Anticipation -- It's Keepin' Me Waitin'
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Advent arrives for our congregations on a weekend when many people will still be basking in the afterglow of the Thanksgiving holiday, and in the wake of so-called "Black Friday," the high holy day of the commercial holiday season and the largest shopping day of the year. As we all know, Advent's theme of anticipation is often in uncomfortable tension with our secular culture's month-long Christmas celebration -- and that seems especially true with the assigned lectionary texts for the First Sunday of Advent, which in their stark imagery and language can feel like not merely an unwelcome right cross to the jaw but one with brass knuckles attached for good measure. There's a sense of anticipation all around us now in the malls and on the airwaves, but it's of a distinctly different nature than the sort of anticipation and watchfulness expressed in our scripture texts. While we hear of joyful anticipation that lifts up conspicuous consumption -- "You'd better watch out, you'd better not cry, you'd better not pout... Santa Claus is coming to town" -- the general tone of this week's texts is more direct and spell out the consequences if we ignore their advice that "You'd better watch out... the Lord is coming."
For most of our people, the second coming seems pretty remote -- and in this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Mary Austin suggests that in terms of how we relate to it, a useful metaphor may lie in how we approach death in our culture. Similar to how we are counseled in the gospel passage to be alert and prepared, especially because we "do not know when the time will come," wise people have their affairs in order long before death is imminent. Yet for many, death is such an uncomfortable proposition that until we're forced by circumstances to confront it directly, we often engage in denial and treat its inevitability as something remote to our current lives. It's as if we attempt to keep death boxed up in the attic like our Christmas decorations -- only dusting them off and bringing them down when the season arrives. A good example of that behavior may lie in reports that a large percentage of baby boomers have neglected to prepare wills... and if we take the same cavalier approach to the prospect of the Lord's return, it is likely that he will "find [us] asleep when he comes suddenly."
Mary notes that while the idea that how we anticipate our own death may be a good analogy for the watchful anticipation we bring to the parousia may strike some of our people as macabre, we could profit greatly from treating Advent as a training season of sorts in which we can practice anticipation. Our attitudes toward death shine a spotlight on what we truly believe, and Mary points out that noted writer and atheist Christopher Hitchens' resoluteness in the face of his own mortality may provide Christians with an ironic role model. Despite suffering from terminal cancer and conceding that his "time" is near, there have been no deathbed conversions -- and Hitchens even made a point of recently attending a conference where he was praised "for showing his atheist determination even in the face of death" and "disproving the saying that there are 'no atheists in foxholes' ". That raises the question: Do we Christians, who view death as the doorway to a better place, have the same determination and resoluteness about our beliefs as Hitchens and his ilk? Are we willing to keep awake and be prepared for the Lord's return, bringing our faith down from the attic and displaying it just as prominently and festively as we do our Christmas decorations?
Team member Dean Feldmeyer shares some additional thoughts about the appropriate attitudes we ought to bring to Advent if we expect the return of God's reign to benefit us. In addition to watchful preparation, Dean suggests that our scripture texts instruct us to enter Advent with a posture of grace as well as confession and repentance. Of course, our culture tends to resist the entire notion of personal confession and repentance, as every scandal that breaks into the headlines reminds us. Our concern seems to be more with limiting our liability by pointing fingers at others rather than confessing our own sinfulness and facing up to the consequences of our actions.
Anticipation -- It's Keepin' Me Waitin'
by Mary Austin
Mark 13:24-37; Isaiah 64:1-9; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9
The first Sunday of Advent draws us back to an uncomfortable practice -- anticipation. Each year our culture speeds up and our ability to suspend our desires diminishes. Then Advent comes and asks us to do what we hate to do... wait. Being in a state of anticipation, suspended between wish and fulfillment, is alien to us.
Advent prompts us to look forward to the coming of Christ, even as we look backward to the coming of the Christ Child. We remember and anticipate at the same time. The same twin practices of looking backward and forward also prepare us for our own death, whenever the day comes, and the time when we, as people of faith, believe that we will meet the risen Lord.
Noted atheist Christopher Hitchens is preparing for his own death, firm in his beliefs to the last. Can we match him with the same level of conviction when the time comes for us?
THE WORLD
As a hospice chaplain, I understand how uncomfortable the topic of death is for many of us. Talk of dying during the holiday season is especially unwelcome. The combination of death and Christmas music, decor and family fun feels wrong. Our hospice, like many, experiences a surge of admissions to the program after the holidays, as people want to get through the festivities before they face the reality of needing more care.
Yet there is a deep connection between our longing to see Jesus in the Christmas season and the time when we will meet him face-to-face. Just as Advent prepares us for Christmas, the practice of anticipating Christ also prepares us for the Advent of life's end and the beginning of the life to come.
Part of preparing for death is practical -- wills, trusts, bequests, and funeral planning. The deeper preparation comes in our beliefs and attitudes.
Author and prominent atheist Christopher Hitchens, diagnosed in June 2010 with stage 4 esophageal cancer, was in the news recently for receiving an award from the Atheist Alliance of America. Hitchens is aware that his "time is coming"; yet he is facing the end of life with his beliefs as strong and vibrant as ever. Hitchens is famous for being a prolific writer, drinker, and smoker, although the drinking and smoking have stopped now that he is so ill. Yet Charles McGrath notes in the New York Times that in most other ways, "Mr. Hitchens is undiminished, preferring to see himself as living with cancer, not dying from it. He still holds forth in dazzlingly clever and erudite paragraphs, pausing only to catch a breath or let a punch line resonate, and though he says his legendary productivity has fallen off a little since his illness, he still writes faster than most people talk. Last week he stayed up until 1 in the morning to finish an article for Vanity Fair, working on a laptop on his bedside table."
While we disagree with Hitchens' beliefs, his approach to his own death is one Christians should envy. The author of the article above found Hitchens joking about writing a book about the dying process: "It could be called What to Expect When You're Expecting, he said, laughing." The author adds: "Turning serious, [Hitchens] said, 'I've had some dark nights of the soul, of course, but giving in to depression would be a sellout, a defeat... I don't know why I got so sick. Maybe it was the smokes, or maybe it's genes. My father died of the same thing. It's pointless getting into remorse.' "
His atheist beliefs allow Hitchens to "expect" death in a way that honors the approach of the end and savor every day before the end comes. We can hope the same for ourselves, when the time comes.
THE WORD
Advent gives us practice in anticipating, a rare and unusual spiritual skill in this era of instant communication, food, books, and entertainment. The gospel text for this week (Mark 13:24-37) is part of the well-known "little apocalypse" in Mark. Matthew and Luke have parallel passages anticipating the end of the world and the coming of God's reign on earth. The people of the first century expected this return within their lifetimes and were disappointed. Disappointment doesn't remove the task of waiting, however.
