Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
This week we enter the season of Advent, and while the world around us is ratcheting up into full-blown Christmas mode with the shopping madness of "Black Friday" and wall-to-wall carols, our lectionary gospel text offers a somewhat starker theme as we are cautioned to maintain watchful readiness for the coming of the Son of Man. The imagery Jesus invokes is rather striking -- and somewhat unsettling for us -- as he compares those who are not alert to the people in Noah's day who were "eating and drinking" and were swept away in the flood. In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Dean Feldmeyer notes that the key lesson we can take away from this passage is to be ready for the surprises that life constantly throws at us -- especially the biggest surprise of all, the eschaton. We are accustomed at this time of year to thinking about pleasant surprises when opening Christmas gifts... but as we see in the headlines every day (not to mention our own lives), not all surprises are so comforting. As Dean points out, even when we know surprises are coming we have to be aware of their presence -- and celebrate their serendipity, rather than being unsettled by them. Team member Mary Austin offers some additional thoughts on the timing of the Advent season, and notes that in a world where everything seems to be instantly accessible, we're not good at waiting... especially for the things that are truly important, like the promises the prophet Isaiah speaks of. Mary reminds us that we need to rediscover our calling as people of patience and hope.
Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!
by Dean Feldmeyer
Matthew 24:36-44
"Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!"
Many of us can still remember Jim Nabors as television's Private Gomer Pyle, USMC, his eyes closed, a broad smile creasing his face, weaving his head and shoulders back and forth as he said that phrase. Surprises always pleased Gomer. He accepted them as gifts.
Maybe that's because Gomer was easy to surprise. He was naÔve and kind of simple. His heart was pure and he always assumed the best in and expected the best from people. Even when people -- or the world, for that matter -- didn't meet his expectations, he was able to put a positive spin on it.
On the other hand, Gomer's foil, Sergeant Vince Carter, never liked surprises. He liked order, neatness, and predictability. Carter did everything in his power to prevent and avoid surprises -- even the good ones. So, consequently, he was never prepared for the surprises that life inevitably threw at him. And with Gomer in his platoon, those surprises came fast and often.
The gospel lesson on this first Sunday in Advent calls us to channel our inner Gomer Pyle, to prepare ourselves for the greatest surprise of all so, on that day, we can receive and celebrate it as a gift.
THE WORLD
* Prince William and his beloved Kate are engaged. Surprise!
* The Dow is up... no, it's down... no, it's up... wait, it's down again. Surprise!
* GM announces that it is actually making money and making public stock offerings for the first time in nearly a decade. Two years ago everyone thought they were down for the count. Surprise!
* And the Motor Trend Car of the Year for 2011 is the Volt, an electric car made by... wait for it... General Motors! Surprise!
* On television's Dancing with the Stars, Brandy is out and Bristol Palin is still in! Who woulda figured? Surprise!
* Donald Trump and Sarah Palin are flirting with the notion of running for president! Donald Trump? Surprise!
* Lisa Murkowski, the Republican who wasn't endorsed by Sarah Palin, is reelected senator from Alaska on a write-in campaign -- the first time a senator has been elected by write-in in more than 50 years. Surprise!
Every day the news reminds us that life is full of surprises.
* Who in 2000 would have predicted that an African American would be president of the United States in their lifetime?
* And who would have predicted the "Tea Party" even two years ago?
* The Oregon Ducks are currently number one in college football's BCS rankings -- but they could be replaced by TCU if they don't watch pretty sharp what they're about. TCU? No one, but no one, would have predicted that 12 weeks ago.
* And don't get me started on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are doing pretty well, and my beloved, beleaguered Cincinnati Bengals, who aren't. This isn't how those guys on ESPN said it would be.
On a more serious note...
* Unemployment is close to 10%.
* The economy refuses to improve even though corporations are making bigger profits than they have in the past 50 years.
* The "War Against Global Terrorism" is entering its tenth year in Afghanistan with no end in sight, and though the war in Iraq has been declared over, thousands of our sons and daughters are still in danger there.
* Illegal drugs continue to erode our national morale after how many years of the "War on Drugs"?
Every day the news reminds us that life is full of surprises. Some we enjoy; others, not so much.
Psychologists tell us that surprises can add spice to our lives, but that we tend to thrive when we know what to expect. Animals in the laboratory do well when they know that they will be rewarded for pushing lever A and punished for pushing lever B. They will avoid B and concentrate on A. But when we take the predictability out of the equation, when we make the rewards and punishments random, they soon become fearful and refuse to approach either lever. Eventually they refuse to move at all.
Fortunately, we are not animals in a lab. We humans can handle a certain amount of randomness, a certain amount of surprise in our lives. In fact, we tend to do better, to live more fully and more authentically when there is some unpredictability and spontaneity to our days.
The key to enjoying the pleasant surprises and mitigating the unpleasant ones is to be ready for them. As oxymoronic as it sounds, you have to be prepared for surprises. You have to be looking for them. This is true not just when we consider the vicissitudes of everyday life, but even when we consider the deeper things, the things of the spirit, of the soul. In fact, it may be even truer then.
THE WORD
On the first Sunday of Advent we kick off the season of waiting and expectation. It is the "Sunday of Hope."
We know that Jesus is returning, not just at the end of time but in every time. Jesus is constantly knocking at the door of our lives, asking us to let him in. Our job, especially in Advent, is to be listening for the knock because it comes when we least expect it. Matthew says:
It can come when we are eating or drinking or when we are at a wedding reception, laughing and dancing. It can come when we are at work in the field or the factory, in the school or the office. It can come when things are going well or badly, when we are sick or when we are well, when we are happy or when we are disappointed.
