Worship resources, prayers and Bible study
First Sunday of Advent
Liturgical Colour - Purple
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Advent 1
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| Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead: | ||
| Intercessions from our Sunday worship | ||
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Introduction
This is the first Sunday of Advent, and the first Sunday of the church liturgical year. It comes at a time of year when we are all looking forward to Christmas, which celebrates the unique coming to earth of God to live as Jesus in human history.
The reading from Isaiah today longs for God to come down to earth. We can all echo this longing, and we seek an assurance of God's presence in our world and in our lives. We live in a world which so needs the healing touch of God.
Each Sunday we will be lighting candles, they remind us that although we live in times of darkness, the light of Christ is present with us. The reading from the Gospel of Mark encourages us to 'watch and pray.' It is important for us that as we go through this time of preparation for Christmas, we remain alert to the presence of God.
At Advent we remember that our Lord Jesus will come again and we look to be ready to welcome him. We also remind ourselves that Christ has come and is present with us. It is all to easy in the rush of modern life to become preoccupied with the hurry of day to day existence and we loose our spiritual awareness. Advent is a good time to resolve to awaken our spiritual sight and to become conscious of God's presence. Wake up and watch, for it is in the darkest night that the light shines most brightly.
Opening Verses of Scripture 1 Corinthians Chapter 1:8-9
He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
Collect Prayer for the Day — Before we read we pray
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and to put on the armour of light ,now in the time of this mortal life, in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility; that on the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen Common Worship
Almighty God, as your kingdom dawns, turn us from the darkness of sin to the light of holiness, that we may be ready to meet you in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Common Worship Shorter Collect
Lord our God, keep us your servants alert and watchful as we await the return of Christ your Son, so that when he comes and knocks at the door he may find us vigilant in prayer, with songs of praise on our lips. Methodist Worship
First Bible Reading Isaiah 64: 1-9
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you! As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before you! For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you. Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways. But when we continued to sin against them, you were angry. How then can we be saved? All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away because of our sins. Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. Do not be angry beyond measure, O LORD; do not remember our sins forever. Oh, look upon us, we pray, for we are all your people.
Second Reading 1 Corinthians 1: 3-9
Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our
brother Sosthenes,
To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and
called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.
For in him you have been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in
all your knowledge— because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you.
Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our
Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so
that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has
called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
Gospel Reading Mark 13: 24-37
But in those days, following that distress, 'the sun will be
darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the
sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'
"At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power
and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four
winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens. "Now learn
this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its
leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these
things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you
the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these
things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will
never pass away. "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels
in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do
not know when that time will come. It's like a man going away: He leaves his
house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and
tells the one at the door to keep watch. "Therefore keep watch because you
do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the
evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes
suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to
everyone: 'Watch!' "
Post Communion Sentence
O Lord our God, make us watchful and keep us faithful as we await the coming of your Son our Lord; that, when he shall appear, he may not find us sleeping in sin but active in his service and joyful in his praise; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Commentary
Today we start a new liturgical year and our Sunday readings come from Mark’s gospel. It seems odd but we don’t start at the beginning of the Gospel, we jump straight to Mark 13. In this passage Jesus has entered Jerusalem, it is a short time before his death and he speaks to his disciples mindful that soon he will be killed and no longer physically present with them. He therefore warns them about what is to come and uses a story of a man going away and leaving servants in charge of his home. The master is leaving, those given charge of his household do not know when he wil return, but he will. What is also sure is that when the master does return he will expect to find his house in good order and his servants alert. They are charged to be constantly awake. This is why this reading is selected for the start of Advent this morning. Advent is about watchfulness and being prepared, believers are told to be vigilant.
