Abandon Your Calendars
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
For November 27, 2022:
Abandon Your Calendars
by Mary Austin
Matthew 24:36-44
When my father had a sharp decline this summer, and went into hospice care, the nurses thought his death would come quickly. My only plan for the summer was to visit him as often as possible. Lunch with friends? No, thanks. Vacation? Nope. Big meeting? Pass.
Gratefully, he has stayed with us longer than anyone expected, and my horizon lengthened again. I make plans for ordinary things again, yet always with the feeling that everything is temporary. Plans can shift any time. I find myself holding all scheduled events loosely these days.
Perhaps this is what Matthew’s gospel wants to me to do all the time. As we anticipate the coming of Jesus, all of our plans are temporary while we wait for his arrival. Be ready, Jesus says, reminding us that he isn’t done with us yet. There is more to come.
In the Scriptures
This section of Matthew’s gospel is full of shocks for the disciples listening to Jesus. The temple will be torn down, he tells them, and all kinds of fake prophets and messiahs will come. Jesus offers a confusing mix of advice here — they are to watch for the signs of God’s coming, and also no one knows when this will happen. The signs they see may or may not be the true signs. Keep awake, Jesus instructs, for if the homeowner had been awake, his home would not have been robbed. (Um, Jesus, this doesn’t really sound appealing. Is Jesus as unexpected as a night-time burglar?)
Also, the timing is unclear. “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father,” Jesus tells them, confessing that even he doesn’t know when all this will happen. Well, what can we know?
The only certainty is upheaval. “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs,” Jesus announces earlier in this chapter. Our daily work may be interrupted, and we will be startled by the presence of God.
In the News
Life’s big upheavals are beyond our ability to plan for them.
No one setting out for the evening at Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado, would have expected the gunman who killed five people and injured others. People in the Halloween crowd in Seoul could not have anticipated the stampede that killed 158 people who were out for a night of fun. While the crowd surge was a surprise to the people there, officials were also unprepared, even though they anticipated the large group of young people. “Less than a dozen police officers were in the area until 8 pm, almost an hour and a half after the first call for help. Emergency dispatchers directed officers to street fights and other lesser incidents, while officials monitoring surveillance cameras didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Rescue and crisis management efforts were delayed by a lack of coordination and poor coordination, with many supervisors and top officials unaware of the crisis until 11 pm or later.”
Grief and trauma come unexpectedly.
Even small places of uncertainty are stressful. Scientists are noting that we have high levels of anxiety, as we cope with all the uncertainty that the pandemic brings. “Surprisingly, research shows that we get significantly more anxious and upset when we don't know what's about to happen than when we know for certain that something bad will happen. While uncharted terrain tends to breed uneasiness across the board, some of us find the unknown especially scary…Uncertainty, which our brains are hardwired to dislike, is particularly pernicious because it threatens the possibility of danger without giving us enough information to mount an appropriate response.”
It's hard to make Thanksgiving and Christmas plans, not knowing whether Covid will disrupt family gatherings or flight schedules. Epidemiologists are warning about a "tri-demic" this year, with Covid, the flu and RSV all on the rise. This year, inflation is also disrupting holiday travel.
What can we prepare for?
In the Sermon
Because the human brain craves certainty, what can we know for sure? The sermon might explore what we do know. We don’t know when Jesus will come back to us, but we do know that Jesus chose to live in our midst once. This world was worthy of his presence then, and still is now. The future belongs to Jesus, and we have work to do to bring his realm to life in the world he once lived. We know enough to keep going.
This is not the second coming of Christ, says Sarah Dylan Breuer. “It's not the third coming we're looking for either. Wherever two or three have gathered in Jesus' name since Easter, Jesus has come among them, so we must be on about the ummpteen kajillionth coming. The coming, or "advent," we look forward to in this season is, in a sense, as mundane and as special as all of those other "advents" have been. It's all of those other "advents," all comings of Christ from the Incarnation up to this Sunday morning, that informs us about what the final Advent, the coming of Christ we look forward to during this liturgical season, really means.” The sermon might build on this intriguing idea, talking about all the times Jesus has been with us in our lives.
“Keep awake,” Jesus says, then and now. The sermon might invite us to think about how we keep awake, and what that means in a world full of the gentle distractions of our devices, of hundreds of streaming channels, thousands of sports events and dozens of Real Housewives. How do we stay awake to God’s presence in such a distracting world?
How do we prepare for the unimaginable? We no longer expect the return of Jesus before the end of this generation. We can prepare for illness and dramatic weather events, for this loss of power or the loss of a job. We can try to prepare for the death of a loved one, and yet the end always carries more pain than we imagine. The things that break us open are beyond our human preparation. So, how do we prepare for the coming — or another coming — of Jesus? Attention, open hearts, and hopeful watching start us on the path, and we are ready to be surprised again by Jesus.
SECOND THOUGHTS
Taking a Chance on Advent
by Chris Keating
Isaiah 2:1-5
Isaiah’s voice, breathless with excitement, lifts Israel’s expectations beyond the present to anticipate a future shaped by God. But his cries also ignite our own hopes and deepest yearnings. Lighting the first candle of Advent, we enter the launch sequences of Christmas. The countdown to Christmas begins as the familiar words prickle against our ears, “In the days to come.”
“In the days to come,” Isaiah proclaims, “the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest mountains.” It is an invitation that reminds Judah that all nations will be drawn to Jerusalem, and that blacksmiths will pound swords into gardening tools, and warfare will no longer be practiced.
These words invite us to take a chance on Advent by reminding us of God’s intentions. “In days to come,” we read, elevating our eyes and expectations. The venerable King James Version renders the verse in deeper tones of Advent: “And it shall come to pass,” it reads, words nearly as synonymous with Christmas as angels and newborns. And it shall come to pass, the prophet promises — lifting our eyes above the refuse of human suffering and pain and focuses our eyes on the substructures of the Lord’s house established on the highest peaks.
In the days to come: These days, these latter days of 2022, when news of wars in foreign nations and homegrown mass shootings compete for airtime on the news. In the days to come, not some place far in the future, but here and now, God invites us to take a chance on Advent. Our God is coming to us, offering a new future with manifold possibilities.
In the days to come, war shall be no more. Isaiah proclaims the promise of God — not the promise of politicians or some sort of peppermint-scented wishes of the season. The call to converting weapons into farm implements is part and parcel of Isaiah’s vision to “cease to do evil and learn to do good,” (Isaiah 1:17), an extension of God’s steadfast faithfulness. This is the chance Isaiah invites us to take: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, he may teach us his ways.”
And so it will come to pass, Isaiah promises, that nations will learn war no more. Richard Fierro, a decorated Army vet, made a similar promise after leaving the Army in 2013. Fierro was deployed four times to Afghanistan, and was awarded the Bronze star twice for bravery. Still, the agonies of war remain with him, one of the reasons why he left the service. “I was done with war,” Fierro said last week.
It turns out war was not done with him.