Listen to Paul Tillich describing that moment in his sermon "You Are Accepted" (The Shaking of the Foundations). It is almost a contemporary paraphrase of Matthew:
"It happens; or it does not happen. And certainly it does not happen if we try to force it upon ourselves, just as it shall not happen so long as we think, in our self-complacency, that we have no need of it. Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness. It strikes us when we walk through the dark valley of a meaningless and empty life. It strikes us when we feel that our separation is deeper than usual, because we have violated another life, a life which we loved, or from which we were estranged. It strikes us when our disgust for our own being, our indifference, our weakness, our hostility, and our lack of direction and composure have become intolerable to us. It strikes us when, year after year, the longed-for perfection of life does not appear, when the old compulsions reign within us as they have for decades, when despair destroys all joy and courage. Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into our darkness, and it is as though a voice were saying: 'You are accepted. You are accepted, accepted by that which is greater than you, and the name of which you do not know. Do not ask for the name now; perhaps you will find it later. Do not try to do anything now; perhaps later you will do much. Do not seek for anything; do not perform anything; do not intend anything. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted!' If that happens to us, we experience grace."
This week Matthew reminds us that the grace of God always comes as a shock. Even when we know it's coming (December 25), it can still catch us by surprise.
The trick is to be prepared -- to wake up, to look around, to take some time to prepare ourselves for grace.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
Indicative: Jesus is coming!
As always, the trick is not just to pronounce the indicative but to make it believable. That Jesus is coming is axiomatic for Christians. The question is "When? And how?"
And if this indicative is to have power -- if it is to speak to our lives, if it is to open a door to authentic, kingdom living -- then the answer cannot be only "at the end of time." The eschaton is an existential reality; the kingdom is breaking forth right in front of us. Look, there it is!
In the love of a mother for her infant child. In the laughter of a teenager. In the affection of husband and wife for each other. In the sacrificial living of a missionary doctor. In the courage and the hope and the vision of those who are still in Haiti even though they don't have to be -- building homes and battling cholera.
Grace is striking all around us -- but if we aren't awake, we'll miss it. "The time is fulfilled; the kingdom of God is at hand..."
Imperative: "... repent and believe this good news." Get ready!
Scripture tells us that we prepare for the in-breaking of grace through repentance and faith.
First, we give up our false gods, our idols, our reliance on ourselves, our worship of things we can buy. We turn away from our separation and estrangement, our old hurts and our grudges. We walk away from the things that keep us from loving and forgiving others as we have been loved and forgiven.
Then we step out in faith, realizing that often the reward for such living exists in the unseen realm where the first are last, the blind see, the lame dance, and the poor are blessed.
It turns out that old bumper sticker was almost right. It said: Jesus is coming. Look busy.
It should have said: Jesus is coming. Get busy.
ANOTHER VIEW
by Mary Austin
Isaiah 2:1-5
The problem with Advent is that it comes too late.
In our gift-focused American culture, the shopping begins long before the Advent wreath is dusted off. The Christmas music playing everywhere overwhelms the Advent hymns, and those hymns sound dull in comparison. The catalogues have filled the mailbox for weeks, and any self-respecting young person is already working on a Christmas list.
The earlier the commercial frenzy begins, the less we have to wait for anything related to Christmas. The carols are playing, the merchandise is out, the bell-ringers are on the job -- and here comes the quiet voice of Isaiah speaking through the centuries, promising hope to beleaguered Israel, and beyond, to us. Why wait, when the world is all about Christmas already?
We need Advent to come in October if it's to be a true season of preparation.
And yet, even though the shopping is started and the calendar is filling up, here comes the quiet voice of Advent, reminding us that waiting... and hope... and inner preparation are part of our Christian calling. We know it's not just shopping and decorating and beloved carols, but they're more familiar and accessible than this distant waiting and crazy hope for something that's hard to imagine.
We're used to internet news that changes every hour. Twitter and Facebook lure us with constant updates on not just our own friends, but also the celebrities we feel like we know.
Yet, there's the quiet voice of Isaiah. The prophet promises not just a great price on a flat-screen TV, but the time when God's realm is the highest realm. The nations of the earth will find their disputes resolved without war, as the power of God serves up justice for all. The instruments of war are so unnecessary that they become tools for a long, slow growing season at home. The warrior doesn't need to leave home anymore.
In a world where everything is accessible right now, he reminds us that there is a deeper reality worth waiting for.
The other problem with Advent is that we don't really believe its promises.
In this first week of Advent, Isaiah speaks to Israel about the day when war is no more. As the powerful nation of Assyria waits at the door, Isaiah promises not just peace but equality of nations. In the world after Jesus, we, as Christians, also hear the gift of the Prince of Peace in the prophet's words. And yet, the newspaper holds the somber list each day of the men and women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Recent news told of the dramatic undercounting of Iraqi civilian deaths during the war there. Estimates range from 100,000 to 150,000 Iraqi deaths, plus the psychological and emotional damage to thousands of people who experienced bombings, home invasions, loss of work or basic services like electricity, and the loss of loved ones.
The ongoing threat of terrorism -- and the discovery of yet more terrorist bombs, this time on cargo planes -- makes it impossible to turn our swords into plowshares just yet. It's hard to believe in that world that Isaiah sees so clearly, where the nations don't need to learn war anymore.
And yet, there's the clear voice of Isaiah, who knew as much terror and worry as we do, seeing something different. The prophet speaks to people threatened by a larger, stronger foreign power on the verge of attack -- and still the vision is of peace and prosperity.
The problem with Advent is us.
We are in danger of losing the spiritual skills of waiting and hoping, of knowing that there are things beyond our immediate sight and being prepared to hold on until they come. We forget how to wait for the things that are important. We are afraid to hope, lest things not go the way we imagine. Advent brings us back to our deep calling as people of faith. We return to being people who wait upon the Lord and believe in a future beyond what we can buy, order online, or create ourselves.
For most of this section of scripture, the prophet is talking about the future. In the last verse, the focus changes to the present. Isaiah calls all who believe to do what we can do right now:
"Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!"
The problem with Advent is the problem with our faith -- but God keeps calling to us, promising us more than we can imagine, and summoning us back to the work of waiting in a hurried world, hoping in a frightening world, transforming our hearts in a shallow world, until we are prepared at last for God's new world. As we light the Advent candles, we renew our calling to walk in God's light -- as people of patience and hope.
