December 10, 2023
Lectionary Texts
Isaiah 40. 1-11. Comfort, comfort my people. Prepare a way in the wilderness for God’s people to come home. God is coming with power to save and lovingly shepherd the people.
Psalm 85. Thanks for God’s grace and forgiveness, and a plea for God’s continued grace. “Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss.”
2 Peter 3. 8-15. God is not slow to keep their promise. The Day will come like a thief. How shall we prepare? By leading lives of holiness and godliness. We wait for new heavens and a new earth.
Mark 1. 1-8. Like Isaiah’s cry, “Prepare a way,” John the Baptist preaches repentance in preparation for “one more powerful” who is yet to come, who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.
Preaching Thoughts
Isaiah
The pre-exilic prophets warned Israel they were about to suffer the consequences of their unfaithfulness. During the exile, the prophets had a different message: not warning but assurance— that God was still with them, and would bring them home again. The Gospel preaches both messages to us these days: warning that we’re reaping the harvest of our greed, violence, and oppression; and also comfort that God is with us to redeem, not to punish.
Exile is a powerful image: people feel alienated, isolated and imprisoned, or at least not free. People on both sides of the political spectrum may feel exiled from their safe homeland, whether they see that as White America or a just society. Of course God’s longing is for the latter, not the former. Our anticipation of the coming of Christ is rooted in that longing for a safe home. But it’s not nostalgia. Think of the exiles who anticipated “returning” to Israel. Most of them had probably never actually been there. It was their parents more than a generation ago who had been sent into exile. So the “return” was a return to something new. So it is with God’s promise for us. To return from exile will be to enter a land where we’ve never actually lived—we’ve only seen far-off glimpses. (That’s what the church is supposed to be.) That’s why it matters that we prepare a way.
2 Peter
This letter was written a couple generations after Jesus’ death, to people who thought Jesus would have returned by then, and he hadn’t. It assured them God was giving them more time to be ready. As dated as that concern sounds, we also might feel some despair that God hasn’t intervened in the evil of the world. We wonder: will God ever straighten things out? I think we can dismiss the idea that Jesus is going to “come on the clouds,” that at some historical moment God will bring about The Apocalypse. It’s been 2000 years. There’s no reason to think it won’t be another 2000. But the point of 2 Peter isn’t about the timetable: it’s the way we live. It’s the thought that by living lives of love and justice we bring about the world we hope for. I punctuate verses 11-12 differently than our translations: “Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be? Lead lives of holiness and godliness; waiting like this, we hasten the coming of the day of God.”
Mark
John the Baptist echoes the call to prepare a way by leading lives of holiness and godliness. We “Way” means different things to different speakers. For Isaiah it’s a way for God to come into the world and enact God’s decisive will in freeing the exiles. And it suggests a way for the exiles to return home, a straight, smooth highway instead of the bumpy road they’ve been on. It also implies making a way for God’s will in our world, doing justice so God’s will is enacted. For Mark, John is preparing a way for Jesus. And for John the way is a reformed life of righteousness. All of that—the coming of God, the return of exiles, the doing of justice, the coming of Christ, and our preparations in our own hearts—is part of the Advent message. God, Cyrus, John, Jesus and we are all making a ways for grace to move in our lives and our world. Advent is a time to make space in our lives in which something new can enter, not unlike clearing a space in a room for a new piece of furniture. (And likely some old stuff has to go!) Mary & Joseph ended up in a stable “because there was no room for them in the inn.” Imagine what needed to be moved out of the stable to make room for them even there; what had to be cleared out of the manger to allow for the baby Jesus. What do you need to clear out to make room for grace in your life? What are barriers to grace that need to be leveled to allow it in? Prepare a way.
Call to Worship
1.
See advent candle lighting prayers here.
3.
See Advent wreath prayers here.
3.
In the darkness there is a light.
In the wilderness there is a voice.
Your love, O God, leads us to you.
Your wisdom leads us to life.