On Saturday Fierro and his family and friends were enjoying a night out at a Colorado Springs night club. Sitting at a table inside Club Q, a nightspot popular in the queer community, he saw the flash of gunfire from an AR-15 style rifle. Switching into combat mode instinctively, Fierro raced across the nightclub and tackled the gunman. He disarmed the shooter, but then noticed the man was also carrying a handgun.
Fierro used the handgun to beat the gunman, knowing his only option was to “take him down.” Authorities say that five persons were killed and at least 18 others injured, and that Fierro saved countless others. Because of the club’s popularity with the LGBTQ community, the attack has been said to have “all the trappings” of a hate crime. Sunday was also the international Transgender Day of Remembrance, an annual event memorializing transgender persons whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.
Fierro is a hero, of course. But he is also a symbol of the sort of burden we carry whenever we enter public spaces.
In the days to come, we will hear calls for thoughts and prayers for those who died. In fact, US Representative Lauren Boebert (R-CO), whose district includes Colorado Springs, offered that very sentiment early Sunday morning on Twitter. “The news out of Colorado Springs is absolutely awful,” Boebert tweeted. “This morning the victims & their families are in my prayers. This lawless violence needs to end and end quickly.”
In the days to come, there will be impromptu memorials set up outside the nightclub, just as there were at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, last week, and outside a high school in St. Louis, Missouri, last month, and dozens of other places in the United States where mass shootings have happened nearly once a week throughout 2022.
In the days to come, there will be talk but little action, for like Isaiah’s community, we have resigned ourselves that there is little that can be done. Violence and destruction seem inevitable.
Unless we take a chance on Advent. The prophet’s invitation is to begin walking in the light of the Lord. It’s a fitting image for this first Sunday of Advent. A solitary candle, battered by windy chaos, leads God’s people forward. It’s a risky path, but Isaiah’s words invite us to take a chance.
Ironically, or perhaps providentially, there’s a group of Christians in Colorado Springs who have already taken a few steps down the pathways of justice. RAWTools, a nonprofit based in Colorado Springs, grew out of a yearning to shift our national conversations from the binaries of “either more guns or more laws.”
RAWTools engages the promises of God by actually beating guns into garden tools. They are taking a chance on hope. Their website notes that transforming old guns into pruning hooks and gardening tools “creates a dynamic shift in our investment in time and resources. If we are no longer training for war, what else would we be doing?”
It might be tempting to romanticize Isaiah, especially following an overstuffed holiday weekend. It could be easy enough to throttle the power of Isaiah’s broad prophetic challenge by changing these verses into another does of holiday cuteness. But highlighting this text’s bold serifs and replacing it with some curly-cued sugarplum-spiced font doesn’t work. Isaiah will not remain silent, especially when it comes to the business of walking in the light of the Lord.
“In those days,” Isaiah writes. He could have just as likely said, “In the last days of November, 2022, when hatred fuels violence in nightclubs, and war rages on in Ukraine, in Yemen, and so many other places, it is not easy to believe that war shall be no more. Fortunately, the light of the Advent candle burns brightly, calling us to walk in the light of the Lord.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Tom Willadsen:
Advent
New, Happy Year!
When my son was little he used to greet people by saying, “New, happy year!” on January 1st. It sounded so much more festive than “Happy New Year!” It’s easy to conflate Advent, a season whose name means “coming” with getting ready for Christmas. In my youth advertising mentioned “shopping days” as a countdown to December 25.
Advent is its own season, and its integrity should be respected. None of today’s texts, for example, hint at the nativity. Watchfulness, longing for peace and hope for the complete reign of the Lord are our themes today. There will be time for angels, shepherds and magi, but keep those costumes out of sight today.
* * *
Matthew 24:36-44
Who’s in charge?
It seems clear from the text that Jesus understood himself as being subordinate to God the Father. Other texts lead to other conclusions. Orthodox Christian Trinitarianism holds that all three elements of the Trinity are equal. Hmm.
* * *
Romans 13:11-14
These four verses come at the end of Chapter 13 in Romans. It is wise to read them with an eye to what immediately precedes them. Remember, the Romans were a misunderstood, persecuted minority. A lot of what Paul tells them in Chapter 13 is about not calling attention to themselves. Keep your heads down, and your noses clean, Romans….then today’s verses come into view…Salvation is near, wake up! Be alert, be ready!
Implicit in all this is that the Romans won’t be living under the oppressive authorities for much longer. Hold on, behave, stay sober, don’t worry about staying healthy or raising families.
During the previous presidency, Attorney General Jeff Sessions used the first portion of Romans 13 to justify separating children from the parents at the US-Mexico border. His argument was essentially, government is ordained by God, therefore it must be obeyed. This is a facile, shallow reading of Romans and, when misapplied by those in power, is extremely dangerous and undemocratic.
* * *
Isaiah 2:1-5
Eyes on your own paper, Isaiah!
Today’s passage from Isaiah is nearly identical to Micah 4:1-3. Scholars disagree over which one came first, perhaps both arose from a common source, based in Jerusalem, likely in the 8th century BCE.
After the first verse, sort of a title page, vv. 2-4 describe what will happen in the days to come. These words are neither prayer, nor prophecy, really they are more of a description. They are not addressed to God, nor does it appear they are spoken by the prophet. The words describe a moment when “the nations” come to Jerusalem to receive instruction in waging peace. Following the instruction it is the nations who destroy they weapons of war.
Verse 5 is the nations’ response and promised reform at having been instructed in Zion.
In seminary we used to joke that the real reason to turn our spears into plowshares is that plowshares hurt more. We were all city kids, we didn’t know from plowshares.
* * *
Psalm 122
Traveling music
Today’s psalm is in the group of songs of Ascent, Psalms 120-134. The first verse was probably recited by the leader of a pilgrimage, or the song leader. The second verse may seem abrupt — as though the pilgrims have already arrived. Rather it is a foretaste of the joy that awaits their arrival in Jerusalem. After Kings Hezekiah and Josiah closed all worship sites except the temple, a visit to Jerusalem was an especially holy and joyous occasion.
The thrones of judgment mentioned is a little unusual, the plural seems out of place. There was a tradition that the king’s mother also had a throne. This is attested to in 1 Kings 2:19 where Bathsheba had a throne beside her son Solomon.
* * * * * *
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:
First Sunday Of Advent — Hope
Examples of hope
Author, ambassador, and politician Clare Boothe Luce, is reported to have said, “There are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have grown hopeless about them.”
When my children were living at home, I used to discourage them from using the phrase, “I can’t.” When we say that, I explained, it means we have given up on the possibility of success. Rather, I said, say “I’m having difficulty…” or “I need help with…” Both of which still leave room for hope.
Then I would tell them the story about the man who approached a little league baseball game one afternoon. He asked a boy in the dugout what the score was. The boy responded, "Eighteen to nothing — we're behind."
"Boy," said the spectator, "I'll bet you're discouraged."
"Nope," replied the little boy full of confidence. "We haven't even gotten up to bat yet!"
