The Second Sunday of
Advent
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Prelude, Welcome, and Information God of
love, may our wreath and its light remind us that Jesus came to save us from
our sin. Come, Lord Jesus, bring hope, faith, and life to our world. Amen. Dear Jesus, you entered our world on Christmas as
the Prince of Peace. This Advent, as we strive to become your true disciples,
fill us with a deep and abiding peace. Help us share that peace with everyone
we encounter, especially those who need it most. Amen. Joyous light of glory of the immortal
Father, the Son and Holy Spirit. with
pure voices forever. Hymn
#240 Light One Candle, vs. 1-2 |
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The grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you
all. And also with
you. Psalm: Psalm 72:
1-7, 18-19 Give the
king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son. May he
judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. May the
mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness. May he
defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the
oppressor. May he live
while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all
generations. May he be
like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth. In his days may righteousness flourish and peace
abound, until the moon is no more. Blessed be
the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be
his glorious name forever; may his glory fill the whole earth. Amen and Amen. |
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The Lord be with you. And
also with you. Let us pray. Stir up your power, Lord God, to
prepare the way of your only Son. By his coming nurture our growth as people
of repentance and peace; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. |
Reading:
Isaiah 11:1-10
A reading from the prophet, Isaiah
A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow
out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the
spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit
of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight shall be in the
fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by
what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and
decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with
the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the
wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness
the belt around his loins. The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard
shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the
ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned
child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of
the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the
nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.
The Word of the Lord
Reading:
Romans 15:4-13
A reading from the letter to the Romans
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction,
so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might
have hope.
May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in
harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that
together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the
glory of God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the
circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the
promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might
glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will confess you
among the Gentiles, and sing praises to your name”; and again he says,
“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people”; and again, “Praise the Lord, all
you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him”; and again Isaiah says,
“The root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; in him
the Gentiles shall hope.”
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that
you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Word of the Lord.
Gospel
Verse:
Alleluia! Prepare the way of
the Lord. All flesh shall see the salvation of God. Alleluia! (Luke 3:4,6)
Gospel Reading: Matthew 3:1-12
A reading from the Gospel of Matthew
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea,
proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This
is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one
crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths
straight.’” Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt
around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people
of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the
Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing
their sins.
But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said
to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to
come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to
yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from
these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at
the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is
cut down and thrown into the fire. “I baptize you with water for
repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not
worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and
fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing
floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn
with unquenchable fire.”
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise
to you, O Christ.
Sermon
(added at the end of the document)
Hymn
#249 On
Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry
Thanks and Offertory
Prayers of the Church:
O gracious God who calls us, we rely on your promise
of grace and mercy in all things. Hear our prayers for the world, the church,
and for all people according to their needs.
For our
perpetual renewal in God’s mercy, we pray... Lord, in your mercy, Hear
our prayer.
For the
gift of courage to proclaim the Gospel in both word and deed, we pray... Lord,
in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
For seasonable
weather and a blessing for all travellers and all who work in the cold and the
elements, we pray... Lord, in your mercy, Hear
our prayer.
For those
who hunger in any way, those who thirst for justice, and those who weep from
loss, we pray… Lord, in your mercy, Hear
our prayer.
For those
around us who live with long term pain and who suffer from broken relationships,
we pray... Lord, in your mercy, Hear our
prayer.
For peace in
Ukraine, Russia, and all of eastern Europe, as well as in Iran and Afghanistan,
and especially for all who suffer the terrors and dangers of war anywhere, we
pray… Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
For peace
and safety at East Elgin Secondary School, we pray… Lord, in your mercy, Hear
our prayer.
For those
still struggling with the COVID-19 virus as well as all the “flu” and the RSV
virus as well as all who work for healing in any way, we pray... Lord, in your
mercy, Hear our prayer.
