St Clement Church Community Advent Three Service
Good morning
Today is the third Sunday in Advent, the day when we think about John the Baptist, a character and someone who has much to teach us.
As part of our preparation for the coming of the Christ Child may we look at and learn from ‘the voice crying out in the wilderness.’
With love to you all
Liz
Let us pray
Dear Lord and Father, we thank you that you promise us that where two or three are gathered you are there in the midst.
Lord, we welcome You amongst us today and celebrate the gift of life that You have lavished upon each of us.
We ask that You would open our ears so that we may hear Your voice.
Open our minds so that we may receive Your eternal wisdom.
Open our spirits so that we may know Your leading and guidance.
Open our hearts that we may receive Your wonderful love.
We ask this in Your name.
Amen
We say together:
Heavenly Father, we come before you today in humility and faith. We thank you for all you have given us and the many blessings in our lives. We ask for your guidance and strength. Show us the way and fill us with courage and wisdom. Help us to remember: your love and grace, and to be faithful in our service to you. Give us the patience and understanding to face life’s challenges with grace. We ask these things in your name.
Amen
Hymn: 51 Be thou my vision
Prayer of Penitence
Lord God,
we have sinned against you; we have done evil in your sight.
We are sorry and repent. Have mercy on us according to your love. Wash away our wrongdoing and cleanse us from our sin.
Renew a right spirit within us and restore us to the joy of your salvation, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Collect for the Third Sunday in Advent
O Lord Jesus Christ, who at your first coming sent your messenger to prepare your way before you: grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready your way by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, that at your second coming to judge the world we may be found an acceptable people in your sight; for you are alive and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Readings:
Isaiah 61. 1 – 4, 8 - 11
1 Thessalonians 5. 16 - 24
Hymn: 538 On Jordan’s bank, the Baptist’s cry
Gospel: John 1. 6 – 8, 19 - 28
(Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John
Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.
This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, ‘I am not the Messiah.’ And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the prophet?’ He answered, ‘No. Then they said to him, ‘Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’ He said, ‘I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord,”’ as the prophet Isaiah said. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, ‘Why then are you baptising if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?’
John answered them, ‘I baptise with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.’
This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptising.
(This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.)
Reflection
Many years ago, when I was six years old, (so, a very long time ago!) I had a teacher called Miss Geach (her brother was Reverend Michael Geach – some of you may have known him.) She told us a story about two cousins. They were out playing one day when the older one picked up a pebble and threw it at a bird which plummeted to the ground. ‘Direct hit,’ he shouted. The other boy went and picked up the bird and gently stroked it, stretching out its wings to make sure that they weren’t broken, and when the bird was sufficiently recovered, he gently launched it back into the air.
The older boy wanted to show off how strong he was. He went up to a tree and tore down a branch, ‘’I bet you can’t do that!’ he said. The younger boy went and collected some big stones and carefully constructed a mini wall of them and then walked away. The older boy went, stood in front of the little wall, and attempted to push it over, but not a stone budged. Why couldn’t he push it over? He looked at his younger cousin who, very gently smiled and said, ‘Come on, let’s go to the river.’
It’s a story that has stayed with me for a very long time, as you will gather. Why? Because the younger boy didn’t need to say anything, his behaviour showed a strength that outshone his older cousin’s and must have had a very positive effect on the older boy without him having to lose face.
Two boys related, but very different in their outlook.
Who were they? Well, the idea of the story was that they were John and Jesus as children.
Although related, it seems that they didn’t have much contact certainly after their childhood, because when they meet as adults, they’re almost strangers.
Why have I told this story? The boys were different and I think John would have learnt much from Jesus as a child just by being with him.
But, what about today’s Gospel reading? Today’s reading suggests that there are two ways of approaching life and God’s presence in the world. One way is demonstrated by John. The other way is demonstrated by the priests and Levites. We are either witnesses or interrogators.
John was a witness sent from God. The priests and Levites were interrogators sent by the religious authorities. “Who are you?” they ask John. “Are you Elijah?” “Are you the prophet?” “Why are you baptizing?” They don’t seem to have any idea about the one standing amongst them. They are in the dark. That’s how it is with interrogators. Witnesses, however, are different. They know!
John knows who he is and who he is not. He doesn’t claim for himself either too much or too little and that’s what makes him a credible witness. He speaks the truth but he is not the truth. He is illumined but is not the light. He is the one crying out in the wilderness but he is not the Word of God. Everything about John points to the light and the life of the one who both stands among us and the one who is coming. John is willing to bet his life on that. That’s how it is with witnesses. They live and die on what they have seen, heard, and experienced.
What’s the difference between interrogators and witnesses? Well, interrogators demand answers. Witnesses offer hope. Let’s face it, more than ever our world today needs witnesses of hope. We don’t need more answers or explanations. We have enough interrogators. We need to hear ‘the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord.”’
John is the voice of hope. His words echo through the wilderness of our world and our lives. John’s, however, wasn’t the first voice of hope. Before John, Mary was proclaiming the greatness of the Lord. She spoke of the one who shows favour to the lowly, offers mercy, and lends the strength of his arm. He fills the hungry with good things and comes to the help of his people.
Before Mary, there was Isaiah. The Lord anointed him to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners.
John, Mary, Isaiah – each one a witness of hope. They look at the circumstances of their life and world and see a great reality. They each testify to a life and presence beyond their own. Within each of their voices is the Word that was with God and was God, the Word that became flesh and dwells among us, the Word that enables us to become children of God. Everything that needs to be said was spoken in that one Word. That Word is our ultimate hope.
