Read-along Service for Sunday, December 8, 2024 – 2nd of Advent

Trinity-St. Andrew’s United Church
Order of Worship
Sunday, December 8, 2024 – Second Sunday of Advent
White Gift Sunday

Prelude

Words of welcome, announcements

Lighting the Christ Candle
As we light our Christ Candle, we are reminded that we gather in the name of Jesus, who is the light of the world. He bids us to come, just as we are, even if we are tired, worn, and weary. As the winter draws nearer, may we seek to shine our light in the darkness.

Candle lighting song “Isn’t He”

Isn’t He (Isn’t He)
Beautiful? (Beautiful?)
Beautiful, (Beautiful)
Isn’t He? (Isn’t He?)

Prince of Peace, Son of God,
Isn’t He? Isn’t He?

Call To worship
A voice cries out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord!” Make God’s paths straight. Every valley will be filled, and every mountain will be leveled. The crooked will be made straight. The rough and rocky ways will be smoothed. This will be done so all may see the salvation of God. Behold the light from on high, for the dawn is breaking. Our God is coming to us, to shine a light, to make a way forward for us all. Come, let us gather in a spirit of worship to welcome the gift of this light.

Hymn O Come, O Come, Emmanuel VU 1

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lowly exile here
until the Son of God appear.
Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, of Israel.

O come, O Wisdom from on high,
who orders all things mightily;
to use the path of knowledge show,
and teach us in her ways to go. Refrain

O come, O come, great God of might,
who to your tribes on Sinai’s height
in ancient times once gave the law
in cloud, and majesty, and awe. Refrain

O come, O Rod of Jesse’s stem,
from every foe deliver them
that trust your mighty power to save,
and give them victory o’er the grave. Refrain

O come, O Key of David, come,
and open wide our heavenly home;
make safe the way that leads on high,
and close the path to misery. Refrain

O Come, O Dayspring, from on high,
and cheer us by your drawing night;
disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
and death’s dark shadows put to flight. Refrain

O come, Desire of nations, bind
all peoples in one heart and mind;
O bid our sad divisions cease,
and be for us the Prince of Peace. Refrain

Lighting the Advent Candle – John & Margaret Wilson, Jacob Wilson, Kylie Wilson & Hannah Wilson

Reader 1: Today we light two candles- the first Candle is called HOPE. It is a reminder that God’s promises are true.

Reader 2: The second Candle is called PEACE. Peace is God’s gift of harmony and balance for our lives.

Reader 1: We are invited to seek God’s peace in this time of stress.

Reader 2: So Come, all is ready. Let the light of these candles, called HOPE and PEACE, bring brightness to your spirits.

Prayer of Approach
Merciful God, we come together to open our hearts and our spirits to you. These times in which we live are often confusing and fearful. We have been busy getting things ready for this special season that is supposed to bring hope and peace. At the same time December is crowded with obligations and stresses. As a result we often overlook the gift of your healing love and compassion. We find ourselves being on edge. We end up worrying and wondering if we have done enough. You answer our fears with your voice that proclaims, “Peace, be still”. Help us to hear you. Slow us down. Encourage us to take some time to listen rather than shout. Help us to rest rather than always be running around. Open us up to the needs of others, so we might offer them the gift of peace. For it is in helping your people and reaching out in love that we will find true peace. These things we pray, in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.

Scripture Reader:     Joy Curry
Scripture:                      Malachi 3:1-4
Gospel Lesson:           Luke 3:1-6

Hymn There’s a Voice in the Wilderness VU 18

There’s a voice in the wilderness crying,
a call from the ways untrod:
prepare in the desert a highway,
a highway for our God!
The valleys shall be exalted,
the lofty hills brought low;
make straight all the crooked places
where God, our God, may go!

O Zion, that bringest good tidings,
get thee up to the heights and sing!
Proclaim to the desolate people
the coming of their King.
Like the flowers of the field they perish,
like grass our works decay;
the power and pomp of nations
shall pass, like a dream, away.

