Wingrave Methodist Church – 11 December 2016
Introduction
Gathering
Loving God, we have come to worship you. Help us to remember that you are here with us. May we pray to you in faith, sing your praises with gratitude, and listen to your word with eagerness. Show us your glory as far as we can grasp it, and shield us from knowing more than we can bear until we may look upon you without fear; through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen
Hymn 1
· Be still for the presence of the Lord
Confession and Absolution
A voice cries out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.’ So let us listen, and turn to the Lord in penitence and faith.
God, through Jesus Christ, will judge the secret thoughts of all:
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven:
Christ, have mercy:
Christ, have mercy.
Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches:
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Almighty God, who forgives all who truly repent, have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, and keep you in life eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Collect
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. Amen
Prayers of Thanksgiving
MWB pages 32/33
Old Testament Isaiah 35
Joy of the redeemed
35 The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendour of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord,
the splendour of our God.
3 Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
4 say to those with fearful hearts,
‘Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you.’
5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
6 Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.
7 The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
8 And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness;
it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean will not journey on it;
wicked fools will not go about on it.
9 No lion will be there,
nor any ravenous beast;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
10 and those the Lord has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
New Testament James 5
Patience in suffering
7 Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. 9 Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
10 Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
Hymn 2
· On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry
Gospel Matthew 11
Jesus and John the Baptist
11 After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.
2 When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’
4 Jesus replied, ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.’
7 As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 8 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces.9 Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written:
‘“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.”
11 Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Sermon
Waiting
Does anyone like waiting?—bus is late—ordering goods for delivery—single and multiple queues
Some is good?—children for presents—sleeps to Christmas—Advent is all about waiting and experiencing
Waiting and preparing for 1st coming of Christ at Christmas—Epiphany manifestation of Christ to Gentiles
Readings about Waiting
· Isaiah—people of Judah in exile—feeble hands—shaking knees that give way—fearful hearts
God says:
‘Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you.’
Highway will be built leading into Zion—no threats or dangers
· James—people impatient for 2nd Coming, end time—suffering—God says:
7 Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming.
o Like farmers waiting for harvesting valuable crop
o Like those waiting for Spring and Autumn rains
o Like the Prophets of old—waiting for Messiah
o Like Job patiently suffering—refusing to condemn God or yield to his fate
· Matthew
o John the Baptist—in prison
o Messiah—waiting
2 When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’
o Jesus replies with list of healing actions—could only be accomplished by Messiah
4 Jesus replied, ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.
o Waiting for healing—examples of years of patience
· You and Me—we are waiting too—story of the people of Israel in wilderness of Sinai or in exile = our story in wilderness of sin or in exile from God
o Isaiah speaks of Highway to Zion in desert
o We are saved by walking a different path—our faith in Jesus Christ—Israel's story has become our story—Christians have been adopted into an epic narrative—driven by promise, obedience, judgment, and redemption.
o The confession we pray on Sunday is true every day of the week: “We confess that we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves.”
We daily need water in the wilderness to strengthen our weary knees and to renew our faltering faith.
· John’s Question is Our Question
o ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’
o The question of John the Baptist to Jesus is one of the most important questions of Advent and of Christian theology. We too are waiting for the end-time—we call it the Kingdom of Heaven—the reign of God.
· What is the Kingdom like?
o Different groupings in NT have varying interpretations of eschatology—end time. Other parts of the Anglican and Methodist churches have separate visions of the future—as do other denominations, sects and even faiths.
o Jesus hints at what the end time will be like—people with physical weaknesses and limitations will be freed from them—those in poverty can look forward to economic regeneration—death will be no more
o Later in this chapter, we read the promise of Jesus—it refers not to his suffering and death but to the end time:
28 ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’
· We cannot fully know Jesus for the moment—but will know God fully in his Kingdom
o 27 ‘All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
o The Kingdom is only partially here—so is our revelation given to us by God’s Son—but at the end our hope and promise is to know fully, as we ourselves are known
o Maranatha—two words from Aramaic, language spoken by Christ—in Greek Μαραναθα. Can mean “Come Lord” or “Our Lord has come”—the word is used in Christian meditation
o After the next hymn in our prayers—the response to Maranatha is “Amen, Come Lord Jesus.”
Amen, Come Lord Jesus.
Hymn 3
· Lord for the years
Intercessions
In joyful expectation of his coming to our aid we pray to Jesus. Come to your Church as Lord and judge. We pray for …
Help us to live in the light of your coming and give us a longing for your kingdom. Maranatha:
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
Come to your world as King of the nations. We pray for …
Before you rulers will stand in silence. Maranatha:
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
Come to the suffering as Saviour and comforter. We pray for …
Break into our lives, where we struggle with sickness and distress, and set us free to serve you forever.
Maranatha:
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
Come to us as shepherd and guardian of our souls. We remember …
Give us with all the faithful departed a share in your victory over evil and death. Maranatha:
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
Come from heaven, Lord Jesus, with power and great glory. Lift us up to meet you, that with John the Baptist and all your saints and angels we may live and reign with you in your new creation.
Maranatha:
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
Silence is kept.
Come, Lord Jesus, do not delay; give new courage to your people, who trust in your love. By your coming, raise us to share in the joy of your kingdom on earth as in heaven, where you live and reign with the Father and the Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.
Lord’s Prayer MWB page 37
Hymn 4
· God of mercy, God of Grace
Blessing
May God the Father, who loved the world so much that he sent his only Son, give you grace to prepare for life eternal.
Amen.
May God the Son, who comes to us as redeemer and judge, reveal to you the path from darkness to light.
Amen.
May God the Holy Spirit, by whose working the Virgin Mary conceived the Christ, help you bear the fruits of holiness.
Amen.
And the blessing …
Hymn 5
· Tell out my soul the greatness of the Lord
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