PLEASE NOTE: CHURCH SERVICES ARE CURRENTLY 2020
Today is the first Sunday of Advent, November 28. It's Thanksgiving weekend. Our celebrations were quieter ones but still sincere. There is still much in midst to fill us with gratefulness. Even in struggle and solitude, our God is with us, and hope is ours in abundance. Today we light the first candle of the Advent Wreath. The lighting of an Advent Wreath is something that you can do at home. Even without a wreath or colored candles, a simple candle a week can be lit with prayer. Bring out a candle and give it a try; just wait a moment before lighting it.
We open our hearts to the presence of God and worship together:
Call to Worship:
Awake with hope, people of God, a new day is coming.
Arise with an open heart and welcome God's appearing.
May God make wisdom and grace known to us,
and show us once more God's awesome presence.
Our God is with us. We welcome the Holy One in our midst.
We are all God’s people; no one is excluded.
With united our hearts together as God’s family.
Let the mountains quake before you, mighty God.
Let the nations tremble in awe and reverence.
Come and awaken our senses us with your light and delight.
We praise you O God who gives us the gift of life.
We thank you for your continued love for us
Lighting of our Advent Wreath:
Today is the first Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of Hope.
Our hope is in God who made heaven and earth.
Our hope is in God who has come to us in the flesh.
Our hope is in God the Spirit, the One of blessing and promise.
Today we light the Prophets’ Candle, the light of hope.
We call to mind the promises of our God and hold to
the vision of a new heaven and a new earth.
All thanks and praise to our God of hope who has promised
to save us. May our hope burn brightly even in the darkness
of suffering and violence.
(Our first candle is lit)
Holy One of all ages, continue to illumine our hearts and minds. By the power of the Holy Spirit touch us, heal us, and transform us so that all we say and do may be pleasing unto you. Amen.
Opening Prayer:
Good and Gracious God, we continue our thanksgiving as we look afresh to you. We give you thanks for the blessing of this new day, and for the light of your hope that shines for us all. We thank you for the simple gifts of fresh air to breath and clean water to drink. We thank you for the profound gifts of love in our hearts, of friends and family who encourage and support us. We thank you for a community of faith that shares our joys and our sorrows, and that encourages us to be our best. We thank you for the power and privilege of prayer.
Amid threatening clouds of anger and selfish strife, come, Dear Lord, and shine brightly in our midst. Into our days of worry and anxiety, send a confident hope into the hearts of all your people. Enrich us with spiritual gifts that transcend disappointments and spill out in generous compassion for all your suffering children. Meet us today where we are so we may be equipped for trials yet to come and for joys yet to be revealed.
Be with us in this time of worship, and grace us with your Words of Life to sustain and lift us up in strength and peace. It is in Jesus' Name we gather and we pray. Amen.
Hymn: "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" (Lyrics, Hymnal #116)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO7ySn-Swwc
Our Scripture Lessons:
Isaiah 64:1-9; Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:24-37
Reflection:
Advent is here. In the years when Advent begins on Thanksgiving weekend, I always have a bit of a hard time with getting my head into the season. My mind tends to stay in the Harvest Festival, with thoughts of turkey soup and warm mashed potatoes and gravy. As I don't rush out to do Black Friday shopping, Christmas remains a bit far off for me.
Yet the first week's theme of hope, and even the lessons this day in this new church year, speak to me. I can fully relate to Isaiah's plea to God that God would show up in a big way for all to see...that God would vanquish all the bad guys and end the evil of our days...that God would deliver us all from the troubles that beset us. That I get. But none of that seems very Christmas-y.
Hope, God knows, hope shines bright and sparks prayers for us all, especially this year. We all hope for an end to our pandemic days. We all hope for life to return to a more normal level. With news of vaccines in the coming weeks, our hope is certainly brighter. But hope, like our thanks-giving, is always in season. We always seem to be living in days that challenge us to check our fears with hope. There's hope for an end to violence and prejudice, hope for more understanding and compassion, hope for a better sense of togetherness, of unity, hope for cures, for health, for help. We always have to be a people of hope.
Advent is here, but Christmas is still a bit far off. Yet I know we'll get there. That, perhaps, is how Advent hope is best expressed. It's expressed by laying out the hope and looking at it. It can still seem far off, but it's a matter of believing that we'll get there. Then comes the active part of hope.
For Christmas to begin to feel real for me, I know I need to open my eyes, to awaken -- as per the Gospel lesson -- to its coming. I need to pay attention to the lights that begin to appear on the landscape, to the decorations that return to be displayed, and the Christmas music and films that more readily fill the airwaves. Before long, I'll likely find that even here at home, I'll put out the Christmas elements; I'll be an active agent of my Christmas that comes.
The same is true for the true hope that resides within us. We need to awaken to its appearing. We need to look to signs of hope's arrival and be active agents of our own hope. The realization of our hope may seem far off, but hope, like Christmas, must believed and actively helped. Take hold of the hope that is within you and let it shine. Give it prayer, give it time, but bring it out. And know, too, as Paul reminds us, God will strengthen us. Be blessed by God. Amen.
Prayer:
Gracious God, we give you thanks for every good thing comes from your hands. We're thankful for lessons of your mighty power through the ages, for miracles and wonder that have long been gifts to the earth and to your people. You continue to shape us with the work of your hands, and you gentle guide us through the storms of life. You, our God, continue to be our support in times of need. Dear Lord, we seek to be awake and watchful for your presence in our midst. Enlighten us see opportunities to make a difference and to help others be alert for your presence. Continue to enrich us with a sense of the true value of life in all its fullness, and help us to learn well to care more widely and deeply.
Loving Lord, you know well our world in need. We look to you for strength and encouragement, for hope in our days. Open our eyes to your light, and to inspire us to bring light to the dark places in our own lives and in the world around us. Bless us, each one, in the comfort of our homes, and in the discomfort of our living.
We pray, O God, for healing for the many in our world, in our nation, and in our community who are ill and struggling to recover. We pray for a swift and sure end to the pandemic that plagues us. We pray for those who bring hope to the hopeless, comfort to the suffering, and bright compassion to those in need.
We pray for ourselves, Dear Lord. Fill us with a keen awareness of your presence that we may let go of all anxiety and worry, and rely once more fully on your grace. Help us to remain patient, even with our own hope, that we will not rush it or put it in jeopardy for ourselves or for others. Bless, too, Dear Lord, the many we hold close to our hearts, help and heal them, and keep them safe.
Bless, we pray, the hungry and the homeless, the addicted and recovering, the lonely and afraid. Bless all who walk in dark places without hope. Grace them with lights in their paths and guide them to new halls of inspiration and strength and shelters from their storms.
Holy One, inspire the leaders of our nation and our world and grant them ears to hear your words of life and love. Lead them to choose wisely and to manage well the challenges that face us all.
We pray for the many on our prayer list; bless them, heal them, help them. Bless us all, O God, and grant us your saving presence in our midst. We ask these things in Jesus' Name who taught us to pray saying, "Our Father who art in heaven...."
Hymn: "Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus (Meredith Andrews)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOxJFN-9_vs
Benediction:
May our God of hope and inspiration bless us all with light for our paths, wisdom to manage our struggles, and peace throughout our days. Amen and amen.