The message that no one knows when this will happen seems clear enough -- and yet we long to know, just as people nearing the end of life ask, "How long?" As Edward Markquart writes about this passage, "Rather than spending time and energy trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together about the end, we are to be alert, ready, on edge, always prepared for Christ to come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night." Not knowing when makes us more attentive to the work of waiting.
The First Corinthians text also highlights anticipation, as Paul instructs those who "wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ" (v. 7). The risen Christ gives the gift of strength, so as we wait inside that strength beyond our own, "we may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ" (v. 8). God is faithful, Paul proclaims, and seeks the same from us as we wait purposefully.
The prophet Isaiah announces that God "will meet those who gladly do right, those who remember" (v. 5), but the people have forgotten to call on God's name. Isaiah calls us back to the work of faithfulness, back to the waiting for God's presence that endures longer than our faded righteous deeds and flimsy iniquities.
Waiting is spiritual work and Advent is our training season.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
Any talk of death as a prelude to Christmas will make some people anxious. A colleague of mine swears he almost got fired for saying once in a Sunday sermon, "All of us here are going to die." His congregation became so upset that they didn't hear anything else he said. Each of us as preachers will have to gauge our congregation's tolerance for this topic with some care.
These Advent texts are familiar but not beloved. We come to church after Thanksgiving, and in the middle of preparing for Christmas, and are greeted with these unsettling and often unwelcome proclamations about the end of the world we know. If we like the world just fine, this news doesn't seem good. The wise preacher will need to highlight why this is good news, and how we are to live in light of it.
A sermon might move from the practical preparations recommended for the end of life to the deeper work of inner preparation, to our communal preparation for God's coming in Advent. In every congregation, there will be people who have recently lost people they love, and the sermon should be sensitive to that fresh grief. Every congregation will also have people who faced the end of life with grace and purpose and whose living and dying are examples for the rest of us.
For us, as Christians, our anticipation of the end should be all the stronger, expecting as we do that we will meet the risen Christ. And yet our last days too are often filled with fear, guilt, pain, and panic. If we can learn to welcome God eagerly in Advent, and all year long, we will be all the more practiced in seeking God when the end of this life comes. God will find it all the easier to welcome us if we come with joyful anticipation and not kicking and screaming. If we can learn to look forward to God's coming with Advent as our teacher, then the greater reunion holds all the more joy when it comes.
ANOTHER VIEW
Sliding into Advent
by Dean Feldmeyer
Isaiah 64:1-9; Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:24-37
How shall we begin this new liturgical year? How shall we best prepare for the coming of the Messiah, whose birth we will celebrate in just four short weeks? The lectionary texts for today would suggest three "attitudes" or postures for entering this season.
Repentance
We start, in Isaiah, with the attitude of repentance -- literally, to turn around, to go in the opposite direction. We do not as a culture much value repentance. Confronted with our own sinfulness, our capacity for separation and estrangement, our proclivity for hurting those we love, we would rather "lawyer up" and point the finger at someone else. The old defense still applies: I didn't do it, but if I did do it it's not my fault.
In a recent column, conservative columnist Cal Thomas insists that the real culprit in the Penn State alleged child sex abuse scandal is a society that is too inclusive, too accepting, too tolerant, and too forgiving. Rather than point the finger where it belongs, at the alleged perpetrator of these heinous crimes and cruelties and those who intentionally chose to ignore and even cover them up, he chooses to blame the medical community for not equating homosexuality with mental illness and society in general for being accepting and tolerant of gay and lesbian people.
True biblical confession and repentance, however, are not about blaming others. They are about reflecting upon and evaluating our own lives. True confession and repentance is always inward-looking.
The "Confiteor" is the prayer of confession used by the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Episcopal, and Lutheran churches and is named for the first word of the prayer when it is recited in Latin, but an English translation will work better for our purposes: "I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, through my fault, through my own fault, through my own most grievous fault..."
My own fault. Not his fault or her fault or their fault. My fault.
The first posture with which we enter Advent is one of personal reflection, confession, and repentance.
Grace
The second posture is that of grace.
In 1 Corinthians 1:3-9, Paul speaks of God's grace in the past tense. He gives thanks for "the grace of God that has been given to you." It is already done. There is nothing they have to do to get it or earn it. It is a gift.
We have not repented so we will be forgiven -- we have repented because that is what we do when we become aware of the love with which God has already covered us like a blanket. Once we have confessed and repented, all that is left for us to do is to simply accept the fact that we are forgiven, accepted, and loved by God.
If we can assume this posture of grace for the season of Advent, we will realize that the ritual of giving and receiving gifts is not a chore or a duty but a re-enactment of that grace that God gives freely to us in Jesus Christ -- and that our only appropriate response is the humble acceptance of it.
Wakefulness
The third posture is wakefulness -- paying attention. Focus!
Pastors often liken their schedules during Advent to a pinball game. They feel like that steel ball, bouncing from one thing to another, never settling in one place very long, always on the move until they finally recite the last benediction at the last worship service on Christmas Eve and then slide down the chute and back home to collapse -- exhausted, broke, sleep-deprived, and grateful that this season comes but once a year.
We are a little melancholy that this season we have worked so hard to make meaningful for others has passed in a whirlwind of activities and events through which we often sleepwalked. The gospel lesson calls for us to wake up! Pay attention to the important stuff. Focus!
Advent is hectic and filled with activity... as it should be! The trick is to treat it not as a pinball game where we are shot and bounced about by forces outside our control. It is more like the bobsled event in the Olympics. It is a fast, sometimes rough ride that requires laser-like focus by the driver, but is ultimately exciting and filled with joy and satisfaction when you cross the finish line.
On this first Sunday of Advent, the lectionary readings remind us that if we do it right, we will be...
Refreshed by the unburdening that is true repentance...
Renewed by the grace of God in Jesus Christ, and...
Able to ride in to Christmas thrilled at the ride and filled with excitement.
ILLUSTRATIONS
A student once asked Martin Luther: "What would you do if you knew Jesus was returning tomorrow?" Luther replied that he would not be found by our Lord in some closet praying. Luther said he would rather be found in a garden, planting a tree. He would like to be found, at the Lord's return, taking care of his Creator's creation.
We do not know when our Lord will return. Only our Father in heaven knows when Christ will return. In the meantime, and through the "mean-times," we need to be about our Lord's business -- worshiping God, loving our neighbor, and caring for our Creator's creation.
* * *
The spiritual master assigned many disciplines and practices to his disciple, and the student asked, "How do these practices help me attain enlightenment?"
"You cannot attain enlightenment," replied the master, "any more than you can cause the sun to rise."
