The King Is Coming!
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given, so God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heaven. No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin, where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in. Phillips Brooks' words written in 1868 ring truer today than ever. We pray that our tongues may be silent, and our ears turned to hear your wonders. Come, Lord Jesus, come. Today's main article is written by Barbara Jurgensen with a response from Scott Suskovic. There are also the illustrations, worship resource, and children's sermon included.
The King Is Coming!
By Barbara Jurgensen
THE WORLD
Comedian Michael Richards probably had no idea, when he stepped out onto the stage at a Hollywood club recently and began his act, that two men would begin heckling him, and that he would suddenly, in return, lash out at them with a violent verbal attack.
The two men were African Americans, and Michael Richards' response to them was racist in the extreme.
Which is reminiscent of Mel Gibson's verbal abuse of the highway patrol officer who stopped him a while back. Gibson claimed afterward that his anti-Semitic remarks did not reflect how he actually felt about Jewish people -- just as Michael Richards insisted that the racial slurs he hurled at his African-American hecklers did not mean that he was a racist.
As the TV commercial says, "Life comes at you fast."
Sometimes what's really inside of us comes out fast when we find ourselves having to deal with an extremely difficult situation.
Then comes the moment when we have to face up to that.
THE WORD
In our gospel text for today, the First Sunday in Advent, Jesus tells about the last days that will be coming upon the whole earth:
"There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken" (Luke 21:25-26).
Jesus says, that at that time they will see the Son of Man:
"Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud,' with power and great glory" (v. 27).
Notice the single quotation marks surrounding the middle part of verse 27, a reference to Daniel 7:13-14:
I saw one like a human being
coming with the clouds of heaven,
And he came to the Ancient One
and was presented before him.
To him was given dominion
and glory and kingship,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not pass away,
and his kingdom is one
that shall never be destroyed.
Last week, on Christ the King Sunday, we heard Jesus referred to as "the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth" (Revelation 1:5). Our Old Testament passage for today tells us that when he comes he will rule us with "justice and righteousness" (Jeremiah 33:15).
This One who is coming is the same one that was in the beginning with God. "And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son" (John 1:14). (The full text of John 1:1-5, 10-14, 16-18 will be quoted in the Crafting the Sermon section.)
Jesus Christ is coming, the Apostles' and the Nicene Creed tell us, to judge the living and the dead. Fortunately for us, who otherwise would be found woefully lacking at the judgment, "he is our righteousness" according to our Old Testament lesson (Jeremiah 33:16).
Jesus also comes as the loving and forgiving One, the One who loves us more than anyone else ever has, or could. The verse after the well-known John 3:16 tells us:
"Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him" (John 3:17).
CRAFTING THE SERMON
When I was about eight years old, growing up in a small suburb west of Minneapolis, the Minneapolis Tribune reported that in a few days the king and queen of Norway would be coming to Minneapolis for a visit, and that their motorcade would be coming along Wayzata Boulevard, about six miles north of our town.
The king and queen of Norway! It's sometimes said that there are more people of Norwegian descent in Minnesota than there are people. So everyone was excited. Extremely excited.
I'd read about kings and queens in school, so I knew that they sat on golden thrones, and wore royal purple velvet robes decorated with white ermine fur with its attractive tiny black spots, and that the crowns that topped their heads glittered with a king's ransom of precious jewels.
I also knew that they lived in magnificent castles, with towers and drawbridges and moats. And that they were attended by their knights in shining armor and their beautiful ladies in waiting -- with maybe a dragon or two to guard the castle.
I'd also experienced that when our little town, which was known for growing some really fine apples, celebrated Apple Day each September, we always had a parade with a float carrying a beautiful queen, dressed in a gorgeous gown, wearing a sparkling crown, and seated on a gilded throne, with four pretty princesses surrounding her.
At our Klondike Day celebration each winter we also had a queen, dressed in a white fur coat, hat and boots, and sitting on a huge throne made of big blocks of ice cut from Lake Minnetonka -- very elegant.
So I knew about queens.
On the big day, a Sunday afternoon at about 2:00, the day that the king and queen of Norway were to come by motorcade along Wayzata Boulevard, not far from our town, our family drove out and parked along a side road that fed into the boulevard. We got out of our car and stood on the little country road, as close to the boulevard as we could.
And waited.
Finally we heard a police siren off in the distance.
We held our breaths.
Along came a highway patrol car full of officers, scanning the area and then another patrol car.
Then came a long, black, low-slung Pierce-Arrow, the car of Hollywood movie stars and rich Arab princes, with its sloped back grill, and its spare tire in a special holder that matched the car. The windows were tinted so that we couldn't see who was inside.
Behind the Pierce-Arrow came three regular-size black sedans, probably Chryslers, I thought.
And finally came two more patrol cars, their sirens shrieking.
Then the sirens faded off in the distance, and the motorcade was gone.
It was all over so fast.
I looked at my mother. "Where were the king and the queen?"
"Probably in the biggest black car," she said.
"I didn't see them," I said. "Why weren't they out where we could see them? I really wanted to see them!"
My mother put her arm around me. "They probably get tired of crowds and like to have their privacy," she said.
I thought for a while. "Then where were their knights and ladies in waiting? Were they in the three smaller black cars behind them?"
My mother tried to explain. "Those were probably just their bodyguards and their advisors who travel with them."
It was all very disappointing.
Jesus tells us in our gospel lesson today that when God brings the creation to fulfillment, there will be a time of great distress. The heavens will be shaken, and the sun and moon and stars will be doing strange things. And people will be so afraid of what's going to happen that they'll fall down from fear.
Then, Jesus says, we'll all see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
The king and queen of Norway have little power beyond putting in an appearance at state functions. They're just figureheads. Even their motorcade was a disillusioning.
Jesus will come with power -- with great power.
We say in the Apostles' Creed that he will come again to judge the living and the dead. And in the Nicene Creed that he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and that his kingdom will have no end.
That's power. Frightening power.
Jesus tells us to be on guard so that our hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and on that day catch us unexpectedly, like a trap.
Truly, he says, these things will come to pass. They will come to all who live on the face of the whole earth. And then we will come and stand before him.
The power that will be demonstrated by the Son of Man, at his coming, will be awesome and terrible. But it will also be deeply good.
John speaks of that power in the prologue to his gospel:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth (John 1:1-5, 10-14).
Remember how Jesus came the first time: not with great pomp and splendor, not even with a motorcade, but humbly, as a baby so we can know his great love and mercy for us.
Today we begin our journey toward a stable, toward a manger within that stable. Our journey toward the One who set aside his power and glory to come and live among us, as one of us, and to give us of his life.
He came on that starry night so long ago.
He comes to you and me each day.
And he will come, in great power and glory, at the end of all the ages.
May we be found in him.
May we invite him into our lives, day by day.
May we invite him into our lives now.