* * *
Hope in the remotest possibilities
A man was sentenced to death for being disrespectful to the king but he obtained a reprieve by assuring the king he would teach his majesty's horse to fly within the year — on the condition that if he didn't succeed, he would be put to death at the end of the year. "Within a year," the man explained later, "the king may die, or I may die, or the horse may die. Furthermore, in a year, who knows? Maybe the horse will learn to fly."
* * *
By the flip of a coin
Two ancient armies were encamped on opposite sides of a great forest, preparing to do battle the next day. One army, however, was nearly twice the size of the other.
The general of the smaller army knew that his only chance at success was by surprise attack so he sent word through his smaller army to prepare to make a surprise attack upon the enemy just before dawn, as they slept in their tents.
The soldiers of the smaller army heard the command and put on their armor, sharpened their words, and prepared themselves for the fight to come. They knew that a surprise attack was a good strategy but they were still anxious about their small numbers.
The general gathered his men to the bottom of a hill upon which he stood to address them. “I have been up all night, praying that we will be successful,” he told them. “And I was told in a dream to flip this coin. If it comes up heads God has granted us victory and we are to go into the battle with courage and determination. If it comes up tails, we cannot win and we are to flee quietly into the night.”
With that, he flipped the coin and it came up heads.
The surprise attack was successful, the smaller army won the day and, as the soldiers celebrated their victory, the general’s second in command noted how well the men had fought that day. “They are skilled fighters, indeed,” he said to the general.
The general held up the coin. “It wasn’t skill that won this battle. It was hope.” He held the coin out and his second in command took it. It had a head on both sides.
* * *
Matthew 24:36-44 — Surprise
Subway surprise
A New York City businessman decided to avoid a $20 service charge by replacing a fluorescent light himself. After he had smuggled a new light into his office and put it in place, he decided to get rid of the old tube by throwing it in the trash can near his subway stop. That night he got on the subway holding the seven-foot light vertically, with one end resting on the floor of the car. As the train became more crowded other passengers took hold of the tube, assuming it was a stanchion. By the time the man reached his stop, he simply removed his hand and exited the car, leaving the other passengers gripping the fluorescent tube!
* * *
Shock and awe in the TV studio
Joseph Laitin, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs under Secretary of Defense James R. Schlesinger, remembers his former boss: "Defense Secretary Schlesinger tended to speak his mind, especially when questioned on matters he considered personal. His prickly manner sometimes carried into routine dealings with the press, often to his advantage. Once, while the Secretary and I sipped coffee at NBC before the start of the "Today" show, I learned that Tom Pettit would be doing the interview. I hastily gave Schlesinger a quick briefing on what he'd probably be subjected to in front of the camera. Pettit had a habit of bullying his guests for a good show. "Don't let this guy get under your skin with outrageous questions," I cautioned. "Keep cool and get your points across."
Just then, Pettit walked in, a clipboard containing his questions tucked under his arm. As they entered the studio, Schlesinger plucked the board from a startled Pettit and glanced at it. "Pretty stupid questions, Pettit," he said, handing the man back his board. They were on the air 30 seconds later. Pettit was a pussycat.
* * *
Surprise Attack at Gettysburg
On the second day of the battle of Gettysburg, Col. Joshua Chamberlain was ordered to take the 380 men of the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment to the extreme southern end of the Union line and defend that position at all costs. If the confederate army got around the end of the line and flanked the Union army, all would be lost.
When Chamberlain and his 380 men reached their position, a small, wooded hill called Little Round Top, he realized that the confederate troops numbered more than 650. The only advantage the Union had was that they held the high ground.
The confederate army charged time after time, always running up hill and having to retreat back down. By mid-day, the men of the 20th Maine had fired more than 15,000 rounds and were within a few shots of running completely out of ammunition. The confederates, they could see, were amassing for another charge up the hill.
His options severely limited, Chamberlain ordered his remaining troops to fix bayonets and, at the critical moment, when the confederate troops had nearly exhausted themselves running up the hill, he ordered his men to charge.
As it turned out, the Confederate soldiers were on their last legs. They, too, were nearly out of ammunition and exhausted from the day’s fighting. Seeing the blue uniforms charging down the hill, screaming like banshees, they fired off their last shots, turned and ran, or surrendered.
Chamberlain and the 20th Maine had successfully defended Little Round Top and the Southern Flank of the Union Army. The battle of Gettysburg was all but won.
(Joshua Chamberlain received the Medal of Honor for his actions on Little Round Top and was later elected governor of Maine.)
* * *
Singer surprises
On Christmas Day 2013, world-renowned tenor Andrea Bocelli gave Miami churchgoers an amazing surprise when he performed at the St. Patrick Catholic Church in Miami Beach. He attended the Christmas mass, which was delivered in Italian, and gave no indication that he would be performing until he was led to the pulpit and began to sing. Bocelli sang "Adeste Fideles" ("O Come All Ye Faithful") and "Silent Night." Churchgoers reported that they were shocked and their spirits were lifted by the unplanned performance.
Singer Michael Bublé gave New York subway riders a huge surprise when he joined the group "Naturally 7" for an impromptu performance of "Who's Lovin' You" at the 66th Street Lincoln Center subway stop in March of 2013. Commuters stopped in their tracks to listen to and record the performance. Bublé said afterward that singing in the New York subway is the "most authentic, organic way to make music."
The Aerosmith singer Stephen Tyler surprised restaurant patrons when he took the mic at Nashville's Bluebird Cafe in 2013. The historic venue was, as Tyler later told reporters, the smallest room he had ever played. He performed Aerosmith's hit songs "Jaded" and "Dream On" for the unsuspecting audience.
* * *
Isaiah 2:1-5 — Waiting
The agony of waiting
A very old man lay dying in his bed. In death’s doorway, he suddenly smelled the aroma of his favorite chocolate chip cookie wafting up the stairs. He gathered his remaining strength and lifted himself from the bed. Leaning against the wall, he slowly made his way out of the bedroom, and with even greater effort forced himself down the stairs, gripping the railing with both hands.
With labored breath, he leaned against the door frame, gazing into the kitchen. Were it not for death’s agony, he would have thought himself already in heaven. There, spread out on newspapers on the kitchen table were literally hundreds of his favorite chocolate chip cookies.
Was it heaven? Or was it one final act of heroic love from his devoted wife, seeing to it that he left this world a happy man? Mustering one great final effort, he threw himself toward the table. The aged and withered hand, shaking, made its way to a cookie at the edge of the table, when he was suddenly smacked with a spatula by his wife.
“Stay out of those,” she said. “They’re for the funeral.”
* * *
Too slow the elevator
There are so many versions of this story floating around the business world that it must be apocryphal, but it’s fun and it’s message is valid, nonetheless;
The people who worked in the office building were constantly complaining about how slow the elevators moved. It seemed to take forever, they said, to get them to their floor so they could start their work day. Then, at the end of the day, it took them way too long to get them back down to the ground floor again.
The owners of the building, exasperated and tired of the complaining, hired an expert in elevator mechanics to see if he could speed things up and make the complaining stop.
The man spent a week riding the elevators up and down in the building, especially during the hours at the beginning and end of the work day.
