Prayer As We Gather: Countering the rancorous confusion of our times, Lord, we choose amidst Advent’s hopeful waiting to embrace prophet Isaiah’s joyful summons: “Strengthen weak hands, support unsteady knees, say to those who are panicking: ‘Be strong! Don’t fear! God will come to save you.’ How we long to slip away on the carefree highway Isaiah promises, a holy way we sometimes glimpse in our dream-shattered sleep, a way through the thirsty desert, a way so certain “even fools won’t get lost on it.” Grant us visionary hearts to imagine a day when grief is overwhelmed by joy. Amen.* (Inspired by Isaiah 35 and the poetry of Gordon Lightfoot)
Call to Worship:
In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior,
Who has looked with favor on my low status as servant.
From now on, everyone will consider me highly favored,
Because the mighty one has done great things for me.
God has shown mercy from one generation to the next,
Scattering those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.
God has pulled the powerful down and lifted up the lowly,
Filling the hungry with good things, sending the rich away empty-handed.
God has come to the aid of his servant, remembering to be merciful,
Just as promised to our ancestors and their descendants forever. (from Mary’s Manifesto, Luke 1)
Morning Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for imprisoned baptizer John’s blunt demand to know, in the face of his pending state-sanctioned murder, whether Jesus was the real deal or not: “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” May we be at least that honest with our misgivings over who Jesus really is to us, in the dark nights of our soul when we doubt everything we profess, when we’re grimly gripping our pew perches “putting on the faces to meet the faces that we meet,” when our early faith’s saltiness has been rendered flavorless, when Sunday worship amounts to flatly going through the motions. How blessed we are to be a part of UBC’s compassionate family, where all about us we see the healing, loving, forgiving Lord who taught us to pray, saying …*(Inspired by Matthew 11 and the wisdom of T.S. Eliot)
Prayer of Confession: Forgive, Lord, our flagrant disregard of Jesus’ brother James’ reasoned counsel to wait patiently and without complaining for the coming of the Lord. Heedless and unmindful of his warning that the judge is standing at the door, we neglect the sober insistence that “there is more to life than simply increasing its speed.” No wonder we are such easy prey for Big Pharma’s chemically engineered false gods of sedation and pain reduction, held captive as we are by our addiction to instant data retrieval and our obsessive need to be digitally connected, lest we forfeit the merciless monitoring of other people’s opinions. We have long since lost interest in the prospect of Jesus’ return, not least because he’s not buying what we’re selling. Besides, we don’t have time to wait for him anyway. Have mercy on our fevered inability to be fully present, we pray. Amen.*(Inspired by James 5 and the keen insight of Mahatma Gandhi)
Assurance of Pardon: Hear the good news! There is still time for us to learn from James’ suggestion: “Consider the farmer who waits patiently for the coming of rain in the fall and spring, looking forward to the precious fruit of the earth.” You and I are privileged to be the farmers/caregivers called to tend the delightful UBC garden of souls to whom God sends us as messengers of hope, peace, joy and love in this Advent season. How blessed we have been, tending our Master’s vineyard at the corner of Franklin and Columbia as UBC has opened her arms to the whole precious range of people, cultures, races and ages. Thanks be to God for leading us into a future in which we continue to follow Jesus as a people “who speak in the name of the Lord as an example of patient resolve and steadfastness.” (Inspired by James 5)
Thought for an Advent Sunday: “Maybe hope is as basic as refusing to give up and sell out, even when the odds are against us. Hope is openness to transformation, listening and looking for signs of God’s action happening all round us, just like Jesus told John’s disciples to tell John.”
- Celeste Kennel-Shank, health-care chaplain