ANOTHER VIEW
Scott Suskovic
One of my favorite children's literary character is Amelia Badelia. Remember her? This poor, dim-witted maid is a literalist. You tell her to dust the tables, and she sprinkled talc everywhere. You tell her to dress the turkey, and she gets out a little pants suit. You tell her to draw the curtains and she gets out her sketchpad.
In reading Amelia Badelia, you realize that we have many phrases that are confusing -- especially if you take them literally. "Happy as a clam." Are they really that happy? Or, "I'm so mad I could wring your neck," come on, we don't mean that... do we?
The Bible does the same thing. It also uses words, paints pictures, and employs literary devices to convey a truth often times above or beyond the literal words. For example, Jesus told his disciples that if your right hand causes you to sin, what are you suppose to do? Cut it off! Really? What about your eye? If you eye causes you to sin, what are you suppose to do with it? Pluck it out! Really? If that were literally true, our church would be full of one-eye, one-handed Christians. How about when Jesus says, "Take up your cross and follow me." Does that mean that a believer must literally be nailed to a cross and hung up to die? Let's be careful not to read these words like Amelia Badelia.
The problem is not all Christians agree on what words are to be taken literally and what words are more symbolic. Take, for example, heaven. What will that look like? Is it sitting at the beach, listening to the ocean waves? Is it in the cool mountains, escaping the heat of the summer?
The Bible speaks of heaven in several ways. Streets paved with gold. Really? Solid gold? Or does it convey a truth of rarity and splendor. Wings, halos, and harps. Really? Or does that mean we will have a different existence? Jesus said heaven is like a mansion where he goes to prepare a place for you. Really? How big would such a mansion be? Or is Jesus comforting his scared disciples with a reassurance that when that day comes, God will take care of them... in style.
And how about when Jesus returns? What will that be like? The Left Behind series has painted a vivid picture that millions have read about. Will it be like that? Isaiah talks about a Great Banquet full of fat things. Wow! All you can eat and no worry about those holiday pounds. It that literally true or does that image convey a truth of intimacy, fellowship, and abundance?
In our text for today, Luke paints a picture of what that will look like when Jesus finally returns. The tossing of the sea, fainting people, stars will shake, and Jesus will return on a cloud with great power and glory.
Will it actually happen that way? Maybe... maybe. God can do it however God wants to. But based on this text and other that teach of the return of Jesus, we can say that there are four truths about the return of Jesus.
First, it will be PERSONAL. That is, it will be for you. There is no escaping, avoiding, or hiding. No excuses, deferments, or delays. It will be Personal.
Second, it will be VISIBLE. Except for a couple of shepherds and wise men, the world missed the first coming. It won't be like that when he returns. It will be VISIBLE for all to see.
Third, it will be POWERFUL. Cataclysmic. The Jews say that Jesus was not the Messiah because nothing noticeable happened in the world. Hunger, wars, famines, and hurricanes all continue to happen. However, when we talk about his return, it will be powerful. You'll notice a change.
And fourth, it will be filled with great EXPECTATION. Paul expected Jesus to return in his lifetime and he lived his life with that expectation. The gospel authors expected Jesus to return in his lifetime and they lived his life with that expectation. Luther expected Jesus to return in his lifetime and he lived his life with that expectation. Mark Allen Powell expects Jesus to return in his lifetime and he lives his life with that expectation. Let me tell you about Dr. Powell.
Dr. Powell is a professor of New Testament at Trinity Lutheran Seminary who taught at a gathering for pastors in North Carolina. Though part of the staid, intellectual, moderate voice of mainline denominations, he described himself as a self-professed Jesus Freak in the 1970s. You know the type? Going to malls and stopping people asking them where they would spend eternity if they were to die tonight. Thanking God for everything including getting a great parking spot downtown during lunchtime: T-shirts, jewelry, bumper stickers all with crosses, fish, and pithy sayings.
Now he is a professor of New Testament teaching our young pastors the truths of the New Testament. Now he knows better. Now he is educated. He has a Ph.D. Now he is enlightened with the truth that rises above the mere literal words. And yet, when that perfect parking spot opens up right in front of the store during rush hour, the first words on his lips are, "Thank you, Jesus."
He laughs at himself. He knows that the God of the universe, creator of all things, is not holding back cars from blocks around that intersection just so he wouldn't have to walk more than 50 feet into the grocery store. He knows that. Besides, there are probably far more people deserving of that spot than he -- and yet... thank you Jesus.
And when he reads from Luke, "And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near," he knows that this is a specific, apocalyptic literary genre. He reads the Greek, gets behind the literal meaning and teaches that this means his return will be Personal, Visible, and Powerful. He has rationalized this kind of talk as a means by which pre-scientific people understood the world. It cannot possibly be literally true, right? Think about it, if Jesus were to return riding on a cloud like a bronco, where would he land? Jerusalem? I suppose. Bismark, North Dakota? Probably not. Where COULD he land so that everyone could see him at once? You see, it is silly, almost like Amelia Badelia, to read these words and get caught up in the literal meaning.
And yet (and this is the good part) and yet... every morning when Dr. Powell wakes up, he looks outside up into the sky while walking to his car, talking on his cell phone, if he sees one of those big, puffy clouds, his heart skips a beat and he thinks to himself, "Maybe. Maybe today. Maybe this is the day he's coming."
That's living with expectation.
Paul expected Jesus to return in his lifetime. The gospel authors expected Jesus to return in their lifetime. Luther expected Jesus to return in his lifetime. Were they wrong? He didn't show up. Were they wrong?
Depends. No, Jesus did not return in their lifetime but they lived with that expectation. They expected Jesus to come back in their lifetime. And for that, they were not wrong.
See the difference? We are called to live with that expectation that this could be the day. But it's tough, isn't it? How long can you stand on your tiptoes, stare off the horizon, and say, "Any day now. Hold on. He's coming. I know it," until the muscles get sore, the eyes grow dim, the voice grows weary, and the heart sinks? What does it mean to live your life expecting Jesus' return?
For me, it is like a story I used here a while back, a story told by Alvin Rogness, past president of Luther Seminary. When he grew up in South Dakota, every spring men would gather in the town on Hiring Day looking for a farm to work on during the season. One farmer arrived late and found only one guy left standing -- a quiet guy without a whole lot to say. But when asked, the hired man said that he was a hard worker and could sleep on a windy night. With no one else to hire, the farmer brought him home.
Everything worked out fine. The farmer had no complaints until one night when the storm ripped across the North Dakotan plain. The wind howled and shook the farm. The farmer ran out to check on the chickens but they were all locked up on the coop. He ran to the barn to latch down the window, but they were all taken care of. He went to find the cattle, but they were all rounded up. On the way back to the house, he stopped in to check on the hired man who was asleep... on a windy night.
The truth of the Biblical Teaching of the second coming of Jesus is not meant to scare you that you might be "Left Behind" but rather to live your life with expectation so that you are prepared. So that you can sleep, even on a windy night, even in the valley of the shadow of death, knowing that all is well prepared.