ILLUSTRATIONS
A small-town pastor in the Midwest earned a reputation for consistently visiting all his members on a regular, but unannounced, schedule. When he arrived at the front door of one of his members, if nobody answered his knock he would take it upon himself to try the door. If unlocked, he'd step inside and bellow his trademark deep-throated "Hello!" On one occasion he announced himself in this way, only to hear the bathroom door down the hallway suddenly slam shut. The following Sunday, coming out of worship, his parishioner explained: "I heard you in my living room the other afternoon. You would not have wanted to see me at exactly that moment." Grinning, she added, "I guess I was surprised at your coming -- but, knowing you, I really shouldn't have been."
We may be surprised when our Lord comes to us, but we really shouldn't be.
* * *
Remember the story of Rip Van Winkle? In Washington Irving's famous short story, Rip, a Dutch gentleman who lives in New York's Hudson Valley, obtains a batch of strange moonshine from some mysterious little men. He drinks the brew and then falls asleep for 20 years. When he awakens, his family and friends have all either aged significantly or died. Rip Van Winkle is a sad and forlorn figure. He thought he was getting the best of those magical little men; he thought he was living life on his own terms -- when in fact he missed life in all its fullness.
Not only does he miss out on family life, but Rip Van Winkle also sleeps right through the most fascinating public events of his day. When Rip goes to sleep, his favorite tavern has a sign out front honoring King George III. When he wakes up, there's a new sign honoring another George -- George Washington. While Rip Van Winkle snores away, oblivious to his surroundings, he misses all the great and earth-shaking events taking place.
Likewise, the days leading up to the consumer Christmas can be a kind of sleepwalking episode. Great events are taking place -- events the prophets foretold -- but if we don't leave the mall and head for the church instead, we'll miss them as surely as Rip Van Winkle missed the American Revolution.
* * *
Alabama state trooper James Bonard Fowler entered Mack's CafÈ in Marion on the night of February 18, 1965. Protest marches in the city were turning into a melee, and Fowler was determined to stop the dissidents. He claimed that Jimmie Lee Jackson, 26, tried to grab his revolver, so he shot him in self-defense. Witnesses said Jackson was lying on the floor, covering his mother and grandmother, all who had been clubbed by police. Jackson died in the hospital several days later. The case was reviewed by two grand juries, and never went to trial.
The violent act did galvanize the community, and became one of the primary calls for the historic protest march from Selma to Montgomery. During the march (led by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.), the protestors were so violently attacked by deputies and troopers as they peacefully crossed Edmund Pettus Bridge that the day became known as "Bloody Sunday."
Recently Fowler was tried for murder, as a newly elected black district attorney reopened the case. Due to his health and age, the district attorney accepted a plea bargain from Fowler of misdemeanor second-degree manslaughter.
Matthew tells us that one day the Lord will return in judgment. We do not know the day or the hour, but it will happen. Most people seem to discard this proclamation of coming judgment -- just as Alabama state trooper James Bonard Fowler believed that by living in the South he would never be convicted for the unlawful slaying of Jimmie Lee Jackson.
* * *
Politics always seems to be in the news and on everyone's minds. It is interesting to recount how often it dominates our conversations. The last midterm election is one for the record books, as over 100 members of the House or Senate will not be returning to office in January. A few of them retired, but most failed to maintain the confidence of the people and be re-elected.
The legislative bodies are now residing in that twilight zone known as a "lame-duck session". According to the Congressional Research Service, "The expression 'lame-duck' was originally applied in eighteenth-century Britain to bankrupt businessmen, who were considered 'lame' in the sense that the impairment of their powers rendered them vulnerable, like a game bird injured by shot." The term was eventually applied to politicians who chose to retire or were not re-elected to the next session of Congress. In essence, they were "lame" because they held no future in the legislative process.
Congress must continue to convene during the lame-duck session, as important legislation is left to be acted upon. Most significantly is the federal budget, which expires December 3. What is troubling is that, since lame-duck congressmen are not returning to office, they have no accountability to their colleagues or constituents. This sets the stage for irresponsible and most certainly selfish behavior. What often prevents this is that the prevailing majority passes stopgap measures to keep the government running and block any substantial legislation until the new members take office.
When Matthew writes about the returning of Christ, and that we do not know the day or the hour of his coming, many people, Christians included, fail to take the message seriously. Not realizing they are living in a "lame-duck" period between the crucifixion of Jesus and his return in judgment, they act irresponsibly. The apostle Paul realized the importance of living responsibly during this intermittent or lame-duck period, when he wrote: "now is the moment for you to wake from sleep."
We, as Christians, must realize that we are always in the elected position of serving our Lord. We do not have the luxury of a lame-duck session from obedience, accountability, and service.
* * *
In Germany, as in most of Western Europe, there is a continuing debate about the emerging Muslim population. Their traditions and customs are constantly being called into question, especially those related to women wearing the burqa. Then there is the unfounded fear that all Muslims are jihadists.
Recently German Chancellor Angela Merkel decided to enter into the debate and make very explicit her feelings on the issues that are dividing a country, fostering hostility and discrimination. In a speech to her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, she said the problem is "We don't have too much Islam, we have too little Christianity." She informed the delegates that multiculturalism in Germany had utterly failed.
Paul informed the Christians in Rome to "lay aside the works of darkness." In effect, Paul could be saying to the Roman Christians that the problem is there is "too little Christianity."
* * *
Back on November 19, 2002, the New York Times ran an article under the ominous headline: "Astronomers Foresee Enormous Collision of Two Black Holes". The article begins: "Two giant black holes have been found at the center of a galaxy born from the joining of two smaller galaxies and are drifting toward a cataclysmic collision that will send ripples throughout the universe... That joining, astronomers said, will result in a monumental release of radiation and gravitational waves that should stretch across the universe."
Each of these two newly discovered black holes -- "collapsing objects so dense that their gravity draws in all material around them, including light" -- is about the size of our inner solar system. Place one of them within our solar system, in other words, and it would stretch clear from the sun to Mars. When these two vast celestial objects collide, it's likely that a new galaxy will be born -- much like our own Milky Way, which astronomers believe was formed in a similar way. "We're seeing our own future," said Dr. Steinn Sigurdsson of Penn State University, explaining the significance of the announcement.
