Sunday Worship 7 December
Today’s service is led by the Revd Andy Braunston
Welcome and Introduction
Hello and welcome to worship. It’s my honour to lead this service today; my name is Andy Braunston and I am the United Reformed Church’s Minister for Digital Worship. I live in Orkney, an island county off Scotland’s far north coast. Our readings today both, in their different ways, speak of hope. In an ancient war-dominated society Isaiah offered a vision of a new leader who would bring peace, justice, wisdom, and righteousness. His words echoed around a besieged city sure of its doom. In our Gospel reading we hear the fiery words of John the Baptist – a preacher with whom the establishment was ill at ease. His fiery words of judgement coupled with a call to turn lives around offered hope – but a hope that comes through deliberate hard work. In our own world wedded to war we need the hope of peace. In a world of rabble-rousing political leaders, we need folk like John the Baptist who can speak truth to power. In a world longing for justice, we need to embody the coming Kingdom where the poor are lifted up, the hungry fed, and the oppressed freed. So, with such a hopeful mission before us we come to worship.
Call to Worship
Come to worship from east and west, north and south,
to prepare a way for the Lord.
Come to worship, rich and poor, comfortable and just getting by,
to prepare a way for the Lord.
Come to worship with your lives and your loves, your prejudices and politics
to prepare a way for the Lord.
Come to be fed, inspired, and renewed;
we come to prepare a way for the Lord.
Hymn Isaiah the Prophet Has Written of Old
Joy F Patterson, © 1982 The Hymn Society (admin. Hope Publishing Company). OneLicence A-734713
Isaiah the prophet has written of old
how God’s earthly kingdom shall come.
Instead of the thorn tree the fir tree shall grow;
the wolf shall lie down with the lamb, the lamb,
the wolf shall lie down with the lamb.
The mountains and hills shall break forth into song,
the peoples be led forth in peace;
for the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of God
as the waters cover the sea, the sea,
as the waters cover the sea.
Yet nations still prey on the meek of the world,
and conflict turns parent from child.
Your people despoil all the sweetness of earth;
the brier and the thorn grow wild, grow wild,
the brier and thorn tree grow wild.
God, bring to fruition your will for the earth,
that no one shall hurt or destroy,
that wisdom and justice shall reign in the land
and your people shall go forth in joy, in joy,
your people shall go forth in joy.
Prayers of Approach, Confession, and Grace
We come to worship, Eternal One,
full of praise for Your love and faithfulness.
We come to worship, Lord Jesus,
thankful for the faithful prophets of old.
We come to worship, Most Holy Spirit,
full of joy yet yearning for change.
Meet us in this place, Eternal Trinity,
that as we offer our praise, You may lift our spirits;
that as we bring our thanks, You may change our hearts,
that as we bring our joy, You may inspire us to serve.
Yet despite our praise, gratitude, and joy, we are conscious, O God,
of grumbling hearts, selfish lives, and miserable spirits.
We know we easily turn away from following You,
preferring the expedient over the right,
the easy over the just, and the pragmatic over the prophetic.
We are sorry and ask for time to change, time to return to You,
time to put our lives, and the life of the world, right.
Have mercy, O God, and grant us time to change. Amen.
God, our Maker, is the source of all mercy,
and through the life, death, and resurrection of the Son, Jesus Christ,
has reconciled the world to His own self,
and sent the Holy Spirit amongst us for the forgiveness of sins.
Through the ministry of the Church we receive pardon and peace;
we are absolved from our sins by God,
Eternal Majesty, Enfleshed Word, and Enlivening Spirit,
and find the strength to forgive ourselves. Amen.
Prayer for Illumination
Come upon us, Spirit of counsel and might,
Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord,
and be our delight.
That as the Word is read and proclaimed
in ancient and contemporary word,
we might judge with righteousness and equity,
and live in peace with people and planet. Amen.
Reading Isaiah 11:1-10
A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see or decide by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge for the poor and decide with equity for the oppressed of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist and faithfulness the belt around his loins. The wolf shall live with the lamb; the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the lion will feed together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.
Hymn On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry
Charles Coffin (1676-1749) Public Domain Sung by the Grosse Pointe Memorial Church (Michigan) Virtual Choir with James Biery, organist and used with their kind permission.