Gracious God, be our guiding star.
Be our rising dawn.
Prepare your way in us,
that we may worship and serve in love. Amen.
4.
Light of God, rising in the wilderness, awaken us to your glory.
By your revealing light, may we see ourselves clearly, and repent.
Light of Christ, making level the uneven ground, awaken us to your way.
By your guiding light, may we free ourselves of all fear and hatred.
Spirit’s light, rising in our hearts, awaken us to the gift of love.
By your transforming light, baptize us with your Holy Spirit,
that we may prepare for your coming
with hearts full of love and lives of compassion.
Come, dear Jesus, come! Amen.
Collect / Prayer of the Day
1.
God of grace and mercy, you prepare a way to come into this world, many ways that we do not see. Prepare a way to enter our hearts now. In word and silence, in song and prayer and meal, make your way into our hearts and make within us and among us a new heaven and earth, in the Spirit and the Body of Christ. Amen.
2.
God of love, as we wait in the darkness, speak to us. Comfort us, make gentle what is rough in our lives, grant us your promise, and direct us in living out your good news. We pray in the spirit and company of Christ, who is here, and who is coming. Amen.
3.
God of the new dawn,
we gather, mindful of those who live in darkness.
Our hearts ache for your comfort.
Our sorrows cry for your healing.
Christ, O Patient One, you who are coming,
prepare your way in us.
Make our hearts patient, still and receptive;
that we may repent and love one another,
that we may go before you all our days.
O Holy Spirit, strengthen our hearts, that we may live in hope.
By your tender mercy, O God, may your dawn from on high break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace. Amen.
4.
In our darkness we look for your light, for a star in the night, for a candle in a window, for the rising of your dawn. In our weariness we long for your comfort, for an easy chair, for tender, loving arms. In our busyness we search for your grace, for a place to rest, for a promise of hope. In the presence of Christ and of one another, we have gathered to listen for your Word and to receive your grace. In the name of the One who is coming, speak to us; reach out to us, come to us. Amen.
5.
Eternal God, your prophet cries out to make a way for you in the desert. In the barren land of our wayward ways, lead us to life. Across the wasteland of our injustice, selfishness and fear, guide us in the way of peace and the path of justice. Through the dark valleys of our broken hearts, show us the way to your heart. Prepare your way in us, O God. Amen.
6.
Gracious God, you sent your prophets to prepare a way for your peace and justice. You sent Jesus to transform us into your faithful people. Send your Word now to us, prepare a way in our hearts for your presence, baptize us in your Holy Spirit, and guide our feet into the way of peace. Amen.
7.
Gracious God, Creator of all things, you are still creating.
Receive our deepest longings with tenderness, and nourish them,
that we may plead for your coming in hope.
Gentle Christ, you who have come among us in love, you are still coming.
Open our hearts, that we may prepare for you with lives of love.
Spirit of Life, you shone in the darkness, and still you shine.
Shine in us, that we may proclaim your coming in lives of joy and justice,
Incarnate God, you entered into Mary, and she bore you into the world.
Bless us, that we may participate in your coming with deep and life-giving peace. Amen.
8.
God, you who speak promises to us, you who are coming, we gather with you in silence and awe. Speak to us your Word, instill your promises in our hearts, and transform us by your Spirit. By Christ’s birth in our hearts, and the baptism of you Spirit, make us signs of your coming, by which the world me see, and rejoice. Amen.
9.
Gracious God, through all our doubt and despair prepare a way for hope.
Through our selfishness and fear, prepare a way for love.
Through our resistance and control, prepare a way for grace.
Through our anger and enmity, prepare a way for peace.
O You Who Are Coming, prepare your way in us.
Listening Prayer
(suitable as a Collect, preparation for hearing scriptures, or invitation to prayer)
In the wilderness of the world,
in the wilderness of our hearts,
in the wilderness of this silence,
prepare a way, O God,
and move into our hearts.
Poetry
Prepare Your Way
Holy One,
prepare your way in me.