So let’s take a look at this passage and consider exactly what it means. In my Bible chapter 13 is headed ‘signs of the end of the age.’ However if we start from the beginning of the passage in chapter 13 from verse 1, it is clear that the discussion concerns the Temple. We read
‘one of Jesus disciples said to him look teacher, what massive stone what magnificent buildings’,
Jesus replies ‘not one stone here will be left on another’
So Jesus is speaking in these apocalyptic words about the Temple, not signs of the end of the age. This is just one of the reasons why I urge you when you read from the Bible in church, just stick to the text and don’t read out the introductions which are human commentary and not the original text! They are sometimes misleading, as is the case today. Jesus goes on later in the chapter to speak about his coming again, but first he has a warning about the fall of the Temple which happened in AD 70. Jesus urges his followers to flee. Jesus says,
‘let those who are in Judaea flee to the mountain, Let no one on the roof of his house go down, or enter the house to take anything out, Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak.’
Jesus is giving a warning to his disciples to flee, if the end of time was envisaged there would be no place to which to flee! Sadly people did not heed Jesus warning and instead of fleeing to the mountains they crowded into Jerusalem. We know why Jesus encouraged such a mass exodus because we can read about the events of the fall of Jerusalem. It is recorded for us by the historian Josephus. He tells the terrible tale of the siege of Jerusalem, people starved and ate their own babies to stay alive. There was terrible political infighting with more Jews being killed by other Jews than by the invading Romans. In the year A.D. 69 one Roman Emperor succeeded another four, Nero, Otho, Vitellius and Vespasian each time with violence and murder. As Vespasian made his way to Rome to receive the crown his adopted son Titus entered Jerusalem burnt the Temple destroyed the city and crucified thousands of Jews. Josephus tells us that 97,000 were taken captive and 1,100,000 perished by slow starvation and the sword.
So what are the messages today 2000 years after these events have taken place? We should remember the awe and wonder which impressed itself upon the disciples when they saw the Temple and be aware that we can be caught up admiring or failing to challenge the wrong things. The Temple which Herod built was one of the wonders of the world. It was begun about 19BC and in the time of Jesus it was still not fully finished. Josephus tells us that some of the stones were forty feet long by twelve feet high and eighteen feet wide. It was these stones which the disciples found so amazing. The Temple represented the pinnacle of human endeavour, but not for Jesus. Jesus saw the Temple differently, he recognised it as a human institution which was corrupt. It had set itself up against god’s law, it had perpetuated deep injustice and oppression. Jesus was never beguiled by human power and prestige, he saw through it and recognised that it had little to do with the love and compassion of God. His disciples through all ages must do the same. We must refuse to be caught up and impressed by institutions which do not reflect God’s concern with each and every individual created in God’s image. God has no favourites, no special rewards, all are equal and beautiful in God’s sight.
The chapter concludes with a story with the message that we must keep awake and watch. The disciples of Jesus must not be lulled into any false sense of security, we must be vigilant and engaged in a state of preparedness. The judgement which fell on the Temple is a foretaste of the judgement which will be for the whole world. God’s people are called to be faithful and not to compromise with the standards and fashions of the present age, rather keep awake.
As Christians we keep alert and perhaps as an example this means challenging the diet of mind numbing stuff that is fed to us by our media. For example, our daily news focuses our minds on trivia such as the lives of celebrities, whilst in Africa there is apocalyptic devastation in countries like Zimbabwe, Liberia, Somalia, Sudan's Darfur, and especially the Congo. A 2008 study by the International Rescue Committee concluded that 5.4 million "excess deaths" occurred in the Congo from 1998 to 2007 — a staggering ten percent of the population and a death toll eight times greater than the Rwandan genocide.