On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry
announces that the Lord is nigh;
awake and hearken for he brings
glad tidings of the King of kings.
Then cleansed be every heart from sin;
make straight the way for God within;
and let us all our hearts prepare
for Christ to come and enter there.
We hail you as our Saviour, Lord,
our refuge and our great reward;
without your grace we waste away,
like flowers that wither and decay.
Stretch forth your hand, our health restore,
and make us rise to fall no more;
O let your face upon us shine,
and fill the world with love divine.
Reading St Matthew 3:1-12
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.'” Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore, bear fruit worthy of repentance, and do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. “I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Sermon
The task of the preacher is to make links between the world of the ancient writers, whose works are collected in the Bible, and our own. The preacher has to make sense of their message then and see how that message might make sense now. Of course, it’s your job to judge how ably the preacher does this!
Advent is a season full of hope; the hope represented in the Christ Child, the hope represented by the knowledge He will come again at the end of time to judge the living and the dead, even the simple hope of having some extended time off to catch up with loved ones. We’re offered readings about hope but as we see in today’s Gospel reading the hope might be elusive! Yet hope is a theme which is something humans repeatedly return to. Hope keeps us going in tough times; hope knows that things will get better, and hope gives us the strength to work for those better times.
In recent years there have been two great trends in politics; one hopeful and one not. In one rage and resentment are stoked as the social problems we have are blamed on migrants. Small boats crossing the Channel are seen as the biggest problem for our politicians to address; some of us, of course, might think more problems are caused by private jets and their passengers. Against this angry rhetoric traditional parties try to respond by tacking towards the rabble rousers, offering some political “red meat” to the crowd in the hope it will calm their thirst.
However, another way is coming to the fore now; not radical rabble rousing nor hopeless handwringing but a hopeful move towards the anger in order to counter it. In America Zohran Mamdani confounded the Democratic Party’s establishment and was elected on a message focused on hope and changing the problems which best New Yorkers without blaming the poor, the excluded or the migrant. He not only gained far more votes than his competitors but also increased the size of the turnout. A hopeful sign in an age ever more cynical about our politics. In the UK Zack Polanski’s new leadership of the Green Party of England and Wales is interesting in his desire to tackle the issues that others make into priorities head on offering a different narrative. As others try to critique and belittle, membership of his party – and its place in the polls – increases. Regardless of what we think of the policies offered by either Polanski or Mamdani, those who are attracted to them speak of hope and social justice. Of course, it remains to be seen if this hope is deserved and what it might lead to but hope in our political life is a rare thing in our age just as it was in Isaiah’s.
Isaiah gives an image of a truly righteous leader; predator and prey will lie together and even creation itself will be at one with the Creator. Against the lived reality of war, the writer proclaims peace. Against the nightmares of the age, the writer offers a dream! There is hope of a new beginning represented by a shoot springing from disaster and destruction.
There wasn’t, however, much cause for hope in the age in which it was written. Assyria had destroyed the northern Jewish kingdom of Israel which was a more fertile area than the southern kingdom of Judah. It acted as a buffer against Assyria – a buffer which was now gone as the Assyrians came within reach of Jerusalem. These words may have been proclaimed in a city surrounded by a foreign army, giving hope to a besieged people with little food. The hope offered is of a political leader who does justice, leads with wisdom, and cares for the weakest. A political leader like that, then and now, would be a marvel! In Isaiah’s vision absolute power does not corrupt, unlike in our world where humanity’s fallenness leads to corruption, cronyism, and crisis after crisis. More, this wise ruler is dependent upon God and knows the source of peace, power, and grace is God’s own self. This realisation evokes joy and delight. This is a king who will defend the poor – not the elite – and those who oppose him will be seen as wicked.
As Christians we read this text, particularly in Advent, and our minds are drawn to Jesus as the ideal ruler. Yet for the Jewish people who heard this passage, and still read it, the yearning for a new world where justice and righteousness flow is strong. If secular folk were asked to describe a good politician the attributes in today’s passage might be seen as worth considering. As we approach Christmas we are led to wonder how we both embody and demand the leadership described in this passage. How do we speak of and live out justice? How do we protect the poor and vulnerable -even as forces of evil and destruction are raging at the gates?