"Then what is the purpose of all these things you tell me to do?"
"To make sure that you are not asleep when the sun begins to rise."
* * *
He told me that once when he was a little boy, he spent all day Sunday watching at the window, waiting for Jesus to come to Bern. I asked him, "And in the evening, you were disappointed?"
He said, "No, the waiting was wonderful!" I think that attitude remained throughout his life.
-- Eberhard Busch, speaking about his friend and teacher Karl Barth
* * *
"Keep awake," warns Jesus -- "for you do not know when the master of the house will come...." This is a faith for the wee hours, for those bleak watches of the night. Except for those whose employment is nocturnal, people who wait and watch sleeplessly at such hours generally have deep worries. A loved one is dying, an intractable problem blocks sleep, some dark fear looms large enough to call forth a bleary-eyed vigilance. The sudden return of a long-absent and powerful master would incite fear in most servants' minds: but for these true believers who are keeping vigil, the heavy footfall on the doorstep is a sign of hope.
* * *
Poet and spiritual writer Kathleen Norris says of "eschatology" (literally, "the doctrine of the last things"):
I have come to regard the word as life-affirming in ways far more subtle than any dictionary definition could convey. What I mean is this: an acquaintance of mine, a brilliant young scholar, was stricken with cancer, and over the course of several years came close to dying three times, but after extensive treatment, both radiation and chemotherapy, came a welcome remission. Her prognosis was uncertain at best, but she was again able to teach, and write. "I'd never want to go back," she told her department head, an older woman, "because now I know what each morning means, and I am so grateful just to be alive." When the other woman said to her, "We've been through so much together in the last few years," the younger woman nodded, and smiled. "Yes," she said, emphatically. "Yes! And hasn't it been a blessing!"
"That," concludes Norris, "is eschatology."
-- Kathleen Norris, Amazing Grace (Riverhead, 1998), pp. 12-13
* * *
"O that you would tear open the heavens and come down" (Isaiah 64:1). Many American worshipers will still be savoring pleasant memories of Thanksgiving turkey when they hear these prophetic words burst into their consciousness, and they may consider them an unwelcome interruption. But the coming of Advent, the beginning of a new liturgical year, is meant to be intrusive. For the several prophets trading under the name of Isaiah, preaching to a despairing people in exile, the abrupt intrusion of God into human affairs is a sign of hope. Such is the case for oppressed people in every place and time, who have historically welcomed apocalyptic imagery far more readily than those who are complacent and satisfied. We sing "Our God Is an Awesome God" with radiant smiles on our faces: yet can we, who are for the most part comfortable and secure, even begin to understand what God's "awesome deeds" (Isaiah 64:3) are really like?
* * *
Fear has been much forgotten -- both by the world and by Christians in general. We rush toward angels unafraid. We approach the blazing furnaces of the seraphim with no more apprehension than children who reach laughingly for fire.
This fearlessness is not a sign of the character of God, as if God has changed through the centuries that divide us from Moses and Isaiah, from Zechariah and Mary and the shepherds. Rather, it is a sign of the character of this present age, of arrogance or of ignorance, whether or not one admits to a living God.
Mindlessly do the bells of secular celebrations jingle for Christmas. Meaninglessly do carols repeat their tinny joys in all the malls in America. No richer than soda pop is every sentimentalized Christmas special on television. Fearless is the world at play with godly things, because godless is its heart.
If God is a laughing Santy, why should we be afraid?
-- Walter Wangerin, Preparing For Jesus (Zondervan, 1999), pp. 59-60
* * *
Seeing what you believe is not always the same as believing what you see, and it took 50 years for that revelation. On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched into space the first satellite, Sputnik. People across the globe stared into the night sky to watch the blinking man-made object arc overhead. They were awed by science, watching the celestial marvel streak across the heavens. It has now been revealed by the designer of the spacecraft, Sergei Korolyov, that what was being viewed was the second stage of the rocket, not the satellite itself -- a 184-lb. sphere that was invisible to the naked eye. The satellite did no more than emit a repetitive beep, but it was enough to change the course of history. The race for space had begun.
We can become so transfixed by what we think is the truth that entertaining another borders on heresy. Preconceived notions are difficult to dissuade once entrenched in the psyche. Jesus accepted for himself the Christological title Son of Man, but he was discounted for failing to adhere to the apocalyptic imagery. Enveloped by facts, sealed with illustrations, the message was delivered absent a reader.
* * *
There are tearful events when we need to affirm there is a God who disposes of despots. Martin Luther King Jr. affirmed this in a telling speech. King thundered forth: "At times we need to know that the Lord is a God of justice. When slumbering giants of injustice emerge in the earth, we need to know that there is a God of power who can cut them down like the grass and leave them withering like the green herb. When our most tireless efforts fail to stop the surging sweep of oppression, we need to know that in this universe is a God whose matchless strength is a fit contrast to the sordid weakness of man." It is in the God who can swing the sickle that often becomes our basis for hope.
"Son of Man" was the most deliberately chosen title that Jesus selected for himself. It is used 82 times in the New Testament. With few exceptions Jesus always pronounced the title upon himself. One exception was an individual who questioned Jesus with these words: "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?" (John 12:34). The anonymous one from the crowd asked, "Who is this Son of Man and why must he be lifted up?" The man was understandably confused, for Jesus had redefined Son of Man.
Jesus' use of the term "Son of Man" did mirror the image pictured by Enoch. Jesus confirmed the Son of Man would come in judgment, returning to the glorious throne in heaven where he would rule righteously over a new world. The following saying parallels so many others pronounced by Jesus: "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats" (Matthew 25:31-32). The Son of Man is clearly the harbinger of justice.
Jesus was transparent when he declared himself to be the Son of Man, by substituting this title for the word "I." Instead of using the first person singular, Jesus uses the title "Son of Man." In a well-known declaration, Jesus said: "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head" (Luke 9:58). Jesus unapologetically made it known he was the long-awaited Messiah.
* * *
In Hebrew the word for "son of man" is bar-nasha, which simply means a man, a human being. It was only in the book of Daniel that it gained significance as a term for the liberator of a captive people. Daniel proclaimed: "I saw in the night visions, and behold with clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed" (Daniel 7:13-14).
This son of man could not be a mere mortal, for it was his assigned role to defeat the great empires that held Israel in ransom. These rulers were so callous, so cruel, so bestial that they could only be described as such by Daniel. There was the lion with eagle's wings (v. 4), which represented Babylonia. There was the bear with three ribs in its mouth (v. 5), which represented Assyria. There was the leopard with four wings and four heads (v. 6), which represented Persia. There was a fourth nameless beast with iron teeth, dreadful, terrible, irresistibly strong (v. 7), which represented the all-conquering empire of Macedonia and Alexander the Great. Only the son of man could tame these beasts.