For all who minister in the name of your Son, especially the church of St. John in Aylmer and the pastor there, we pray... Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
For our
unspoken prayers for those we care for and for those who have asked for our
prayers … * … we pray… Lord, in your
mercy, Hear our prayer. {*Gail Mauer, Deb Kirschner, Rose Gotzmeister}
O gracious
God who calls us, grant us your continued presence as we journey toward your
kingdom. Hear all our prayers this day and every day as we commend to you all
for whom we pray, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymn #263 Savior of the Nations, Come
The
Lord’s Prayer
Finally let
us pray for all things as our Lord would have us ask:
Our
Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done, on earth as it is in
heaven.
Give
us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against
us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For
thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the
glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Closing prayer & Benediction
Shower, O heavens,
from above,
and let the skies rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation may spring up,
and let it cause righteousness to sprout up also; Amen.
Benediction & Sending
May the Lord
bless us and keep us.
May the
Lord’s face shine upon us with grace and mercy.
May the Lord
look upon us with favor and X give us peace.
Amen.
Hymn
#254 Come, Thou
Long Expected Jesus
Go in peace. Serve
the Lord. Thanks be to God.
W
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Upcoming Services
for November and December: December 11 Communion, Saxonia Hall, 11:00am (Advent
III) December 18 Service on YouTube, 11:00am (Advent IV) December 24 Communion, Church, 7:00pm (Christmas
Eve) December 25 Service on YouTube, 11:00am (Christmas Day) January 1 Service on YouTube, 11:00am
(The Name of Jesus) |
In those days John the Baptist appeared
in the wilderness of Judea
·
The
wilderness is a strange place. In Judea, the wilderness was the area beyond the
east bank of the Jordan, an area of desert where there was little water, where
strange beasts lived, and where unusual people went to settle. John the Baptist
“appeared” out of there. John may have been a member of an unusual Jewish sect
called the “Essenes” who lived an almost monastic life in the desert a bit
beyond the Dead Sea. They were responsible for the Dead Sea Scrolls, a treasure
trove of ancient documents found in 1946/1947.
·
The
wilderness in the Middle East is different from the wilderness of Canada. It’s
hot, dry, and barren as opposed to the wilderness in the north of even Ontario
– often cold and wet, and full of trees. The animals are different; the
wilderness of Judea has scorpions, jackals, and snakes as opposed to moose,
bear, wolves, and many different snakes. Unless you are wary and keep your wits
about you, both of those wilderness areas can be deadly. Yet people have gone
there for a number of reasons – prospecting and the search for minerals,
escape, adventure, or to be alone.
·
For the
people of Israel and for John the Baptizer, the wilderness has a special place
in their spirituality. It wasn’t the place they especially wanted to go back
into although they celebrated what has come to be known as the “Festival of
Booths” (Sukkot) where the wandering
in the desert is remembered by the building of simple dwellings (called Sukka or “booths”) outside the everyday
homes, recalling the temporary dwellings stayed in during after the Exodus.
·
For the
Jewish people, the wilderness was a place where things were not so good and yet
it was the place where everything – food, shelter, and direction – came from
God. This time ended with the crossing of the Jordan River and taking up
residence in the Promised Land.
·
What does
John do? He calls people to the desert and washes them in the Jordan. Then the people of Jerusalem and all
Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they
were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. In
living symbolism, the people cross the Jordan again and come to God’s promise
with repentance.
·
In this
sense, John was calling the people back to their origin and to the place and
situation where God led them and fed them. He says Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.
“Repent” means “turn around” and in this case, turn around and return to who you
really are before God – God’s own people, called to show God’s grace and
fidelity to the whole world.
·
The words of
John the Baptizer are for us as well. His words prepared the way for Jesus in
his time and his words again prepare the way for Jesus in our lives in our
time. Each Advent (“Arrival”) and Christmas (“Christ’s Mass”) can be a renewal
of faith and remembrance of Jesus’ birth and message for each of us.
·
We Christians
have NOT replaced the Jewish people as God’s People; we have been added to or “grafted
onto” God’s Chosen. The Gospel message tells us so and proclaims God’s mercy
and choice to all the world. In that, what John said is the message for us as
well. Our Advent is a brief time in the wilderness leading us to the great
event of Emmanuel or “God with/among us.”
·
Let’s all
hear John’s words and turn around again to who we are before God – people God
loves and has graced with salvation.
In those days John the Baptist appeared
in the wilderness of Judea… the kingdom of heaven has come near.
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