Given the ominous nature of this prediction, it's remarkable that it attracted so little attention at the time -- or, even more remarkably, in the eight years since. The reason it didn't is the timing. The collision of the two black holes is due to take place in about four billion years. By then, astronomers predict, there should be no one left on Earth to witness it -- because they expect the sun to have exploded into a nova about a billion years previously.
It's all in the timing -- "But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" (Matthew 24:36).
* * *
Remaining alert can keep us out of trouble and ready for what is sure to come upon us -- a lesson that the famous composer, pianist, and conductor Andre Previn learned early in life. As a teenager, Previn played the piano at a cinema that specialized in showing old, silent movies. But the job didn't last long. One afternoon Previn was pounding away the appropriate music for a '20s Flaming Youth flick. He didn't watch the screen and failed to notice that the movie short had ended and the main feature had begun. Previn recalled: "I was enthusiastically playing a Charleston during the scene depicting the Last Supper of Christ when the manager of the theater came storming down the aisle. Two minutes later I was unemployed."
* * *
Someone in a religious cult once warned Ralph Waldo Emerson that the world was going to end in 10 days' time. Emerson, already reconciled to the future and his own mortality, serenely replied, "Well, no doubt we will get on very well without it."
* * *
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.... The chain reaction of evil -- hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars -- must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.
-- Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Click here for Thanksgiving worship resources.
Call to Worship
Leader: Let us enter into the house of our God.
People: Gladly we hear the invitation to worship.
Leader: To the house of God the people come up.
People: We come up to give thanks to the Name of God.
Leader: For the sake of its inhabitants let us pray for this community.
People: For the sake of God's work, we will pray for these people.
OR
Leader: Come and see what God has in store for us!
People: What is it that God brings us?
Leader: Come and see, for it is a surprise!
People: But we like to know what is coming.
Leader: With God it is always a surprise that is coming.
People: We shall open our hearts and minds to God's glorious surprise for us!
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"Hail to the Lord's Anointed"
found in:
UMH: 203
H82: 616
AAHH: 187
NCH: 104
CH: 140
LBW: 87
Renew: 101
"People, Look East"
found in:
UMH: 202
PH: 12
"O Come, O Come, Emmanuel"
found in:
UMH: 211
H82: 56
PH: 9
AAHH: 188
NNBH: 82
NCH: 116
CH: 119
LBW: 34
"Send Your Word"
found in:
UMH: 195
"Toda la Tierra" ("All Earth Is Waiting")
found in:
UMH: 210
NCH: 121
"Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates"
found in:
UMH: 213
H82: 436
PH: 8
NCH: 117
CH: 129
LBW: 32
Renew: 59
"Savior of the Nations, Come"
found in:
UMH: 214
PH: 14
LBW: 28
"This Is a Day of New Beginnings"
found in:
UMH: 383
NCH: 417
CH: 518
"When Our Confidence Is Shaken"
found in:
UMH: 505
CH: 534
"The Steadfast Love of the Lord"
found in:
CCB: 28
Renew: 23
"Through It All"
found in:
CCB: 61
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
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who works in ways too wondrous and mysterious for us to understand: Grant us the faith to trust that in all the surprises of life you are present to offer us life and wholeness, whether the surprise pleases us or scares us; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We enter into your presence, O God, to offer our worship and praise to you. You have moved among us in ways we have not expected, and yet we have found in each surprise that you have been faithful to us. Open our hearts and minds to you this day that we may be better prepared to find you in the unexpected. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially the ways we try to make your thoughts and ways predictable to our mortal minds and fears.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have tried to take the wondrous creation you have given us and reduce it to things we can predict and control. We have faced the unknown with fear instead of with faith. We have substituted an unfocused fear of the unknown for a rational, God-given sense of real danger. In all of this we have forsaken the knowledge that you are with us in all of life. Forgive us and empower us with your Spirit that we may live in anticipation of the surprises you and life bring to us. Amen.
Leader: God does not desire us to live in fear and distrust, especially not of God. God loves us, forgives us, and gives us the Spirit to quench our fear and give us faith.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We offer to you, O God, our praise and worship, for you are the creator of all that is and the very ground upon which all creation rests.
(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 have tried to take the wondrous creation you have given us and reduce it to things we can predict and control. We have faced the unknown with fear instead of with faith. We have substituted an unfocused fear of the unknown for a rational, God-given sense of real danger. In all of this we have forsaken the knowledge that you are with us in all of life. Forgive us and empower us with your Spirit that we may live in anticipation of the surprises you and life bring to us.
We give you thanks for all the ways in which you have been faithful to us. Sometimes it was evident to us that you were at work. At other times we were caught by surprise to discover what you had been doing for us, in us, and through us.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for our brothers and sisters and ourselves that we might learn to live without fear of the unknown. We pray for the shadow of mistrust and fear to be parted by the sweet sunlight of our Savior.
(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.
Visuals
pictures of wrapped packages, parties, things that suggest surprises
Children's Sermon Starter
Talk to the children about times when you had good surprises. Talk also about times you may have been scared, especially if it was a time when something was scary but you weren't really afraid because you had a parent or someone there with you and you felt safe. There are all kinds of things that surprise us. Some of them are happy and some are not. And sometimes there is real danger and we need to be careful -- but we don't need to ever feel alone because God is always with us.
Note: I am always mindful that, while wanting to assure children of God's presence that can dispel fear, it does not call for doing away with caution, the prudent taking care when real danger is present.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Ready and Waiting
Matthew 24:36-44
Object: a chair
Good morning, boys and girls! Today is the first Sunday in the season of Advent. What happens at the end of Advent? (see if they know) Christmas! What happens on Christmas? (listen for their responses) Christmas trees, lights, decorations, presents -- these are all wonderful things about Christmas. The most important thing, though, is that Christmas is when Jesus was born. It's a very exciting time, but you know what? Christmas is still over three weeks away. We have to wait. This is what I look like when I'm waiting for something. (sit in the chair and look around) Sometimes I have to wait a long time for things. (look at your watch, scratch your head and sigh) Sometimes when I'm waiting it's hard to be patient. (look frustrated, roll your eyes, and tap your feet) Waiting is hard!
