. It’s been featured by name in countless movies and put into song time and time again. Route 66 covers 2,000 miles of midwestern countryside, stretching from Illinois to California. It features countless scenic views and ghost towns and it winds through the Grand Canyon in Arizona.
• Pacific Coast Highway — Alternatively known as Highway 1, it mainly runs along the steep cliffs of the California coastline, but it also winds though Redwood forests along the way. As you have probably seen in countless movies and television shows, the views are absolutely spectacular, and the weather is perfectly suited to put the top down on your convertible for the entire ride.
• Great River Road — Another lengthy highway with spectacular views of water, the Great River Road trades coastline for the rivers edge as it runs for 3,000 miles along the edge of the Mississippi. The ten-state stretch is rich in cultural and scenic diversity, beginning in Lake Itasca in Minnesota and running all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana.
• Blue Ridge Parkway — If you want to take on a highway that doesn’t stretch for thousands of miles, check out the Blue Ridge Parkway. You aren’t going to see much water here as the 469-mile road will take you through the forests of the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina. While much shorter than the rest, the Blue Ridge Parkway may have the most beautiful panoramic views of any road in America.
• Going-To-The-Sun Road — This one really packs a punch in a short drive. Stretching for just 50 miles, Going-To-The-Sun Road is the only road that takes you to Glacier National Park in Montana. The road reaches a peak of 6,000 feet above sea level, hence the name.
* * *
Route 66
Last summer my daughter took a job in Las Vegas, Nevada, and asked us to help her drive across country from Columbus, Ohio, with the dogs and the delicate things she didn’t want to trust to the moving company. Her being our daughter, of course, we agreed.
The trip took four days and at one point, somewhere in Arizona, I was looking over a roadmap I had ordered online before we left and noticed that the highway we were driving on was paralleling Route 66 or, as they call it in Arizona, “Historic Route 66.” I had heard of Route 66 and even watched the TV show by that name when I was a young teenager. I even sang about it when I was part of a jazz vocal quintet. But I’d never seen it up close.
So, I talked my wife and daughter into getting off the highway and following the historic road for a few miles. As we did so I went online and stumbled upon Kristy’s blog, Lost on Route 66, which contained some fascinating facts. Next time you go out west, take a look. But until then, here are some of the facts she’s collected about this amazing and fascinating highway that is called America’s Mother Road:
- Route 66’s official length is 2,448 miles (3940km).
- The starting point for Route 66 used to be intersection of Jackson Boulevard and Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. This road was made one-way in 1955 so the begin sign is now at the corner of Adams and Michigan Avenue.
- The midpoint lies in Adrian, Texas.
- The end point of the Route is the intersection of Ocean Avenue and Lincoln Boulevard in Santa Monica, California.
- If you drove non-stop from Chicago to LA on Route 66 it would take 32 hours.
- Route 66 passes through 8 states — Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California
- The road passes through 3 times zones – Central, Mountain, and Pacific.
- Only about 85% of the original road is still drivable.
- You’ll need to stay alert as the road is not always signposted. Specialist Route 66 guides and maps can help you find all the old alignments and keep you on the right path.
Matthew 11:2-11
This is a complex and difficult text. Finding a single “preachable” point may be difficult but not impossible.
A Fight Against Oppression
In this complex and often confusing passage, says Montague Williams, writing in The Christian Century magazine (December 2022), John the Baptizer has some doubts about Jesus being the Messiah. He wasn’t, after all, acting very Christlike. The Christ was supposed to overthrow the powers of this world and bring in the Kingdom of God. Instead, Jesus is hanging out with disreputable folk — tax collectors, prostitutes, fishermen, and shepherds. Eeeewww!
So, John sends his disciples straight to the source to ask Jesus the question straight up: “Are you the real deal or should we keep looking?” Jesus answers with a version of “what you see is what you get.” He then gives them visible evidence that he does, indeed, fulfill all of the criteria that Isaiah preached about.
Christlike behavior has to do with overthrowing the powers of oppression not with violence but with compassion and love. A good point to make in Advent.
