13th. December. 2020 Service.
Third Sunday in Advent
Prelude: O come O come Emmanuel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKu0or0t8Uw
Let us Worship God
Hurry the Lord is near
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxC5mj3526I
The Collect for today
Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honour and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
Hymn: People look East
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8GNlRcBdvs
Love has come down to us this Advent Season.
Divine love which heals and transforms our lives.
With great joy, we receive that love and share it with others.
We open our hearts to all God’s children, the last, the least, and the lost, as well as those who feel privileged.
The Lord has done and continues to do great things for us.
Praise be to God who loves us so much and who challenges us to be people of joy in this darkened world. AMEN.
Prayer of Adoration and Confession
God of Love, Son of Compassion, Spirit of Healing,
Holy One in Three and Three in One,
You approach us with such kindness and tenderness.
You look on us with love and compassion, no matter what our state or condition may be. Your care for this world is without limit or cost:
You bring order from chaos.
You turn weeping into laughter.
You turn sorrow into joy, and death into new life.
You redeem everything that is lost and make all things new.
Today we enter your holy presence with joy as we rest for a while from our work and responsibilities. We trust you to minister peace to banish stress and anxiety
and to strengthen our hope in these uncertain times.
Receive our worship today as we bless you for the fulness of all that you give us
In your Son, Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.
Generous and gracious God,
We confess the poverty of our love and the narrowness of our care and concern for each other. These days we easily become preoccupied with statistics and case numbers and these hide from us the humanity of people who are suffering.
Opportunities to say thank you, to offer encouragement, to remember each other in friendship, slip by. Anxiety turns us inward and anger can make us lash out.
Forgive us for neglecting the joy at the heart of the Advent season.
As we hear the Advent message again, let it draw our thoughts back to you
and inspire us with your love that was made flesh in Jesus Christ.
Assurance of Pardon
May God who loved the world so much that he sent his Son to be our Saviour
forgive us our sins and make us holy to serve him in the world, through Jesus Christ our Lord, and with this joyful truth, have the courage to forgive one another.
Prayer for Understanding
God of wisdom, by the inspiration of your Spirit, help us to hear and understand your Word, speaking in the scriptures. Show us your renewing grace, at work in Jesus Christ, your Living Word. Then reveal to us all that you are doing in the world. This we ask in Jesus Christ our Lord in Whom we pray,
The Lord’s Prayer (in the words most familiar to you)
Hymn “The race that long in darkness pined”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwBSSLCwPDE
Invitation to the Offering
This Sunday, the Advent theme is Joy. Our scripture readings remind us to rejoice in Lord. Think of this offering as our opportunity to spread joy in God’s world, even though that world seems darker these days. Rejoice in the Lord and give thankfully for Christ’s sake.
Prayer of Dedication
God of justice and joy, we bring our gifts to you in gratitude for your unfailing goodness to us. Bless these gifts and use them to create justice and bring joy into the world in Jesus’ name. Amen.
The Readings
Isaiah 61
61 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion –
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendour.
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations.
8 ‘For I, the Lord, love justice;
I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
In my faithfulness I will reward my people
and make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their descendants will be known among the nations
and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
that they are a people the Lord has blessed.’
10 I delight greatly in the Lord;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the soil makes the young plant come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness
and praise spring up before all nations.
Hymn “No wind at the window”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A40RuvTSjWA
Luke 1:46-55
46 And Mary said:
‘My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
48 for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me –
holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants for ever,
just as he promised our ancestors.’ Amen, this is the Word of the Lord, to Him be all praise and glory.
Hymn “The Angel Gabriel”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzC9dxwRddc
Sermon
Joy and Revolution
How would you describe the deepest joy of your life? Depending on who you are the answers I receive might be vastly different. What gives you joy? For those who have been married it may have been fifty and more years of your relationship. It may be the day-to-day interaction with children or grandchildren. If you are single it may be deep friendships or a deeply satisfying occupation. Any of us may have a moment of great success or a pastime which is rich and fulfilling. Who can define joy? Is it fleeting or transient, quietly persistent, flowing through your life?
C S Lewis wrote of being “Surprised by Joy.” Lewis’s definition of joy was fulfilment of longing, based on a German word “sehnsucht” which means “longing.” This joy was so intense for something so good and so high up it could not be explained with words. Lewis was struck with “stabs of joy” throughout his life. “It must have the stab, the pang, the inconsolable longing.” In the book he describes his conversion from atheism to a profound Christian faith. In a wonderful irony late in his life, through an act of compassion, he befriended and supported an American woman who moved the UK after an abusive marriage. They married in a civil ceremony in 1956 and later in the C. of E. after she was diagnosed with incurable cancer. Her name was Joy Davidman. She died four years later in 1960. His book “A Grief Observed,” speaks of the joy of the relationship. Joy can be there, even in the deepest grief.