But the word of our God endureth,
whose arm is ever strong;
God stands in the midst of nations,
and soon will right the wrong.
God shall feed the flock like a shepherd,
the lambs so gently hold;
to pastures of peace will lead them,
and bring them safe to fold.

There’s a voice in the wilderness crying,
a call from the ways untrod:
prepare in the desert a highway,
a highway for our God!
The valleys shall be exalted,
the lofty hills brought low;
make straight all the crooked places
where God, our God, may go!

Homily “The Power of Peace”

Special Music – “His Name is Wonderful” (Chris Tomlin) – John Wilson, with Kylie Wilson and Hannah Wilson

The offering
We give thanks for everyone who continues to support TSA and our many ministries. Your gifts of support and encouragement mean a lot to us. You can get more information about making a donation by contacting the church office or by visiting our website. There are also many opportunities to volunteer in our ministries so you can share your talents. For all the gifts you share, for all the people you bless by your serving and giving as a disciple of Jesus, we give thanks.

Offering Song For the Gift of Creation VU 538

For the gift of creation, the gift of your love,
and the gift of the Spirit by which we live,
we thank you and give you the fruit of our hands.
May your grace be proclaimed by the gifts that we give.

Offering Prayer
All good gifts come from you, dear God. From these riches we bring this offering. Help us to use it for the furtherance of your purpose in this place, and for the benefit of those in need. Help us to be generous givers, dear Lord, both of our money and our lives, that we might make a difference in this town. We ask this through your son, our Saviour Jesus Christ who gave all that he was that we might know life in all its fullness. Amen.

Hymn On Jordan’s Bank VU 20

On Jordan’s bank, the Baptist’s cry
announces that the Lamb is nigh;
awake and hearken, for he brings
glad tidings of the King of Kings.

Then cleansed be every life from sin;
make straight the way for God within;
and let each heart prepare a home
where such a mighty guest may come.

In you, we find abundant life,
our refuge in the midst of strife;
without your grace we waste away,
like flowers that wither and decay.

Stretch forth your hand, our health restore,
and help us rise to fall no more.
O let your face upon us shine,
And fill the world with love divine.

All praise to you, eternal Son,
whose advent has our freedom won;
and praise to God whom we adore,
with Holy Spirit evermore.

Pastoral Prayer, Lord’s Prayer

Hymn Angels We Have Heard on High VU 38

Angels we have heard on high
sweetly signing o’er the plains,
and the mountains in reply,
echoing their joyous strains.

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be
which inspire your heavenly song? Refrain

Come to Bethlehem and see
Christ whose birth the angels sing;
come, adore on bended knee
Christ, the Lord, the newborn King. Refrain

See him in a manger laid,
whom the choirs of angels praise;
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,
while our hearts in love we raise. Refrain

Benediction
May the gift of peace live in your heart and guide your journey through the week that lies ahead. May you share the gift of peace of Christ with all you meet. We share the gift of peace by acting out of compassion and not fear. We share peace by respecting the power each person has. We share peace by building relationships based on trust. We share peace by praying for our world and by seeking reconciliation in all things. Go now in a spirit of hope, and go now in peace. Amen.

Choral Amen Gloria (Glory to God) VU 37

Gloria, gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Gloria, gloria, alleluia, alleluia.

Glory to God, glory to God, glory in the highest!
Glory to God, glory to God, hallelujah, hallelujah!

Postlude

The Power of Peace. Second Sunday of Advent. Dec 8 2024 Text: Luke 3:1-6
Preached by Rev. James Murray at Trinity-St. Andrew’s United Church

One of the big messages of Christmas is the promise of Peace on Earth. It is something we all want and pray for. But peace is a hard thing to achieve. For peace requires us to handle our power in a different way. We see powerful nations saying they want peace but they still keep funding more conflicts. We can also see the need for peace in our personal relationships, which are often so full of conflict.