Give me faith, like the stable,
to know your presence within me.
Give me courage, like Mary,
to let your life overwhelm mine.
Give me strength, like Joseph,
to protect what is holy, tender and growing.
Give me patience, like the shepherds,
to be still and listen.
Give me humility, like the magi,
to kneel before your presence.
Give me trust, like the child,
to let myself be borne into a new world.
Give me joy, like the angels,
to bring good news to the poor.
Give me love, like the manger
to hold Christ within.
Holy One,
prepare your way in me.
Eucharistic Prayer
See musical Eucharistic prayers set to Christmas tunes.
See Eucharistic prayer responses (Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen) set to Christmas tunes.
•
[After the introduction, the body of the prayer may be read responsively with the presiding leader(s) and congregation, or by the leader(s) alone.]
God is with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to the Holy One, our God.
It is good and beautiful to give God our praise.
We thank you, God, for in the beginning
you made a way for light in the darkness.
You made a way for the Hebrews through the sea,
and a way for exiles to return.
You make a way for justice in this world,
condemning oppression and demanding freedom for the oppressed.
You have showed us a way through your prophets,
the way of faithfulness and mercy.
You have opened a way for us in Jesus,
the way of love and life that cannot die.
And still in Christ you make your way into the world,
always a new coming, in a new way.
Here at this table you make a way for us to love each other,
a way for you to enter our hearts.
Therefore we sing your praise with all the faithful:
[Sanctus, spoken or sung:]
Holy, holy, holy One, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of God.
Hosanna in the highest.
[or alternate version]
Blessed are all who come in your name,
and blessed is Jesus, your Christ,
who prepared the way for your empire of grace.
Jesus is the way for those who are hoping,
and comfort for those who are weary.
His love makes smooth what is rough in our lives,
and straightens what is crooked.
In his death and resurrection is the Way of life eternal,
a grace that transforms our lives from death to life.
(The Blessing and Covenant)
As long as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection, until he comes again.
Therefore, remembering these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,
we offer ourselves as a living and holy sacrifice,
in union with Christ’s offering for us,
as we proclaim the mystery of our faith:
[Memorial Acclamation, spoken or sung:]
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
—or—
Dying, Christ destroyed our death. Rising, Christ restores our life.
Christ will come again in glory.
[or alternative]
Prepare the way of your Holy Spirit in these gifts of bread and cup,
that they may be for us the body and blood of Christ.
Prepare the way of your Holy Spirit in us,
that we may be for the world the Body of Christ.
In this meal you have prepared a way to enter us;
and through us, to enter into the world.
Baptize us in your Holy Spirit,
that we may be made new.
May we make smooth the rough places.
May we bring comfort
to those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
that by your grace, through our faith, your glory will be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together.
[Spoken or sung]
Amen.
____________
* The Blessing and Covenant
[I usually don’t print the words. I want people to be looking at the bread, not their bulletins.]
On the night in which he gave himself for us
Jesus took bread, blessed it,. broke it, and gave it to his disciples,saying,
“Take and eat; this is my body.”
In the same way, after the supper he took the cup,
blessed it with thanks and gave it to them, saying,
“Drink of this, all of you. This is my blood,
poured out for you and for many, in a new Covenant,
which is the forgiveness of sin.”
As long as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection, until he comes again.
Prayer of Dedication / Sending / after Communion
[Adapt as needed.]
1.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) In this meal you have made us new, and fashioned us as living promises of the world to come. Send us into the world to prepare a way for you in love and justice. May we be the way you enter the world, in the power of your Spirit and the loving presence of the Beloved, Jesus Christ. Amen.
2.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) You who are coming, baptize us in your Holy Spirit. Lead us in a new way of living, by the light of your Spirit in and among us, for the sake of the renewal of the world, in the name of Christ. Amen.
3.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) Send us now to go before you to prepare a way, to give the people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sin. By your tender mercy, may your dawn from on high break upon us, to guide our feet in the way of peace. Amen.
