PRAYERS AND REFLECTION FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT: SUNDAY 6th DECEMBER 2020
Introduction and Explanations
Dear friend,
Welcome to worship for the second Sunday of Advent. As we continue to prepare the way for Jesus, how to we proclaim the good news in times like these? May God bless us in this season of expectation.
Yours in Christ, David Revd David Hinchliffe, Chair of the South East District of the Methodist Church.
Preparing to Worship
You may like to be still, and listen to a calming piece of music as we gather in worship
A Gathering Prayeri
Lord, grant us a glimpse of your glory; Open our eyes to see your coming to us, That we may know you are with us always, And that you are a very present help in trouble. Lord, as you abide in us, and we abide in you, May we show traces of your glory in our lives, And so glorify you, Lord Jesus, Who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and for ever. Amen
A voice cries out: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’ (Isaiah 40:3) 1
Hymn (Singing the Faith) 180 – O come, O come, Immanuelii
O come, O come, Immanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear: Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel Shall come to you, O Israel.
O come, O come, O Lord of might Who to your tribes, on Sinai's height, In ancient times did give the law In cloud, and majesty, and awe: Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
O come, O Rod of Jesse, free Your own from Satan's tyranny; From depths of hell your people save, And give them victory o'er the grave: Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
O come, O Key of David, come, And open wide our heavenly home; Make safe the way that leads on high, And close the path to misery: Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
O come, O Day-spring, come and cheer Our spirits by your advent here; Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death's dark shadows put to flight: Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
Prayersiii God, you came to your people in the past. Through the wilderness, you guided them; When they were lost, you searched for them; When they were in exile, you brought them back home. For your love which always stays close: WE PRAISE YOU, GOD.
God, you come to your people now. In our worship you speak to us; In our journey through life, you go with us; When we look for a way, we see it in Jesus. For your love which calls us to follow: WE PRAISE YOU, GOD.
God, you will come to your people in the future. When times are uncertain, your promises remain; Your kingdom will come, on earth as in heaven; Your whole creation will be made new. For your love which holds us for ever: WE PRAISE YOU, GOD.
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Lord, sometimes we block the way of love. Clear a path: PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD.
When we are selfish and thoughtless; when we hurt others by what we say and do; forgive us we pray. Clear a path: PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD.
When we are timid and fearful; when we shrink from the challenge of following you; O holy God forgive us. Clear a path: PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD.
When we are divided from one another; when we are so sure that we are right that we stop listening to those who think differently: forgive us we pray. Clear a path: PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD.
Lord, we come as we are. Forgive the things in us which resist your love. Help us to be your people, preparing your way, ready and alert to your coming. AMEN.
THE ADVENT LITURGY
Last Sunday we lit the First of our Advent Candles, which reminded us of the patriarchs and, through God’s promises to them, of our hope in Christ. WE LIGHT AGAIN THE CANDLE OF HOPE. (The first Advent candle is lit - the candle of hope) Today we light the Second Candle of Advent, the Candle of Peace. We remember the prophets who spoke of the coming of Christ, of how a Saviour would be born, a king in the line of King David. The prophet Isaiah called Christ "the Prince of Peace" - and when Jesus came he taught people the importance of being peace-makers.
We light the Candle of Peace to remind us that Jesus is the Prince of Peace and that through him peace is found.
(The second Advent Candle is lit, the Candle of Peace)
As we look at the steady flame of this candle we celebrate the peace we find in Jesus Christ.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, Light of the World, the prophets said you would bring peace and save your people from trouble. Give peace in our hearts in the busyness of Christmastide. Help us today, and everyday to worship you, to hear your word, and to do your will by sharing your peace with each other. We ask it in the name of the one who was born in Bethlehem. Amen.
Advent song (STF) 165 Advent Candles tell their story (verses 1 and 2 only)iv
Advent 1 Advent candles tell their story As we watch and pray, Longing for the Day of Glory, ‘Come, Lord, soon,’ we say. Pain and sorrow, tears and sadness 3
Changed for gladness On that day.
Advent 2 Prophet voices loudly crying, Making pathways clear, Glimpsing glory, self-denying, Calling all to hear. Through their message — challenged, shaken — Hearts awaken: God is near!
Bible Readings: Isaiah 40. 1-11 Mark 1. 1-8
HYMN (STF) 406 – Have you heard the good news?v
Have you heard the good news? Have you heard the good news? We can live in hope Because of what the Lord has done. Have you heard the good news? Have you heard the good news? We can live in hope Because of what the Lord has done.
There is a way When there seems to be no way, There is a light in the darkness: There is a hope, An everlasting hope, There is a God who can help us.
