Advent 4
Worship
Lectionary Worship Workbook
Series III, Cycle A
Object:
Gathering
P: To all God's beloved in (fill in the name of your community) who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
C: Amen.
Hymn And Prayer For Lighting The Fourth Advent Candle
Sing verse 4 of the hymn chosen for Advent 1.
Burn brightly in our hearts, Lord, and lead us home.
Advent Drama/Readers' Theater
Two readers are needed: one male and one female. The text can be expressively read with one person at the pulpit and one at the lectern or with both seated on high stools in the chancel area. No special costuming is required. Each scene may be separated by a verse of the hymn, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel."
Scene One
Mary: Joseph, are we there yet?
Joseph: No, Mary, Bethlehem is hours away. I could walk faster but this old donkey has its own pace.
Mary: Did you ever think our lives would be like this? I mean, an angel talking to me, telling me that the child I would carry would be our Savior?
Joseph: I didn't want to believe that you were pregnant. I couldn't believe it, until the angel spoke to me in my dream. I hope that you can forgive me, that at first I wanted to end our betrothal, to divorce you.
Mary: You know I forgive you, Joseph. The angel had to convince me, too. At first I objected, how could this be happening, that a young girl like me could be the handmaid of the Lord?
Joseph: Ah, Mary, God chose you and his beauty shines in you.
Mary: And you, Joseph, are a good man. If only you could get this donkey to move faster. I feel like I could have this baby at any moment!
Joseph: This trip to Bethlehem, the census, the emperor; we have so little to say. You need to be in a safe place, but none of us is safe while Caesar thinks he is God!
Mary: I know, Joseph, I know, but I believe what the angel told me. Inside of me is one who will take the mighty down from their thrones.
Joseph: That visit you had with Elizabeth?
Mary: (nods head) Uh huh.
Joseph: The way you told me the baby leaped?
Mary: (nods head) Uh huh.
Joseph: The way you told me you sang of God's love?
Mary: Yes?
Joseph: I know that God will make all things right.
Scene Two
Joseph: It's been a long day.
Mary: Let's stop and rest just for a minute.
Joseph: You know, Mary, I've been thinking about that dream I had.
Mary: Yes?
Joseph: How God would use us to fulfill what he had promised.
Mary: What Isaiah had spoken?
Joseph: Yes, how God would use us, a carpenter and his intended wife, to bring this baby into the world.
Mary: I know I don't understand all the teachings of the men in the synagogue, but I do believe that somehow God will make all things right, that someday we will all trust his word.
Joseph: It's what the angel said to me in the dream, telling us to call our son Jesus, Yeshua, the one who will save people from their sins.
Mary: How will our baby do that?
Joseph: Only God knows.
Scene Three
Mary: Joseph, have you ever walked this far before?
Joseph: No. And I've seen some folks who have even come farther. All of us who claim David as our ancestor will be here soon.
Mary: I know that Caesar wants us all here to control us. Even the women have talked about how people are calling him the Savior.
Joseph: Yes, the workmen, too. We know of an altar built in his honor, and how he has sacrificed to the Roman gods, and how he claims that the whole world is his.
Mary: That's why he has us on the road. He can do anything to us that he wills.
Joseph: Anything but control our hearts.
Mary: Anything but control our wills.
Joseph: Mary ...
Mary: What?
Joseph: It won't be easy for our baby.
Mary: I am not worried.
Joseph: The angel says he is to be our Savior. But everyone around us calls Caesar the Savior.
Mary: I am not worried.
Joseph: I have no idea what will happen.
Mary: I am not worried.
Joseph: The armies, the courts, the weapons ... no one has ever had as much power as this Caesar.
Mary: Joseph, stop worrying. You know what I think?
(Joseph silently shakes head)
Mary: I think that Caesar is bringing us here to be taxed, to make us poorer and poorer -- but God is bringing us here so that his Son will be born in the Holy City of Bethlehem.
Scene Four
Mary: Hurry up, Joseph!
Joseph: It's going to be all right.
Mary: I can't wait much longer.
Joseph: It will be all right. Remember what God has promised.
Mary: There are people all over the place.
Joseph: I can't believe how many people are out at this time of night. Mary, I see some more lights. Just wait here.
Mary: The baby is coming soon!
Joseph: I'll stop at the first place.
Mary: Don't be long.
(pause)
Joseph: There is no room.
Mary: Joseph, just get me off this donkey. I need to get ready.
Joseph: There's a stable. There must be a place to lie down.
Mary: There must be a place for our baby.
Joseph: Let me carry you in.
Scene Five (optional)
This can be a time for your own short reflection on the gift of the incarnation. This can be done by one person or by each of the readers.