Oh, I know that the Bible is filled with word pictures and images that may not be literally true -- streets of gold, angels with wings, harps, and a Pearly Gate. I know. I know. I'm too smart for that. And yet, when that perfect, Carolina blue sky is dotted with a single white puffy cloud I now think, "Maybe today. Maybe this is the day. I've got a grandpa I want to see again who taught me how to fish. I've got a grandmother I want to see again who hugged me every time I walked into her home. Yeah, maybe today. Maybe this is the day. Stir up your power, O Lord, and come."
ILLUSTRATIONS
There's been a change, in the world of Broadway musicals. As reported in an October 1, 2006 New York Times article, these shows are more popular than ever, but most of the new ones are missing one traditional part of the Broadway experience: the overture.
In "an unscientific survey of 30 recent, current or forthcoming Broadway musicals," only seven had overtures. The reason is anybody's guess. Ever-more-hectic lifestyles are squeezing the last drops out of even our leisure time. Union rules make it costly to pay a full orchestra of musicians. The rock-and-roll soundtracks of some shows just don't lend themselves to the overture experience.
Whatever the case, it seems a shame to lose the overture. Those moments of anticipation, as the lights dim and the hushed audience looks ahead to the enjoyment the main show will deliver, have long been part of the musical theater experience.
The prophetic, even apocalyptic scripture passages of Advent serve as God's overture to us, in these weeks leading up to Christmas. How will we respond?
-- New York Times, 10/1/06, "Whatever Happened to the Overture?" by Jesse Green
***
Reflecting on a country song he heard on the radio, that includes the line, "God is our Santa Claus, each and every day," Yale theologian Miroslav Volf wonders whether our society does not, in fact, effectively believe that God is Santa Claus. Such a view is a far cry from the eschatological passages of Advent, that stress God's fearsome power:
Christmas, it seems, is all about getting things. The God whose coming into history we celebrate at Christmas must therefore be like Santa -- all ears to hear every one of our wishes, and then he presents us with an infinitely deep bag full of gifts just for us. A Santa Claus god for a Santa Claus culture. "And a sword will pierce your own soul too." This is what the old man on whom the Holy Spirit rested told Mary, the mother of Jesus, as he was holding her infant. Given this conclusion to Luke's Gospel, the sword in Mary's soul cannot refer only to the coming conflict surrounding the mission of Jesus. The sword must mean the nails that pierced his body and held it to the cross. So Christmas is about an infant born for a mission that will take him to a cruel death.
But we like to keep our religious feasts neatly separated. At Christmas we celebrate the gift to humanity of the most precious of all possessions: God -- and with God, we hope, everything we desire, all lying in a manger. At Easter, we celebrate the death of the Incarnate One for our sins and pains and his giving us new life by the power of his resurrection. But although we have to tell the story of Christ one event after another, we cannot celebrate Christ's birth without being mindful of his death -- even if this spoils some of the fun. To celebrate his birth properly does not mean simply to receive a benefit but to be drawn into a mission....
Here is a sure way to spoil a perfectly good Christmas party. Call your friends to a moment of reflection and ask them whether there is anything they would be willing to die for. In the stunned silence of the moment the partygoers may move closer to the true meaning of Christmas than they will in the joyous singing of carols and the exchanging of gifts.
-- Miroslav Volf, "God as Santa. Santa as God," in the Christian Century, December 19-26, 2002
***
The most prophetic thing that Thomas Merton ever did was to say to a drugstore clerk who asked him which brand of toothpaste he preferred, "I don't care." Intrigued by the clerk's response, Merton wrote, "He almost dropped dead. I was supposed to feel strongly about Colgate or Pepsodent or Crest.... And they all have a secret ingredient." He concluded that "the worst thing you can do now is not care about these things."
Merton wrote in the early 1960s, long before the art of making us care about "the secret ingredient" had so aggressively entered into every aspect of American life. We can't ride a bus, open a magazine or go online without being asked to consider which insurance company offers the best rates or which paper towel picks up the most dirt. Advent is a good time to reclaim our senses and reply with a resounding, "I don't care!"
During Advent the voices of the prophets come through loud and clear. In preparing us for the coming of God in human form, God calls out the big guns to get our attention....
The word apocalypse simply means to reveal, to uncover, and if facing reality brings us despair, we need to ask why. Above all, we must reject the literalist notion that apocalyptic literature is about a future pie in the sky. It is a command to come to full attention in the here and now. And that is hard to do. Last year one advertisement for a beaded handbag costing thousands of dollars featured a model with her eyes closed, looking beautiful but comatose, as the words "Comfort and Joy" blazed across the page. Let's keep our own eyes open, and as we prepare to sing of comfort and joy this year, let's look for them where they may be found.
* Kathleen Norris, "Apocalypse now," in the Christian Century, November 15, 2005, p. 19
* * *
"The scriptural passages read during Advent make American Christians look toward the future... as strange as it may seem to Americans, the passage (Luke 21:25-36) is not about the future, but about the present experience of the original Lukan audience. The fact is that there is really little, if anything at all, about the future in the Bible."
-- Bruce Malina
* * *
"The human heart is too small a screen on which to cast that grand scene. For all that Christian faith means to each individual who embraces it, the church cannot continue to permit, much less endorse, a subjective captivity of the gospel. Not even the community of faith is adequate as the arena of Christ's saving work. The whole creation stands at the window eagerly awaiting the arrival of the day of redemption for the children of God (Romans 8:19). The final charges in heaven and earth are not, therefore, to usher in a time of terror for the faithful; rather they are to realize that these are signs of the time of their redemption" (v. 28).
-- Fred Craddock, Luke
* * *
if you came in the spring,
we could expect newness,
bright yellow flowers
to soften your path,
the songs of birds
to herald your coming;
but you came in
winter's despair;
the chill of complacency
settled upon us.
if you came in the summer
we could expect you
to be bronzed,
blonde,
stepping from the sea;
but you came
in a stable,
a wrinkled baby
with animals your midwives
and angels your playmates.
help us to set down
our parcels of expectations
to reach down and scoop
you up in our arms,
your laughing breath
giving us life.
Amen.
* * *
Don't ever say, "just words," as if words aren't very important.
Consider the words "I love you."
Consider the difference they can make when you hear them -- or say them.
And consider the difference their absence can make,
when they need to be said but aren't.
* * *
Have you ever been in a social gathering in which some people keep up a drum fire of conversation in support of one particular position in politics -- or some social issue -- or religion -- or on some other subject? It is as if they were saying, "Of course everyone agree with me and anyone would have to be a fool or something worse to think otherwise." Older people can remember when this kind of conversation covered most gatherings with racial prejudice. More recently we have heard it in support of positions taken on social issues like abortion or homosexuality or by advocates of the positions of both political parties. People who do this may, in fact, just be trying to reassure themselves that they are right. But this kind of use of words can be very powerful. It can stifle the contributions of any who have something different to say, and it can convince the undecided that they would have to be a fool to disagree. That is part of the purpose. But something is always lost when reason is replaced by intimidation.