Have you heard the good news? Have you heard the good news? We can live in hope Because of what the Lord has done. Have you heard the good news? Have you heard the good news? We can live in hope Because of what the Lord has done.
A hope for justice And a hope for peace, A hope for those in desperation: We have a future, If only we believe He works in every situation.
Have you heard the good news? Have you heard the good news? We can live in hope Because of what the Lord has done. Have you heard the good news? Have you heard the good news? We can live in hope Because of what the Lord has done.
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Sermon: “The Audacity of Hope.” Revd Dr David Hinchliffe
A voice says, ‘Cry out!’ And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’ (Is. 40.6)
My daughter Rachel and I have an unspoken competition this year: to see how many books we can read! I have reached 41, but I hereby concede defeat, as I’ve just begun to read Barack Obama’s mammoth 751 page tome, A Promised Land.vi As with all good books, I discovered that within a couple of pages of the introduction, I was hooked. I want to read more!
Mark’s gospel seems to defy everything we are used to when it comes to books. There is no introduction, no detailed back story to help us discover the main characters. There is no hint to the first-time reader of what the book is really going to be about at all. All there is…is a headline: The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.vii The word “gospel” finds its origin in the Greek word “euangelion” which roughly means “Good news proclamation.”viii Without a long and wordy introduction, or any background Mark launches his proclamation about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This proclamation, is about good news!
I wonder how many of us expect to be given a jigsaw for Christmas! The laborious act of gathering broken pieces to make a new picture is at the heart of our reading from the first eleven verses of Isaiah 40. It marks a sea-change in this amazing prophetic work. Up until this point the prophet had foreseen judgement and calamity for Israel; a judgement which had come to pass as Jerusalem was sacked and the people sent into exile in Babylon. Before there had been little sign of hope, precious little good news; but now everything changes. Now, instead of judgement, God offers comfort to His people. Instead of punishment Israel will receive forgiveness. And the prophet is to make a grand proclamation. A voice says, ‘Cry out!’ And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’ When the story has been of doom, gloom, punishment and catastrophe – what other message is there to tell?
For ten years I served as Chair of the Channel Islands District. As I listened to people’s war-time experiences, I suspect they understand perhaps better than most, Israel’s experience. Half of Guernsey’s population (many, young children) were evacuated to England; hundreds were interned in camps in Germany. I guess they wondered whether they would ever come home, back with family and friends. And to those who remained, in the islands wondering whether the Occupation would ever end and when loved ones far away would come home. When?
What can we say as we endure the grief and suffering and life changing impact of the coronavirus? What would Isaiah’s message sound like to the estimated 26 million refugees worldwide today, around half of whom are under 18 according to UNHCR statistics?ix What can it mean for the millions of displaced Syrians? Or those risking their lives trying to cross the Channel?
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What is so utterly remarkable about our reading from Isaiah 40 is that in the midst of the horror of exile the voice is called upon to cry out a message of hope, a message of good news; a proclamation of transformation and good news. Sins will be forgiven. The days of exile will come to an end and. Jerusalem will be rebuilt and the population will come home. To those long in exile this is indeed a proclamation of good news, of hope shining from the darkness. Now they must build a new road, an express route from Babylon to Jerusalem – right through the middle of the wilderness. God will gather his flock as a shepherd their sheep. They will see the glory of the Lord, as they had in former days. Once more Jerusalem would be a herald of glad-tidings. This was surely a time to rebuild, to gather together again, and to make new the future with hope. A voice says, ‘Cry out!’ And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’ In short: ‘good news!’
But note Isaiah’s vision. This is not about going back to how things were; the same old, same old. Now all the people will see the glory of God, Israel and everyone else together. This is no longer good news for Israel alone, but for the whole world. So it is as we discover the royal proclamation of good news in Mark’s gospel. This message of good news is for all, including you and me. Mark heralds the good news of the coming of Jesus, the Son of God. We too, like the restored Israel can never be the same again – any more than the Church can be the same after the coronavirus.
It’s curious isn’t it? Matthew and Luke explore Jesus’s ancestry; they examine the birth of Jesus and its impact on those around them. Mark shows no interest. There are no Christmas cards or presents; no angels to mark the day. No shepherds or wise men. Not even Mary or Joseph get even a brief mention in Mark’s gospel. Instead he presents us with John the Baptist and his call to change, to repent, to change direction.
And here is the really good news. Isaiah and Mark realise that that change is possible. People can change. The world can change. Strange and perhaps frightening as John might have been, people flood to hear what John has to say. And they respond to his urgent message. They accept a baptism for repentance and the forgiveness of sins. Their lives take a different shape. They discover a new hope, a new vision, and fresh courage.