It’s often said that preachers shouldn’t bring politics into the pulpit; yet our Gospel reading today is incredibly political if we know where to look! In the Old Testament book of 2 Kings the prophet Elijah made himself a thorn in the flesh of the political leaders of the day. Queen Jezebel wanted him dead, King Ahab was at the receiving end of his barbs and, in a memorable episode he intercepted the messengers of King Ahaziah who sought messages from a pagan deity on the hapless king’s behalf. The messengers reported back to Ahaziah of the person they met who had taunted them with the line “Is there no God in Israel?” and told them to inform the King of his own coming demise. The messengers didn’t know who this prophet was, but on describing him to the king “a hairy man with a leather belt around his waist” the exasperated Ahaziah knew it was Elijah who had foretold his doom.
In today’s reading Matthew describes John the Baptist as wearing clothes made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist. The point is clear; John was playing the part of Elijah, a part that meant condemnation of the king. In this case the puppet king Herod who had married his sister-in-law against the strictures of the Jewish law and who collaborated with the Roman occupiers. John announced that it was time to repent as the people were forgetting God and that this was the long-promised time the people had been yearning for. God’s reign is at hand. It doesn’t get more political than critiquing the royal family, telling people to change their ways and announcing that the current order of things will be overthrown! In case anyone was to miss the political implications, John dressed as the prophet Elijah.
It doesn’t get any more hopeful than proclaiming God’s kingdom is at hand. John’s ministry was successful with people coming to be baptised in the Jordan to symbolise their turning away from sin and injustice. Even baptism in the Jordan is symbolic; in the days of old the Jewish people crossed it to enter their promised land, now a new promised land is at hand – God’s kingdom. A kingdom where the poor are raised up, the hungry fed, the prisoners freed, the ill healed and God’s favour is on us all. That sounds more hopeful even than the message proclaimed by Messers Mamdani and Polanski – and just as radical!
The Church gives us these readings in Advent when we think of the coming kingdom inaugurated by Jesus; our Isaiah reading is taken by Christians to speak of Jesus but we are tempted to divorce both Isaiah’s prophecy and John the Baptist’s preaching from their political contexts. Maybe we do that so we don’t have to think too much about what repentance, critique of today’s rulers, and righteousness might mean for us! There’s plenty in Jesus’ teaching calling out hypocrisy, the misuse of religion, and a call to leave behind our destructive ways. Like his cousin John, Jesus had a contemptuous relationship with Herod; before Pilate Jesus said little provoking Pilate’s angry disbelief. John, and Jesus, offered hope, just as Isaiah had in his time. It might not seem hopeful to lay an axe at the root of the tree, but Isaiah reminds us that from stumps come new shoots.
Our Isaiah passage offers hope in the midst of the ever-present threat of war. Our passage from Matthew offers radical hope, a hope of God’s kingdom breaking in but a hope tinged with action – that axe poised to bring down the fruitless. An audacious hopeful prophet told crowds to repent. Audacious prophets were not afraid to critique the powers of the day. It seems to me that our world is still crying out for this type of hope and a lasting meaningful change. The cost-of-living crisis demands sacrifice and difficult choices yet we worry that paying even more tax won’t make a difference; we wonder too if the very rich really pay their fair share. Rabble rousing politicians enrage the people making them take their legitimate anger at the way things are out on folk who haven’t caused the problems.
Politicians who offer hope offer an unusual analysis these days, almost Biblical in its implications: times are a-changing, the rich can’t continue as they are and will be called to account. I’m not for a minute suggesting either Mr Polanski or Mr Mamdani are playing the part of John the Baptist, but both have been nurtured by Scriptural messages of justice and of a God who demands righteousness. Might their understandings of their own faith traditions help us understand ours more clearly? Let’s pray,
Audacious God give us hope this Advent,
hope for a better world, hope for a lasting peace, hope for justice,
and hope for integrity in our religious and political leaders.
We place our faith in hope embodied in a baby
born in precarious times, seen as a challenge to the powers,
executed as a rebel, but raised by You on high.
Give us hope, dear God, that through You,
we may change the world. Amen.
Hymn When Out of Poverty Is Born
© Kathy Galloway, Wild Goose Publications OneLicence # A-734713. Unknown Singers at Christian Aid Service on YouTube
When out of poverty is born a dream that will not die
a landless, weary folk find strength to stand with heads held high,
it’s then we learn from those who wait to greet the promised day:
‘The Lord is coming; don’t lose heart be blest: prepare the way!’