But powerful indeed are the words of any who have the courage to speak up in such situations and say, "I don't agree with what you are saying." To do that may be costly. The one who does it will, to say the least, be regarded by some as a person who has done something rude. But such costly words have the power to liberate others in the group to think for themselves and maybe even to move the conversation toward honest and possibly creative dialogue.
* * *
Words have the power to take our ways of thinking captive. If we do not assert ourselves and take control of our words, they can take control of us. It was during the early nineteen fifties when a certain young ministerial student sought summer employment working on the loading dock of an industrial plant. The turmoil of integration was just getting under way and race relations was the big issue. The young minister had thought the issue through in terms of his Christian faith and concluded that God wants us all to be brothers and sisters and that he would never again use "the N. word" to refer to another person. He even made friends with some of the African-Americans who worked loading cargo on the loading dock. But one day, when he saw one of his new friends bending over so that the seat of his pants was very conspicuous, he quipped, "Boy, I wish I had a N---- shooter right now." He didn't realize what he had said until he saw people around him stifling laughter. When he realized what he had done, he knew he would have to learn a new name for a sling shot.
WORSHIP RESOURCE
Call To Worship
One: The time is surely coming
when our love for one another
and all of God's children will increase.
All: We would live into that time
with hope and joy.
One: The day is surely coming
when God will strengthen our hearts
with humility and holiness.
All: We would anticipate that day
as we reach out to serve
all of those in need.
One: The days are surely coming
when we will walk the paths
of faithfulness and steadfast love.
All: We begin this journey,
knowing that all of God's promises
will be fulfilled.
Prayer Of The Day
Word creating God,
we trust the days are coming:
days of justice,
and days of mercy;
days of humility,
and days of hope;
days of righteousness,
and days of peace;
days when promises come true.
Jesus Christ,
Womb-dwelling Word:
as you draw near to us
with your kingdom
cradled in your arms,
may we not fear your coming,
but be alert for your presence
in every moment of service,
in every person bearing your grace.
Holy Spirit,
Word of Comfort:
when despair is the gift of the world,
you bring us joy;
when we cannot utter a sound,
you pray for us every night and day;
when we are lost and afraid,
you place our feet on the right path.
God in Community, Holy in One,
be with us in this waiting time
as we pray together as Jesus, your Word,
taught us to pray, saying,
Our Father...
Call To Reconciliation
Because it is so hard to wait, it is not easy to live through Advent's days. But watch what God does during this time. God waits for us to turn from our old ways to find the right paths; God waits for us to admit what we have done, and failed to do, so we might be forgiven and graced with new life. Let us approach the One who waits -- for us!
Unison Prayer Of Confession
It is never easy for us to confess our sins, Waiting God. There are the hurts we have caused to our families and friends, which we would like to forget. There are those we believe are impossible to love, and so we don't try. There are people who live on the edge of our society, and we ignore their cries for help.
Forgive us, God who comes near to us. When we have lost our way, show us yours. Lead us in humility down the streets of your kingdom. Teach us your truth, so we might be able to keep your Word, revealed to us in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
(Silence is observed.)
Assurance Of Pardon
One: God does not remember our sins, but does
remember the promises which have been
made to us. God does not shame us, but
lifts us to new life.
All: Lead us in your hope, O God, and teach
us your love. You are the God of our
days, we wait for you to come to us.
Amen.
Great Prayer Of Thanksgiving
One: As we wait to celebrate Christ's birth,
may the Lord be with you.
All: And also with you.
One: As we await Christ's return,
let us lift up our hearts.
All: Our hearts are lifted to our God.
One: As we trust the one who comes to us,
let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
All: Joy is in our hearts,
and praise is on our lips.
Glory and praise are offered to you,
God of Advent.
On the first day of eternity,
you began to create all
that is true and just,
beautiful and blameless,
calling all that you shaped and formed
"Good!"
Our ancestors danced in Eden's fields,
pure and innocent,
but hearing the tunes the world played,
they turned away from you.
When you called us back
through the mouths of the prophets,
we defied you
to follow those with power and pain.
Then you sent John, your messenger,
to proclaim the coming of the One
who ushers in your kingdom
of justice and righteousness.
Therefore we praise you,
joining our voices with those who,
from the first day to the last,
glorify your name, singing,
Sanctus
Holy are you, Steadfast Love,
and blessed is Jesus Christ,
your Compassion, your Hope, your Son.
Into the midst of the status quo
of rulers and events beyond our control,
he came to place our feet
on the Kingdom's street called Peace;
into the shadows of our lives
caused by sin and defiance,
he carries the Light of your grace;
taking the brokenness of our world,
he reshapes us into
pure and blameless people;
into that dread valley we call death,
he strides in obedience and faith,
so we might be brought to life.
As we prepare to celebrate his birth,
as we remember his life, death, and resurrection,
as we anticipate his return,
we sing of those mysteries we call faith:
Memorial Acclamation
Holy Spirit, come to us,
and to these gifts of the bread and the cup.
As you transform these everyday objects
into sacramental grace,
transform us from ordinary folk
into the citizens of God's kingdom.
Fill us with the Bread of heaven,
so we would feed the hungriest of your children.
Pour the cup of grace into us,
so we might overflow with love.
Make us a compassionate people,
who have a passion for your justice.
Through your Son, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit in your holy church,
all honor and glory are yours,
Great God, our Hope, our Peace,
now and forever. Amen.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Thankful joy!
Object: a Thanksgiving card (or a simple "Thank You" card will do) and a Christmas card (especially one with the word "Joy" prominently emblazoned on it)
Good morning! We have just celebrated Thanksgiving. What are some things for which you are thankful? (let them answer) That's wonderful. (You could at this point share some things for which you are thankful.) I guess the reason we have a Thanksgiving holiday is to remind us of all the things for which we feel thanks but don't often take the time to say or even think thankful thoughts.
If Thanksgiving was the last holiday, what's the next one that is coming? (let them answer) Yes! Christmas is coming. Today is the first Sunday in Advent and we begin the countdown to Christmas by lighting one candle in our Advent wreath.
In today's scripture lesson, the apostle Paul wrote to the people of a church in a city called Thessalonika. He wrote to them that he was THANKFUL and that he also felt JOY. When I read what Paul wrote I thought of our last holiday -- Thanksgiving. (show the Thanksgiving card) And I also thought of our next holiday -- Christmas. (show the Christmas card)
One of the big words at Christmastime and on many Christmas cards is the word "Joy." Can you tell me what that means? (let them answer)
Now the question: What did Paul say he was thankful for? (Let them answer. You may choose to read the above sentence from the lesson.) He was thankful for the people of that church. The second question is this: What caused Paul to have joy? (let them answer) Again, it was the people that caused Paul to feel joy -- real happiness.
This passage reminds me of what I feel right now. You see, I am THANKFUL for you. And I feel JOY because of you. You people are special to me just as the people in the congregation were special to the apostle Paul.