A friend was telling me recently about the troubles her neighbours were having. There was a real power struggle going on in the neighbour’s marriage, and the drama was being played out in their driveway. The husband is a successful businessman who just got married. Being a successful entrepreneur, this neighbour likes to drive a flashy car. Right now he is driving a Hummer, which is a huge vehicle. The thing is, his new wife is a very petite woman. She can barely climb up into the Hummer, and she did not feel comfortable driving a vehicle that looks like an army tank. So he decided he would buy his wife her own car. Without consulting her, he went out bought her a Mazda Miata, which is a very nice small sports car. The only problem is, by the time he bought the Miata, his new wife was pregnant. The Mazda Miata has no back seat, so there is no place to put a car seat for the baby. So the Mazda Miata had to go. The neighbour then thought it would be good for them as a family to go camping in the summer, so he traded the Miata for a camper van. The camper van has the fold down bed and the fridge and stove built right in. But again it has no back seat. He also overlooked the fact his new wife is a city girl who has never been camping. My friend told me that her neighbour’s marriage recently fell apart. The troubles in the driveway were merely symptoms of the troubles that were brewing inside the house. The husband thought the way to show his love was to take care of everything and make all the important decisions for his wife. He wasn’t willing to share control of the marriage with his wife, and so there was no peace in their life together.

Who has the Power is always an important issue in every relationship. When most of us talk about power, we talk as if we don’t have any. We often can feel like we are powerless in our relationships. We feel like we are being played as meaningless pawns in our workplace. We act as if are not able to affect the direction of our community. Many people experience themselves as not having any power in their lives. Women think men have all the power. Men think nothing happens unless the women give their permission. Some black people think white people have all the power. Some white people think whoever complains the loudest has all the power.

We usually define power as the ability to make things happen. To get other people to do what we want. We get this kind of power from having money, political positions, or controlling the means of violence. This is the coercive power of domination. But the coercive power of dominating others is not the greatest or best form of power. There is a greater power in the world which we all already have within us. The greatest power in the world is the God-given power we have to manage our own lives and to maximize our own future possibilities. The greatest form of power is not a coercive power over others. It is the persuasive power you have over yourself, so you might become your fullest potential self. This persuasive power is the most effective influence we have over others. While you may be able for a while be able to force someone to do what you want, it is always much more effective if that person chooses to do what is right on their own.

That is the power of persuasion- it respects the choices of that individual, and invites them to make the better choice. Every parent knows using persuasion is more difficult, but the end result is much better because this means the child understands why this is the better choice, and they have made this choice for themselves. Persuasive power is the kind of power God uses with us.

God invites us to seek the better way. God offers us the best choices possible. But God respects our ability to make our own choices. We have to choose to follow God’s ways. God can’t do that for us.

The North American society we live in is based on the belief that the power of the individual power can accomplish great things. Unfortunately we are rarely taught to trust in our own power. If we want to make over our appearance, we are encouraged to hire a style consultant. If we want to lose weight, we must seek the guidance of a personal trainer. A lot of our life is made up of us giving away our personal power instead of our learning how to utilize our power its fullest potential. And this includes our relationships. The vast majority of the problems we face in our relationships happen because we have confused giving up our personal power with love. And when people choose to use coercive power over others to dominate them, instead of using persuasive power to build others up, it is easy to understand why our relationships often become such complex affairs.

We have all seen loving relationships turn dysfunctional when someone is trying to control the other in ways no person ever should be allowed to. A loving relationship can easily be destroyed by the use of the coercive power of domination instead of the helpful power of persuasive love.

Sadly, in our world today, we often equate being in love with giving away our power. We have few role models which teach us how to hang on to our power, and still be able to give of yourself in a healthy way. There are times we do need to be able to give of ourselves. A committed life together cannot happen if both parties are not willing to give of themselves on a daily basis. We should never equate self-sacrifice with being a doormat, with giving sex, with allowing our self-esteem to be assaulted. Real love can never justify acts of physical or sexual abuse.