Our Christmas cards will direct our thoughts to snowy scenes, robins and candles. The holy family crib scene depicting the perfect family. Our reading today is a warning that we must not sentimentalize Christmas. The real story is a foul stable with animals, a pregnant and homeless teenager, and a world which simply had ‘no room’ for our Jesus. Advent is about watching and waiting and recognising things for what they are. Today in our church we welcome Bechar and our speaker Rob Huddart, we are grateful to Bechar for the opportunity this Christmas to be able to give to the work of helping the homeless in Bedford. Advent is a time to wrestle with the unsolved problems of the world such as homelessness and also to come to terms with our unanswered prayers, and so many unfulfilled promises. In the words of the Christmas hymn, Advent isn't about pious platitudes but about our very real "hopes and fears of all the years." The exhortation to "keep alert" and "watch" is not unique to Mark, it is one of the most common exhortations throughout the New Testament. It has nothing to do with reading tea leaves in an attempt to predict "the day and hour." It is a time for discernment, when we look at the crucified Jesus and seek ways in which to serve him. Charles Royden
Meditation
Advent is the season of waiting and watching and a season of hope. What do we see? A church in confusion and struggling to come to terms with a weakening influence. A world in which many live with extraordinary wealth well and in which many more die without the most basic food and medicine. There is growing uncertainty of how our nation will cope surrounded by economic difficulties. Advent is a time of hope and yet we struggle to see God at work in our world. In the reading from Isaiah the prophet captures our Advent hopes and fears with words full of impatience, “O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence.”
Isaiah thinks God is angry at the people and this is what has brought about the current circumstances: “You were angry and we sinned…. we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.” It feels to Isaiah like our pain must be God’s doing: God must be punishing us, withdrawing God’s presence, because we have gone astray. God is angry at us and God’s anger takes the form of apparent abandonment. Isaiah and his community are going through a severe case of “separation anxiety.” God’s is present with us moment by moment and yet he does not micromanage our lives, God gives us space. We assume that God is absent whereas our actions or lack of them have limited God’s presence in our own lives and our communities. God acts through us as we seek to be part of his Kingdom right now. If we want God to tear open the heavens we will wait a long time, if we ask God to allow us to share in the work of the kingdom then God might say to us ‘about time too’ Charles Royden
Hymns
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O come o come Immanuel (Veni Immanuel)
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The trumpets sound the angels sing
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Come thou long expected Jesus (Stuttgart)
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Jesus is Lord
Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead
Dear God, I have written the cards and packed up the presents, hung up the stockings and bought the mince pies. But somewhere in the bustle I lost You. Come and find me, Lord Jesus, as the shepherds found you in the stable. Draw close to me this Adventide. Amen
What I don’t want for Christmas: I do not want gadgets and junk mail, or hundreds of cards, nor mountains of waste paper and round robin letters from half-forgotten people.
What I want for Christmas: I want a bit of peace, time to spend with people I care about, somewhere warm to stay and things to eat. I want to know more about the coming of our Lord. (Robin Fisher)
Begotten of your love, O Father, we are made in your image. Cared for all our days, we are never beyond your sight. Enfolded in your heart, we are never out of your thoughts. To think of you is rest. To know you is eternal life. To see you is the end of all desire. To serve you is perfect freedom. To love you is everlasting joy. Amen. W E Orchard, 1877-1955
Additional Material
Hymns
- Come thou long expected Jesus
- (After confession) Be still and know that I am God
- Hosanna, Hosanna
- Tell out my soul tune:woodlands
- To God be the glory
- Hail to the Lords anointed —tune:cruger
- All for Jesus
- Christ is the world's true light
- Take my life
- O come o come Immanuel (Veni Emmanuel)
- He’s got the whole world in his hands
- The race that long in darkness pined
- Lo! He comes with clouds descending
Prayers
Lord Jesus Christ, by your thorn-crowned head, receive the devotion of my
mind. Lord Jesus Christ, by your nail-pierced hands, accept my daily work.