In the Bible, joy is a state of mind which is laid upon God’s people. It is something which God summons within us. Think how many times the word, “Rejoice!” is raised as a command. The Psalmists calling us to rejoice in God our saviour, Jesus telling his persecuted followers to “rejoice and be glad, great is your reward in heaven;” or St Paul, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! In Latin this is: Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, gaudete. This is why today is Gaudete Sunday, from the opening of the Mass on the Third Sunday in Advent.
Today we read about two cousins, Mary and Elizabeth, both rejoicing because they are pregnant. Elizabeth’s is advanced; Mary’s is in a much earlier stage.
We come across this story from the pen of St Luke and, as we are dealing with joy, we approach it with our hearts rather than with our heads. Simply let the story speak to your heart. After all, it stems from the very warm heart of the early Christian church. Because it is a story of shared joy, it spoke profoundly to them. It can speak profoundly to us if we are humble enough to listen.
We all know that for various reasons, pregnancies are not always welcome, and often they come as a surprise. Elizabeth was beyond normal child-bearing years and that must have given her anxiety, whilst Mary was a teenager and not properly married.
On the lighter side I came across this story by another minister:
It was the afternoon rest hour in a pre-school centre. The children were lying down on their mats for an afternoon sleep. One little girl named Jasmine was restless and was keeping others awake. The teacher whispered to her: “If you can’t sleep, Jasmine, just lie there and think a happy thought.”
It seemed to work for a few minutes. Later the teacher asked the child what her happy thought was. Jasmine replied: “Thank God I am not pregnant.”
Trying to control her surprise, the teacher dared to ask, “Why did you choose that, Jasmine?”
The little girl replied. “It was the first one that popped into my head. This morning Daddy met mummy as she was coming out of the bathroom. Mummy said, ‘Thank God I am not pregnant’. Daddy said: ‘Now that’s a happy thought!”
So, was pregnancy a happy thought for these cousins?
Elizabeth was rather too old to be having her first child. Teenage Mary was perhaps too young, maybe only about 15 years old. Elizabeth, the wife of a priest called Zechariah, lived up in the hill country of conservative Judea. Mary newly engaged to an artisan named Joseph, some years her senior, lived in the liberal, cosmopolitan area of Galilee. Both may well have been the victims of salacious rumour.
Zechariah was an old man, who never managed to father a child in his vigorous years. “How come?” the gossips would have insinuated. “How come Elizabeth gets pregnant now?” Do you reckon Zechariah is really the father?” As a priest, Zechariah was rostered for temple duties in Jerusalem. From time to time, he would be away from home. Did the village gossips speculate on who might have been keeping his bed warm while he was away in Jerusalem?
Mary’s case was even more precarious. She was pregnant before she tied the knot with Joseph. What a juicy subject for vicious tittle tattle each morning as some of the village women swept their front doorsteps or met each other in the market. Couldn’t Joseph wait? Or was it some lad, more Mary’s age? Or did she have an affair with one the swaggering Roman soldiers?
t would not be only women who had nasty minds and tongues. Men don’t admit to being gossips, but they can be just as bad (or worse!) than some women are. What an opportunity for coarse men to nudge each other, hint at dubious paternity and to ask what Joseph was going to do about it. One observer pointed out that maybe Mary left town for a while because honour killings were just as common in those days and, as we know, Joseph needed divine prompting to keep Mary.
Mary took leave of her home and travelled up into the hills to spend some time with her cousin. Luke says she “went with haste”. We may think she was excited about the pregnancy, but maybe it was under pressure to get away from the town gossips in Nazareth. Maybe to save her respectable family from embarrassment.
It certainly would not be the first time a young woman has hastily sent off to make a sudden visit to some distant relative, to escape the cruelty of the locals.
When she arrived at Elizabeth’s house in the hills, Mary was greeted enthusiastically by her older cousin. What did they talk about? That meeting of Elizabeth and Mary could have been the occasion for some shared self-pity; for a big whinge about how cruel others can be. Maybe it was a time for some tears.
But there was no self-pity. Any tears were tears of joy. When these cousins met, they shared in thanking God for the blessing and honour bestowed upon them. Clear consciences and the great surprise of these pregnancies meant that this was an occasion of shared joy.
Now that’s a happy thought! Life had become much more complicated for both of them. Yet thankfulness and praise was their shared response.