Offertory Prayer
A: Great shepherd of our lives,
C: again and again you lead us to safety. Hear our prayers and lead us into the light, that our lives might forever burst forth in praise. Amen.
Benediction
P: May the God of all the ages speak to you in your dreams;
may you listen to his word;
and may you be awakened to a new life by the birth of his Son.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
Hymns And Songs
Savior Of The Nations, Come -- LBW 28; UMH 214; PH 14; MBW 265
Wake, Awake, For Night Is Flying -- LBW 31; UMH 720; PH 17
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel -- LBW 34; UMH 211; PH 9; MBW 274; G&P 293
Lo, How A Rose Is Growing -- LBW 58; UMH 216; PH 48
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence -- LBW 198; UMH 626; PH 5; MBW 271; G&P 694
My Lord, What A Morning -- WOV 627; UMH 719
Each Winter As The Year Grows Older -- WOV 628
The Angel Gabriel From Heaven Came -- WOV 632; PH 16
Sing Of Mary, Pure And Lowly -- WOV 634; UMH 272
What Feast Of Love -- WOV 701
Emmanuel -- TFF 45; UMH 204
Watchman, Tell Us Of The Night -- PH 20
Veiled In Darkness Judah Lay -- MBW 276
People Of The Night -- GATHER 259
Jesus, Come To Us -- G&P 304
Psalm Settings
O Hear Our Cry, O Lord -- PH 206
Psalm 80: The Vineyard Of The Lord -- GATHER 69
Psalm 80: Lord, Make Us Turn To You/The Vineyard Of The Lord -- G&P 221
Choral Music
"Christmas Lullaby" -- John Rutter (Oxford University Press/Henshaw Music, Inc.)
"E'en So, Lord Jesus Quickly Come" -- Paul Manz (Concordia)
"The Light Will Soon Appear" -- J. Paul Williams (Evergreen Morning Press)
"O Come, O Come" -- arr. Randall De Bruyn (Oregon Catholic Press)
Liturgical Art
The customary Christmas tree might be adorned for the last Sunday in Advent. Some churches use white, gold, and/or silver Chrismon ornaments formed in the shapes of traditional Christian symbols. (After the Christmas season you may remove the branches from the tree trunk, cut off the top, and then fashion a cross to be used during the Lenten season. It is later covered with flowers at Easter.)
P: To all God's beloved in (fill in the name of your community) who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
C: Amen.
Hymn And Prayer For Lighting The Fourth Advent Candle
Sing verse 4 of the hymn chosen for Advent 1.
Burn brightly in our hearts, Lord, and lead us home.
Advent Drama/Readers' Theater
Two readers are needed: one male and one female. The text can be expressively read with one person at the pulpit and one at the lectern or with both seated on high stools in the chancel area. No special costuming is required. Each scene may be separated by a verse of the hymn, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel."
Scene One
Mary: Joseph, are we there yet?
Joseph: No, Mary, Bethlehem is hours away. I could walk faster but this old donkey has its own pace.
Mary: Did you ever think our lives would be like this? I mean, an angel talking to me, telling me that the child I would carry would be our Savior?
Joseph: I didn't want to believe that you were pregnant. I couldn't believe it, until the angel spoke to me in my dream. I hope that you can forgive me, that at first I wanted to end our betrothal, to divorce you.
Mary: You know I forgive you, Joseph. The angel had to convince me, too. At first I objected, how could this be happening, that a young girl like me could be the handmaid of the Lord?
Joseph: Ah, Mary, God chose you and his beauty shines in you.
Mary: And you, Joseph, are a good man. If only you could get this donkey to move faster. I feel like I could have this baby at any moment!
Joseph: This trip to Bethlehem, the census, the emperor; we have so little to say. You need to be in a safe place, but none of us is safe while Caesar thinks he is God!
Mary: I know, Joseph, I know, but I believe what the angel told me. Inside of me is one who will take the mighty down from their thrones.
Joseph: That visit you had with Elizabeth?
Mary: (nods head) Uh huh.
Joseph: The way you told me the baby leaped?
Mary: (nods head) Uh huh.
Joseph: The way you told me you sang of God's love?
Mary: Yes?
Joseph: I know that God will make all things right.
Scene Two
Joseph: It's been a long day.
Mary: Let's stop and rest just for a minute.
Joseph: You know, Mary, I've been thinking about that dream I had.
Mary: Yes?
Joseph: How God would use us to fulfill what he had promised.
Mary: What Isaiah had spoken?
Joseph: Yes, how God would use us, a carpenter and his intended wife, to bring this baby into the world.