4.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) In this holy meal the light of your new dawn begins to rise in our hearts. Send us into the world to prepare your way and to give knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of people’s sins. By your tender mercy, may your dawn from on high break upon us, that we may bring light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. By your grace, guide our feet in the way of peace. Amen.
5.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) Send us into the world to bless without reserve, to love without fear, to serve without holding anything back. Our beloved chief, Jesus, you have come to us in the sharing of this meal. In our lives of love, come again, O Jesus, come! Amen.
6.
God of promise, we offer these gifts as symbols of our lives, given in gratitude for your grace and in preparation for your coming. Bless the gifts that through them your will may be done; and bless us that through our giving we may become living signs of your coming. We pray in the spirit of Christ. Amen.
Suggested Songs
(Click on titles to view, and hear an audio clip, on the Music page)
See Advent table songs (preparation for communion), Eucharistic responses, whole Eucharistic prayers, and songs of blessing. All set to traditional Christmas tunes.
Come, Bring Your Light and Shepherd of Israel are two weekly litanies, one verse per week; suitable for a call to worship, introduction or response to scripture, response to sermon, affirmation, or other places in worship. The Cantor’s lyrics reflect the day’s lectionary texts; the congregational response is the same throughout Advent.
Come, Bring Your Light (Original song)
A weekly litany. A dialogue between solo cantor and congregation.
Week 2:
Comfort, comfort my people, says our God.
Speak tenderly to them that their suffering is at an end.
In the wilderness prepare a way for God.
Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Congregation:
O Come to us, O come, Emmanuel,
and bring your light into our darkened world.
The uneven ground shall become a level path,
and the rough places will be made smooth.
Then the glory of God shall be revealed.
For one is coming who will baptize you with fire.
Congregation:
O Come to us, O come, Emmanuel,
and bring your light into our darkened world.
Shepherd of Israel (Original song)
A weekly litany. A dialogue between solo cantor and congregation.
Week 2:
Congregation:
Kyrie Eleison. Christe Eleison. Kyrie Eleison.
Come to us, and grant your peace.
Cantor:
Comfort, speak tenderly. Gently lead your people.
God, forgive our sins and make us new.
Kyrie…
Child of Promise (Original song)
Child of promise, oh, child of hope, prophets spoke of you:
visions treasured but unfulfilled. Shall our dreams come true?
Help us wait for you.
Child of woman, oh, child of God, birthing us anew,
make a room, oh, make a womb, in our hearts for you.
Help us wait for you.
Child of patience, oh, child of pain, suffering ills we do,
heal, forgive and help us be gentle child, like you.
Help us wait for you.
Child of wonder, oh, child of joy, you make all things new.
Re-create us, come again like the morning dew.
Help us wait for you.
Comfort, Comfort (Original song)
Isaiah 40.1-11. A dialogue between cantor and congregation.
Cantor:
Comfort, comfort my people,
speak tenderly to my beloved:
from your imprisonment, from your despair
you shall be released.
Congregation:
Prepare the way in the wilderness.
Prepare the way.
Prepare the way in the wilderness.
prepare the way.
Build up, build up a new way,
the rough and the crooked make even.
Build up a way where God’s justice may come.
Open up a way.
Prepare the way in the wilderness….
Cry, cry out the mystery,
for we are like flowers and grasses,
growing then fading when winter winds blow.
But God’s love endures.
Prepare the way in the wilderness….
Raise up, raise up your voices,
rejoice for your savior is coming.
God like a shepherd will gather us in,
guide us on in love.
Prepare the way in the wilderness….
Prepare Your Way In Me (Original song)
Prepare your way in me, God, prepare your way in me.
1. Make my rough places smooth, the crooked make straight, my God.
2. Lay your hand at my root, that I may bear fruit, my God.
3. Come and empty my heart of all things but you, my God.
4. Guide my feet in your Way. Fill me with your peace, my God.