As previous Israelite kings were incapable of defending the chosen people and restoring them to the Promised Land, the new Jewish leader would have to have divine power; thus the Son of Man would be the anticipated Messiah. Daniel 7 ushered in the messianic age. It was only an authoritative figure with astonishing prowess that could pounce upon foreign intruders, liberating Israel from its collar of servitude.
* * *
It was the synthesis of justice with mercy that baffled the adherents to Judaism. Justice they could accept; mercy they could not. This is one more reason why the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council, brought charges against Jesus. It was the reason why the Pharisees and Sadducees denounced his message and tried to dispose of his ministry. It was the reason why Judas, a Zealot, betrayed him. And it is the reason why his remaining eleven disciples were both surprised and confused and had difficulty accepting his death and resurrection. The inner circle of twelve could not associate the Son of Man portrayed by Daniel and Enoch with one crucified. It was the mission of Jesus to demonstrate that the real power against totalitarianism is pacifism, not the sword but the plowshare.
Let us both see and believe in the message before us. Let us not be blinded by preconceived notions or be myopic that the only means for establishing justice is the triumph of one force greater than another. Real power lies in one whose path leads to Calvary Hill. Mother Teresa, in her acceptance speech for the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize, proclaimed the power of humility. She began by referencing Jesus' dictate "I was hungry... I was naked... I was homeless... I was unwanted, unloved, uncared for... and you did it unto me." She followed: "And I think that we in our family don't need bombs and guns to destroy, to bring peace -- just get together, love one another, bring that peace, that joy, that presence of each other into the home. And we will be able to overcome all the evil that is in the world."
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock!
People: You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Leader: Stir up your might and come to save us!
People: Restore us, O God; let your face shine that we may be saved.
Leader: O God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people's prayers?
People: Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine that we may be saved.
OR
Leader: Come and turn your life toward God.
People: We come to repent; to turn to God and God's way.
Leader: Receive the grace and love of God.
People: We open our lives to the work of God's graciousness.
Leader: Let us wait on God with patience.
People: We will quit trying to do what only God can do. We will wait on God.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"Hail to the Lord's Anointed"
found in:
UMH: 203
H82: 616
AAHH: 187
NCH: 140
CH: 140
LBW: 87
ELW: 311
Renew: 101
"I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light"
found in:
UMH: 206
H82: 490
ELW: 815
Renew: 152
"O Come, O Come Emmanuel"
found in:
UMH: 211
H82: 56
PH: 9
AAHH: 188
NNBH: 82
NCH: 116
CH: 119
LBW: 34
ELW: 257
"Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates"
found in:
UMH: 213
H82: 436
PH: 8
NCH: 117
CH: 129
LBW: 32
Renew: 59
"Dear Lord and Father of Mankind"
found in:
UMH: 358
H82: 652/653
PH: 345
NCH: 502
CH: 594
LBW: 506
"It Is Well with My Soul"
found in:
UMH: 377
AAHH: 377
NNBH: 255
NCH: 438
CH: 561
ELW: 785
"Amazing Grace"
found in:
UMH: 378
H82: 671
PH: 280
AAHH: 271/272
NNBH: 161/163
NCH: 547/548
CH: 546
LBW: 448
ELW: 779
"Awake, O Sleeper"
found in:
UMH: 551
H82: 547
ELW: 452
"People Need the Lord"
found in:
CCB: 52
"Change My Heart, O God"
found in:
CCB: 56
Renew: 143
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
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
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who comes, has come, and will come again: Grant us the grace to be attentive to your presence even as we anticipate your coming to establish your reign forever; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We have gathered, O God, to celebrate the time of waiting, of Advent. At this time we are preparing for the celebration of your Son's coming among us as a babe in Bethlehem; we are anticipating his coming again in glory to bring your reign to its fullness; we are aware of his presence among us now. Help us during this season to realize that it calls us but to do what we need to be doing all year long. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our reluctance to repent and prepare for the coming of Jesus in celebration of your reign fully being realized on earth as it is in heaven.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We continue to think that we can change the world, or we think the world cannot be changed. We forget your gracious promises and the ways you have always kept them. We are here in this Advent season to slow down and turn around so that we face your coming reign with patience and hope. Grant us the grace to accept your reign more fully in our lives so that it will more fully come in all creation. Amen.
Leader: God's reign is coming. Wait for it. It is coming now in you as God grants you forgiveness and the opportunity to live more fully as a disciple of Jesus.
Prayer for Illumination
Shine the light of your Spirit upon us, O God, so that in the scriptures we may hear your word speak to us. Help us to focus on your promise to come and be with us now and always. Amen.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We offer our praise and worship to you, O God, because you are the one who reigns over all creation. You do not rule as humans rule but with compassion and by gently wooing.
(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. We continue to think that we can change the world, or we think the world cannot be changed. We forget your gracious promises and the ways you have always kept them. We are here in this Advent season to slow down and turn around so that we face your coming reign with patience and hope. Grant us the grace to accept your reign more fully in our lives so that it will more fully come in all creation.
We give you thanks for all the signs we have that you are with us. We thank you for Jesus and for the presence of your Spirit among us. We thank you for our sisters and brothers who show us how your reign should be among us.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We offer to you the cares of our hearts and the hurts of this world. Help us to be faithful to you so that your healing may be at work in all the 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 Lord's Prayer 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 Starter
Talk to the children about how hard it is to wait for Christmas. Talk about how much there is to do with decorating and presents to buy... and we know when Christmas is coming. We also need to be ready to welcome Jesus when he comes again. But we don't know when that will be. We just need to love God and care for each other, expecting he may come at any time.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Watch OutÖ He's Coming!
Mark 13:24-37
Object: binoculars; an image of someone keeping watch on a ship
Good morning, boys and girls! Today we are looking forward to the time when Jesus will return and that means we should be keeping watch. How many of you have ever seen a movie or a picture of a person keeping watch on a ship? (let the children answer; show an image of someone on ship watch if you have one) What do people do who are keeping watch? (let them answer) That's right, they sort of stretch their necks, put their hands over their eyes so that the sun doesn't affect them, and look in all directions. If they do see something, they lift their binoculars up to their eyes and take a closer look. (look through the binoculars or pretend you are looking through them if you don't have any available) That is called keeping watch.
Christians should always be keeping watch for the return of Jesus. We don't know when Jesus is coming back, but we should be ready for him when he does come back. There were only a few who were looking for him when he came the first time, but all of us have been told to be ready for him when he comes again.