Mary: I know I don't understand all the teachings of the men in the synagogue, but I do believe that somehow God will make all things right, that someday we will all trust his word.
Joseph: It's what the angel said to me in the dream, telling us to call our son Jesus, Yeshua, the one who will save people from their sins.
Mary: How will our baby do that?
Joseph: Only God knows.
Scene Three
Mary: Joseph, have you ever walked this far before?
Joseph: No. And I've seen some folks who have even come farther. All of us who claim David as our ancestor will be here soon.
Mary: I know that Caesar wants us all here to control us. Even the women have talked about how people are calling him the Savior.
Joseph: Yes, the workmen, too. We know of an altar built in his honor, and how he has sacrificed to the Roman gods, and how he claims that the whole world is his.
Mary: That's why he has us on the road. He can do anything to us that he wills.
Joseph: Anything but control our hearts.
Mary: Anything but control our wills.
Joseph: Mary ...
Mary: What?
Joseph: It won't be easy for our baby.
Mary: I am not worried.
Joseph: The angel says he is to be our Savior. But everyone around us calls Caesar the Savior.
Mary: I am not worried.
Joseph: I have no idea what will happen.
Mary: I am not worried.
Joseph: The armies, the courts, the weapons ... no one has ever had as much power as this Caesar.
Mary: Joseph, stop worrying. You know what I think?
(Joseph silently shakes head)
Mary: I think that Caesar is bringing us here to be taxed, to make us poorer and poorer -- but God is bringing us here so that his Son will be born in the Holy City of Bethlehem.
Scene Four
Mary: Hurry up, Joseph!
Joseph: It's going to be all right.
Mary: I can't wait much longer.
Joseph: It will be all right. Remember what God has promised.
Mary: There are people all over the place.
Joseph: I can't believe how many people are out at this time of night. Mary, I see some more lights. Just wait here.
Mary: The baby is coming soon!
Joseph: I'll stop at the first place.
Mary: Don't be long.
(pause)
Joseph: There is no room.
Mary: Joseph, just get me off this donkey. I need to get ready.
Joseph: There's a stable. There must be a place to lie down.
Mary: There must be a place for our baby.
Joseph: Let me carry you in.
Scene Five (optional)
This can be a time for your own short reflection on the gift of the incarnation. This can be done by one person or by each of the readers.
Offertory Prayer
A: Great shepherd of our lives,
C: again and again you lead us to safety. Hear our prayers and lead us into the light, that our lives might forever burst forth in praise. Amen.
Benediction
P: May the God of all the ages speak to you in your dreams;
may you listen to his word;
and may you be awakened to a new life by the birth of his Son.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
Hymns And Songs
Savior Of The Nations, Come -- LBW 28; UMH 214; PH 14; MBW 265
Wake, Awake, For Night Is Flying -- LBW 31; UMH 720; PH 17
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel -- LBW 34; UMH 211; PH 9; MBW 274; G&P 293
Lo, How A Rose Is Growing -- LBW 58; UMH 216; PH 48
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence -- LBW 198; UMH 626; PH 5; MBW 271; G&P 694
My Lord, What A Morning -- WOV 627; UMH 719
Each Winter As The Year Grows Older -- WOV 628
The Angel Gabriel From Heaven Came -- WOV 632; PH 16
Sing Of Mary, Pure And Lowly -- WOV 634; UMH 272
What Feast Of Love -- WOV 701
Emmanuel -- TFF 45; UMH 204
Watchman, Tell Us Of The Night -- PH 20
Veiled In Darkness Judah Lay -- MBW 276
People Of The Night -- GATHER 259
Jesus, Come To Us -- G&P 304
Psalm Settings
O Hear Our Cry, O Lord -- PH 206
Psalm 80: The Vineyard Of The Lord -- GATHER 69
Psalm 80: Lord, Make Us Turn To You/The Vineyard Of The Lord -- G&P 221
Choral Music
"Christmas Lullaby" -- John Rutter (Oxford University Press/Henshaw Music, Inc.)
"E'en So, Lord Jesus Quickly Come" -- Paul Manz (Concordia)
"The Light Will Soon Appear" -- J. Paul Williams (Evergreen Morning Press)
"O Come, O Come" -- arr. Randall De Bruyn (Oregon Catholic Press)
Liturgical Art
The customary Christmas tree might be adorned for the last Sunday in Advent. Some churches use white, gold, and/or silver Chrismon ornaments formed in the shapes of traditional Christian symbols. (After the Christmas season you may remove the branches from the tree trunk, cut off the top, and then fashion a cross to be used during the Lenten season. It is later covered with flowers at Easter.)