I recall a situation in Australia in which a nursing colleague’s husband killed himself. It was a devastating time. Then not long afterwards, her unmarried daughter became pregnant. At the time it seemed another burden for Linda to bear. But the pregnancy and the birth of the child enabled her whole family to find peace and healing. Joy can come in unexpected ways.
Mary entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, her baby in the womb leapt for joy. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and cried out” “Blessed are you among women and blessed the fruit of your womb. Why am I so favoured that the mother of my Lord should visit me?”
In response, Mary broke out into a majestic song of praise to God. Precious words which generation after generation of believers have repeated since the time of Christ.
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, from henceforth all generations will call me blessed. Now that’s another happy thought!
Did you notice how startling are the words attributed to Mary. This reflects no meek and mild, simpering teenager. It is a manifesto of the new world order that God inaugurates through Christ Jesus. It is a hymn about the golden age that the illustrious prophet Isaiah envisioned and longed for. The age of new opportunity for all those forgotten, neglected, exploited, abused people of earth.
You, Lord, have shown the strength of your arm
You have scattered the proud hearts
and all their vain pretensions.
You have put down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of the lowest status.
You have filled the hungry with good things,
but the rich you have sent away empty
It has been said that familiarity breeds contempt. In this case perhaps in the case of the Magnificat familiarity may have bred boredom. We have heard the words so often that they no longer shock us. These truly are shocking words. Painful words for those who wield power or who live affluent lives while either perpetuating, or permitting, grave injustices to happen to vulnerable people. They are words which need to be heard in our turbulent times. So many of the world’s leaders are arrogant in their power and in their refusal or failure to govern for everyone other than the elite.
This song of Mary is a good news song for the poor people in many places, for minorities in countries across the globe. the aborigines of Australia and the Indians of USA and Canada, for the Kurds in Syria and the widows in Palestinian camps, for the women and men who are slaves in Scotland and rural workers in El Salvador, for the people born in the UK now in deportation “detention centres” and the prisoners in many a gaol. I read yesterday of a man released after thirty-one years of a ninety-year sentence for trading marijuana. That is injustice. These are people who need joy.
Advent ushers in a revolution. Emmanuel brings disruption. Advent heralds amazing new opportunities and dangers. These two pregnant cousins are key agents in the mighty liberation deeds of God. Jesus came to change things at a fundamental level.
We have already spoken of hope and peace this advent and we have seen how much they have been needed. Joy is perhaps more elusive. Jesus’ revolution which proffers joy to humanity is an ongoing one. It is ours to continue in a world where evil, sin and darkness blight the lives of many. It is when we get caught up in the promise and the power of Jesus’ revolution that joy comes. Our souls know an eternal joy that, as we relate by faith and in prayer to God the source of our lives, permeates our consciousness in this earthly domain.
Elizabeth and Mary were women who belonged to a community of faith. If some scholars are right, both Zechariah and Joseph were artisans of faith, servants of the Temple community. They sought to live within the will of God. Thus, in humility they accepted the destiny they were called to fulfil and that in itself was the source of their joy. That destiny was a great adventure that brought them both joy and sorrow, the latter undergirded by eternal joy. The lives of both John and Jesus, the fruit of these pregnancies truly revolutionised the world through their courage, their faith, their obedience, their joys and sorrows through which the power of God was revealed.
We are called to fulfil our destiny as children of God and by faith to discover and be surprised by holy joy. It is not affected by suffering, pain or grief, it is not dependent upon comfort or security. It sustains us in all these things. It is nourished by prayer and praise.
Our wicked and foolish old world is being saved from its own corruption. God’s judgment is an arm of his mercy and his mercy is an arm of his judgment. We have nothing to fear except our own panicky desire to run rather than to stay still, repent, and be saved by God’s grace.
Elizabeth and Mary were two remarkable women. Cousins with a divine mission.
Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist; the prophet whom Jesus described as being unequalled in the history of the Jewish people.
Mary, the mother of the Lord of light, love and holy joy! Mothers have a considerable influence on their children. Especially on their sons. Just remember what these two sons became.
Today we praise God for these two exceptional women. Witness their courage. Share their hope. Participate in their committed faith and their joy.
He who is mighty has done great things for us, and holy is his name!
Now that’s a happy thought. Amen.
Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Come, Christ Jesus, be our guest
and enter our lives today with your blessing.
We have a deep need of you and the peace you bring.
Come closer to us in friendship and faithfulness during this difficult
season in which we are called to celebration even as we are weighed with care and anxiety. May we know your calming presence and sing with all your people:
“Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.!
Come, Christ Jesus, be our guide
and show us the way to wisdom and gratitude.