The people with whom we get to share Thanksgiving and Christmas makes this one of the very best times of the year!
Dear Jesus: Thank you for these special people here today. Bless them all. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, December 3, 2006, issue.
Copyright 2006 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 permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
The King Is Coming!
By Barbara Jurgensen
THE WORLD
Comedian Michael Richards probably had no idea, when he stepped out onto the stage at a Hollywood club recently and began his act, that two men would begin heckling him, and that he would suddenly, in return, lash out at them with a violent verbal attack.
The two men were African Americans, and Michael Richards' response to them was racist in the extreme.
Which is reminiscent of Mel Gibson's verbal abuse of the highway patrol officer who stopped him a while back. Gibson claimed afterward that his anti-Semitic remarks did not reflect how he actually felt about Jewish people -- just as Michael Richards insisted that the racial slurs he hurled at his African-American hecklers did not mean that he was a racist.
As the TV commercial says, "Life comes at you fast."
Sometimes what's really inside of us comes out fast when we find ourselves having to deal with an extremely difficult situation.
Then comes the moment when we have to face up to that.
THE WORD
In our gospel text for today, the First Sunday in Advent, Jesus tells about the last days that will be coming upon the whole earth:
"There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken" (Luke 21:25-26).
Jesus says, that at that time they will see the Son of Man:
"Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud,' with power and great glory" (v. 27).
Notice the single quotation marks surrounding the middle part of verse 27, a reference to Daniel 7:13-14:
I saw one like a human being
coming with the clouds of heaven,
And he came to the Ancient One
and was presented before him.
To him was given dominion
and glory and kingship,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not pass away,
and his kingdom is one
that shall never be destroyed.
Last week, on Christ the King Sunday, we heard Jesus referred to as "the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth" (Revelation 1:5). Our Old Testament passage for today tells us that when he comes he will rule us with "justice and righteousness" (Jeremiah 33:15).
This One who is coming is the same one that was in the beginning with God. "And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son" (John 1:14). (The full text of John 1:1-5, 10-14, 16-18 will be quoted in the Crafting the Sermon section.)
Jesus Christ is coming, the Apostles' and the Nicene Creed tell us, to judge the living and the dead. Fortunately for us, who otherwise would be found woefully lacking at the judgment, "he is our righteousness" according to our Old Testament lesson (Jeremiah 33:16).
Jesus also comes as the loving and forgiving One, the One who loves us more than anyone else ever has, or could. The verse after the well-known John 3:16 tells us:
"Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him" (John 3:17).
CRAFTING THE SERMON
When I was about eight years old, growing up in a small suburb west of Minneapolis, the Minneapolis Tribune reported that in a few days the king and queen of Norway would be coming to Minneapolis for a visit, and that their motorcade would be coming along Wayzata Boulevard, about six miles north of our town.
The king and queen of Norway! It's sometimes said that there are more people of Norwegian descent in Minnesota than there are people. So everyone was excited. Extremely excited.
I'd read about kings and queens in school, so I knew that they sat on golden thrones, and wore royal purple velvet robes decorated with white ermine fur with its attractive tiny black spots, and that the crowns that topped their heads glittered with a king's ransom of precious jewels.
I also knew that they lived in magnificent castles, with towers and drawbridges and moats. And that they were attended by their knights in shining armor and their beautiful ladies in waiting -- with maybe a dragon or two to guard the castle.
I'd also experienced that when our little town, which was known for growing some really fine apples, celebrated Apple Day each September, we always had a parade with a float carrying a beautiful queen, dressed in a gorgeous gown, wearing a sparkling crown, and seated on a gilded throne, with four pretty princesses surrounding her.
At our Klondike Day celebration each winter we also had a queen, dressed in a white fur coat, hat and boots, and sitting on a huge throne made of big blocks of ice cut from Lake Minnetonka -- very elegant.
So I knew about queens.
On the big day, a Sunday afternoon at about 2:00, the day that the king and queen of Norway were to come by motorcade along Wayzata Boulevard, not far from our town, our family drove out and parked along a side road that fed into the boulevard. We got out of our car and stood on the little country road, as close to the boulevard as we could.
And waited.
Finally we heard a police siren off in the distance.
We held our breaths.
Along came a highway patrol car full of officers, scanning the area and then another patrol car.
Then came a long, black, low-slung Pierce-Arrow, the car of Hollywood movie stars and rich Arab princes, with its sloped back grill, and its spare tire in a special holder that matched the car. The windows were tinted so that we couldn't see who was inside.
Behind the Pierce-Arrow came three regular-size black sedans, probably Chryslers, I thought.
And finally came two more patrol cars, their sirens shrieking.
Then the sirens faded off in the distance, and the motorcade was gone.
It was all over so fast.
I looked at my mother. "Where were the king and the queen?"
"Probably in the biggest black car," she said.
"I didn't see them," I said. "Why weren't they out where we could see them? I really wanted to see them!"
My mother put her arm around me. "They probably get tired of crowds and like to have their privacy," she said.
I thought for a while. "Then where were their knights and ladies in waiting? Were they in the three smaller black cars behind them?"
My mother tried to explain. "Those were probably just their bodyguards and their advisors who travel with them."
It was all very disappointing.
Jesus tells us in our gospel lesson today that when God brings the creation to fulfillment, there will be a time of great distress. The heavens will be shaken, and the sun and moon and stars will be doing strange things. And people will be so afraid of what's going to happen that they'll fall down from fear.
Then, Jesus says, we'll all see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
The king and queen of Norway have little power beyond putting in an appearance at state functions. They're just figureheads. Even their motorcade was a disillusioning.
Jesus will come with power -- with great power.
We say in the Apostles' Creed that he will come again to judge the living and the dead. And in the Nicene Creed that he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and that his kingdom will have no end.
That's power. Frightening power.
Jesus tells us to be on guard so that our hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and on that day catch us unexpectedly, like a trap.
Truly, he says, these things will come to pass. They will come to all who live on the face of the whole earth. And then we will come and stand before him.
The power that will be demonstrated by the Son of Man, at his coming, will be awesome and terrible. But it will also be deeply good.
John speaks of that power in the prologue to his gospel:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth (John 1:1-5, 10-14).
Remember how Jesus came the first time: not with great pomp and splendor, not even with a motorcade, but humbly, as a baby so we can know his great love and mercy for us.
Today we begin our journey toward a stable, toward a manger within that stable. Our journey toward the One who set aside his power and glory to come and live among us, as one of us, and to give us of his life.
He came on that starry night so long ago.
He comes to you and me each day.
And he will come, in great power and glory, at the end of all the ages.
May we be found in him.
May we invite him into our lives, day by day.
May we invite him into our lives now.
ANOTHER VIEW
Scott Suskovic
One of my favorite children's literary character is Amelia Badelia. Remember her? This poor, dim-witted maid is a literalist. You tell her to dust the tables, and she sprinkled talc everywhere. You tell her to dress the turkey, and she gets out a little pants suit. You tell her to draw the curtains and she gets out her sketchpad.