* * *
A Work In Progress
Then, Jesus, when he might have fallen upon John with criticism for his doubt, tells his listeners that John the Baptizer is not just a prophet but a great prophet in the tradition of Elijah and no one has done more or better at turning people toward the Kingdom of God.
However…and there’s always a “however” with Jesus, isn’t there? However, even John is still a work in progress and, in the Kingdom, he would be considered lower than the low.
That we are all works in progress, even the greatest among us, would be a good point to make in a sermon, would it not?
* * *
Toward More Reliable Eyewitness Testimony
John wants eyewitness testimony. Are you or are you not the one who is foretold? But there’s a problem with eyewitness testimony, one that often makes faith absolutely essential in life.
So untrustworthy is eyewitness testimony, that in 2015, the Wisconsin law firm of Buting, Williams, and Stilling reported in their corporate newsletter three proposed ways to make eyewitness testimony more reliable in court.
The changes, all supported by the Innocence Project, the State Bar Association, and the District Attorneys Association of New York, would begin during the investigation itself. During lineups and photo lineups, witnesses would be asked to identify the person who best matches their memory of the suspect. But because these lineups are often facilitated by an investigator who may already have his or her own leads and hunches, subtle cues may influence the witness, even if neither the witness nor the investigator realizes that this is happening.
So, this legal coalition also recommended that lineups and photo lineups should be conducted by investigators who are not involved in the case. This will all but ensure that unconscious bias is not transmitted to witnesses.
If and when a witness makes an identification, they should also be asked about how certain they are that this person is the suspect. By the time a case goes to trial, many witnesses have become certain of their choice, if only because they have received positive feedback that has strengthened their confidence. Eyewitness identification will likely be more trustworthy in cases where witnesses show certainty right away.
No word on whether these actions have been put into place.
* * *
Psalm 146:5-10
The psalmist praises YHWH for being a god who champions the poor and stands for the oppressed.
The Christmas Shoes (No, not the song.)
The story of the kindness of a seventh-grade boy in New York went viral in mid-November for spending his allowance on new shoes for a classmate who was being bullied.
It happened at the Buffalo Creek Academy Charter School.
Bryant Brown Jr., the school’s dean of culture, posted a photo of the two students on Facebook to share their story.
Romello “Mello” Early noticed some classmates were bullying his friend, Melvin Anderson, for the shoes he wore. Mello was so upset that he asked his mom if he could use his allowance money or forgo Christmas gifts to buy Melvin a new pair of Nikes.
“My student Melo [sic] told me he was tired of other students picking on Melvin about his shoes. Melo used his allowance and bought Melvin some [new, Nike] shoes,” Brown wrote alongside the photo. “This is what I live for. Be that helping hand.”
* * * * * *
From team member Chris Keating:Isaiah 35:1-10
Strengthen The Weak Knees
The joyful hope of Isaiah provides a balm for souls blistered by grief and pain. Perhaps this week’s candle of joy can offer similar hope to those who may be experiencing grief this Advent season. In her review of the new Marvel Studios movie, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Presbyterian minister Brooke Scott notes that the movie excels in honoring the realities and difficulties associated with grief.
The movie continues the story set forth by the 2018 blockbuster, “Black Panther,” which starred the late Chadwick Boseman. The actor’s 2020 death prompted a quick rewrite of the sequel. The result is a story that demonstrates contrasting experiences of grief. As Scott observes:
We see how grief moves women to lead and do what men around them either couldn’t or wouldn’t do. We get to see beautiful, Black women of several different shades on screen who are powerful, vulnerable, emotional, protective, innovative, funny and creative.
The movie traces the experiences of grief and loss on multiple levels. We see the people of Wakanda mourning the loss of their beloved King T’Challa, played by the late Boseman. His mother, the queen, immerses herself in the powers and rituals of ancient beliefs, while his sister attempts to manage her grief through science and technology. Meanwhile, we are introduced to the Talokan people, an ancient tribe of indigenous persons who have chosen to the live “below the surface” as a response to the cruelty and violence of colonization. Their submerged grief manifests itself in a rage much different than the hope of either Isaiah or Queen Ramonda.