Today's lesson talks about waiting. The writer, Matthew, says that we must be ready for Jesus to show up at any moment, because it could be any time. Now, of course we're waiting for Christmas. But what about the other times that Jesus shows up in the world? Jesus shows up all the time, did you know that? His spirit is everywhere: helping, healing wounds, giving strength to the weak, spreading love.
The real challenge isn't how to wait and be ready for Christmas. The hard thing is to wait for Jesus to show up today. Every day he is with us. We must pray and be ready to see him when he does something in our lives. We must be looking for him all the time. He does show up. We just have to be ready to see him.
Prayer: Jesus, teach us how to wait for you. Help us be ready for you to show up at Christmas and every other day too. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, November 28, 2010, issue.
Copyright 2010 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.
Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!
by Dean Feldmeyer
Matthew 24:36-44
"Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!"
Many of us can still remember Jim Nabors as television's Private Gomer Pyle, USMC, his eyes closed, a broad smile creasing his face, weaving his head and shoulders back and forth as he said that phrase. Surprises always pleased Gomer. He accepted them as gifts.
Maybe that's because Gomer was easy to surprise. He was naÔve and kind of simple. His heart was pure and he always assumed the best in and expected the best from people. Even when people -- or the world, for that matter -- didn't meet his expectations, he was able to put a positive spin on it.
On the other hand, Gomer's foil, Sergeant Vince Carter, never liked surprises. He liked order, neatness, and predictability. Carter did everything in his power to prevent and avoid surprises -- even the good ones. So, consequently, he was never prepared for the surprises that life inevitably threw at him. And with Gomer in his platoon, those surprises came fast and often.
The gospel lesson on this first Sunday in Advent calls us to channel our inner Gomer Pyle, to prepare ourselves for the greatest surprise of all so, on that day, we can receive and celebrate it as a gift.
THE WORLD
* Prince William and his beloved Kate are engaged. Surprise!
* The Dow is up... no, it's down... no, it's up... wait, it's down again. Surprise!
* GM announces that it is actually making money and making public stock offerings for the first time in nearly a decade. Two years ago everyone thought they were down for the count. Surprise!
* And the Motor Trend Car of the Year for 2011 is the Volt, an electric car made by... wait for it... General Motors! Surprise!
* On television's Dancing with the Stars, Brandy is out and Bristol Palin is still in! Who woulda figured? Surprise!
* Donald Trump and Sarah Palin are flirting with the notion of running for president! Donald Trump? Surprise!
* Lisa Murkowski, the Republican who wasn't endorsed by Sarah Palin, is reelected senator from Alaska on a write-in campaign -- the first time a senator has been elected by write-in in more than 50 years. Surprise!
Every day the news reminds us that life is full of surprises.
* Who in 2000 would have predicted that an African American would be president of the United States in their lifetime?
* And who would have predicted the "Tea Party" even two years ago?
* The Oregon Ducks are currently number one in college football's BCS rankings -- but they could be replaced by TCU if they don't watch pretty sharp what they're about. TCU? No one, but no one, would have predicted that 12 weeks ago.
* And don't get me started on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are doing pretty well, and my beloved, beleaguered Cincinnati Bengals, who aren't. This isn't how those guys on ESPN said it would be.
On a more serious note...
* Unemployment is close to 10%.
* The economy refuses to improve even though corporations are making bigger profits than they have in the past 50 years.
* The "War Against Global Terrorism" is entering its tenth year in Afghanistan with no end in sight, and though the war in Iraq has been declared over, thousands of our sons and daughters are still in danger there.
* Illegal drugs continue to erode our national morale after how many years of the "War on Drugs"?
Every day the news reminds us that life is full of surprises. Some we enjoy; others, not so much.
Psychologists tell us that surprises can add spice to our lives, but that we tend to thrive when we know what to expect. Animals in the laboratory do well when they know that they will be rewarded for pushing lever A and punished for pushing lever B. They will avoid B and concentrate on A. But when we take the predictability out of the equation, when we make the rewards and punishments random, they soon become fearful and refuse to approach either lever. Eventually they refuse to move at all.
Fortunately, we are not animals in a lab. We humans can handle a certain amount of randomness, a certain amount of surprise in our lives. In fact, we tend to do better, to live more fully and more authentically when there is some unpredictability and spontaneity to our days.
The key to enjoying the pleasant surprises and mitigating the unpleasant ones is to be ready for them. As oxymoronic as it sounds, you have to be prepared for surprises. You have to be looking for them. This is true not just when we consider the vicissitudes of everyday life, but even when we consider the deeper things, the things of the spirit, of the soul. In fact, it may be even truer then.
THE WORD
On the first Sunday of Advent we kick off the season of waiting and expectation. It is the "Sunday of Hope."
We know that Jesus is returning, not just at the end of time but in every time. Jesus is constantly knocking at the door of our lives, asking us to let him in. Our job, especially in Advent, is to be listening for the knock because it comes when we least expect it. Matthew says:
It can come when we are eating or drinking or when we are at a wedding reception, laughing and dancing. It can come when we are at work in the field or the factory, in the school or the office. It can come when things are going well or badly, when we are sick or when we are well, when we are happy or when we are disappointed.
Listen to Paul Tillich describing that moment in his sermon "You Are Accepted" (The Shaking of the Foundations). It is almost a contemporary paraphrase of Matthew:
"It happens; or it does not happen. And certainly it does not happen if we try to force it upon ourselves, just as it shall not happen so long as we think, in our self-complacency, that we have no need of it. Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness. It strikes us when we walk through the dark valley of a meaningless and empty life. It strikes us when we feel that our separation is deeper than usual, because we have violated another life, a life which we loved, or from which we were estranged. It strikes us when our disgust for our own being, our indifference, our weakness, our hostility, and our lack of direction and composure have become intolerable to us. It strikes us when, year after year, the longed-for perfection of life does not appear, when the old compulsions reign within us as they have for decades, when despair destroys all joy and courage. Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into our darkness, and it is as though a voice were saying: 'You are accepted. You are accepted, accepted by that which is greater than you, and the name of which you do not know. Do not ask for the name now; perhaps you will find it later. Do not try to do anything now; perhaps later you will do much. Do not seek for anything; do not perform anything; do not intend anything. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted!' If that happens to us, we experience grace."