In reading Amelia Badelia, you realize that we have many phrases that are confusing -- especially if you take them literally. "Happy as a clam." Are they really that happy? Or, "I'm so mad I could wring your neck," come on, we don't mean that... do we?
The Bible does the same thing. It also uses words, paints pictures, and employs literary devices to convey a truth often times above or beyond the literal words. For example, Jesus told his disciples that if your right hand causes you to sin, what are you suppose to do? Cut it off! Really? What about your eye? If you eye causes you to sin, what are you suppose to do with it? Pluck it out! Really? If that were literally true, our church would be full of one-eye, one-handed Christians. How about when Jesus says, "Take up your cross and follow me." Does that mean that a believer must literally be nailed to a cross and hung up to die? Let's be careful not to read these words like Amelia Badelia.
The problem is not all Christians agree on what words are to be taken literally and what words are more symbolic. Take, for example, heaven. What will that look like? Is it sitting at the beach, listening to the ocean waves? Is it in the cool mountains, escaping the heat of the summer?
The Bible speaks of heaven in several ways. Streets paved with gold. Really? Solid gold? Or does it convey a truth of rarity and splendor. Wings, halos, and harps. Really? Or does that mean we will have a different existence? Jesus said heaven is like a mansion where he goes to prepare a place for you. Really? How big would such a mansion be? Or is Jesus comforting his scared disciples with a reassurance that when that day comes, God will take care of them... in style.
And how about when Jesus returns? What will that be like? The Left Behind series has painted a vivid picture that millions have read about. Will it be like that? Isaiah talks about a Great Banquet full of fat things. Wow! All you can eat and no worry about those holiday pounds. It that literally true or does that image convey a truth of intimacy, fellowship, and abundance?
In our text for today, Luke paints a picture of what that will look like when Jesus finally returns. The tossing of the sea, fainting people, stars will shake, and Jesus will return on a cloud with great power and glory.
Will it actually happen that way? Maybe... maybe. God can do it however God wants to. But based on this text and other that teach of the return of Jesus, we can say that there are four truths about the return of Jesus.
First, it will be PERSONAL. That is, it will be for you. There is no escaping, avoiding, or hiding. No excuses, deferments, or delays. It will be Personal.
Second, it will be VISIBLE. Except for a couple of shepherds and wise men, the world missed the first coming. It won't be like that when he returns. It will be VISIBLE for all to see.
Third, it will be POWERFUL. Cataclysmic. The Jews say that Jesus was not the Messiah because nothing noticeable happened in the world. Hunger, wars, famines, and hurricanes all continue to happen. However, when we talk about his return, it will be powerful. You'll notice a change.
And fourth, it will be filled with great EXPECTATION. Paul expected Jesus to return in his lifetime and he lived his life with that expectation. The gospel authors expected Jesus to return in his lifetime and they lived his life with that expectation. Luther expected Jesus to return in his lifetime and he lived his life with that expectation. Mark Allen Powell expects Jesus to return in his lifetime and he lives his life with that expectation. Let me tell you about Dr. Powell.
Dr. Powell is a professor of New Testament at Trinity Lutheran Seminary who taught at a gathering for pastors in North Carolina. Though part of the staid, intellectual, moderate voice of mainline denominations, he described himself as a self-professed Jesus Freak in the 1970s. You know the type? Going to malls and stopping people asking them where they would spend eternity if they were to die tonight. Thanking God for everything including getting a great parking spot downtown during lunchtime: T-shirts, jewelry, bumper stickers all with crosses, fish, and pithy sayings.
Now he is a professor of New Testament teaching our young pastors the truths of the New Testament. Now he knows better. Now he is educated. He has a Ph.D. Now he is enlightened with the truth that rises above the mere literal words. And yet, when that perfect parking spot opens up right in front of the store during rush hour, the first words on his lips are, "Thank you, Jesus."
He laughs at himself. He knows that the God of the universe, creator of all things, is not holding back cars from blocks around that intersection just so he wouldn't have to walk more than 50 feet into the grocery store. He knows that. Besides, there are probably far more people deserving of that spot than he -- and yet... thank you Jesus.
And when he reads from Luke, "And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near," he knows that this is a specific, apocalyptic literary genre. He reads the Greek, gets behind the literal meaning and teaches that this means his return will be Personal, Visible, and Powerful. He has rationalized this kind of talk as a means by which pre-scientific people understood the world. It cannot possibly be literally true, right? Think about it, if Jesus were to return riding on a cloud like a bronco, where would he land? Jerusalem? I suppose. Bismark, North Dakota? Probably not. Where COULD he land so that everyone could see him at once? You see, it is silly, almost like Amelia Badelia, to read these words and get caught up in the literal meaning.
And yet (and this is the good part) and yet... every morning when Dr. Powell wakes up, he looks outside up into the sky while walking to his car, talking on his cell phone, if he sees one of those big, puffy clouds, his heart skips a beat and he thinks to himself, "Maybe. Maybe today. Maybe this is the day he's coming."
That's living with expectation.
Paul expected Jesus to return in his lifetime. The gospel authors expected Jesus to return in their lifetime. Luther expected Jesus to return in his lifetime. Were they wrong? He didn't show up. Were they wrong?
Depends. No, Jesus did not return in their lifetime but they lived with that expectation. They expected Jesus to come back in their lifetime. And for that, they were not wrong.
See the difference? We are called to live with that expectation that this could be the day. But it's tough, isn't it? How long can you stand on your tiptoes, stare off the horizon, and say, "Any day now. Hold on. He's coming. I know it," until the muscles get sore, the eyes grow dim, the voice grows weary, and the heart sinks? What does it mean to live your life expecting Jesus' return?
For me, it is like a story I used here a while back, a story told by Alvin Rogness, past president of Luther Seminary. When he grew up in South Dakota, every spring men would gather in the town on Hiring Day looking for a farm to work on during the season. One farmer arrived late and found only one guy left standing -- a quiet guy without a whole lot to say. But when asked, the hired man said that he was a hard worker and could sleep on a windy night. With no one else to hire, the farmer brought him home.
Everything worked out fine. The farmer had no complaints until one night when the storm ripped across the North Dakotan plain. The wind howled and shook the farm. The farmer ran out to check on the chickens but they were all locked up on the coop. He ran to the barn to latch down the window, but they were all taken care of. He went to find the cattle, but they were all rounded up. On the way back to the house, he stopped in to check on the hired man who was asleep... on a windy night.
The truth of the Biblical Teaching of the second coming of Jesus is not meant to scare you that you might be "Left Behind" but rather to live your life with expectation so that you are prepared. So that you can sleep, even on a windy night, even in the valley of the shadow of death, knowing that all is well prepared.
