Readings, Prayers, & Sermon --- 29 November 2020

Oration for the First Sunday of Pentecost

Stir up your power, Lord Christ, and come. By your merciful protection awaken us to the threatening dangers of our sins, and keep us blameless until the coming of your new day, for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever.  Amen.

The Prayers of the Church:

·         For all suffering from illness, especially from the COVID-19 virus and for all who work with them in hospitals, in nursing homes, in clinics, in people’s homes and for all suffering from loneliness and isolation at this time…

·         For those who serve in the ambulance, fire, and police services, for their safety and health…

·         For the continued safety of school students on all levels as well as the safety of teachers, teaching assistants, and all who work in education…

·         For the sick of our congregation, our families, and our circle of friends…

·         For our families, where-ever they might be…

·         For continued progress on vaccines and therapeutics for the virus…

·      For our bishops, Susan and Michael and the local deans, Let us pray…
·      For the congregation of St. Ansgar Evangelical Lutheran Church in London and their pastor, Pr. David Wirt, let us pray…

·         For all the needs and prayers we hold in our hearts…

     (a time of silent prayer)… let us pray…

Gracious God, hear our prayers this day, spoken or unspoken, and in your mercy grant what is best for us all. We pray as always in the name of Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.   Amen.

First Reading  Isaiah 64:1-9

O that you would tear open the heavens and come down,     so that the mountains would quake at your presence— 2 as when fire kindles brushwood     and the fire causes water to boil— to make your name known to your adversaries,     so that the nations might tremble at your presence! 3 When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect,     you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. 4 From ages past no one has heard,     no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you,     who works for those who wait for him. 5 You meet those who gladly do right,     those who remember you in your ways. But you were angry, and we sinned;     because you hid yourself we transgressed. 6 We have all become like one who is unclean,     and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf,     and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. 7 There is no one who calls on your name,     or attempts to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us,     and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity. 8 Yet, O Lord, you are our Father;     we are the clay, and you are our potter;     we are all the work of your hand. 9 Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord,     and do not remember iniquity forever.     Now consider, we are all your people.

Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
    you who lead Joseph like a flock!
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
²     before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh.
Stir up your might,
    and come to save us!

³ Restore us, O God;
    let your face shine, that we may be saved.

⁴ O Lord God of hosts,
    how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
⁵ You have fed them with the bread of tears,
    and given them tears to drink in full measure.
⁶ You make us the scorn of our neighbors;
    our enemies laugh among themselves.

⁷ Restore us, O God of hosts;
    let your face shine, that we may be saved.
¹⁷ But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand,
    the one whom you made strong for yourself.
¹⁸ Then we will never turn back from you;
    give us life, and we will call on your name.

¹⁹ Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;
    let your face shine, that we may be saved.

 

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴ I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, ⁵ for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— ⁶ just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you— ⁷ so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁸ He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Gospel Verse:

   Alleluia. What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
    nor the human heart conceived,

    what God has prepared for those who love him” Alleluia..

Reading: Mark 14:24-37

[Jesus said] “But in those days, after that suffering,

the sun will be darkened,
    and the moon will not give its light,
²⁵ and the stars will be falling from heaven,
    and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

²⁶ Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. ²⁷ Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

²⁸ “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. ²⁹ So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. ³⁰ Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. ³¹ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

³² “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³³ Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. ³⁴ It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. ³⁵ Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, ³⁶ or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. ³⁷ And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”

Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn

·        In Advent, as in the time just before it, the assigned readings have to do with the end of things and the return of the Master. At the same time, the world around us is usually preparing for the celebration of Christmas with all its hustle, bustle, purchasing, and anticipation. I say “usually” because this year is different. Because of the pandemic, our preparations are out of the ordinary and not at all like they’ve been in years past. Decorations and gatherings are all tenuous and even risky. Some people need that joy in their lives just about now, while others cannot be joyful since things are so uncertain.

·        Advent tells us that there is more to come, that there is always more to come. It is true that we might not know what is to come, but Advent reminds us that we know Who is to come. We are not talking about the Child in the manger in Bethlehem; that is the beginning of the story of the coming of the Kingdom and a delightful, mysterious part of the story. Advent reminds us that God’s Kingdom among us is something we work for as we wait for it. It is with us now, as Jesus is, and we look forward to the fullness of it.

·        Today’s Gospel reading contains an odd symbol of the coming of the Kingdom. Jesus speaks of signs in the heavens and sign in such things as the fig tree. He also states that only the Father knows the time: But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. He says to be watchful since “the master of the house” could return at any time of any day. Jesus mentions “cockcrow” or the crowing of the rooster that takes place before dawn. It is a time of day, yet the word used for crowing in found in the entire New Testament only here and in Mark’s Passion narrative, when Peter hears the rooster crow after Jesus is arrested. Both of those citations are times when the presence of the Kingdom becomes quite real.

·        Have you ever had such a moment? Have you ever had such an experience of the power and presence of God? I wonder if I have and just can’t think of it right now. More than likely, that experience came through things that seemed ordinary and usual… until the circumstances changed around it.

·        Roosters crow every day. Birds sing at sunrise and sunset every day. These are ordinary things, yet they can convey and reinforce the presence of God to us when the time is right. Few of us might ever experience the unmistakable presence of God around us; that presence is more often felt and understood in the simple things, the ordinary things of our lives. Martin Luther is believed to have said “God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars.”

·        Advent is a time of waiting and considering the times, waiting a bit more anxiously than we might. It is also a time of watching, of watching for the signs of the Kingdom. In our waiting and watching, we may have to adjust our attitudes to that of a person waiting for someone who is worth waiting for. We don’t simply wait for a day or a gathering or a party; we are waiting for big changes that appear as little changes. We are waiting for someone who brings those changes if we are ready and willing to see them.

·        This may be our real Advent challenge. Not waiting for deliveries or baking or signing Christmas cards, but looking for that Divine presence in the simple things close to home and to us. It is there that we will find that grace and revelation… if we take time to look.

Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn