Weekly Worship for 13.12.2020
Circuit Worship Sheet: Advent Week 3 13th December 2020 prepared by Rev’d Kim Shorley.
Call to Worship I will bless the Lord at all times praise will continually be in my mouth. My soul shall rejoice in the Lord; let the humble hear it and rejoice. Come, glorify our God with me. Let’s exalt God’s name together! Singing the Faith 186
2 Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his name!
3 Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his might!
4 Tell out, my soul, the glories of his word! Timothy Dudley-Smith (b. 1926) Prayer of Praise and Confession Lord, we lift our hearts in praise to you, seeking to learn from the example of Mary, glad that you are our Saviour and that you remember us. We praise you for calling humans to do your work in the world, for choosing ordinary people to do extraordinary deeds. We praise you for your holy name, known for generations, and we praise you for the mercy you show to those who honour you. We praise you for the workings of justice, when the mighty and proud have been brought down, when the lowly and hungry have been lifted and fed and the rich made to realise the emptiness of material things. We praise you for the promises you have kept and place our trust in you for the continuing promises which you make to all the descendants of Abraham, to all who follow you and seek to obey your commands. We hold before you the shame we feel for our faults, knowing that so often we fail to respond to your calling. Often our excuses seem to be good ones, but when we think of someone like Mary – willing to risk her life and reputation – we become more aware of the conditions we attach to our willingness to serve. You call us in different ways, according to our abilities and potential. Forgive us when we identify with the mighty and proud rather than the lowly and hungry. Forgive us and call us once again to do your will. A time of silence All powerful God, at this time of Advent, let the splendour of your glory rise in our hearts like the dawn, that the darkness of the night may be scattered and the coming of your only son may reveal us children of the light. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
Singing the Faith 706
2 Longing for peace, our world is troubled. Christ, be our light!
3 Longing for food, many are hungry. Christ, be our light!
Christ, be our light!
Christ, be our light!
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 The Good News of Deliverance The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Prayer of Intercession Christ through whom all things were made: sustain all creation Christ exalted in the lowest and the least: give us humility Christ present in the poor and oppressed: fill us with compassion Christ forsaken in the hungry and homeless: minister to them through our hands Christ present where two or three are gathered: be known among us. Christ present in word, sacrament and sign: grant us your peace. We share together in the prayer that Christ gave us Traditional Form Modern Form Our Father, who art in heaven, Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name; hallowed be your Name, thy kingdom come; your kingdom come; thy will be done; your will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. on earth as in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who trespass as we forgive those who sin against us. against us. And lead us not into temptation; Save us from the time of trial but deliver us from evil. and deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power For the kingdom, the power and and the glory, for ever and ever the glory are yours, now and for ever. Amen Amen.
Luke 1:46b-55 And Mary said,
Reflection Methodist’s have long been known as ones who are ‘born in song’ and as I have listened to the laments over the restrictions in our worship life, alongside those in our everyday life, the absence of singing is what pains us most. Singing fills many a Methodist with joy and the surge in Zoom choirs during lockdown demonstrates how singing (despite it being remotely) is good for your mental health. Here in Mary’s song (which is reminiscent of Hannah’s song of praise in 1 Samuel 2:1-10) we have words that rejoice in the Good News. Despite it looking as if God’s promises have failed to appear, a newness has begun, and it reassures all those who have groaned under the weight of injustice/ enslavement/ oppression that they have not been abandoned. Here as Mary and Elizabeth meet (Luke 1:39-45) to celebrate (and wonder) at their pregnancies we come face to face with both the subversive nature of God and the upside-down vision of God’s kingdom. Subversive in that the officially sanctioned priest Zechariah, who is Elizabeth husband, has been struck mute by his disbelief in the power of God (Luke 1:20) whilst a young, unwed, pregnant women – a thoroughly marginalised person in her own culture – joyfully sings some of the most important and prophetic words in Scripture. Upside down in that Mary reveals a Kingdom that would be for those who thought themselves lost, and not for those who believed themselves to be righteous; it would be where the first would be last and the last first, where wealth, social status, worldly success and riches would stand for nothing (as Jesus was later to demonstrate in his teachings). These words echo the majority of our Old Testament prophets and within the reading from Isaiah we note an ambiguous “me.” Is the ‘me’ Isaiah? Is the ‘me’ the Messiah? Is the ‘me’ those who fight for justice? Is the ‘me’ me? The answer to all of these questions is “YES.” Whilst Mary’s song proclaims the reversal of ‘the powers that be’ as an already accomplished fact it remains true that we continue to live in a world where many face hardship and hunger. The 2020 report from the Action Against Hunger network reported that 690 million people around the world go to bed hungry every night, and this number sadly is once more on the increase. Our rejoicing therefore comes as we, like her, have the opportunity to become “God-bearers” theotokos — pregnant with Spirit-led possibilities — for God has chosen to move in and through us, not apart from us. A genuine, spiritual joy does not sugar coat life’s challenges with platitudes of “there, there it will be all right” instead joy (which is a decision as much as it an emotion) offers to sit with the oppressed, the broken hearted and the downtrodden and offers eyes of compassion and hands, and lives that embody God’s present and loving kindness. Like Mary’s song, Howard Thurman’s poem The Work of Christmas* focuses on the joy that God’s justice is coming: It did not end with a little baby in a manger, but continued through the life, death and resurrection of Christ, the testimony of the disciples and the witness of the early church and continues to work in the world through us today and and this justice will continue to bring restoration, to feed those who are hungry, to liberate the oppressed, to rebuild the broken, and to bring peace to all people. When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flocks, the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among the people, to make music in the heart.
As our Christmas excitement begins to mount, and as we hear Christmas music being playing in shops and in our homes (whether secular or sacred) we turn once more to the world God has made, and we become God’s heralds. With joy we proclaim the coming of Christ, who will bring joy to those who have never experienced it before in the whole of their lives. With joy we testify to Christ’s strength and might, but also to his compassion. With joy we speak about the faithfulness of God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer of our lives. With joy we bring our lives before God, aware of our gifts and our frailties,to rejoice once more at the wonder of God’s love for us and our world. Now surely that really might get us into the true Spirit of Christmas. Amen
For Further Consideration/Conversation How might God be calling you to Magnify God’s name at home, in your workplaces, in your community.
1 Thessalonians 5:16 tells us to ‘Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.’ How does it feel to hear these words at the end of a year as tumultuous as 2020?
Singing the Faith 330 1 Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
2 Joy to the world, the Saviour reigns! 3 He rules the world with truth and grace, Isaac Watts (1674–1748)
Blessing At this time of Advent, fire our imaginations with the sweep of your salvation. Catch us up in the case of your kingdom, already breaking into this world in our ransomed lives yet waiting for its final fulfilment when Christ shall come again. Let your Spirit, wild as the wind, gentle as the dove, move within us and among us, to enliven our witness and strengthen our faith so that we may serve you with joy.
Amen. Come Lord Jesus Please be assured that members of the church are still here if you need anything at all during this time.
Circuit staff can be contacted by calling 01933 312778 for Rev’d Lesley Dinham / 01933 622137 for Rev’d Kim Shorley.
Words for the hymns are re-produced from Singing the Faith Music Edition. CCLI reproduced under licence No. 941649.
*The poem “The Work of Christmas” is from Howard Thurman’s The Mood of Christmas and Other Celebrations and is used by permission of Friends United Press. All rights reserved.
Additional materials used with permission from The Methodist Worship Book and Candles & Conifers (Wild Goose Publications) |
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