Hybrid Church Third Sunday of Advent,December 11, 2022,   Rev. Karen Hollis

Hybrid Church Third Sunday of Advent, December 11, 2022,   Rev. Karen Hollis

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

Whoever you are and wherever you are on life’s journey,

you are welcome here!

Welcome 

If you are gathering in person, on zoom or worshipping at home with the bulletin, welcome! We are one community, one in the body of Christ. 

Land Acknowledgment

Announcements

Centering & Stillness

Lighting the Christ Candle

Introit: Joy to the World                                             Allen Organ – Performance Player

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

Call to Worship                            Isaiah 35

One:  The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad.

All:    the desert shall rejoice and blossom

One:  Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

All:    and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

One:  then the lame shall leap like a deer,

All:    and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.

One:  Let us worship God, who makes a way for us.

Lighting the Candle of Joy              Don Moser

Reader: The Joy of God-With-Us does not come as naïve optimism, or surface level feel-good-ness. Joy cannot be imposed from on high. Joy cannot be commanded. The Joy of God-With-Us is mingled with grief, exists side by side with mourning, knows that pain and death are all too real, but do not have the final word. This joy tends tenderly to beauty, and softness, and the gladness that comes from paying attention to what matters. The Joy of God With-Us is collective, liberating us from deadly despair. Joy is gestating in darkness; it comes unexpectedly. Joy invites our expectation and demands our participation. Prepare the way, for joy with sorrow. May Joy be birthed among, within, and through us, this Advent.

Hymn: O Come, 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.   R

 

Prayer of Confession:                                                                        BAS

Henri Nowen said, “It is in the confession of our brokenness that the real strength of new and everlasting life can be affirmed and made visible.” Let us bring our brokenness before God.

We pray you would meet us today in our places of vulnerability, the places shut tight within us, the places we don’t dare show even to you, the life experience we wish we could do over. We pray for your mercy, O God… especially because it’s so difficult to forgive ourselves

Silent Prayer of Confession

Assurance of Grace 

Whoever you are, wherever you are on life’s journey, you are God’s joy. Emmanuel greets you with the love and grace of God.

Passing of the Peace 

The light of Christ increases in this season of Advent – let us share the peace Christ brings.

One:    The peace of Christ be with you! 

All:      And also with you!

You are invited to turn to those directly around you and share Christ’s peace. Those on zoom, please unmute and share with one another.

Reader: By the gift of your Spirit, calm and quiet our souls that we may hear your Word today and be lifted up to walk with you. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen

First Reading: Isaiah 35:1-10 (NRSV)                                Reader: Angela Nutter

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,

   the desert shall rejoice and blossom;

like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly,

   and rejoice with joy and singing.

The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,

   the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.

They shall see the glory of the Lord,

   the majesty of our God.

Strengthen the weak hands,

   and make firm the feeble knees.

Say to those who are of a fearful heart,

   ‘Be strong, do not fear!

Here is your God.

   He will come with vengeance,

with terrible recompense.

   He will come and save you.’

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

   and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

then the lame shall leap like a deer,

   and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.

For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,

   and streams in the desert;

the burning sand shall become a pool,

   and the thirsty ground springs of water;

the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp,

   the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

A highway shall be there,

   and it shall be called the Holy Way;

the unclean shall not travel on it,

   but it shall be for God’s people;

   no traveller, not even fools, shall go astray.

No lion shall be there,

   nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;

they shall not be found there,

   but the redeemed shall walk there.

And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,

   and come to Zion with singing;

everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;

   they shall obtain joy and gladness,

   and sorrow and sighing shall flee away

Psalm 146 (Lynn C. Bauman)                                                    Reader: Angela Nutter

Hallelujah! My heart sings,

my soul sings praise to the living God.

       My song shall last as long as I draw breath.

       My whole life long you shall be my song.

What use is it to trust in human governments?

What security for us can there be found?

       For everything that lives here perishes,

       and all our careful planning vanishes at death.

So it is good to trust the God of all the ancients.

Jacob’s God will help us now.