What emerges is a story similar to the hope of Isaiah. Pain and grief are tempered into hope and love and become a source of courage. The women of Wakanda respond to grief with new resolve, vulnerability, and immense strength. “Wakanda Forever” offers insights into the inherent tensions between science, technology, emotions, and ritual.
* * *
Isaiah 35:1-10
Advent Superbloom
Isaiah’s vision of hope deserves to be heard with the volume turned all the way up. Chapters of gloom and doom are interrupted by this spectacular intrusion of a desert in full bloom, a phenomenon most often called a superbloom. This explosion of color of when many species of long-dormant wildflowers bloom at approximately the same time. This stunning occurrence, writes Ernie Cowan, produces two emotions in the hearts of desert wildflower enthusiasts: “hope and reality.” The difference between those emotions is rainfall.
“There is always hope that winter rains will be generous,” writes Cowan, “bringing the reality of a spring desert covered in yellows, purples, reds and indigos as wildflowers add seasonal color to the desert.” But Cowan notes that there was “something out of whack” this fall in Southern California’s Anza-Borrego desert near San Diego.
Cowan reported that “a well-spaced series of summer and fall thunderstorms brought an unusual amount of rainfall to the Anza-Borrego Desert, and to the surprise of early fall visitors the wildflower bloom is in full glory, even beyond some spring blooms seen in more normal years.” Cowan’s column evokes Isaiah’s sense of resounding joy:
The large, white flowers of the Jimson weed dot the desert landscape, and other flowers emerging include the deep purple indigo bush, barrel cactus and bright red chuparosa. Nature is happy. And it’s not just the flowers. The whole cycle of life is energized. The huge sphinx moth and their large caterpillars are out and about. Desert iguanas and prehistoric looking chuckwalla lizards are basking in the spring-like sunshine.
Even the flying ants and pesky gnats were on scene within a week of the heavy rains, and the magnificent desert bighorn sheep have thousands of acres of lush indigo bush to thrive on as they prepare for breeding season.
* * *
Luke 1:46b-55
Mary’s Song vs. The Cacophony of Christmas
Mary sings of the power of God disrupting systems of greed and injustice. She offers praise and gratitude to the one who has filled her with good things. It is a song worth pondering any time of year, but perhaps more so when the pernicious ear worms of Christmas have been playing nonstop since Halloween.
Last year, the research gurus at YouGov surveyed 1,000 US adults about their tastes in Christmas music. While the results are likely up for debate among some (including those who insist that Die Hard is a Christmas movie), it appears the two least favorite Christmas songs are “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer,” and “Santa Baby.” Those choices might not elicit strong debate, but one must wonder what sort of universe will allow “Jingle Bells” (9th) to be on the same list as “Last Christmas” (tied for 5th)?
* * * * * *
WORSHIPby George Reed
Call to Worship
One: May we magnify the Lord and rejoice in God our Savior.
All: God has looked with favor on our lowliness.
One: The Mighty One has done great things for us.
All: God has shown strength with a mighty arm.
One: Our God has brought down the powerful and lifted up the lowly.
All: God has filled the hungry with good things in abundance.
OR
One: The Christ comes to lead us along the path to life and peace.
All: Our hearts long for the joy that awaits us.
One: God longs for us to return to our Creator and Redeemer.
All: With hope we welcome the Christ who comes to us.
One: The Christ comes to lead all creation into God’s realm.
All: We will join in inviting all to God’s banquet hall.
