Home Church 3rd Sunday in Advent December 13, 2020 Rev. Karen Hollis

Christ Church Gabriola A Collaborative Anglican – United Church Open to All

Home Church 3rd Sunday in Advent December 13, 2020 Rev. Karen Hollis

We acknowledge these lands upon which we worship are the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation.

Preparing the Space Around Us

Whoever you are and wherever you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here! Welcome if you are gathering on zoom or if you are worshipping at home with the bulletin. We are one community and all part of the body of Christ. Today is the third Sunday of Advent; if you haven’t already made an Advent wreath, I encourage you to do so. You don’t have to use coloured candles, just use what you have – maybe some rocks or greenery or driftwood. Set up your Advent Wreath in the worship space in your home before sitting down to worship. After all these months of meeting for worship online, perhaps all of us need encouragement again to prepare the space around us for worship: set out your Advent wreath with matches so you can light it during the service. Maybe have some greenery around, a creche, a cross, a candle you can pick up and hold at the end of the service. . . simple things to help draw you into the worship experience.

Preparing the Space within Us

Let us prepare now the space within us for a time of worship. I invite you to sit quietly, perhaps with feet on the floor, taking a couple of deep breaths and bring yourself into this moment. Open yourself to the presence of God who is with us and within us . . . as you intentionally open yourself to God, open yourself also to what you need from this time of worship.

Greeting
One:    The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,

            and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

All:      And also with you    

Advent Candle Lighting  - Gail Reed

The first two candles in our Advent Wreath are Hope and Peace. We light them again, remembering our Hope in God’s faithfulness and the Peace of Jesus Christ that surpasses all understanding. The third candle of Advent is the candle of Joy. When the angel Gabriel told Mary that a special child would be born to her she was filled with Joy as she sang the words: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my saviour.” We too have noticed Joy growing in us; this Joy comes not from our daily lives but grows out of drawing near to God. So today let us feel our own Joy as we anticipate the amazing gift of Emmanuel, God with us.

Let us pray: Holy One, as the light from the wreath grows brighter, we pray that you would fill us with the kind of Joy that cannot be ignored, denied, or contained but must be acknowledged and shared. Fill us with Joy that gives shape and nuance to our darkness. Help us make space for Joy to dwell in us, move us, and bring us to life again. May we walk Joyfully in the light ofChrist and be Christ’s hands and feet in a world. We ask this in the name of Jesus the Christ, the source of our Joy and life. Amen.

Light your own Advent Wreath

Hymn: O Come Emmanuel v. 1 & 6   VU #1

1 O come, O come, Emmanuel,

and ransom captive Israel

that mourns in lonely exile here

until the Son of God appear.

Refrain:

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

shall come to thee, O Israel.

6 O come, O Dayspring, from on high,

and cheer us by your drawing nigh;

disperse the gloomy clouds of night,

and death's dark shadows put to flight. Refrain

Prayer of Confession  Adapted from Walter Brueggemann

God of pandemic wilderness, We call out your name in as many ways as we can. We call out to you from our places of suffering, from the particular angle of our lives. We give you names, but it is the name of our deep need, our deep wound, our deep hope that needs to be spoken. And then, we are astonished that while our names for you serve for a moment, you break beyond them in your freedom, you show yourself yet fresh beyond our grasp. As we cry out your name today, break free from us, O God, and assure us again that you are God . . . beyond us . . . for us, but beyond us, not at our beck and call, but always in your own way.

Silent Prayer of Confession

Assurance of Grace

While God is beyond us and for us, it is in the mystery of God that we experience God’s power and promise, even in the paradox of God becoming flesh and coming to us in suffering love. Do not despair;

God is with us in ways we cannot imagine. Thanks be to God.

Peace of Christ

Christ is not only our host, but the unseen guest in our midst. Let us share with one another the peace he brings.

              The Peace of Christ be with you all!

              And also with you!

First Reading: Luke 1:46b-55   (Transl. NT Wright)   Angela Nutter

Listen to the word of God to you this morning…

‘My heart declares that the Lord is great,

My spirit exults in my saviour, my God.

He saw his servant-girl in her humility;

From now, I’ll be blessed by all peoples to come.

The Powerful One, whose name is Holy,

Has done great things for me, for me.

His mercy extends from father to son,

From mother to daughter for those who fear him.