Finally, he presented his invoice to the owner the building and guaranteed that there would be no more complaining about the slow speed of the elevators and, turns out, he was man of his word. The complaining stopped completely.
The building owner went up and down to and from his penthouse office on a private elevator so he never experienced the slow speed of the employee elevators. Now, however, he was curious as to what the elevator mechanic has installed to end the complaining from the employees. So, one day, he decided to ride the public elevators down to the main floor and was shocked to see the innovation that the elevator expert had installed to shorten the ride and eliminate the complaining.
Mirrors. Every elevator was now completely lined with mirrors.
* * *
Waiting in line
We Americans hate waiting in line. If forced to do it we get impatient, angry, and downright mean to the people we encounter at the end of the line.
Successful businesses have realized this for a long time and have come up with some novel ways to either reduce waiting time or at least make it more bearable.
Wendy’s uses a single, serpentine line to make things move along. McDonald’s has stuck with the old multi-line configuration except at the drive through where the single line prevails.
Richard Larson is a professor at MIT who has dedicated his academic career the study of “queuing theory.” (Yes, there really is such a thing.) He counts Disney as one of the most brilliant companies when it comes to reducing the stress of queuing, which academics call standing in line.
Disney uses lots of tactics to keep the customers happy while they wait but their most prevalent is “distraction.” Customers, they have found, don’t mind standing in line, waiting, if they have something to do, watch, listen to, or think about while they do it.
“Disney is the undisputed master of this technique, designing queues that are entertaining and create anticipation for the ride. The line for one Toy Story-themed ride, for example, features giant murals, oversized toys and a five-foot-tall animatronic Mr. Potato Head, who entertains those waiting in line with a semi-interactive spiel.” Singers, jugglers, musical ensembles, street players, add to the entertainment that shorten the wait.
Grocery stores provide magazines, candy, toys and gizmos of all kinds to explore and maybe purchase while you’re standing in the check-out line.
I find that my cell phone has lessened the agony of waiting for me. I have installed books and magazines on it as well as a daily newspaper. Now, when I’m forced to wait, I have something to read and the time passes quickly. Sometimes too quickly as I find that I’ve gotten to the end of the line before I got to the end of the chapter.
* * * * * *
WORSHIP
by George Reed
Call to Worship:
One: Let us with gladness enter the house of God.
All: With hope we enter into this place of worship
One: Let us pray for the peace of this community.
All: May the peace of God rest gently on all who live here.
One: Let us pray for peace throughout God’s creation.
All: May all creatures and all creation be bathed in the light of peace.
OR
One: Our God of light and glory is coming among us!
All: We long for the presence of God’s light in our lives.
One: God comes that we may see the path to life eternal.
All: The darkness blinds us and we desire to see.
One: God is coming! Prepare your hearts and minds.
All: We open our eyes and our lives to the light of our God.
Hymns and Songs
Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
UMH: 196
H82: 66
PH: 1/2
NCH: 122
LBW: 30
ELW: 254
W&P: 153
AMEC: 103
Toda la Tierra (All Earth Is Waiting)
UMH: 210
NCH: 121
ELW: 266
W&P: 163
I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light
UMH: 206
H82: 490
ELW: 815
W&P: 248
Renew: 152
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
UMH: 211
H82: 56
PH: 9
AAHH: 188
NNBH: 82
NCH: 116
CH: 119
LBW: 34
ELW: 257
W&P: 154
AMEC: 102
STLT 225
Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming
UMH: 216
H82: 81
PH: 48
NCH: 127
CH: 160
LBW: 58
ELW: 272
W&P: 190
Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light
UMH: 223
H82: 91
PH: 26
NCH: 140
W&P: 202
O Splendor of God’s Glory Bright
UMH: 679
H82: 5
PH: 474
NCH: 87
LBW: 271
ELW: 559
W&P: 144
O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright
UMH: 247
PH: 69
NCH: 158
CH: 105
LBW: 76
ELW: 308
W&P: 230
Soon and Very Soon
UMH: 706
AAHH: 193
NNBH: 476
ELW: 439
W&P: 523
Renew: 276
Hail to the Lord’s Anointed
UMH: 203
H82: 616
AAHH: 187
NCH: 104
CH: 87
LBW: 311
W&P: 107
Renew: 101
Arise, Shine
CCB: 2
Renew: 123
Shine, Jesus, Shine
CCB: 81
Renew: 247
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 who dwells in light eternal:
Grant us the courage to walk in your light of hope;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you dwell in eternal light. Strengthen our hearts that we may walk in the light of your ways into your realm of hope. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our failure to prepare for God’s coming among us as we walk dark paths.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You who dwell in light have given us light, as well. You have given us physical light so that we may see the beauty of your creation and you have given us spiritual light that we may follow your path to life eternal. Yet we have not prepared for the coming of your light and we have, instead, walked the paths of darkness that lead to death. Forgive us and open our eyes that we may see your light and your path. Amen.
One: God is light and seeks for us to dwell in that light. Receive God’s gracious gift of light and life and share with others.
Prayers of the People
Praise and glory to you, God of Light and life, who comes to lead us into your eternal realm. Glorious and gracious are you, Creator of all.
(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 who dwell in light have given us light, as well. You have given us physical light so that we may see the beauty of your creation and you have given us spiritual light that we may follow your path to life eternal. Yet we have not prepared for the coming of your light and we have, instead, walked the paths of darkness that lead to death. Forgive us and open our eyes that we may see your light and your path.
We give you thanks that you come to us and offer us life. The sun, moon, and stars are all reminders that you have gifted us with your own light. Through scriptures, worship, and community you shine so that we may find our way.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all your children in their need. We lift up those who suffer in body, mind, or spirit and those who bear the heavy load of grief. We pray for those who find themselves in places where violence makes it hard to hear words about peace.
(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
Surprise Party
by Katy Stenta
Have you ever been a part of a surprise birthday party? Surprise birthday parties are kind of funny. A person knows it’s their birthday, so they sort of know they are getting a party, but they don’t know exactly when the party is. Even when you play hide and seek, it’s kind of like that, you know someone is hiding, but not exactly where.
That is how Jesus’s coming is. We know that Jesus is coming back, but we do not know exactly when. Jesus says we should be planning for it, but only as much as we can. How does it feel to know that Jesus is coming back?
(Affirm any answers that come back: Good, scary, I don’t know…) That’s right, it’s a mix of feelings. Grownups feel all of those things, too. When we prepare for things that we don’t know when they can happen, it’s hard, because we don’t know how to feel.
This is why we practice Jesus coming. We practice two times a year, both Christmas and Easter, so that when Jesus actually comes, we can be ready for all the overwhelming feelings that we might feel — both happy and a little bit scared.
Let’s pray
Jesus
Thank You
For helping us
To practice your coming
And telling us
That it’s ok
That we are still not ready.
Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, November 27 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.
- Abandon Your Calendars by Mary Austin. As we begin Advent, how do we prepare for things that defy preparation?
- Second Thoughts: Taking a Chance on Advent by Chris Keating. Isaiah’s words challenge us to continue walking along the pathways of God.