How would you get ready for Jesus if you thought he might come here to our church today or to your home tonight? (let them answer) All of those ideas sound pretty good to me, but the important thing to do is to be sure that we know when he arrives. Put your hand over your eyes on your forehead and begin to look around to see if you can see Jesus anywhere. Do you see him? (let them answer) You are looking so you will be ready if you do see him or hear about him from someone else who has seen him.
We want to be ready since we do not know when he is coming. We want to be looking for Jesus so that we can be ready to welcome him into our hearts as well as our homes.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, November 27, 2011, issue.
Copyright 2011 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.
For most of our people, the second coming seems pretty remote -- and in this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Mary Austin suggests that in terms of how we relate to it, a useful metaphor may lie in how we approach death in our culture. Similar to how we are counseled in the gospel passage to be alert and prepared, especially because we "do not know when the time will come," wise people have their affairs in order long before death is imminent. Yet for many, death is such an uncomfortable proposition that until we're forced by circumstances to confront it directly, we often engage in denial and treat its inevitability as something remote to our current lives. It's as if we attempt to keep death boxed up in the attic like our Christmas decorations -- only dusting them off and bringing them down when the season arrives. A good example of that behavior may lie in reports that a large percentage of baby boomers have neglected to prepare wills... and if we take the same cavalier approach to the prospect of the Lord's return, it is likely that he will "find [us] asleep when he comes suddenly."
Mary notes that while the idea that how we anticipate our own death may be a good analogy for the watchful anticipation we bring to the parousia may strike some of our people as macabre, we could profit greatly from treating Advent as a training season of sorts in which we can practice anticipation. Our attitudes toward death shine a spotlight on what we truly believe, and Mary points out that noted writer and atheist Christopher Hitchens' resoluteness in the face of his own mortality may provide Christians with an ironic role model. Despite suffering from terminal cancer and conceding that his "time" is near, there have been no deathbed conversions -- and Hitchens even made a point of recently attending a conference where he was praised "for showing his atheist determination even in the face of death" and "disproving the saying that there are 'no atheists in foxholes' ". That raises the question: Do we Christians, who view death as the doorway to a better place, have the same determination and resoluteness about our beliefs as Hitchens and his ilk? Are we willing to keep awake and be prepared for the Lord's return, bringing our faith down from the attic and displaying it just as prominently and festively as we do our Christmas decorations?
Team member Dean Feldmeyer shares some additional thoughts about the appropriate attitudes we ought to bring to Advent if we expect the return of God's reign to benefit us. In addition to watchful preparation, Dean suggests that our scripture texts instruct us to enter Advent with a posture of grace as well as confession and repentance. Of course, our culture tends to resist the entire notion of personal confession and repentance, as every scandal that breaks into the headlines reminds us. Our concern seems to be more with limiting our liability by pointing fingers at others rather than confessing our own sinfulness and facing up to the consequences of our actions.
Anticipation -- It's Keepin' Me Waitin'
by Mary Austin
Mark 13:24-37; Isaiah 64:1-9; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9
The first Sunday of Advent draws us back to an uncomfortable practice -- anticipation. Each year our culture speeds up and our ability to suspend our desires diminishes. Then Advent comes and asks us to do what we hate to do... wait. Being in a state of anticipation, suspended between wish and fulfillment, is alien to us.
Advent prompts us to look forward to the coming of Christ, even as we look backward to the coming of the Christ Child. We remember and anticipate at the same time. The same twin practices of looking backward and forward also prepare us for our own death, whenever the day comes, and the time when we, as people of faith, believe that we will meet the risen Lord.
Noted atheist Christopher Hitchens is preparing for his own death, firm in his beliefs to the last. Can we match him with the same level of conviction when the time comes for us?
THE WORLD
As a hospice chaplain, I understand how uncomfortable the topic of death is for many of us. Talk of dying during the holiday season is especially unwelcome. The combination of death and Christmas music, decor and family fun feels wrong. Our hospice, like many, experiences a surge of admissions to the program after the holidays, as people want to get through the festivities before they face the reality of needing more care.
Yet there is a deep connection between our longing to see Jesus in the Christmas season and the time when we will meet him face-to-face. Just as Advent prepares us for Christmas, the practice of anticipating Christ also prepares us for the Advent of life's end and the beginning of the life to come.
Part of preparing for death is practical -- wills, trusts, bequests, and funeral planning. The deeper preparation comes in our beliefs and attitudes.
Author and prominent atheist Christopher Hitchens, diagnosed in June 2010 with stage 4 esophageal cancer, was in the news recently for receiving an award from the Atheist Alliance of America. Hitchens is aware that his "time is coming"; yet he is facing the end of life with his beliefs as strong and vibrant as ever. Hitchens is famous for being a prolific writer, drinker, and smoker, although the drinking and smoking have stopped now that he is so ill. Yet Charles McGrath notes in the New York Times that in most other ways, "Mr. Hitchens is undiminished, preferring to see himself as living with cancer, not dying from it. He still holds forth in dazzlingly clever and erudite paragraphs, pausing only to catch a breath or let a punch line resonate, and though he says his legendary productivity has fallen off a little since his illness, he still writes faster than most people talk. Last week he stayed up until 1 in the morning to finish an article for Vanity Fair, working on a laptop on his bedside table."
While we disagree with Hitchens' beliefs, his approach to his own death is one Christians should envy. The author of the article above found Hitchens joking about writing a book about the dying process: "It could be called What to Expect When You're Expecting, he said, laughing." The author adds: "Turning serious, [Hitchens] said, 'I've had some dark nights of the soul, of course, but giving in to depression would be a sellout, a defeat... I don't know why I got so sick. Maybe it was the smokes, or maybe it's genes. My father died of the same thing. It's pointless getting into remorse.' "
His atheist beliefs allow Hitchens to "expect" death in a way that honors the approach of the end and savor every day before the end comes. We can hope the same for ourselves, when the time comes.
THE WORD
Advent gives us practice in anticipating, a rare and unusual spiritual skill in this era of instant communication, food, books, and entertainment. The gospel text for this week (Mark 13:24-37) is part of the well-known "little apocalypse" in Mark. Matthew and Luke have parallel passages anticipating the end of the world and the coming of God's reign on earth. The people of the first century expected this return within their lifetimes and were disappointed. Disappointment doesn't remove the task of waiting, however.
The message that no one knows when this will happen seems clear enough -- and yet we long to know, just as people nearing the end of life ask, "How long?" As Edward Markquart writes about this passage, "Rather than spending time and energy trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together about the end, we are to be alert, ready, on edge, always prepared for Christ to come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night." Not knowing when makes us more attentive to the work of waiting.
The First Corinthians text also highlights anticipation, as Paul instructs those who "wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ" (v. 7). The risen Christ gives the gift of strength, so as we wait inside that strength beyond our own, "we may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ" (v. 8). God is faithful, Paul proclaims, and seeks the same from us as we wait purposefully.
The prophet Isaiah announces that God "will meet those who gladly do right, those who remember" (v. 5), but the people have forgotten to call on God's name. Isaiah calls us back to the work of faithfulness, back to the waiting for God's presence that endures longer than our faded righteous deeds and flimsy iniquities.
Waiting is spiritual work and Advent is our training season.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
Any talk of death as a prelude to Christmas will make some people anxious. A colleague of mine swears he almost got fired for saying once in a Sunday sermon, "All of us here are going to die." His congregation became so upset that they didn't hear anything else he said. Each of us as preachers will have to gauge our congregation's tolerance for this topic with some care.
These Advent texts are familiar but not beloved. We come to church after Thanksgiving, and in the middle of preparing for Christmas, and are greeted with these unsettling and often unwelcome proclamations about the end of the world we know. If we like the world just fine, this news doesn't seem good. The wise preacher will need to highlight why this is good news, and how we are to live in light of it.
A sermon might move from the practical preparations recommended for the end of life to the deeper work of inner preparation, to our communal preparation for God's coming in Advent. In every congregation, there will be people who have recently lost people they love, and the sermon should be sensitive to that fresh grief. Every congregation will also have people who faced the end of life with grace and purpose and whose living and dying are examples for the rest of us.
For us, as Christians, our anticipation of the end should be all the stronger, expecting as we do that we will meet the risen Christ. And yet our last days too are often filled with fear, guilt, pain, and panic. If we can learn to welcome God eagerly in Advent, and all year long, we will be all the more practiced in seeking God when the end of this life comes. God will find it all the easier to welcome us if we come with joyful anticipation and not kicking and screaming. If we can learn to look forward to God's coming with Advent as our teacher, then the greater reunion holds all the more joy when it comes.
ANOTHER VIEW
Sliding into Advent
by Dean Feldmeyer
Isaiah 64:1-9; Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:24-37
How shall we begin this new liturgical year? How shall we best prepare for the coming of the Messiah, whose birth we will celebrate in just four short weeks? The lectionary texts for today would suggest three "attitudes" or postures for entering this season.
Repentance
We start, in Isaiah, with the attitude of repentance -- literally, to turn around, to go in the opposite direction. We do not as a culture much value repentance. Confronted with our own sinfulness, our capacity for separation and estrangement, our proclivity for hurting those we love, we would rather "lawyer up" and point the finger at someone else. The old defense still applies: I didn't do it, but if I did do it it's not my fault.
In a recent column, conservative columnist Cal Thomas insists that the real culprit in the Penn State alleged child sex abuse scandal is a society that is too inclusive, too accepting, too tolerant, and too forgiving. Rather than point the finger where it belongs, at the alleged perpetrator of these heinous crimes and cruelties and those who intentionally chose to ignore and even cover them up, he chooses to blame the medical community for not equating homosexuality with mental illness and society in general for being accepting and tolerant of gay and lesbian people.
True biblical confession and repentance, however, are not about blaming others. They are about reflecting upon and evaluating our own lives. True confession and repentance is always inward-looking.
The "Confiteor" is the prayer of confession used by the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Episcopal, and Lutheran churches and is named for the first word of the prayer when it is recited in Latin, but an English translation will work better for our purposes: "I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, through my fault, through my own fault, through my own most grievous fault..."
My own fault. Not his fault or her fault or their fault. My fault.
The first posture with which we enter Advent is one of personal reflection, confession, and repentance.
Grace
The second posture is that of grace.
In 1 Corinthians 1:3-9, Paul speaks of God's grace in the past tense. He gives thanks for "the grace of God that has been given to you." It is already done. There is nothing they have to do to get it or earn it. It is a gift.
We have not repented so we will be forgiven -- we have repented because that is what we do when we become aware of the love with which God has already covered us like a blanket. Once we have confessed and repented, all that is left for us to do is to simply accept the fact that we are forgiven, accepted, and loved by God.
If we can assume this posture of grace for the season of Advent, we will realize that the ritual of giving and receiving gifts is not a chore or a duty but a re-enactment of that grace that God gives freely to us in Jesus Christ -- and that our only appropriate response is the humble acceptance of it.
Wakefulness
The third posture is wakefulness -- paying attention. Focus!
Pastors often liken their schedules during Advent to a pinball game. They feel like that steel ball, bouncing from one thing to another, never settling in one place very long, always on the move until they finally recite the last benediction at the last worship service on Christmas Eve and then slide down the chute and back home to collapse -- exhausted, broke, sleep-deprived, and grateful that this season comes but once a year.
We are a little melancholy that this season we have worked so hard to make meaningful for others has passed in a whirlwind of activities and events through which we often sleepwalked. The gospel lesson calls for us to wake up! Pay attention to the important stuff. Focus!
Advent is hectic and filled with activity... as it should be! The trick is to treat it not as a pinball game where we are shot and bounced about by forces outside our control. It is more like the bobsled event in the Olympics. It is a fast, sometimes rough ride that requires laser-like focus by the driver, but is ultimately exciting and filled with joy and satisfaction when you cross the finish line.
On this first Sunday of Advent, the lectionary readings remind us that if we do it right, we will be...
Refreshed by the unburdening that is true repentance...
Renewed by the grace of God in Jesus Christ, and...
Able to ride in to Christmas thrilled at the ride and filled with excitement.
ILLUSTRATIONS
A student once asked Martin Luther: "What would you do if you knew Jesus was returning tomorrow?" Luther replied that he would not be found by our Lord in some closet praying. Luther said he would rather be found in a garden, planting a tree. He would like to be found, at the Lord's return, taking care of his Creator's creation.
We do not know when our Lord will return. Only our Father in heaven knows when Christ will return. In the meantime, and through the "mean-times," we need to be about our Lord's business -- worshiping God, loving our neighbor, and caring for our Creator's creation.
* * *
The spiritual master assigned many disciplines and practices to his disciple, and the student asked, "How do these practices help me attain enlightenment?"
"You cannot attain enlightenment," replied the master, "any more than you can cause the sun to rise."
"Then what is the purpose of all these things you tell me to do?"
"To make sure that you are not asleep when the sun begins to rise."
* * *
He told me that once when he was a little boy, he spent all day Sunday watching at the window, waiting for Jesus to come to Bern. I asked him, "And in the evening, you were disappointed?"
He said, "No, the waiting was wonderful!" I think that attitude remained throughout his life.