When people wander far from God, forget to share their bread,
they find their wealth an empty thing, their spirits are not fed.
For only just and tender love the hungry soul will stay.
And so God’s prophets echo still: ‘Be blest: prepare the way!’
When God took flesh and came to earth, the world turned upside down,
and in the strength of women’s faith the Word of Life was born.
She knew that God would raise the low, it pleased her to obey.
Rejoice with Mary in the call: ‘Be blest: prepare the way!’
Affirmation of Faith
We believe in God: a God of justice who lifts the poor,
feeds the hungry, delivers the needy, and crushes the oppressor.
We believe in Jesus Christ:
God made flesh who knows what human life is like,
who through story and miracle explained who God is,
who forgave sinners, ate with outcasts,
loved the unlovely, upset the religious
and challenged the powers of His day.
For this he was unjustly tried, tortured,
and put to a shameful criminal’s death.
God, however, did not leave Jesus to rot,
raising him to new life, defeating evil, sin, and death itself.
We believe in the Holy Spirit:
who nourishes us as showers that water the earth,
who makes righteousness flourish and peace abound,
who calls us to be Church
and to proclaim the Kingdom that is to come. Amen.
Intercessions
We bring our prayers to God for the needs of the world, the Church, those we love, and ourselves knowing that God holds us in love and inspires us to change.
Eternal God, we look at our world and its needs
seeking Your wisdom and understanding;
our world is at war, and where not at war busy preparing for it,
yet we long for peace.
Give your counsel to peacemakers
bless their efforts of diplomacy and dignity, of passion and protest,
that lands, homes, and children may be safe,
that people need not flee for their lives,
and that justice will flow.
God, in your mercy…hear our prayer!
Risen Lord Jesus, we look at Your Church and its needs
seeking fortitude and knowledge,
the Church suffers through persecution and indifference,
yet we long to follow You.
We pray for congregations meeting in secret,
where prayers are said in fear and candles lit in darkness.
We pray for congregations facing closure knowing their work is complete,
and for Christians in these islands
faced with indifference, suspicion, and distrust.
Give us a vision of who we are to be, Lord Jesus, in these changing times.
God, in your mercy…hear our prayer!
Most Holy Spirit, we look at our own lives and needs,
and the needs of those we know and love,
seeking fear of the Lord and righteousness.
We bring to You, first those who are ill in mind, body or spirit,
those in despair and think life not worth living…
We lift ourselves before You,
faithful, yet often faithless, disciples, a holy, yet often unholy, people,
folk who are fearful of social change, attitudes and values
when we should be full of awe for You alone…
Remake us, O Spirit, that as we bring our needs, the needs of the Church,
and the needs of our world before You, we act to make a difference.
God, in your mercy…hear our prayer!
We bring all our prayers together as we pray as Jesus taught saying,
Our Father…
Offertory
The prophets in our world tell us not to flee the wrath to come but adapt to the changing climate. Our prophets point out the idiocy of business as usual in the face of catastrophic changes and urge us to live more simply so that others may simply live. Giving is part of the change we need to embrace; giving to charities and good causes, giving of our time, talents, and treasure. Giving our love with generous hearts.
In our churches the length and breadth of our nations we give; we offer hospitality, we collect food for the hungry, we give money to causes near and far, we give of our own time and love so that others may value themselves and God more highly. And, of course, we give with our finances; sometimes in the plate, sometimes in envelopes or via standing orders directly to the bank so our money arrives even if we don’t! So, we offer our all our gifts, of time, talent and treasure to God, that it may be used to pave the way of the Kingdom. Let us pray
God of every good gift,
we thank You for all that is given here in this congregation,
let our gifts and generosity be signs of our love and life,
that the voices crying in the wilderness of our world
may prepare a way for your coming kingdom. Amen.
Hymn Bread of the World In Mercy Broken
Reginald Heber (1827) Public Domain Sung by Daniel Au & John Shields, accompanied by Dr. Lindsey Henriksen Rodgers at Central Lutheran Church, Aug. 2024.
Bread of the world in mercy broken,
wine of the soul in mercy shed,
by whom the words of life were spoken,
and in whose death our sins are dead.