- Sermon illustrations by Tom Willadsen, Dean Feldmeyer, Quantisha Mason-Doll.
- Worship resources by George Reed.
- Children's sermon: Surprise Party by Katy Stenta.
Abandon Your Calendarsby Mary Austin
Matthew 24:36-44
When my father had a sharp decline this summer, and went into hospice care, the nurses thought his death would come quickly. My only plan for the summer was to visit him as often as possible. Lunch with friends? No, thanks. Vacation? Nope. Big meeting? Pass.
Gratefully, he has stayed with us longer than anyone expected, and my horizon lengthened again. I make plans for ordinary things again, yet always with the feeling that everything is temporary. Plans can shift any time. I find myself holding all scheduled events loosely these days.
Perhaps this is what Matthew’s gospel wants to me to do all the time. As we anticipate the coming of Jesus, all of our plans are temporary while we wait for his arrival. Be ready, Jesus says, reminding us that he isn’t done with us yet. There is more to come.
In the Scriptures
This section of Matthew’s gospel is full of shocks for the disciples listening to Jesus. The temple will be torn down, he tells them, and all kinds of fake prophets and messiahs will come. Jesus offers a confusing mix of advice here — they are to watch for the signs of God’s coming, and also no one knows when this will happen. The signs they see may or may not be the true signs. Keep awake, Jesus instructs, for if the homeowner had been awake, his home would not have been robbed. (Um, Jesus, this doesn’t really sound appealing. Is Jesus as unexpected as a night-time burglar?)
Also, the timing is unclear. “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father,” Jesus tells them, confessing that even he doesn’t know when all this will happen. Well, what can we know?
The only certainty is upheaval. “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs,” Jesus announces earlier in this chapter. Our daily work may be interrupted, and we will be startled by the presence of God.
In the News
Life’s big upheavals are beyond our ability to plan for them.
No one setting out for the evening at Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado, would have expected the gunman who killed five people and injured others. People in the Halloween crowd in Seoul could not have anticipated the stampede that killed 158 people who were out for a night of fun. While the crowd surge was a surprise to the people there, officials were also unprepared, even though they anticipated the large group of young people. “Less than a dozen police officers were in the area until 8 pm, almost an hour and a half after the first call for help. Emergency dispatchers directed officers to street fights and other lesser incidents, while officials monitoring surveillance cameras didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Rescue and crisis management efforts were delayed by a lack of coordination and poor coordination, with many supervisors and top officials unaware of the crisis until 11 pm or later.”
Grief and trauma come unexpectedly.
Even small places of uncertainty are stressful. Scientists are noting that we have high levels of anxiety, as we cope with all the uncertainty that the pandemic brings. “Surprisingly, research shows that we get significantly more anxious and upset when we don't know what's about to happen than when we know for certain that something bad will happen. While uncharted terrain tends to breed uneasiness across the board, some of us find the unknown especially scary…Uncertainty, which our brains are hardwired to dislike, is particularly pernicious because it threatens the possibility of danger without giving us enough information to mount an appropriate response.”
It's hard to make Thanksgiving and Christmas plans, not knowing whether Covid will disrupt family gatherings or flight schedules. Epidemiologists are warning about a "tri-demic" this year, with Covid, the flu and RSV all on the rise. This year, inflation is also disrupting holiday travel.
What can we prepare for?
In the Sermon
Because the human brain craves certainty, what can we know for sure? The sermon might explore what we do know. We don’t know when Jesus will come back to us, but we do know that Jesus chose to live in our midst once. This world was worthy of his presence then, and still is now. The future belongs to Jesus, and we have work to do to bring his realm to life in the world he once lived. We know enough to keep going.
This is not the second coming of Christ, says Sarah Dylan Breuer. “It's not the third coming we're looking for either. Wherever two or three have gathered in Jesus' name since Easter, Jesus has come among them, so we must be on about the ummpteen kajillionth coming. The coming, or "advent," we look forward to in this season is, in a sense, as mundane and as special as all of those other "advents" have been. It's all of those other "advents," all comings of Christ from the Incarnation up to this Sunday morning, that informs us about what the final Advent, the coming of Christ we look forward to during this liturgical season, really means.” The sermon might build on this intriguing idea, talking about all the times Jesus has been with us in our lives.
“Keep awake,” Jesus says, then and now. The sermon might invite us to think about how we keep awake, and what that means in a world full of the gentle distractions of our devices, of hundreds of streaming channels, thousands of sports events and dozens of Real Housewives. How do we stay awake to God’s presence in such a distracting world?
How do we prepare for the unimaginable? We no longer expect the return of Jesus before the end of this generation. We can prepare for illness and dramatic weather events, for this loss of power or the loss of a job. We can try to prepare for the death of a loved one, and yet the end always carries more pain than we imagine. The things that break us open are beyond our human preparation. So, how do we prepare for the coming — or another coming — of Jesus? Attention, open hearts, and hopeful watching start us on the path, and we are ready to be surprised again by Jesus.
SECOND THOUGHTSTaking a Chance on Advent
by Chris Keating
Isaiah 2:1-5
Isaiah’s voice, breathless with excitement, lifts Israel’s expectations beyond the present to anticipate a future shaped by God. But his cries also ignite our own hopes and deepest yearnings. Lighting the first candle of Advent, we enter the launch sequences of Christmas. The countdown to Christmas begins as the familiar words prickle against our ears, “In the days to come.”
“In the days to come,” Isaiah proclaims, “the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest mountains.” It is an invitation that reminds Judah that all nations will be drawn to Jerusalem, and that blacksmiths will pound swords into gardening tools, and warfare will no longer be practiced.
These words invite us to take a chance on Advent by reminding us of God’s intentions. “In days to come,” we read, elevating our eyes and expectations. The venerable King James Version renders the verse in deeper tones of Advent: “And it shall come to pass,” it reads, words nearly as synonymous with Christmas as angels and newborns. And it shall come to pass, the prophet promises — lifting our eyes above the refuse of human suffering and pain and focuses our eyes on the substructures of the Lord’s house established on the highest peaks.
In the days to come: These days, these latter days of 2022, when news of wars in foreign nations and homegrown mass shootings compete for airtime on the news. In the days to come, not some place far in the future, but here and now, God invites us to take a chance on Advent. Our God is coming to us, offering a new future with manifold possibilities.
In the days to come, war shall be no more. Isaiah proclaims the promise of God — not the promise of politicians or some sort of peppermint-scented wishes of the season. The call to converting weapons into farm implements is part and parcel of Isaiah’s vision to “cease to do evil and learn to do good,” (Isaiah 1:17), an extension of God’s steadfast faithfulness. This is the chance Isaiah invites us to take: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, he may teach us his ways.”
And so it will come to pass, Isaiah promises, that nations will learn war no more. Richard Fierro, a decorated Army vet, made a similar promise after leaving the Army in 2013. Fierro was deployed four times to Afghanistan, and was awarded the Bronze star twice for bravery. Still, the agonies of war remain with him, one of the reasons why he left the service. “I was done with war,” Fierro said last week.