Think of the tragedies and difficulties of our lives: the death of loved ones, an illness, an addiction, a divorce, guilt, the sin that separated us from God, others, and ourselves. Answers and explanations didn’t help us. How, when, what, or why was not what we needed to hear. It was the Word of hope that got us through it all. Hope doesn’t make life easy. It makes life possible. Hope reminds us that it won’t always be like this. There is light and life coming to us. It is already here among us.
The interrogators of the world, however, make it difficult to hear that other voice, the witness of hope. The interrogators clamour and compete for our attention. They often speak the loudest but the voice of hope has never been silenced.
Which voice do we listen to? Which voice do we follow? Those are the questions we must answer every day. We are a people of the wilderness. The reality of God is that God is a God of hope. Do we trust the voice of the wilderness or do we trust the voice of the one crying out in the wilderness? The voice we listen to is the voice with which we will speak. We will become either witnesses or interrogators. We choose who we want to be.
Hope isn’t easy. We must practice hope. It means we rejoice always, we pray without ceasing, we give thanks in all circumstances. These practices enable us to both hear and become the voice of hope.
Hope doesn’t change the circumstances of our life, it changes us, and that, changes everything.
John – my thoughts go back to the story I heard when I was six – so different from his cousin but he saw, he heard and he learnt. He became the ultimate witness – and so must we.
Amen
Affirmation of our faith
We believe in God the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. We believe in God the Son, who lives in our hearts through faith, and fills us with his love. We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us with power from on high. We believe in one God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen
Hymn: 486 Now thank we all our God
Intercessions
Loving God – as we approach the anniversary of Christ’s birth, help us to throw wide the doors of our hearts in preparation. Help us to sense the importance of what happened so long ago when Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel and then visited her cousin Elizabeth who was also miraculously expecting; to remember the words of the angels, the prophets, and the teachers of old, and to celebrate all the promises that you made through them. Help us to take firm hold of the meaning of all these things and through us to fulfil the promises you have made and to know in the depths of our being that even now you are seeking to work in us and through us to fulfil the promises you have made.
Lord, hear us
Lord, graciously hear us
Today we remember the role that John the Baptist played in our Lord’s life. John, the ‘voice crying out in the wilderness,’ the witness sent from God to announce the coming, a voice of hope. May we listen to that voice and practice hope in our lives.
Lord, hear us
Lord, graciously hear us
We pray for justice in the world, justice especially for the weak and helpless, that we, members of the richer nations, may be generous with all that we have, materially and spiritually.
We pray that we, as Christians, may show by our example, that religion is a force for good, not evil, in this world, that loving our neighbour, as Christ taught us, is a priority in all our lives.
Lord, hear us
Lord, graciously hear us
We pray too, O God, for the children of our world, and all those of tender faith, all those who have no place to call their home, all those who are hungry and thirsty. Bless, we pray, the innocent of the earth and all those who trust in you. Bless the humble and the powerless and bring down from their ‘mighty seats’ those who are full of pride and those who are indifferent.
Lord, hear us
Lord, graciously hear us
We pray for those working in the emergency services – those who went to the aid of those caught in the floods across the country; those who helped those caught in the snow … those who have been helping the people of Ukraine, and those helping the people of Gaza and Israel. We pray for those who, across the world, face unknown dangers each day. We thank you, O God, for their dedication and selflessness in the face of personal danger.
Lord, hear us
Lord, graciously hear us
Lord – may this Christmas season be for us and for those around us a season of healing; may it be a season of hope and of joy; may it be a time of sharing and rejoicing around all the earth.
Lord, hear us
Lord, graciously hear us
We pray for those around us who are in need: for those who need a second birth; for those who need a tender touch and a healing word.
Bless each special one we name before you now… Ken and Reverend Di, May, Terry and Dot, Margaret, Alison and Rob, Maureen, Brian, Rupert and Linda, Barrie and Sandra, Pam and David, Diana, Jan, Michael and Patricia, Stella, Alison, Callum, Jay, Andy, those known to each of us and those who have no one to pray for them – may they all feel your loving kindness with them always and know that they are never alone.
Lord, hear us
Lord, graciously hear us
We remember all those who have died recently, and those who have gone before us. May we always remember that Jesus Christ is the light of the world. He is our guiding light. May we, as we follow his example, share his light with all those we meet each day.
Merciful Father: accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen
Gathering our prayers and praise into one, let us pray with confidence as our risen Lord has taught us.
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,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
The Lord will come and not be slow by John Milton
The Lord will come and not be slow,
his footsteps cannot err;
before him righteousness shall go,
his royal harbinger.
Truth from the earth, like to a flower,
shall bud and blossom then;
and justice, from her heavenly bower,
look down on mortal men.
Surely to such as do him fear
salvation is at hand!
And glory shall ere long appear
to dwell within our land.
Rise, God, judge thou the earth in might,
this wicked earth redress;
for thou art he who shalt by right
the nations all possess.
The nations all whom thou hast made
shall come, and all shall frame
to bow them low before thee, Lord
and glorify thy Name.
The Peace
God will speak peace to his people, to those who turn to him in their hearts.
The Peace of the Lord be always with you.
Hymn: 631 Tell out my soul
Blessing
Go forth into the world in peace;
Be of good courage;
Hold fast that which is good;
Render to no one evil for evil;
Strengthen the fainthearted;
Support the weak;
help the afflicted;
honour everyone;
Love and serve the Lord,
Rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit;
And the blessing of God almighty,
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
Be among us and remain with us always. Amen