-- Eberhard Busch, speaking about his friend and teacher Karl Barth
* * *
"Keep awake," warns Jesus -- "for you do not know when the master of the house will come...." This is a faith for the wee hours, for those bleak watches of the night. Except for those whose employment is nocturnal, people who wait and watch sleeplessly at such hours generally have deep worries. A loved one is dying, an intractable problem blocks sleep, some dark fear looms large enough to call forth a bleary-eyed vigilance. The sudden return of a long-absent and powerful master would incite fear in most servants' minds: but for these true believers who are keeping vigil, the heavy footfall on the doorstep is a sign of hope.
* * *
Poet and spiritual writer Kathleen Norris says of "eschatology" (literally, "the doctrine of the last things"):
I have come to regard the word as life-affirming in ways far more subtle than any dictionary definition could convey. What I mean is this: an acquaintance of mine, a brilliant young scholar, was stricken with cancer, and over the course of several years came close to dying three times, but after extensive treatment, both radiation and chemotherapy, came a welcome remission. Her prognosis was uncertain at best, but she was again able to teach, and write. "I'd never want to go back," she told her department head, an older woman, "because now I know what each morning means, and I am so grateful just to be alive." When the other woman said to her, "We've been through so much together in the last few years," the younger woman nodded, and smiled. "Yes," she said, emphatically. "Yes! And hasn't it been a blessing!"
"That," concludes Norris, "is eschatology."
-- Kathleen Norris, Amazing Grace (Riverhead, 1998), pp. 12-13
* * *
"O that you would tear open the heavens and come down" (Isaiah 64:1). Many American worshipers will still be savoring pleasant memories of Thanksgiving turkey when they hear these prophetic words burst into their consciousness, and they may consider them an unwelcome interruption. But the coming of Advent, the beginning of a new liturgical year, is meant to be intrusive. For the several prophets trading under the name of Isaiah, preaching to a despairing people in exile, the abrupt intrusion of God into human affairs is a sign of hope. Such is the case for oppressed people in every place and time, who have historically welcomed apocalyptic imagery far more readily than those who are complacent and satisfied. We sing "Our God Is an Awesome God" with radiant smiles on our faces: yet can we, who are for the most part comfortable and secure, even begin to understand what God's "awesome deeds" (Isaiah 64:3) are really like?
* * *
Fear has been much forgotten -- both by the world and by Christians in general. We rush toward angels unafraid. We approach the blazing furnaces of the seraphim with no more apprehension than children who reach laughingly for fire.
This fearlessness is not a sign of the character of God, as if God has changed through the centuries that divide us from Moses and Isaiah, from Zechariah and Mary and the shepherds. Rather, it is a sign of the character of this present age, of arrogance or of ignorance, whether or not one admits to a living God.
Mindlessly do the bells of secular celebrations jingle for Christmas. Meaninglessly do carols repeat their tinny joys in all the malls in America. No richer than soda pop is every sentimentalized Christmas special on television. Fearless is the world at play with godly things, because godless is its heart.
If God is a laughing Santy, why should we be afraid?
-- Walter Wangerin, Preparing For Jesus (Zondervan, 1999), pp. 59-60
* * *
Seeing what you believe is not always the same as believing what you see, and it took 50 years for that revelation. On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched into space the first satellite, Sputnik. People across the globe stared into the night sky to watch the blinking man-made object arc overhead. They were awed by science, watching the celestial marvel streak across the heavens. It has now been revealed by the designer of the spacecraft, Sergei Korolyov, that what was being viewed was the second stage of the rocket, not the satellite itself -- a 184-lb. sphere that was invisible to the naked eye. The satellite did no more than emit a repetitive beep, but it was enough to change the course of history. The race for space had begun.
We can become so transfixed by what we think is the truth that entertaining another borders on heresy. Preconceived notions are difficult to dissuade once entrenched in the psyche. Jesus accepted for himself the Christological title Son of Man, but he was discounted for failing to adhere to the apocalyptic imagery. Enveloped by facts, sealed with illustrations, the message was delivered absent a reader.
* * *
There are tearful events when we need to affirm there is a God who disposes of despots. Martin Luther King Jr. affirmed this in a telling speech. King thundered forth: "At times we need to know that the Lord is a God of justice. When slumbering giants of injustice emerge in the earth, we need to know that there is a God of power who can cut them down like the grass and leave them withering like the green herb. When our most tireless efforts fail to stop the surging sweep of oppression, we need to know that in this universe is a God whose matchless strength is a fit contrast to the sordid weakness of man." It is in the God who can swing the sickle that often becomes our basis for hope.
"Son of Man" was the most deliberately chosen title that Jesus selected for himself. It is used 82 times in the New Testament. With few exceptions Jesus always pronounced the title upon himself. One exception was an individual who questioned Jesus with these words: "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?" (John 12:34). The anonymous one from the crowd asked, "Who is this Son of Man and why must he be lifted up?" The man was understandably confused, for Jesus had redefined Son of Man.
Jesus' use of the term "Son of Man" did mirror the image pictured by Enoch. Jesus confirmed the Son of Man would come in judgment, returning to the glorious throne in heaven where he would rule righteously over a new world. The following saying parallels so many others pronounced by Jesus: "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats" (Matthew 25:31-32). The Son of Man is clearly the harbinger of justice.
Jesus was transparent when he declared himself to be the Son of Man, by substituting this title for the word "I." Instead of using the first person singular, Jesus uses the title "Son of Man." In a well-known declaration, Jesus said: "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head" (Luke 9:58). Jesus unapologetically made it known he was the long-awaited Messiah.
* * *
In Hebrew the word for "son of man" is bar-nasha, which simply means a man, a human being. It was only in the book of Daniel that it gained significance as a term for the liberator of a captive people. Daniel proclaimed: "I saw in the night visions, and behold with clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed" (Daniel 7:13-14).
This son of man could not be a mere mortal, for it was his assigned role to defeat the great empires that held Israel in ransom. These rulers were so callous, so cruel, so bestial that they could only be described as such by Daniel. There was the lion with eagle's wings (v. 4), which represented Babylonia. There was the bear with three ribs in its mouth (v. 5), which represented Assyria. There was the leopard with four wings and four heads (v. 6), which represented Persia. There was a fourth nameless beast with iron teeth, dreadful, terrible, irresistibly strong (v. 7), which represented the all-conquering empire of Macedonia and Alexander the Great. Only the son of man could tame these beasts.
As previous Israelite kings were incapable of defending the chosen people and restoring them to the Promised Land, the new Jewish leader would have to have divine power; thus the Son of Man would be the anticipated Messiah. Daniel 7 ushered in the messianic age. It was only an authoritative figure with astonishing prowess that could pounce upon foreign intruders, liberating Israel from its collar of servitude.