Look on the heart by sorrow broken,
look on the tears by sinners shed,
and be Thy feast to us the token
that by Thy grace our souls are fed.
Holy Communion
Introduction
God be with you! And also with you!
Lift up your hearts! We lift them up to God!
Let us give God our thanks and praise! It is right and proper so to do!
It is indeed right and good to give you thanks and praise,
almighty God and everlasting Maker, through Jesus Christ your Son.
For when he humbled himself to come among us in human flesh,
he fulfilled the plan you formed before the foundation of the world
to open for us the way of salvation.
Confident that your promise will be fulfilled,
we now watch for the day when Christ our Lord will come again.
And so we join our voices with angels and archangels
and with all the company of heaven
to proclaim your glory
for ever praising you and singing:
The Slane Sanctus
Michael Forster © 1993, 1995, Kevin Mayhew Ltd, OneLicence No # A-734713
Soloist Lucy Bunce
Holy, most holy,
all holy the Lord,
in power and wisdom
for ever adored.
The earth and the heavens
are full of your love;
our joyful hosannas
re-echo above.
Blessèd, most blessed,
all blessed is he,
whose life makes us whole,
and whose death sets us free;
who comes in the name of
the Father of light,
let endless hosannas
resound in the height.
Thanksgiving & Memory
Yes, Holy One, we bring You our praises for Your marvellous work;
You formed us in Your very image, set us in the midst of all creation,
and made this world a garden of delight.
For this we thank You; for this we praise You!
Yet we chose not to work with Your creation but go our own way,
abusing and exploiting Your world and each other.
In response You gave holy law to guide us, judges to protect us,
and prophets to call us back to You through hard, direct,
and often political words and action.
Yet we did not listen and so, in Your good time,
You became one of us, one with us.
For this we thank You; for this we praise You!
In Jesus You know what human life is like,
its glory and tragedy, its joy and sorrow.
Jesus proclaimed good news to the poor, healing for the sick,
sight for the blind, release for captives, and the coming of Your Kingdom.
For preaching love and fidelity He was betrayed by one he loved.
For proclaiming justice and peace, He was given over to secret trial,
lying witnesses and violent torture.
For showing how abundant life brings joy,
He was nailed to a cross and left to shameful death.
But You did not leave Him in the grave, and raised Him on high,
defeating death and sin and injustice.
For this we thank You; for this we praise You!
Institution
Before He was given over to betrayal, torture and death,
Jesus shared in the simplicity of a meal with his friends.
During the meal he took some bread,
said the ancient blessing,
broke it, and gave it to His disciples saying:
Take this all of you and eat it,
For this is my body, broken for you.
After Supper he took the cup filled with wine,
said the ancient blessing, and, giving the cup to his friends, said
Take this all of you and drink from it,
this is my blood given for the forgiveness of sins,
do this in memory of me.
So let us proclaim the mystery of our faith:
Christ has died! Christ is risen! Christ will come again!
Epiclesis
Holy One, as we remember Jesus’ life, death, and new life,
send Your Holy Spirit on these simple things of bread and wine
that they may be for us the communion with the body and blood of Christ.
Gather us into heaven with You,
that as we eat and drink we may encounter our risen and ascended Lord
as both guest and host at this table.
Send Your Holy Spirit on us,
that our lives, both simple and complex,
may be signs of Your coming kingdom,
breaking into our world, turning lives around,
and reminding us of the proper order of things.
And so, through Jesus, with Jesus, in Jesus,
with the Holy Spirit, all glory and honour is Yours,
O Most High, for ever and ever, Amen!
The body and blood of Christ, given for you!
Music for Communion As We Gather At Your Table by Carl P Daw Jr
Sung by Chris Brunelle and used with his kind permission. OneLicence No # A-734713
Post Communion Prayer
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
Hymn Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
Charles Wesley Public Domain, sung by Phil and Lythan Nevard and used with their kind permission.
Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.
Born thy people to deliver,
born a child and yet a King,
born to reign in us forever,
now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all sufficient merit,
raise us to thy glorious throne.
Blessing
May the One who yearns for peace and justice,
the One who proclaims the coming Kingdom,
and the One who calls us to action,
bless you with a hunger and thirst for righteousness,
that you may be ready when Christ comes again.
And the blessing of Almighty God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
be with you all now and always, Amen.