This week Matthew reminds us that the grace of God always comes as a shock. Even when we know it's coming (December 25), it can still catch us by surprise.
The trick is to be prepared -- to wake up, to look around, to take some time to prepare ourselves for grace.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
Indicative: Jesus is coming!
As always, the trick is not just to pronounce the indicative but to make it believable. That Jesus is coming is axiomatic for Christians. The question is "When? And how?"
And if this indicative is to have power -- if it is to speak to our lives, if it is to open a door to authentic, kingdom living -- then the answer cannot be only "at the end of time." The eschaton is an existential reality; the kingdom is breaking forth right in front of us. Look, there it is!
In the love of a mother for her infant child. In the laughter of a teenager. In the affection of husband and wife for each other. In the sacrificial living of a missionary doctor. In the courage and the hope and the vision of those who are still in Haiti even though they don't have to be -- building homes and battling cholera.
Grace is striking all around us -- but if we aren't awake, we'll miss it. "The time is fulfilled; the kingdom of God is at hand..."
Imperative: "... repent and believe this good news." Get ready!
Scripture tells us that we prepare for the in-breaking of grace through repentance and faith.
First, we give up our false gods, our idols, our reliance on ourselves, our worship of things we can buy. We turn away from our separation and estrangement, our old hurts and our grudges. We walk away from the things that keep us from loving and forgiving others as we have been loved and forgiven.
Then we step out in faith, realizing that often the reward for such living exists in the unseen realm where the first are last, the blind see, the lame dance, and the poor are blessed.
It turns out that old bumper sticker was almost right. It said: Jesus is coming. Look busy.
It should have said: Jesus is coming. Get busy.
ANOTHER VIEW
by Mary Austin
Isaiah 2:1-5
The problem with Advent is that it comes too late.
In our gift-focused American culture, the shopping begins long before the Advent wreath is dusted off. The Christmas music playing everywhere overwhelms the Advent hymns, and those hymns sound dull in comparison. The catalogues have filled the mailbox for weeks, and any self-respecting young person is already working on a Christmas list.
The earlier the commercial frenzy begins, the less we have to wait for anything related to Christmas. The carols are playing, the merchandise is out, the bell-ringers are on the job -- and here comes the quiet voice of Isaiah speaking through the centuries, promising hope to beleaguered Israel, and beyond, to us. Why wait, when the world is all about Christmas already?
We need Advent to come in October if it's to be a true season of preparation.
And yet, even though the shopping is started and the calendar is filling up, here comes the quiet voice of Advent, reminding us that waiting... and hope... and inner preparation are part of our Christian calling. We know it's not just shopping and decorating and beloved carols, but they're more familiar and accessible than this distant waiting and crazy hope for something that's hard to imagine.
We're used to internet news that changes every hour. Twitter and Facebook lure us with constant updates on not just our own friends, but also the celebrities we feel like we know.
Yet, there's the quiet voice of Isaiah. The prophet promises not just a great price on a flat-screen TV, but the time when God's realm is the highest realm. The nations of the earth will find their disputes resolved without war, as the power of God serves up justice for all. The instruments of war are so unnecessary that they become tools for a long, slow growing season at home. The warrior doesn't need to leave home anymore.
In a world where everything is accessible right now, he reminds us that there is a deeper reality worth waiting for.
The other problem with Advent is that we don't really believe its promises.
In this first week of Advent, Isaiah speaks to Israel about the day when war is no more. As the powerful nation of Assyria waits at the door, Isaiah promises not just peace but equality of nations. In the world after Jesus, we, as Christians, also hear the gift of the Prince of Peace in the prophet's words. And yet, the newspaper holds the somber list each day of the men and women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Recent news told of the dramatic undercounting of Iraqi civilian deaths during the war there. Estimates range from 100,000 to 150,000 Iraqi deaths, plus the psychological and emotional damage to thousands of people who experienced bombings, home invasions, loss of work or basic services like electricity, and the loss of loved ones.
The ongoing threat of terrorism -- and the discovery of yet more terrorist bombs, this time on cargo planes -- makes it impossible to turn our swords into plowshares just yet. It's hard to believe in that world that Isaiah sees so clearly, where the nations don't need to learn war anymore.
And yet, there's the clear voice of Isaiah, who knew as much terror and worry as we do, seeing something different. The prophet speaks to people threatened by a larger, stronger foreign power on the verge of attack -- and still the vision is of peace and prosperity.
The problem with Advent is us.
We are in danger of losing the spiritual skills of waiting and hoping, of knowing that there are things beyond our immediate sight and being prepared to hold on until they come. We forget how to wait for the things that are important. We are afraid to hope, lest things not go the way we imagine. Advent brings us back to our deep calling as people of faith. We return to being people who wait upon the Lord and believe in a future beyond what we can buy, order online, or create ourselves.
For most of this section of scripture, the prophet is talking about the future. In the last verse, the focus changes to the present. Isaiah calls all who believe to do what we can do right now:
"Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!"
The problem with Advent is the problem with our faith -- but God keeps calling to us, promising us more than we can imagine, and summoning us back to the work of waiting in a hurried world, hoping in a frightening world, transforming our hearts in a shallow world, until we are prepared at last for God's new world. As we light the Advent candles, we renew our calling to walk in God's light -- as people of patience and hope.
ILLUSTRATIONS
A small-town pastor in the Midwest earned a reputation for consistently visiting all his members on a regular, but unannounced, schedule. When he arrived at the front door of one of his members, if nobody answered his knock he would take it upon himself to try the door. If unlocked, he'd step inside and bellow his trademark deep-throated "Hello!" On one occasion he announced himself in this way, only to hear the bathroom door down the hallway suddenly slam shut. The following Sunday, coming out of worship, his parishioner explained: "I heard you in my living room the other afternoon. You would not have wanted to see me at exactly that moment." Grinning, she added, "I guess I was surprised at your coming -- but, knowing you, I really shouldn't have been."
We may be surprised when our Lord comes to us, but we really shouldn't be.