The truth is, you cannot love someone else, if you do not have a self. You have to love yourself before you can ever love another. You must respect who you are before you can share what you are with someone else. Real love respects personal power. Real love enhances your power and the power of the person you love. True love only happens when personal power is mutually respected. There is a fine art in knowing when to let your power go, so theirs can grow.

When we read the account of John the Baptist this morning, did you notice how the scriptures make a big deal of telling us who was in power at the time? Luke’s gospel lets us know Tiberius is Emperor. Below him is Pontius Pilate who is the Roman governor of the province of Syria. Below him are the sons of Herod who rule over the districts of Judea and Galilee. Below them are the High Priests who rule over the Temple. They are all named for a reason. Because we all have to account for the way we have used our power over others. John the Baptist sets the stage for Jesus by calling the people to account for how they have used their power. He calls them to repent and to focus on the ways of God. He prepares the people for the message that Jesus brings.

The message of Christmas is that Jesus comes to bring peace to the world. He is the Prince of Peace. The peace of Christ comes when we learn how to respect the power others have. To have peace means you have to seek the best for that other person even when their self-interests are different from your own. Peace does not come from me telling you what you must do. Peace is not something you can demand because peace grows out of a healthy relationship. Because it can only grow out of a healthy relationship, this means true Peace can not come when we fear the other and we are not willing to welcome the stranger in. John’s call to repentance reminds us that if we want change in the world we must start by addressing our own behaviour and the impact we have on others. There cannot be peace in the world if we are constantly turning our back on the world. We cannot ignore the consequences of our actions on others if we want there to be peaceful relationships in the world.

Peace comes when we learn how to live in harmony with this constantly evolving world. The power of peace is the ability to find a just harmony in every relationship. The power of peace seeks the well being of all.

A few years ago I met Fred Bahnson who had just written a book about his experience building peace by planting a garden. When Bahnson graduated from seminary in 2001 he wanted to make a difference in the world. For four years he worked for Christian Peacemaking Teams which sends Christians into conflict zones to help build the trust necessary for peace. Then Fred Bahnson received an unlikely job offer. The United Methodist church in Cedar Grove North Carolina had been given a plot of land and they wanted Bahnson to develop a community garden. The challenge was that Cedar Grove North Carolina was still a very racially divided town in 2005. The church was a mostly white congregation. The piece of land they had been given was in the black part of town. And many were not happy that the church was going to be growing food for the whole community. Some in the church didn’t think it was their job to feed ‘those kind of people’ who were not worthy of such generous effort. Bahnson’s job was much more than just helping people to grow some vegetables. His job was to build a community of racial reconciliation and peace. Bahnson worked for five years building trust between the two divides. It was the common connection to the land that ultimately brought people together. The members of the garden were encouraged to come out on Saturdays to work together. They worked to build up the soil to make it healthy. They worked together to build up a sense of trust. They would hold a worship service in the garden and share communion while they stood in the rows of vegetables. They would end the work day with a communal pot luck meal. One of the mottos of the community garden was that ‘you have to give back to the soil more than you take’. That phrase is a well-known principle of organic farming. It is how you make the soil be productive. You have to put more in than you take away. And they discovered that’s how you make a healthy community as well. You have to put more in than you take out. Bahnson says “To grow and share food with others in a garden is to enter a holy country.”

Such a garden is a place where the power of peace seeks the well being of all. At this special time of year we are invited to build such a place where God’s peace is shared. A place where all are welcome. Where we share the power of God to feed those who hunger, and lift up all who are trampled down. Where peace and justice flow like a mighty river. Where all are blessed by the coming of Jesus into our world. Amen.

Sources:
Fred Bahnson “Soil and Sacrament” Simon & Shuster 2013
Frank Thomas “What’s love got to do with it?” Judson Press 2001

Read-along Service for Sunday, December 8, 2024 – 2nd of Advent

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