Hymns and Songs
Hope of the World
UMH: 178
H82: 472
PH: 360
NCH: 46
CH: 538
LBW: 493
W&P: 404
Hail to the Lord’s Anointed
UMH: 203
H82: 616
AAHH: 187
NCH: 104
CH: 140
LBW: 87
ELW: 311
AMEC: 107
Renew: 101
My Soul Gives Glory to My God
UMH: 198
CH: 130
LBW: 882
Tell Out, My Soul
UMH: 200
H82: 437/438
W&P: 41
On Eagle’s Wings
UMH: 143
CH: 77
ELW: 787
W&P: 438:
CCB: 97
Renew: 112
Renew: 112
By Gracious Powers
UMH: 517
H82: 695/696
PH: 342
NCH: 413
ELW: 626
W&P: 75
Lift Every Voice and Sing
UMH: 519
H82: 599
PH: 563
AAHH: 540
NNBH: 457
CH: 631
LBW: 562
ELW: 841
W&P: 729
AMEC: 571
STLT 149
I Want Jesus to Walk with Me
UMH: 521
PH: 363
AAHH: 563
NNBH: 500
NCH: 490
CH: 627
W&P: 506
AMEC: 375
O Christ, the Healer
UMH: 265
NCH: 175
CH: 503
LBW: 360
ELW: 610
W&P: 638
Renew: 191
Lead Me, Lord
UMH: 473
AAHH: 145
NNBH: 341
CH: 593
Renew: 175
People Need the Lord
CCB: 52
Make Me a Servant
CCB: 90
Music Resources Key
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God of wholeness:
Grant us the wisdom to seek your way
that we might be made whole;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We worship you, O God of wholeness, because you have shown us the way into your healing presence. Help us to choose wisely so that we may take the path to wholeness and life. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our traveling roads that lead to destruction and death.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have shown us the way that leads to you, to wholeness, and to life and yet we wander lost and alone. Where you offer us a path of joy and peace, we choose despair and conflict. Time after time we choose the road to destruction instead of taking you pathway to eternal life. Help us to make a new choice this Advent Season and to truly prepare our hearts for the coming of the Christ. Amen.
One: The God who made the way in the wilderness offers a way for you. Take God’s path to healing and wholeness and offer peace and joy to others.
Prayers of the People
Praise and glory to you, O God, for you come to us once again to bring us to hope, love, joy, and peace. Once again you show us the way to life that is in harmony with you, with others, and with all creation.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have shown us the way that leads to you, to wholeness, and to life and yet we wander lost and alone. Where you offer us a path of joy and peace, we choose despair and conflict. Time after time we choose the road to destruction instead of taking you pathway to eternal life. Help us to make a new choice this Advent Season and to truly prepare our hearts for the coming of the Christ.
We give you thanks for all that you have blessed us with to this day. We thank you for the gift of creation and all that it provides for us. We thank you for ways in which your creation reflects your love and care. We thank you for this season which calls us to take time to prepare for your coming and for the hope you offer.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our need. We pray for those who find this time of the year hard as they are reminded of all the things they do not have that others enjoy in abundance. We pray for those who think that piling up more things will make them happy. We lift up into your light those who stumble in their own darkness. We pray that we might be better reflections of the presence of your Christ in this world.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
* * * * * *
CHILDREN'S SERMONImpossible to Get Lost
by Tom Willadsen
Isaiah 35:1-10
Today is Gaudete Sunday, joy is the theme for the 3rd Sunday of Advent. Churches that have Advent wreaths often have one pink and three purple candles; today is the day of the pink candle. ‘Gaudete” is the Latin word for “rejoice.” In English “rejoice” is a verb, but we do not have a verb for “joicing” the first time. All this is background for today’s message for the little ones.
After they have gathered up front ask them to name things that make them happy, things that fill them with joy. Some of them may mention that they’re looking forward to Christmas and how happy the presents they’re anticipating make them.
Point out that today is different from the other days in Advent because the focus is on joy and that’s why we have a different colored candle.
Is pink a happier color than purple? The Church thinks so, but what do you think?
Be ready to share a thing or two that makes you happy, that fills you with joy. The Isaiah passage has some good suggestions. The one I will be sharing is from verse 9: “No traveler, not even fools, shall go astray.”
I get lost a lot. I make a lot of wrong turns. As a Transitional Pastor I move to new communities often. The idea that it will be impossible to get lost on God’s road in the wilderness fills me with joy.
Prayer: God of all, we thank you for all the things that bring us joy. We remember that you are the Source of everything we need to live and be happy. In Jesus’ name we thank you. Amen.
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The Immediate Word, December 11, 2022 issue.
Copyright 2022 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