Lord Jesus Christ, by your wounded feet, bless my faltering journey. Lord
Jesus Christ, by your riven side, accept the adoration of my heart; for your
love and your mercy's sake. Amen
After George Spencer, Father
Ignatius, 1799-1864
God our deliverer, whose approaching birth still shakes the foundations of our world, may we so wait for your coming with eagerness and hope, that we embrace without terror the labour pangs of the new age, through Jesus Christ. Amen. Janet Morley
Holy and compassionate God: so direct our strength and inspire our weakness, that we may enter with power into the movement of your whole creation towards wholeness, justice and peace. Amen. Christchurch Cathedral Vancouver
Before I commit a sin it seems to me so shallow, that I may wade through it dry shod from any guiltiness. But when I have committed it, it often seems so deep that I cannot escape without drowning. Thus I am always in the extremities; either my sins are so small that they need not any repentance, or so great that they cannot obtain thy pardon. Lend me, O Lord, a reed out of thy sanctuary, truly to measure the dimension of my offences. But oh! As thou revealest to me more of my misery, reveal also more of thy mercy. Thomas Fuller 1608-61
Additional Material
Commentary
In Mark's Gospel today Jesus uses language in Chapter 13 which would have been familiar to Jewish thinking at the time about the Day of the Lord. Some have read this passage and said that Jesus got it wrong. Jesus said that these things would happen before some people died,
'I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.'
But this is to misunderstand the passage. The words of Jesus do not refer to the Second Coming, he is speaking of the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Jewish Temple. This occurred in AD 70. Jerusalem suffered a terrible destruction and it would have been wise for people to run. Josephus the historian tells us that people ate their own babies to survive, more Jews were killed by Jews than by the Romans. Jesus wanted his followers to escape that destruction which he foresaw. They would not be running away from the second coming, who could run away from that! No, they would run away from the dreadful times to come. In AD 69 there were four Roman emperors, one after the other with violence, killing and civil war. Nero, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian. As Vespasian went to Rome to be crowned, his adopted son Titus entered Jerusalem, burned the Temple and crucified thousands of Jews.
Many people look at events today and comment that things are so bad, it sounds just like Jesus predicted. Not the case, it was the end of Jerusalem and the events of that most dreadful time which Jesus predicted. Not the events surrounding the end of the world, but the end of the world for the Jews as they knew it in AD70. So it would be that the Son of Man (Jesus) would come in clouds and glory, his words would be vindicated and proved true.
As to the Second Coming - well that is quite a different matter and Jesus tells us that he does not know the timing of the event. However we do well to learn the lesson of history. We must heed the words of Jesus, amend our lives and be obedient to his ways.
Today is the first Sunday in Advent and it marks the beginning of the church year, when we remember Jesus' coming as a baby in Bethlehem. But we also use Advent to think about Jesus' second coming as king and judge. So the good news is, Jesus is coming back, the frustrating news is, we don't know when! Of course we are not supposed to know, instead we are told what to expect and how to prepare.
In the Gospel passage from Mark, Jesus teaches about second-coming preparation for his disciples. On his way to die, he is already talking about coming back. First of all, Jesus tells them, the times before his return will be difficult. Darkness will rule both the physical and spiritual world. But they (and we) are not to find reason for despair in this darkness. Quite the opposite, we are to be alert and watchful and we will see the signs of Jesus' return as plainly as we see spring turning into summer.
Not knowing when Jesus is returning gives us some choices for how to live. We can ignore his coming and get on with life as though he really didn’t exist or we can live as though he might return tomorrow and dedicate our gifts and energy to living and sharing God's Word right now. Our faith is not in the future, it is in the here and now. Jesus places a high premium on faithful discipleship in the midst of terrible trials. He calls for us endure and to be watchful.
As look around us this Advent we might become aware of so much disaster and evil. Hardly a day goes by without news of more killing and terrorism. Do we still trust that God is in charge, is faithful to us and will finally draw us into a loving and lasting embrace?
Our Advent liturgies and scriptural texts encourage us all to trust in God. They keep our hope alive, despite the news headlines. Advent faith isn't mired in the past, doesn't nostalgically relish a former time when things seemed better. Advent faith looks forward.
So what do we have to look forward to? God---that's who. God has not given up on us. The coming of Jesus shows us that God is eternally committed to humankind. Advent is a time of fear and apocalypse, but it is in the midst of fear that we learn to hope and trust. That is why we Christians should always be an optimistic people even if the odd star does fall out of the sky. Charles Royden