* * *
Remember the story of Rip Van Winkle? In Washington Irving's famous short story, Rip, a Dutch gentleman who lives in New York's Hudson Valley, obtains a batch of strange moonshine from some mysterious little men. He drinks the brew and then falls asleep for 20 years. When he awakens, his family and friends have all either aged significantly or died. Rip Van Winkle is a sad and forlorn figure. He thought he was getting the best of those magical little men; he thought he was living life on his own terms -- when in fact he missed life in all its fullness.
Not only does he miss out on family life, but Rip Van Winkle also sleeps right through the most fascinating public events of his day. When Rip goes to sleep, his favorite tavern has a sign out front honoring King George III. When he wakes up, there's a new sign honoring another George -- George Washington. While Rip Van Winkle snores away, oblivious to his surroundings, he misses all the great and earth-shaking events taking place.
Likewise, the days leading up to the consumer Christmas can be a kind of sleepwalking episode. Great events are taking place -- events the prophets foretold -- but if we don't leave the mall and head for the church instead, we'll miss them as surely as Rip Van Winkle missed the American Revolution.
* * *
Alabama state trooper James Bonard Fowler entered Mack's CafÈ in Marion on the night of February 18, 1965. Protest marches in the city were turning into a melee, and Fowler was determined to stop the dissidents. He claimed that Jimmie Lee Jackson, 26, tried to grab his revolver, so he shot him in self-defense. Witnesses said Jackson was lying on the floor, covering his mother and grandmother, all who had been clubbed by police. Jackson died in the hospital several days later. The case was reviewed by two grand juries, and never went to trial.
The violent act did galvanize the community, and became one of the primary calls for the historic protest march from Selma to Montgomery. During the march (led by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.), the protestors were so violently attacked by deputies and troopers as they peacefully crossed Edmund Pettus Bridge that the day became known as "Bloody Sunday."
Recently Fowler was tried for murder, as a newly elected black district attorney reopened the case. Due to his health and age, the district attorney accepted a plea bargain from Fowler of misdemeanor second-degree manslaughter.
Matthew tells us that one day the Lord will return in judgment. We do not know the day or the hour, but it will happen. Most people seem to discard this proclamation of coming judgment -- just as Alabama state trooper James Bonard Fowler believed that by living in the South he would never be convicted for the unlawful slaying of Jimmie Lee Jackson.
* * *
Politics always seems to be in the news and on everyone's minds. It is interesting to recount how often it dominates our conversations. The last midterm election is one for the record books, as over 100 members of the House or Senate will not be returning to office in January. A few of them retired, but most failed to maintain the confidence of the people and be re-elected.
The legislative bodies are now residing in that twilight zone known as a "lame-duck session". According to the Congressional Research Service, "The expression 'lame-duck' was originally applied in eighteenth-century Britain to bankrupt businessmen, who were considered 'lame' in the sense that the impairment of their powers rendered them vulnerable, like a game bird injured by shot." The term was eventually applied to politicians who chose to retire or were not re-elected to the next session of Congress. In essence, they were "lame" because they held no future in the legislative process.
Congress must continue to convene during the lame-duck session, as important legislation is left to be acted upon. Most significantly is the federal budget, which expires December 3. What is troubling is that, since lame-duck congressmen are not returning to office, they have no accountability to their colleagues or constituents. This sets the stage for irresponsible and most certainly selfish behavior. What often prevents this is that the prevailing majority passes stopgap measures to keep the government running and block any substantial legislation until the new members take office.
When Matthew writes about the returning of Christ, and that we do not know the day or the hour of his coming, many people, Christians included, fail to take the message seriously. Not realizing they are living in a "lame-duck" period between the crucifixion of Jesus and his return in judgment, they act irresponsibly. The apostle Paul realized the importance of living responsibly during this intermittent or lame-duck period, when he wrote: "now is the moment for you to wake from sleep."
We, as Christians, must realize that we are always in the elected position of serving our Lord. We do not have the luxury of a lame-duck session from obedience, accountability, and service.
* * *
In Germany, as in most of Western Europe, there is a continuing debate about the emerging Muslim population. Their traditions and customs are constantly being called into question, especially those related to women wearing the burqa. Then there is the unfounded fear that all Muslims are jihadists.
Recently German Chancellor Angela Merkel decided to enter into the debate and make very explicit her feelings on the issues that are dividing a country, fostering hostility and discrimination. In a speech to her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, she said the problem is "We don't have too much Islam, we have too little Christianity." She informed the delegates that multiculturalism in Germany had utterly failed.
Paul informed the Christians in Rome to "lay aside the works of darkness." In effect, Paul could be saying to the Roman Christians that the problem is there is "too little Christianity."
* * *
Back on November 19, 2002, the New York Times ran an article under the ominous headline: "Astronomers Foresee Enormous Collision of Two Black Holes". The article begins: "Two giant black holes have been found at the center of a galaxy born from the joining of two smaller galaxies and are drifting toward a cataclysmic collision that will send ripples throughout the universe... That joining, astronomers said, will result in a monumental release of radiation and gravitational waves that should stretch across the universe."
Each of these two newly discovered black holes -- "collapsing objects so dense that their gravity draws in all material around them, including light" -- is about the size of our inner solar system. Place one of them within our solar system, in other words, and it would stretch clear from the sun to Mars. When these two vast celestial objects collide, it's likely that a new galaxy will be born -- much like our own Milky Way, which astronomers believe was formed in a similar way. "We're seeing our own future," said Dr. Steinn Sigurdsson of Penn State University, explaining the significance of the announcement.
Given the ominous nature of this prediction, it's remarkable that it attracted so little attention at the time -- or, even more remarkably, in the eight years since. The reason it didn't is the timing. The collision of the two black holes is due to take place in about four billion years. By then, astronomers predict, there should be no one left on Earth to witness it -- because they expect the sun to have exploded into a nova about a billion years previously.
It's all in the timing -- "But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" (Matthew 24:36).
* * *
Remaining alert can keep us out of trouble and ready for what is sure to come upon us -- a lesson that the famous composer, pianist, and conductor Andre Previn learned early in life. As a teenager, Previn played the piano at a cinema that specialized in showing old, silent movies. But the job didn't last long. One afternoon Previn was pounding away the appropriate music for a '20s Flaming Youth flick. He didn't watch the screen and failed to notice that the movie short had ended and the main feature had begun. Previn recalled: "I was enthusiastically playing a Charleston during the scene depicting the Last Supper of Christ when the manager of the theater came storming down the aisle. Two minutes later I was unemployed."