Powerful things he has done with his arm:

He routed the arrogant through their own cunning.
Down from their thrones he hurled the rulers,

Up from the earth he raised the humble.

The hungry he filled with the fat of the land,

But the rich he sent off with nothing to eat.

He has rescued his servant, Israel his child,

Because he remembered his mercy of old,

Just as he said to our long-ago ancestors –

Abraham and his descendants for ever.’

Gospel Reading      Mollie Ford

One:     God be with you.       

All:        And also with you

One:      The Good News of Jesus Christ according to John

All:        Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

John 1:6-8, 19-28    (Transl. NRSV)  

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, "I am not the Messiah." And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the prophet?" He answered, "No." Then they said to him, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,'" as the prophet Isaiah said. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, "Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?" John answered them, "I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal." This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.

One:  This is the Gospel of Christ;

All:    Praise be to Jesus Christ

Reflection:  (See attached)                          

 Silent Reflection 

Hymn: On Jordan’s Bank    CP #103

1 On Jordan's bank the Baptist's cry                            
announces that the Lamb is nigh;
awake and hearken, for he brings
glad tidings of the King of Kings.

2 Then cleansed be every breast from sin;
make straight the way for God within;
and let each heart prepare a home
where such a mighty guest may come.

3 In you, we find abundant life,
our refuge in the midst of strife;
without your grace we waste away
like flowers that wither and decay.

4 Stretch forth your hand, our health restore,
and help us rise to fall no more.
O let your face upon us shine,
and fill the world with love divine.

5 All praise to you, eternal Son,
whose advent has our freedom won;
and praise to God whom we adore,
with Holy Spirit evermore.

Creed      New Zealand Prayer Book

Let us affirm our faith…

You, O God, are supreme and holy.

You create our world and give us life.

Your purpose overarches everything we do.

You have always been with us.

You are God.

You, O God, are infinitely generous,

good beyond all measure.

You came to us before we came to you.

You have revealed and proved

your love for us in Jesus Christ,

who lived and died and rose again.

You are with us now.

You are God.

You, O God, are Holy Spirit.

You empower us to be your gospel in the world.

You reconcile and heal; you overcome death.

Prayers of the People  Paddy Waymark (see attached)

One:    Loving God

All:      Hear Our Prayers

Lord’s Prayer          

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins

as we forgive those who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial

and deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power,

and the glory are yours

now and for ever. Amen.

Offering Prayer    Angela Nutter

Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. Glory to God from generation to generation, in the Church and in Christ Jesus, for ever and ever. Amen.

Hymn: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing    VU #48

1 Hark! the herald angels sing ,

"Glory to the newborn King,

peace on earth, and mercy mild,

God and sinners reconciled!"

Joyful, all ye nations, rise,

join the triumph of the skies;

with the angelic hosts proclaim,

"Christ is born in Bethlehem!"

[Refrain:]

Hark! the herald angels sing,

"Glory to the newborn King!"

2 Christ, by highest heaven adored,

Christ, the everlasting Lord,

late in time behold him come,

offspring of a virgin's womb.

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;

hail the incarnate deity.

pleased with us in flesh to dwell,

Jesus, our Emmanuel! [Refrain]

3 Hail, the heaven-born Prince of Peace!

Hail, the Sun of Righteousness!

Light and life to all he brings,

risen with healing in his wings.

Mild he lays his glory by,

born that we no more may die,

born to raise us from the earth,

born to give us second birth. [Refrain]

Blessing     Iona Community

Light a candle and hold it during the blessing (maybe the candle of Hope from your Advent Wreath). If you are with another person, you’re invited to bless each other, taking every other line.

One:      The Creator’s blessing be yours on your road, on your journey, guiding you, cherishing you.

Female: The Son’s blessing be yours, wine and water, bread and stories, feeding you, challenging you.

Male:     The Spirit’s blessing be yours, wind and fire, joy and wisdom,  comforting you, disturbing you.

All:        The Angel’s blessing be yours, on your house, on your living, guarding you, encouraging you. Let us walk together, a community on a journey, sustained in God’s blessing. Amen!

One:      Let us go now in peace to love and serve the Lord.

All:        Thanks be to God! Alleluia!

Postlude: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen          Don Butt & Hiromi Bradshaw