* * *
It was the synthesis of justice with mercy that baffled the adherents to Judaism. Justice they could accept; mercy they could not. This is one more reason why the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council, brought charges against Jesus. It was the reason why the Pharisees and Sadducees denounced his message and tried to dispose of his ministry. It was the reason why Judas, a Zealot, betrayed him. And it is the reason why his remaining eleven disciples were both surprised and confused and had difficulty accepting his death and resurrection. The inner circle of twelve could not associate the Son of Man portrayed by Daniel and Enoch with one crucified. It was the mission of Jesus to demonstrate that the real power against totalitarianism is pacifism, not the sword but the plowshare.
Let us both see and believe in the message before us. Let us not be blinded by preconceived notions or be myopic that the only means for establishing justice is the triumph of one force greater than another. Real power lies in one whose path leads to Calvary Hill. Mother Teresa, in her acceptance speech for the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize, proclaimed the power of humility. She began by referencing Jesus' dictate "I was hungry... I was naked... I was homeless... I was unwanted, unloved, uncared for... and you did it unto me." She followed: "And I think that we in our family don't need bombs and guns to destroy, to bring peace -- just get together, love one another, bring that peace, that joy, that presence of each other into the home. And we will be able to overcome all the evil that is in the world."
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock!
People: You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Leader: Stir up your might and come to save us!
People: Restore us, O God; let your face shine that we may be saved.
Leader: O God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people's prayers?
People: Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine that we may be saved.
OR
Leader: Come and turn your life toward God.
People: We come to repent; to turn to God and God's way.
Leader: Receive the grace and love of God.
People: We open our lives to the work of God's graciousness.
Leader: Let us wait on God with patience.
People: We will quit trying to do what only God can do. We will wait on God.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"Hail to the Lord's Anointed"
found in:
UMH: 203
H82: 616
AAHH: 187
NCH: 140
CH: 140
LBW: 87
ELW: 311
Renew: 101
"I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light"
found in:
UMH: 206
H82: 490
ELW: 815
Renew: 152
"O Come, O Come Emmanuel"
found in:
UMH: 211
H82: 56
PH: 9
AAHH: 188
NNBH: 82
NCH: 116
CH: 119
LBW: 34
ELW: 257
"Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates"
found in:
UMH: 213
H82: 436
PH: 8
NCH: 117
CH: 129
LBW: 32
Renew: 59
"Dear Lord and Father of Mankind"
found in:
UMH: 358
H82: 652/653
PH: 345
NCH: 502
CH: 594
LBW: 506
"It Is Well with My Soul"
found in:
UMH: 377
AAHH: 377
NNBH: 255
NCH: 438
CH: 561
ELW: 785
"Amazing Grace"
found in:
UMH: 378
H82: 671
PH: 280
AAHH: 271/272
NNBH: 161/163
NCH: 547/548
CH: 546
LBW: 448
ELW: 779
"Awake, O Sleeper"
found in:
UMH: 551
H82: 547
ELW: 452
"People Need the Lord"
found in:
CCB: 52
"Change My Heart, O God"
found in:
CCB: 56
Renew: 143
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
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
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who comes, has come, and will come again: Grant us the grace to be attentive to your presence even as we anticipate your coming to establish your reign forever; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We have gathered, O God, to celebrate the time of waiting, of Advent. At this time we are preparing for the celebration of your Son's coming among us as a babe in Bethlehem; we are anticipating his coming again in glory to bring your reign to its fullness; we are aware of his presence among us now. Help us during this season to realize that it calls us but to do what we need to be doing all year long. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our reluctance to repent and prepare for the coming of Jesus in celebration of your reign fully being realized on earth as it is in heaven.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We continue to think that we can change the world, or we think the world cannot be changed. We forget your gracious promises and the ways you have always kept them. We are here in this Advent season to slow down and turn around so that we face your coming reign with patience and hope. Grant us the grace to accept your reign more fully in our lives so that it will more fully come in all creation. Amen.
Leader: God's reign is coming. Wait for it. It is coming now in you as God grants you forgiveness and the opportunity to live more fully as a disciple of Jesus.
Prayer for Illumination
Shine the light of your Spirit upon us, O God, so that in the scriptures we may hear your word speak to us. Help us to focus on your promise to come and be with us now and always. Amen.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We offer our praise and worship to you, O God, because you are the one who reigns over all creation. You do not rule as humans rule but with compassion and by gently wooing.
(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. We continue to think that we can change the world, or we think the world cannot be changed. We forget your gracious promises and the ways you have always kept them. We are here in this Advent season to slow down and turn around so that we face your coming reign with patience and hope. Grant us the grace to accept your reign more fully in our lives so that it will more fully come in all creation.
We give you thanks for all the signs we have that you are with us. We thank you for Jesus and for the presence of your Spirit among us. We thank you for our sisters and brothers who show us how your reign should be among us.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We offer to you the cares of our hearts and the hurts of this world. Help us to be faithful to you so that your healing may be at work in all the 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 Lord's Prayer 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 Starter
Talk to the children about how hard it is to wait for Christmas. Talk about how much there is to do with decorating and presents to buy... and we know when Christmas is coming. We also need to be ready to welcome Jesus when he comes again. But we don't know when that will be. We just need to love God and care for each other, expecting he may come at any time.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Watch OutÖ He's Coming!
Mark 13:24-37
Object: binoculars; an image of someone keeping watch on a ship
Good morning, boys and girls! Today we are looking forward to the time when Jesus will return and that means we should be keeping watch. How many of you have ever seen a movie or a picture of a person keeping watch on a ship? (let the children answer; show an image of someone on ship watch if you have one) What do people do who are keeping watch? (let them answer) That's right, they sort of stretch their necks, put their hands over their eyes so that the sun doesn't affect them, and look in all directions. If they do see something, they lift their binoculars up to their eyes and take a closer look. (look through the binoculars or pretend you are looking through them if you don't have any available) That is called keeping watch.
Christians should always be keeping watch for the return of Jesus. We don't know when Jesus is coming back, but we should be ready for him when he does come back. There were only a few who were looking for him when he came the first time, but all of us have been told to be ready for him when he comes again.
How would you get ready for Jesus if you thought he might come here to our church today or to your home tonight? (let them answer) All of those ideas sound pretty good to me, but the important thing to do is to be sure that we know when he arrives. Put your hand over your eyes on your forehead and begin to look around to see if you can see Jesus anywhere. Do you see him? (let them answer) You are looking so you will be ready if you do see him or hear about him from someone else who has seen him.
We want to be ready since we do not know when he is coming. We want to be looking for Jesus so that we can be ready to welcome him into our hearts as well as our homes.
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The Immediate Word, November 27, 2011, issue.
Copyright 2011 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.