Oh, I know that the Bible is filled with word pictures and images that may not be literally true -- streets of gold, angels with wings, harps, and a Pearly Gate. I know. I know. I'm too smart for that. And yet, when that perfect, Carolina blue sky is dotted with a single white puffy cloud I now think, "Maybe today. Maybe this is the day. I've got a grandpa I want to see again who taught me how to fish. I've got a grandmother I want to see again who hugged me every time I walked into her home. Yeah, maybe today. Maybe this is the day. Stir up your power, O Lord, and come."
ILLUSTRATIONS
There's been a change, in the world of Broadway musicals. As reported in an October 1, 2006 New York Times article, these shows are more popular than ever, but most of the new ones are missing one traditional part of the Broadway experience: the overture.
In "an unscientific survey of 30 recent, current or forthcoming Broadway musicals," only seven had overtures. The reason is anybody's guess. Ever-more-hectic lifestyles are squeezing the last drops out of even our leisure time. Union rules make it costly to pay a full orchestra of musicians. The rock-and-roll soundtracks of some shows just don't lend themselves to the overture experience.
Whatever the case, it seems a shame to lose the overture. Those moments of anticipation, as the lights dim and the hushed audience looks ahead to the enjoyment the main show will deliver, have long been part of the musical theater experience.
The prophetic, even apocalyptic scripture passages of Advent serve as God's overture to us, in these weeks leading up to Christmas. How will we respond?
-- New York Times, 10/1/06, "Whatever Happened to the Overture?" by Jesse Green
***
Reflecting on a country song he heard on the radio, that includes the line, "God is our Santa Claus, each and every day," Yale theologian Miroslav Volf wonders whether our society does not, in fact, effectively believe that God is Santa Claus. Such a view is a far cry from the eschatological passages of Advent, that stress God's fearsome power:
Christmas, it seems, is all about getting things. The God whose coming into history we celebrate at Christmas must therefore be like Santa -- all ears to hear every one of our wishes, and then he presents us with an infinitely deep bag full of gifts just for us. A Santa Claus god for a Santa Claus culture. "And a sword will pierce your own soul too." This is what the old man on whom the Holy Spirit rested told Mary, the mother of Jesus, as he was holding her infant. Given this conclusion to Luke's Gospel, the sword in Mary's soul cannot refer only to the coming conflict surrounding the mission of Jesus. The sword must mean the nails that pierced his body and held it to the cross. So Christmas is about an infant born for a mission that will take him to a cruel death.
But we like to keep our religious feasts neatly separated. At Christmas we celebrate the gift to humanity of the most precious of all possessions: God -- and with God, we hope, everything we desire, all lying in a manger. At Easter, we celebrate the death of the Incarnate One for our sins and pains and his giving us new life by the power of his resurrection. But although we have to tell the story of Christ one event after another, we cannot celebrate Christ's birth without being mindful of his death -- even if this spoils some of the fun. To celebrate his birth properly does not mean simply to receive a benefit but to be drawn into a mission....
Here is a sure way to spoil a perfectly good Christmas party. Call your friends to a moment of reflection and ask them whether there is anything they would be willing to die for. In the stunned silence of the moment the partygoers may move closer to the true meaning of Christmas than they will in the joyous singing of carols and the exchanging of gifts.
-- Miroslav Volf, "God as Santa. Santa as God," in the Christian Century, December 19-26, 2002
***
The most prophetic thing that Thomas Merton ever did was to say to a drugstore clerk who asked him which brand of toothpaste he preferred, "I don't care." Intrigued by the clerk's response, Merton wrote, "He almost dropped dead. I was supposed to feel strongly about Colgate or Pepsodent or Crest.... And they all have a secret ingredient." He concluded that "the worst thing you can do now is not care about these things."
Merton wrote in the early 1960s, long before the art of making us care about "the secret ingredient" had so aggressively entered into every aspect of American life. We can't ride a bus, open a magazine or go online without being asked to consider which insurance company offers the best rates or which paper towel picks up the most dirt. Advent is a good time to reclaim our senses and reply with a resounding, "I don't care!"
During Advent the voices of the prophets come through loud and clear. In preparing us for the coming of God in human form, God calls out the big guns to get our attention....
The word apocalypse simply means to reveal, to uncover, and if facing reality brings us despair, we need to ask why. Above all, we must reject the literalist notion that apocalyptic literature is about a future pie in the sky. It is a command to come to full attention in the here and now. And that is hard to do. Last year one advertisement for a beaded handbag costing thousands of dollars featured a model with her eyes closed, looking beautiful but comatose, as the words "Comfort and Joy" blazed across the page. Let's keep our own eyes open, and as we prepare to sing of comfort and joy this year, let's look for them where they may be found.
* Kathleen Norris, "Apocalypse now," in the Christian Century, November 15, 2005, p. 19
* * *
"The scriptural passages read during Advent make American Christians look toward the future... as strange as it may seem to Americans, the passage (Luke 21:25-36) is not about the future, but about the present experience of the original Lukan audience. The fact is that there is really little, if anything at all, about the future in the Bible."
-- Bruce Malina
* * *
"The human heart is too small a screen on which to cast that grand scene. For all that Christian faith means to each individual who embraces it, the church cannot continue to permit, much less endorse, a subjective captivity of the gospel. Not even the community of faith is adequate as the arena of Christ's saving work. The whole creation stands at the window eagerly awaiting the arrival of the day of redemption for the children of God (Romans 8:19). The final charges in heaven and earth are not, therefore, to usher in a time of terror for the faithful; rather they are to realize that these are signs of the time of their redemption" (v. 28).
-- Fred Craddock, Luke
* * *
if you came in the spring,
we could expect newness,
bright yellow flowers
to soften your path,
the songs of birds
to herald your coming;
but you came in
winter's despair;
the chill of complacency
settled upon us.
if you came in the summer
we could expect you
to be bronzed,
blonde,
stepping from the sea;
but you came
in a stable,
a wrinkled baby
with animals your midwives
and angels your playmates.
help us to set down
our parcels of expectations
to reach down and scoop
you up in our arms,
your laughing breath
giving us life.
Amen.
* * *
Don't ever say, "just words," as if words aren't very important.
Consider the words "I love you."
Consider the difference they can make when you hear them -- or say them.
And consider the difference their absence can make,
when they need to be said but aren't.
* * *
Have you ever been in a social gathering in which some people keep up a drum fire of conversation in support of one particular position in politics -- or some social issue -- or religion -- or on some other subject? It is as if they were saying, "Of course everyone agree with me and anyone would have to be a fool or something worse to think otherwise." Older people can remember when this kind of conversation covered most gatherings with racial prejudice. More recently we have heard it in support of positions taken on social issues like abortion or homosexuality or by advocates of the positions of both political parties. People who do this may, in fact, just be trying to reassure themselves that they are right. But this kind of use of words can be very powerful. It can stifle the contributions of any who have something different to say, and it can convince the undecided that they would have to be a fool to disagree. That is part of the purpose. But something is always lost when reason is replaced by intimidation.
But powerful indeed are the words of any who have the courage to speak up in such situations and say, "I don't agree with what you are saying." To do that may be costly. The one who does it will, to say the least, be regarded by some as a person who has done something rude. But such costly words have the power to liberate others in the group to think for themselves and maybe even to move the conversation toward honest and possibly creative dialogue.