But for John, this is only the first step. John knows that he is not the Messiah; he is not the Son of God. He is instead the road-builder, who comes to prepare the new highway for Jesus to travel down. He is the one who does all the hard work in advance of the royal visit. He is the one who cries out that Jesus is coming.
What of us? What shall we cry this Advent? Shall we cry out that a vaccine is our saviour? Or are we willing to offer a deeper message of hope – that the world can change for good; that individuals can change; indeed, that we can change?
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Like the voice crying in the wilderness, like John the Baptist, we are here to prepare the way for our God, to give an account of the good news that we have in Jesus Christ our Lord. Lord Jesus is coming! We have not been abandoned, exiled to this broken planet. God so loved the world that He is giving Jesus to us. The Shepherd is coming to gather His sheep, to feed us, to guide us, to care for us, and to bring us home. And that, to quote the title of another book by Barack Obama, is The Audacity of Hope.x
So let us with audacity proclaim the hope that was in Isaiah, in John and in us: to make a highway for our God; for soon, very soon The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The beginning of our journey home to God. Amen.
Prayers of Intercessionxi
Faithful God, we trust your promise that one day your kingdom will come.
We pray for those who suffer unjustly… GOD OF JUSTICE, WE LOOK FOR A WORLD WHERE JUSTICE IS REIGNS.
We pray for those who are anxious… GOD OF PEACE, WE LOOK FOR A WORLD WHERE PEACE WILL REIGN.
We pray for those who feel alone, isolated and unloved… GOD OF LOVE, WE LOOK FOR A WORLD WHERE FELLOWSHIP WILL REIGN.
We pray for those who are sick, and those who care for them… GOD OF LOVE, WE LOOK FOR A WORLD WHERE WHOLENESS WILL REIGN.
We pray for those who have lost hope, and cannot see a way to travel… GOD OF LOVE, WE LOOK FOR A WORLD WHERE HOPE WILL REIGN.
We pray for those who walk in darkness, and cannot see the light… GOD OF LOVE, WE LOOK FOR A WORLD WHERE THE LIGHT OF YOUR LOVE WILL REIGN.
God of justice, peace and love, Comfort your people, we pray. Speak tenderly to us, we ask. MAY YOUR KINGDOM COME; AND MAY IT BE SEEN IN US, AS WE LIVE IT DAY BY DAY, THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD. AMEN.
The Lord’s Prayer
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HYMN STF 185 – Sing we the Lord who is coming to reignxii
Sing we the King who is coming to reign; Glory to Jesus, the Lamb that was slain! Life and salvation his empire shall bring, Joy to the nations when Jesus is King:
Come let us sing: praise to our King, Jesus our King, Jesus our King: This is our song, who to Jesus belong: Glory to Jesus, to Jesus our King.
All shall be well in his kingdom of peace; Freedom shall flourish and wisdom increase; Justice and truth from his sceptre shall spring; Wrong shall be ended when Jesus is King:
Come let us sing: praise to our King, Jesus our King, Jesus our King: This is our song, who to Jesus belong: Glory to Jesus, to Jesus our King.
Souls shall be saved from the burden of sin; Doubt shall not darken his witness within; Hell has no terrors, and death has no sting; Love is victorious when Jesus is King:
Come let us sing: praise to our King,…
Kingdom of Christ, for your coming we pray; Hasten, O Father, the dawn of the day When this new song your creation shall sing; Satan is vanquished and Jesus is King:
Come let us sing: praise to our King,...
Closing Prayerxiii The Lord comes to you this day in great power: He comes as a shepherd to care for his flock; He comes to heal, to restore, to forgive, to bring you home. He comes you to for he loves you with an infinite love.
The Blessing And so may the blessing of God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be with you and all whom you love, today, in this Advent season and for ever more. Amen.
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Acknowledgments: Methodist Church (South East District) CCLI Licence Number: 1175342
i David Adam, Radiance of His Glory, (London: SPCK, 2009), Book II, 7. ii Latin, 18th century, based on the ancient Advent Antiphons. Translated by John Mason Neale (1811–1866). Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 180. iii Judy Jarvis and Donald Pickard, Companion to the Revised Common Lectionary (Volume 3). Peterborough: Epworth Press, 1999, 6-7. iv Mark Earey (b. 1965). The verses may be sung progressively through Advent until verse on Christmas Day. Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 165. Words: © Mark Earey. v Stuart Garrard. Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 406. Words and Music: © 1995 Curious? Music. Administered by Kingswaysongs, a division of David C Cook
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