It turns out war was not done with him.
On Saturday Fierro and his family and friends were enjoying a night out at a Colorado Springs night club. Sitting at a table inside Club Q, a nightspot popular in the queer community, he saw the flash of gunfire from an AR-15 style rifle. Switching into combat mode instinctively, Fierro raced across the nightclub and tackled the gunman. He disarmed the shooter, but then noticed the man was also carrying a handgun.
Fierro used the handgun to beat the gunman, knowing his only option was to “take him down.” Authorities say that five persons were killed and at least 18 others injured, and that Fierro saved countless others. Because of the club’s popularity with the LGBTQ community, the attack has been said to have “all the trappings” of a hate crime. Sunday was also the international Transgender Day of Remembrance, an annual event memorializing transgender persons whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.
Fierro is a hero, of course. But he is also a symbol of the sort of burden we carry whenever we enter public spaces.
In the days to come, we will hear calls for thoughts and prayers for those who died. In fact, US Representative Lauren Boebert (R-CO), whose district includes Colorado Springs, offered that very sentiment early Sunday morning on Twitter. “The news out of Colorado Springs is absolutely awful,” Boebert tweeted. “This morning the victims & their families are in my prayers. This lawless violence needs to end and end quickly.”
In the days to come, there will be impromptu memorials set up outside the nightclub, just as there were at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, last week, and outside a high school in St. Louis, Missouri, last month, and dozens of other places in the United States where mass shootings have happened nearly once a week throughout 2022.
In the days to come, there will be talk but little action, for like Isaiah’s community, we have resigned ourselves that there is little that can be done. Violence and destruction seem inevitable.
Unless we take a chance on Advent. The prophet’s invitation is to begin walking in the light of the Lord. It’s a fitting image for this first Sunday of Advent. A solitary candle, battered by windy chaos, leads God’s people forward. It’s a risky path, but Isaiah’s words invite us to take a chance.
Ironically, or perhaps providentially, there’s a group of Christians in Colorado Springs who have already taken a few steps down the pathways of justice. RAWTools, a nonprofit based in Colorado Springs, grew out of a yearning to shift our national conversations from the binaries of “either more guns or more laws.”
RAWTools engages the promises of God by actually beating guns into garden tools. They are taking a chance on hope. Their website notes that transforming old guns into pruning hooks and gardening tools “creates a dynamic shift in our investment in time and resources. If we are no longer training for war, what else would we be doing?”
It might be tempting to romanticize Isaiah, especially following an overstuffed holiday weekend. It could be easy enough to throttle the power of Isaiah’s broad prophetic challenge by changing these verses into another does of holiday cuteness. But highlighting this text’s bold serifs and replacing it with some curly-cued sugarplum-spiced font doesn’t work. Isaiah will not remain silent, especially when it comes to the business of walking in the light of the Lord.
“In those days,” Isaiah writes. He could have just as likely said, “In the last days of November, 2022, when hatred fuels violence in nightclubs, and war rages on in Ukraine, in Yemen, and so many other places, it is not easy to believe that war shall be no more. Fortunately, the light of the Advent candle burns brightly, calling us to walk in the light of the Lord.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Tom Willadsen:Advent
New, Happy Year!
When my son was little he used to greet people by saying, “New, happy year!” on January 1st. It sounded so much more festive than “Happy New Year!” It’s easy to conflate Advent, a season whose name means “coming” with getting ready for Christmas. In my youth advertising mentioned “shopping days” as a countdown to December 25.
Advent is its own season, and its integrity should be respected. None of today’s texts, for example, hint at the nativity. Watchfulness, longing for peace and hope for the complete reign of the Lord are our themes today. There will be time for angels, shepherds and magi, but keep those costumes out of sight today.
* * *
Matthew 24:36-44
Who’s in charge?
It seems clear from the text that Jesus understood himself as being subordinate to God the Father. Other texts lead to other conclusions. Orthodox Christian Trinitarianism holds that all three elements of the Trinity are equal. Hmm.
* * *
Romans 13:11-14
These four verses come at the end of Chapter 13 in Romans. It is wise to read them with an eye to what immediately precedes them. Remember, the Romans were a misunderstood, persecuted minority. A lot of what Paul tells them in Chapter 13 is about not calling attention to themselves. Keep your heads down, and your noses clean, Romans….then today’s verses come into view…Salvation is near, wake up! Be alert, be ready!
Implicit in all this is that the Romans won’t be living under the oppressive authorities for much longer. Hold on, behave, stay sober, don’t worry about staying healthy or raising families.
During the previous presidency, Attorney General Jeff Sessions used the first portion of Romans 13 to justify separating children from the parents at the US-Mexico border. His argument was essentially, government is ordained by God, therefore it must be obeyed. This is a facile, shallow reading of Romans and, when misapplied by those in power, is extremely dangerous and undemocratic.
* * *
Isaiah 2:1-5
Eyes on your own paper, Isaiah!
Today’s passage from Isaiah is nearly identical to Micah 4:1-3. Scholars disagree over which one came first, perhaps both arose from a common source, based in Jerusalem, likely in the 8th century BCE.
After the first verse, sort of a title page, vv. 2-4 describe what will happen in the days to come. These words are neither prayer, nor prophecy, really they are more of a description. They are not addressed to God, nor does it appear they are spoken by the prophet. The words describe a moment when “the nations” come to Jerusalem to receive instruction in waging peace. Following the instruction it is the nations who destroy they weapons of war.
Verse 5 is the nations’ response and promised reform at having been instructed in Zion.
In seminary we used to joke that the real reason to turn our spears into plowshares is that plowshares hurt more. We were all city kids, we didn’t know from plowshares.
* * *
Psalm 122
Traveling music
Today’s psalm is in the group of songs of Ascent, Psalms 120-134. The first verse was probably recited by the leader of a pilgrimage, or the song leader. The second verse may seem abrupt — as though the pilgrims have already arrived. Rather it is a foretaste of the joy that awaits their arrival in Jerusalem. After Kings Hezekiah and Josiah closed all worship sites except the temple, a visit to Jerusalem was an especially holy and joyous occasion.
The thrones of judgment mentioned is a little unusual, the plural seems out of place. There was a tradition that the king’s mother also had a throne. This is attested to in 1 Kings 2:19 where Bathsheba had a throne beside her son Solomon.
* * * * * *
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:First Sunday Of Advent — Hope
Examples of hope
Author, ambassador, and politician Clare Boothe Luce, is reported to have said, “There are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have grown hopeless about them.”
When my children were living at home, I used to discourage them from using the phrase, “I can’t.” When we say that, I explained, it means we have given up on the possibility of success. Rather, I said, say “I’m having difficulty…” or “I need help with…” Both of which still leave room for hope.
Then I would tell them the story about the man who approached a little league baseball game one afternoon. He asked a boy in the dugout what the score was. The boy responded, "Eighteen to nothing — we're behind."
"Boy," said the spectator, "I'll bet you're discouraged."