We are thankful for the kindness we receive from friends and good neighbours,
in warm houses and with warm smiles which hold off the darkness and fears for the future. Encourage us to reach out to those who need your embrace and ours…
that together we may sing of your presence:
“Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.”
Come, Christ Jesus, be our hope
and touch us with your healing and grace.
We remember before you all those we know and those known to you alone
who are living with loss or illness this Christmas, people who are facing loss, discouragement or depression, and all who will find it hard to be merry this year.
(Keep a silence for 15–20 seconds)
Shine the light of your comfort into their lives
as we sing of the hope that dawns upon us from on high:
“Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.”
Come, Christ Jesus, be our king
and claim your rightful place in our hearts.
Our world is struggling to establish the justice and mercy you your gospel declares.
Uphold our leaders and citizens everywhere who are working for peace and justice,
and those who are working hard to contain and heal the effects of the pandemic.
Encourage honourable actions and co-operation wherever they occur.
Give hope to people under oppression and to those who live with fear or hunger day by day. Meet their needs and give us the grace to your messengers of peace and provision.
Speed the day when the world’s peoples shall live as neighbours
reconciled in the truth and freedom of Jesus Christ our Lord for whose coming we wait and pray. Amen
Hymn “Tell out my soul, the greatness of the Lord”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E7QWLyDWe8
Benediction
Be people of joy.
Let joy live in your heart and share the joy of Christ with all you meet.
Share joy by seeing the good in each other.
Share joy by remembering good times and hoping for good times to come.
Share joy by praying for our world.
In this Advent season, we need to see, feel, and share joy.
As you go out into the wonder of God’s creations, share joy, peace, and hope with those you meet. And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be among you and remain with you ever more. Amen.
May God’s blessing surround you each day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_3O_N49GiU
Postlude: Zion hears her watchmen’s voices
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbP2Z_yZlGM
Hymns
Here are some hymn suggestions to check on YouTube if you wish to sing along. Some may not be as familiar as their titles suggest and the ones marked “listen” do not have the lyrics on the screen:
Prelude: O come, O come Emmanuel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKu0or0t8Uw
Hurry the Lord is near
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxC5mj3526I
People look East
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8GNlRcBdvs
The race that long in darkness pined
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwBSSLCwPDE
The Angel Gabriel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzC9dxwRddc
No wind at the window
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A40RuvTSjWA
Tell out my soul, the greatness of the Lord
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E7QWLyDWe8
Its rounded like an orange
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TRRcYxoHPo
Zion hears her watchmen’s voices
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btF0qRNcSuc
For Children
Our Bible reading for today tells us that God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light–Jesus–so that everyone would believe. John wasn’t the light. He only came to tell others about the light. Jesus is the one true light, who gives light to everyone. Let’s think about lights in our lives to help us think about that.
When do you need light or what do you need light for? How many uses are there for light? Light helps us to see clearly, it makes going out at night safe. It can be used to disinfect (ultraviolet light). It can also heal; it helps our bodies to make vitamin D for instance and some skin diseases are healed by light. Without light we would all become sick and die. It helps plants to grow and makes food for animals and us. Without light there would be no food and no life. Laser lights have only been used for sixty years although they were understood before that and they can do wonderful things.
At this time of year, we see lights everywhere that remind us of the coming of Jesus, the true light that John talked about. At Christmas we enjoy the lights and every year. Think about the coolest Christmas lights you’ve seen. Allow time.
Those lights can help us remember that Jesus is the one true light in our hearts and in our lives. Jesus brought light into the darkness of this world. Think of a way Jesus brings light into your heart and life and write a word to tell what you’re thinking on a piece of paper. Remember that at Christmas we light up the world to celebrate the coming of Jesus the Light of the World.
Let’s pray and thank God for Jesus–the light of the world.
Dear God, thank You for sending Jesus to this world. We’re thankful for the light He brings to our lives–the hope, joy, love, and peace He brings us. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Here is an Advent Hymn
Its rounded like an orange
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TRRcYxoHPo
Intimations
Please remember to indicate to Joan More or Chris Duguid if you wish to attend worship on Sunday. Owing to Government regulations, numbers will be restricted to fewer than fifty persons, twenty-five in North Queensferry and places will be allocated on a first come first served basis each week. Please call Joan 01383 414515 on Friday or Chris 01383 413372 to indicate that you wish to attend. Please do not come without first ensuring your place each week as we do not wish to turn anyone away on the day.
There will be a service of Nine Lessons and Carols in Inverkeithing Church on Christmas Eve at 6:30pm. Please be sure to reserve you place with Joan.
The Christmas Eve Service in North Queensferry will be at 4:00pm. Again, please let Chris know if you wish to attend.