       The infinite source of heaven and earth

       and brimming seas keep unbroken faith and solemn promises.

For the downtrodden, God is justice,

for the hungry, God is food.

       For those in prison, God is freedom,

       all our blindness God can cure.

God’s compassion flows to the broken hearted,

and seeks out those whose ways are just,

       For God love the stranger in our midst,

       and holds the widows and the orphans close.

God delights in overthrowing evil.

       The reign of God shall know no end,

       it spans the generations. Hallelujah!

Gospel Reading                                                                                 Reader: Angela Nutter

As is your custom, please stand or sit for the reading of the gospel. 

Reader:           God be with you.         

All:    And also with you.

Reader:           The Good News of Jesus Christ according to Matthew.

All:     Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 11:2-11 (NRSV) 

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me.’ As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? 

Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.” Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

       Reader: This is the Gospel of Christ.   

       All:        Praise be to Jesus Christ       

Reflection :Joy              

Silent Reflection

Open Space                                                                          

Light Candles

Reflecting on Joy

Blessed are the poor

Reflecting on Biblical Joy:   Bible Project

Joy is a profound decision of faith and hope in the power of Jesus’ own life and love. Joy is an attitude God’s people adopt, not because of happy circumstances, but because of their hope in God’s love and promise.

Blessed are the poor: 

Matthew 11 Jesus Answered them: Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the deaf hear, and the poor have good news brought to them.”

Translations of “Blessed are the poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.”                     

by Neil Douglas Klotz

·       Ripe are you who feel your personal strength drained away, 

your real power lies in the reign of Unity.

·       In tune with the cosmos are you who feel completely dissolved, 

your new form appears by the vision-power of the One. 

·       Suited for the divine purpose are you who are exhausted, 

your power to stand then arises from the First Cause.

·       In the right time and place are you whose sense of Self becomes less, to you belongs the integrity of the divine “I Can!”

·       Blessed are you who hold onto very little,

yours is the wealth and rule of your original divine image.

Hymn: On Jordan’s Bank v 1-3 (organ)                                                          VU #20

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.

Affirmation of Faith: A New Creed

Let us affirm our faith . . . 

We are not alone,

    we live in God’s world.

 We believe in God:

    who has created and is creating,

    who has come in Jesus,

       the Word made flesh,

       to reconcile and make new,

    who works in us and others

       by the Spirit.

We trust in God. 

We are called to be the Church:

    to celebrate God’s presence,

    to live with respect in Creation,

    to love and serve others,

    to seek justice and resist evil,

    to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen,

       our judge and our hope.

In life, in death, in life beyond death,

    God is with us.

We are not alone.

    Thanks be to God.

Prayers of the People Mona Smart              

One:  Loving God,

All:    Hear Our Prayer

Lord’s Prayer                                                                                                                        VU #959          

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

Invitation to the Offering                                                                                               enfleshed

Activist and poet, June Jordan, said of those seeking liberation: we are the ones we have been waiting for. So let us co-kindle Christ’s Luminous Love within our own spirits, not waiting for a time other than this to set each other free. We will gather our resources and gifts, offering them to each other this day, that it may be so.

Doxology (organ)      CP #669

Praise God the Source of life and birth,

Praise God the Word, who came to earth.

Praise God the Spirit, holy flame.

All Glory, honour to God’s name.

Offering Prayer                                                         

To the material reality of our joy, we dedicate our offerings – nourishing food, clean water, safe housing, communal spaces, abundant landscapes, nurturing relationships, space to dance. Come, holy Spirit, Come. Make vivid our dreams. Amen.

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: Joy Shall Come (Performed by the Strathdees)                             VU #23

Joy shall come, even to the wilderness,

and the parched land shall then know great gladness;

as the rose, as the rose shall deserts blossom,

deserts like a garden blossom.

For living springs shall give cool water,

in the desert streams shall flow;

for living springs shall give cool water,

in the desert streams shall flow.

 

Thank You     

Blessing                                                                                                          Iona Community

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.

Women: The Son’s blessing be yours, wine and water, bread and 

          stories, feeding you, challenging you.

Men/Zoom: 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