"Nope," replied the little boy full of confidence. "We haven't even gotten up to bat yet!"
* * *
Hope in the remotest possibilities
A man was sentenced to death for being disrespectful to the king but he obtained a reprieve by assuring the king he would teach his majesty's horse to fly within the year — on the condition that if he didn't succeed, he would be put to death at the end of the year. "Within a year," the man explained later, "the king may die, or I may die, or the horse may die. Furthermore, in a year, who knows? Maybe the horse will learn to fly."
* * *
By the flip of a coin
Two ancient armies were encamped on opposite sides of a great forest, preparing to do battle the next day. One army, however, was nearly twice the size of the other.
The general of the smaller army knew that his only chance at success was by surprise attack so he sent word through his smaller army to prepare to make a surprise attack upon the enemy just before dawn, as they slept in their tents.
The soldiers of the smaller army heard the command and put on their armor, sharpened their words, and prepared themselves for the fight to come. They knew that a surprise attack was a good strategy but they were still anxious about their small numbers.
The general gathered his men to the bottom of a hill upon which he stood to address them. “I have been up all night, praying that we will be successful,” he told them. “And I was told in a dream to flip this coin. If it comes up heads God has granted us victory and we are to go into the battle with courage and determination. If it comes up tails, we cannot win and we are to flee quietly into the night.”
With that, he flipped the coin and it came up heads.
The surprise attack was successful, the smaller army won the day and, as the soldiers celebrated their victory, the general’s second in command noted how well the men had fought that day. “They are skilled fighters, indeed,” he said to the general.
The general held up the coin. “It wasn’t skill that won this battle. It was hope.” He held the coin out and his second in command took it. It had a head on both sides.
* * *
Matthew 24:36-44 — Surprise
Subway surprise
A New York City businessman decided to avoid a $20 service charge by replacing a fluorescent light himself. After he had smuggled a new light into his office and put it in place, he decided to get rid of the old tube by throwing it in the trash can near his subway stop. That night he got on the subway holding the seven-foot light vertically, with one end resting on the floor of the car. As the train became more crowded other passengers took hold of the tube, assuming it was a stanchion. By the time the man reached his stop, he simply removed his hand and exited the car, leaving the other passengers gripping the fluorescent tube!
* * *
Shock and awe in the TV studio
Joseph Laitin, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs under Secretary of Defense James R. Schlesinger, remembers his former boss: "Defense Secretary Schlesinger tended to speak his mind, especially when questioned on matters he considered personal. His prickly manner sometimes carried into routine dealings with the press, often to his advantage. Once, while the Secretary and I sipped coffee at NBC before the start of the "Today" show, I learned that Tom Pettit would be doing the interview. I hastily gave Schlesinger a quick briefing on what he'd probably be subjected to in front of the camera. Pettit had a habit of bullying his guests for a good show. "Don't let this guy get under your skin with outrageous questions," I cautioned. "Keep cool and get your points across."
Just then, Pettit walked in, a clipboard containing his questions tucked under his arm. As they entered the studio, Schlesinger plucked the board from a startled Pettit and glanced at it. "Pretty stupid questions, Pettit," he said, handing the man back his board. They were on the air 30 seconds later. Pettit was a pussycat.
* * *
Surprise Attack at Gettysburg
On the second day of the battle of Gettysburg, Col. Joshua Chamberlain was ordered to take the 380 men of the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment to the extreme southern end of the Union line and defend that position at all costs. If the confederate army got around the end of the line and flanked the Union army, all would be lost.
When Chamberlain and his 380 men reached their position, a small, wooded hill called Little Round Top, he realized that the confederate troops numbered more than 650. The only advantage the Union had was that they held the high ground.
The confederate army charged time after time, always running up hill and having to retreat back down. By mid-day, the men of the 20th Maine had fired more than 15,000 rounds and were within a few shots of running completely out of ammunition. The confederates, they could see, were amassing for another charge up the hill.
His options severely limited, Chamberlain ordered his remaining troops to fix bayonets and, at the critical moment, when the confederate troops had nearly exhausted themselves running up the hill, he ordered his men to charge.
As it turned out, the Confederate soldiers were on their last legs. They, too, were nearly out of ammunition and exhausted from the day’s fighting. Seeing the blue uniforms charging down the hill, screaming like banshees, they fired off their last shots, turned and ran, or surrendered.
Chamberlain and the 20th Maine had successfully defended Little Round Top and the Southern Flank of the Union Army. The battle of Gettysburg was all but won.
(Joshua Chamberlain received the Medal of Honor for his actions on Little Round Top and was later elected governor of Maine.)
* * *
Singer surprises
On Christmas Day 2013, world-renowned tenor Andrea Bocelli gave Miami churchgoers an amazing surprise when he performed at the St. Patrick Catholic Church in Miami Beach. He attended the Christmas mass, which was delivered in Italian, and gave no indication that he would be performing until he was led to the pulpit and began to sing. Bocelli sang "Adeste Fideles" ("O Come All Ye Faithful") and "Silent Night." Churchgoers reported that they were shocked and their spirits were lifted by the unplanned performance.
Singer Michael Bublé gave New York subway riders a huge surprise when he joined the group "Naturally 7" for an impromptu performance of "Who's Lovin' You" at the 66th Street Lincoln Center subway stop in March of 2013. Commuters stopped in their tracks to listen to and record the performance. Bublé said afterward that singing in the New York subway is the "most authentic, organic way to make music."
The Aerosmith singer Stephen Tyler surprised restaurant patrons when he took the mic at Nashville's Bluebird Cafe in 2013. The historic venue was, as Tyler later told reporters, the smallest room he had ever played. He performed Aerosmith's hit songs "Jaded" and "Dream On" for the unsuspecting audience.
* * *
Isaiah 2:1-5 — Waiting
The agony of waiting
A very old man lay dying in his bed. In death’s doorway, he suddenly smelled the aroma of his favorite chocolate chip cookie wafting up the stairs. He gathered his remaining strength and lifted himself from the bed. Leaning against the wall, he slowly made his way out of the bedroom, and with even greater effort forced himself down the stairs, gripping the railing with both hands.
With labored breath, he leaned against the door frame, gazing into the kitchen. Were it not for death’s agony, he would have thought himself already in heaven. There, spread out on newspapers on the kitchen table were literally hundreds of his favorite chocolate chip cookies.
Was it heaven? Or was it one final act of heroic love from his devoted wife, seeing to it that he left this world a happy man? Mustering one great final effort, he threw himself toward the table. The aged and withered hand, shaking, made its way to a cookie at the edge of the table, when he was suddenly smacked with a spatula by his wife.
“Stay out of those,” she said. “They’re for the funeral.”
* * *
Too slow the elevator
There are so many versions of this story floating around the business world that it must be apocryphal, but it’s fun and it’s message is valid, nonetheless;
The people who worked in the office building were constantly complaining about how slow the elevators moved. It seemed to take forever, they said, to get them to their floor so they could start their work day. Then, at the end of the day, it took them way too long to get them back down to the ground floor again.