* * *
Someone in a religious cult once warned Ralph Waldo Emerson that the world was going to end in 10 days' time. Emerson, already reconciled to the future and his own mortality, serenely replied, "Well, no doubt we will get on very well without it."
* * *
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.... The chain reaction of evil -- hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars -- must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.
-- Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Click here for Thanksgiving worship resources.
Call to Worship
Leader: Let us enter into the house of our God.
People: Gladly we hear the invitation to worship.
Leader: To the house of God the people come up.
People: We come up to give thanks to the Name of God.
Leader: For the sake of its inhabitants let us pray for this community.
People: For the sake of God's work, we will pray for these people.
OR
Leader: Come and see what God has in store for us!
People: What is it that God brings us?
Leader: Come and see, for it is a surprise!
People: But we like to know what is coming.
Leader: With God it is always a surprise that is coming.
People: We shall open our hearts and minds to God's glorious surprise for us!
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"Hail to the Lord's Anointed"
found in:
UMH: 203
H82: 616
AAHH: 187
NCH: 104
CH: 140
LBW: 87
Renew: 101
"People, Look East"
found in:
UMH: 202
PH: 12
"O Come, O Come, Emmanuel"
found in:
UMH: 211
H82: 56
PH: 9
AAHH: 188
NNBH: 82
NCH: 116
CH: 119
LBW: 34
"Send Your Word"
found in:
UMH: 195
"Toda la Tierra" ("All Earth Is Waiting")
found in:
UMH: 210
NCH: 121
"Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates"
found in:
UMH: 213
H82: 436
PH: 8
NCH: 117
CH: 129
LBW: 32
Renew: 59
"Savior of the Nations, Come"
found in:
UMH: 214
PH: 14
LBW: 28
"This Is a Day of New Beginnings"
found in:
UMH: 383
NCH: 417
CH: 518
"When Our Confidence Is Shaken"
found in:
UMH: 505
CH: 534
"The Steadfast Love of the Lord"
found in:
CCB: 28
Renew: 23
"Through It All"
found in:
CCB: 61
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
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who works in ways too wondrous and mysterious for us to understand: Grant us the faith to trust that in all the surprises of life you are present to offer us life and wholeness, whether the surprise pleases us or scares us; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We enter into your presence, O God, to offer our worship and praise to you. You have moved among us in ways we have not expected, and yet we have found in each surprise that you have been faithful to us. Open our hearts and minds to you this day that we may be better prepared to find you in the unexpected. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially the ways we try to make your thoughts and ways predictable to our mortal minds and fears.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have tried to take the wondrous creation you have given us and reduce it to things we can predict and control. We have faced the unknown with fear instead of with faith. We have substituted an unfocused fear of the unknown for a rational, God-given sense of real danger. In all of this we have forsaken the knowledge that you are with us in all of life. Forgive us and empower us with your Spirit that we may live in anticipation of the surprises you and life bring to us. Amen.
Leader: God does not desire us to live in fear and distrust, especially not of God. God loves us, forgives us, and gives us the Spirit to quench our fear and give us faith.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We offer to you, O God, our praise and worship, for you are the creator of all that is and the very ground upon which all creation rests.
(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 have tried to take the wondrous creation you have given us and reduce it to things we can predict and control. We have faced the unknown with fear instead of with faith. We have substituted an unfocused fear of the unknown for a rational, God-given sense of real danger. In all of this we have forsaken the knowledge that you are with us in all of life. Forgive us and empower us with your Spirit that we may live in anticipation of the surprises you and life bring to us.
We give you thanks for all the ways in which you have been faithful to us. Sometimes it was evident to us that you were at work. At other times we were caught by surprise to discover what you had been doing for us, in us, and through us.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for our brothers and sisters and ourselves that we might learn to live without fear of the unknown. We pray for the shadow of mistrust and fear to be parted by the sweet sunlight of our Savior.
(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.
Visuals
pictures of wrapped packages, parties, things that suggest surprises
Children's Sermon Starter
Talk to the children about times when you had good surprises. Talk also about times you may have been scared, especially if it was a time when something was scary but you weren't really afraid because you had a parent or someone there with you and you felt safe. There are all kinds of things that surprise us. Some of them are happy and some are not. And sometimes there is real danger and we need to be careful -- but we don't need to ever feel alone because God is always with us.
Note: I am always mindful that, while wanting to assure children of God's presence that can dispel fear, it does not call for doing away with caution, the prudent taking care when real danger is present.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Ready and Waiting
Matthew 24:36-44
Object: a chair
Good morning, boys and girls! Today is the first Sunday in the season of Advent. What happens at the end of Advent? (see if they know) Christmas! What happens on Christmas? (listen for their responses) Christmas trees, lights, decorations, presents -- these are all wonderful things about Christmas. The most important thing, though, is that Christmas is when Jesus was born. It's a very exciting time, but you know what? Christmas is still over three weeks away. We have to wait. This is what I look like when I'm waiting for something. (sit in the chair and look around) Sometimes I have to wait a long time for things. (look at your watch, scratch your head and sigh) Sometimes when I'm waiting it's hard to be patient. (look frustrated, roll your eyes, and tap your feet) Waiting is hard!
Today's lesson talks about waiting. The writer, Matthew, says that we must be ready for Jesus to show up at any moment, because it could be any time. Now, of course we're waiting for Christmas. But what about the other times that Jesus shows up in the world? Jesus shows up all the time, did you know that? His spirit is everywhere: helping, healing wounds, giving strength to the weak, spreading love.
The real challenge isn't how to wait and be ready for Christmas. The hard thing is to wait for Jesus to show up today. Every day he is with us. We must pray and be ready to see him when he does something in our lives. We must be looking for him all the time. He does show up. We just have to be ready to see him.
Prayer: Jesus, teach us how to wait for you. Help us be ready for you to show up at Christmas and every other day too. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, November 28, 2010, issue.
Copyright 2010 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.