* * *
Words have the power to take our ways of thinking captive. If we do not assert ourselves and take control of our words, they can take control of us. It was during the early nineteen fifties when a certain young ministerial student sought summer employment working on the loading dock of an industrial plant. The turmoil of integration was just getting under way and race relations was the big issue. The young minister had thought the issue through in terms of his Christian faith and concluded that God wants us all to be brothers and sisters and that he would never again use "the N. word" to refer to another person. He even made friends with some of the African-Americans who worked loading cargo on the loading dock. But one day, when he saw one of his new friends bending over so that the seat of his pants was very conspicuous, he quipped, "Boy, I wish I had a N---- shooter right now." He didn't realize what he had said until he saw people around him stifling laughter. When he realized what he had done, he knew he would have to learn a new name for a sling shot.
WORSHIP RESOURCE
Call To Worship
One: The time is surely coming
when our love for one another
and all of God's children will increase.
All: We would live into that time
with hope and joy.
One: The day is surely coming
when God will strengthen our hearts
with humility and holiness.
All: We would anticipate that day
as we reach out to serve
all of those in need.
One: The days are surely coming
when we will walk the paths
of faithfulness and steadfast love.
All: We begin this journey,
knowing that all of God's promises
will be fulfilled.
Prayer Of The Day
Word creating God,
we trust the days are coming:
days of justice,
and days of mercy;
days of humility,
and days of hope;
days of righteousness,
and days of peace;
days when promises come true.
Jesus Christ,
Womb-dwelling Word:
as you draw near to us
with your kingdom
cradled in your arms,
may we not fear your coming,
but be alert for your presence
in every moment of service,
in every person bearing your grace.
Holy Spirit,
Word of Comfort:
when despair is the gift of the world,
you bring us joy;
when we cannot utter a sound,
you pray for us every night and day;
when we are lost and afraid,
you place our feet on the right path.
God in Community, Holy in One,
be with us in this waiting time
as we pray together as Jesus, your Word,
taught us to pray, saying,
Our Father...
Call To Reconciliation
Because it is so hard to wait, it is not easy to live through Advent's days. But watch what God does during this time. God waits for us to turn from our old ways to find the right paths; God waits for us to admit what we have done, and failed to do, so we might be forgiven and graced with new life. Let us approach the One who waits -- for us!
Unison Prayer Of Confession
It is never easy for us to confess our sins, Waiting God. There are the hurts we have caused to our families and friends, which we would like to forget. There are those we believe are impossible to love, and so we don't try. There are people who live on the edge of our society, and we ignore their cries for help.
Forgive us, God who comes near to us. When we have lost our way, show us yours. Lead us in humility down the streets of your kingdom. Teach us your truth, so we might be able to keep your Word, revealed to us in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
(Silence is observed.)
Assurance Of Pardon
One: God does not remember our sins, but does
remember the promises which have been
made to us. God does not shame us, but
lifts us to new life.
All: Lead us in your hope, O God, and teach
us your love. You are the God of our
days, we wait for you to come to us.
Amen.
Great Prayer Of Thanksgiving
One: As we wait to celebrate Christ's birth,
may the Lord be with you.
All: And also with you.
One: As we await Christ's return,
let us lift up our hearts.
All: Our hearts are lifted to our God.
One: As we trust the one who comes to us,
let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
All: Joy is in our hearts,
and praise is on our lips.
Glory and praise are offered to you,
God of Advent.
On the first day of eternity,
you began to create all
that is true and just,
beautiful and blameless,
calling all that you shaped and formed
"Good!"
Our ancestors danced in Eden's fields,
pure and innocent,
but hearing the tunes the world played,
they turned away from you.
When you called us back
through the mouths of the prophets,
we defied you
to follow those with power and pain.
Then you sent John, your messenger,
to proclaim the coming of the One
who ushers in your kingdom
of justice and righteousness.
Therefore we praise you,
joining our voices with those who,
from the first day to the last,
glorify your name, singing,
Sanctus
Holy are you, Steadfast Love,
and blessed is Jesus Christ,
your Compassion, your Hope, your Son.
Into the midst of the status quo
of rulers and events beyond our control,
he came to place our feet
on the Kingdom's street called Peace;
into the shadows of our lives
caused by sin and defiance,
he carries the Light of your grace;
taking the brokenness of our world,
he reshapes us into
pure and blameless people;
into that dread valley we call death,
he strides in obedience and faith,
so we might be brought to life.
As we prepare to celebrate his birth,
as we remember his life, death, and resurrection,
as we anticipate his return,
we sing of those mysteries we call faith:
Memorial Acclamation
Holy Spirit, come to us,
and to these gifts of the bread and the cup.
As you transform these everyday objects
into sacramental grace,
transform us from ordinary folk
into the citizens of God's kingdom.
Fill us with the Bread of heaven,
so we would feed the hungriest of your children.
Pour the cup of grace into us,
so we might overflow with love.
Make us a compassionate people,
who have a passion for your justice.
Through your Son, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit in your holy church,
all honor and glory are yours,
Great God, our Hope, our Peace,
now and forever. Amen.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Thankful joy!
Object: a Thanksgiving card (or a simple "Thank You" card will do) and a Christmas card (especially one with the word "Joy" prominently emblazoned on it)
Good morning! We have just celebrated Thanksgiving. What are some things for which you are thankful? (let them answer) That's wonderful. (You could at this point share some things for which you are thankful.) I guess the reason we have a Thanksgiving holiday is to remind us of all the things for which we feel thanks but don't often take the time to say or even think thankful thoughts.
If Thanksgiving was the last holiday, what's the next one that is coming? (let them answer) Yes! Christmas is coming. Today is the first Sunday in Advent and we begin the countdown to Christmas by lighting one candle in our Advent wreath.
In today's scripture lesson, the apostle Paul wrote to the people of a church in a city called Thessalonika. He wrote to them that he was THANKFUL and that he also felt JOY. When I read what Paul wrote I thought of our last holiday -- Thanksgiving. (show the Thanksgiving card) And I also thought of our next holiday -- Christmas. (show the Christmas card)
One of the big words at Christmastime and on many Christmas cards is the word "Joy." Can you tell me what that means? (let them answer)
Now the question: What did Paul say he was thankful for? (Let them answer. You may choose to read the above sentence from the lesson.) He was thankful for the people of that church. The second question is this: What caused Paul to have joy? (let them answer) Again, it was the people that caused Paul to feel joy -- real happiness.
This passage reminds me of what I feel right now. You see, I am THANKFUL for you. And I feel JOY because of you. You people are special to me just as the people in the congregation were special to the apostle Paul.
The people with whom we get to share Thanksgiving and Christmas makes this one of the very best times of the year!
Dear Jesus: Thank you for these special people here today. Bless them all. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, December 3, 2006, issue.
Copyright 2006 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 permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