The owners of the building, exasperated and tired of the complaining, hired an expert in elevator mechanics to see if he could speed things up and make the complaining stop.
The man spent a week riding the elevators up and down in the building, especially during the hours at the beginning and end of the work day.
Finally, he presented his invoice to the owner the building and guaranteed that there would be no more complaining about the slow speed of the elevators and, turns out, he was man of his word. The complaining stopped completely.
The building owner went up and down to and from his penthouse office on a private elevator so he never experienced the slow speed of the employee elevators. Now, however, he was curious as to what the elevator mechanic has installed to end the complaining from the employees. So, one day, he decided to ride the public elevators down to the main floor and was shocked to see the innovation that the elevator expert had installed to shorten the ride and eliminate the complaining.
Mirrors. Every elevator was now completely lined with mirrors.
* * *
Waiting in line
We Americans hate waiting in line. If forced to do it we get impatient, angry, and downright mean to the people we encounter at the end of the line.
Successful businesses have realized this for a long time and have come up with some novel ways to either reduce waiting time or at least make it more bearable.
Wendy’s uses a single, serpentine line to make things move along. McDonald’s has stuck with the old multi-line configuration except at the drive through where the single line prevails.
Richard Larson is a professor at MIT who has dedicated his academic career the study of “queuing theory.” (Yes, there really is such a thing.) He counts Disney as one of the most brilliant companies when it comes to reducing the stress of queuing, which academics call standing in line.
Disney uses lots of tactics to keep the customers happy while they wait but their most prevalent is “distraction.” Customers, they have found, don’t mind standing in line, waiting, if they have something to do, watch, listen to, or think about while they do it.
“Disney is the undisputed master of this technique, designing queues that are entertaining and create anticipation for the ride. The line for one Toy Story-themed ride, for example, features giant murals, oversized toys and a five-foot-tall animatronic Mr. Potato Head, who entertains those waiting in line with a semi-interactive spiel.” Singers, jugglers, musical ensembles, street players, add to the entertainment that shorten the wait.
Grocery stores provide magazines, candy, toys and gizmos of all kinds to explore and maybe purchase while you’re standing in the check-out line.
I find that my cell phone has lessened the agony of waiting for me. I have installed books and magazines on it as well as a daily newspaper. Now, when I’m forced to wait, I have something to read and the time passes quickly. Sometimes too quickly as I find that I’ve gotten to the end of the line before I got to the end of the chapter.
* * * * * *
WORSHIPby George Reed
Call to Worship:
One: Let us with gladness enter the house of God.
All: With hope we enter into this place of worship
One: Let us pray for the peace of this community.
All: May the peace of God rest gently on all who live here.
One: Let us pray for peace throughout God’s creation.
All: May all creatures and all creation be bathed in the light of peace.
OR
One: Our God of light and glory is coming among us!
All: We long for the presence of God’s light in our lives.
One: God comes that we may see the path to life eternal.
All: The darkness blinds us and we desire to see.
One: God is coming! Prepare your hearts and minds.
All: We open our eyes and our lives to the light of our God.
Hymns and Songs
Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
UMH: 196
H82: 66
PH: 1/2
NCH: 122
LBW: 30
ELW: 254
W&P: 153
AMEC: 103
Toda la Tierra (All Earth Is Waiting)
UMH: 210
NCH: 121
ELW: 266
W&P: 163
I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light
UMH: 206
H82: 490
ELW: 815
W&P: 248
Renew: 152
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
UMH: 211
H82: 56
PH: 9
AAHH: 188
NNBH: 82
NCH: 116
CH: 119
LBW: 34
ELW: 257
W&P: 154
AMEC: 102
STLT 225
Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming
UMH: 216
H82: 81
PH: 48
NCH: 127
CH: 160
LBW: 58
ELW: 272
W&P: 190
Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light
UMH: 223
H82: 91
PH: 26
NCH: 140
W&P: 202
O Splendor of God’s Glory Bright
UMH: 679
H82: 5
PH: 474
NCH: 87
LBW: 271
ELW: 559
W&P: 144
O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright
UMH: 247
PH: 69
NCH: 158
CH: 105
LBW: 76
ELW: 308
W&P: 230
Soon and Very Soon
UMH: 706
AAHH: 193
NNBH: 476
ELW: 439
W&P: 523
Renew: 276
Hail to the Lord’s Anointed
UMH: 203
H82: 616
AAHH: 187
NCH: 104
CH: 87
LBW: 311
W&P: 107
Renew: 101
Arise, Shine
CCB: 2
Renew: 123
Shine, Jesus, Shine
CCB: 81
Renew: 247
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 who dwells in light eternal:
Grant us the courage to walk in your light of hope;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you dwell in eternal light. Strengthen our hearts that we may walk in the light of your ways into your realm of hope. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our failure to prepare for God’s coming among us as we walk dark paths.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You who dwell in light have given us light, as well. You have given us physical light so that we may see the beauty of your creation and you have given us spiritual light that we may follow your path to life eternal. Yet we have not prepared for the coming of your light and we have, instead, walked the paths of darkness that lead to death. Forgive us and open our eyes that we may see your light and your path. Amen.
One: God is light and seeks for us to dwell in that light. Receive God’s gracious gift of light and life and share with others.
Prayers of the People
Praise and glory to you, God of Light and life, who comes to lead us into your eternal realm. Glorious and gracious are you, Creator of all.
(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 who dwell in light have given us light, as well. You have given us physical light so that we may see the beauty of your creation and you have given us spiritual light that we may follow your path to life eternal. Yet we have not prepared for the coming of your light and we have, instead, walked the paths of darkness that lead to death. Forgive us and open our eyes that we may see your light and your path.
We give you thanks that you come to us and offer us life. The sun, moon, and stars are all reminders that you have gifted us with your own light. Through scriptures, worship, and community you shine so that we may find our way.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all your children in their need. We lift up those who suffer in body, mind, or spirit and those who bear the heavy load of grief. We pray for those who find themselves in places where violence makes it hard to hear words about peace.
(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 SERMONSurprise Party
by Katy Stenta
Have you ever been a part of a surprise birthday party? Surprise birthday parties are kind of funny. A person knows it’s their birthday, so they sort of know they are getting a party, but they don’t know exactly when the party is. Even when you play hide and seek, it’s kind of like that, you know someone is hiding, but not exactly where.
That is how Jesus’s coming is. We know that Jesus is coming back, but we do not know exactly when. Jesus says we should be planning for it, but only as much as we can. How does it feel to know that Jesus is coming back?
(Affirm any answers that come back: Good, scary, I don’t know…) That’s right, it’s a mix of feelings. Grownups feel all of those things, too. When we prepare for things that we don’t know when they can happen, it’s hard, because we don’t know how to feel.
This is why we practice Jesus coming. We practice two times a year, both Christmas and Easter, so that when Jesus actually comes, we can be ready for all the overwhelming feelings that we might feel — both happy and a little bit scared.
Let’s pray
Jesus
Thank You
For helping us
To practice your coming
And telling us
That it’s ok
That we are still not ready.
Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, November 27 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.
