3rd Sunday in Advent
This short act of worship has been prepared for you. I invite you to share in a few moments with God, knowing that other people within Paulton, Trinity and Chew Stoke Methodist Churches are sharing this act of worship with you.
Revd Martin Slocombe
Advent 1
1 Advent candles tell their story
as we watch and pray,
longing for the Day of Glory,
‘Come, Lord, soon,’ we say.
Pain and sorrow, tears and sadness
changed for gladness
on that day.
Advent 2
2 Prophet voices loudly crying,
making pathways clear,
glimpsing glory, self-denying,
calling all to hear.
Through their message — challenged, shaken —
hearts awaken:
God is near!
Advent 3
3 John the Baptist, by his preaching
and by water poured,
brought to those who heard his teaching
news of hope restored:
‘Keep your vision strong and steady,
and be ready
for the Lord.’
Mark Earey (b. 1965)
Hymn – Come, thou long-expected Jesus
1 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.
2 Israel’s strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art,
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.
3 Born thy people to deliver,
born a child and yet a king,
born to reign in us for ever,
now thy gracious kingdom bring.
4 By thine own eternal Spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all-sufficient merit
raise us to thy glorious throne.
Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
The Lectionary readings for last week and this week are both about John the Baptist. Next week, the reading is the visit of the Angel Gabriel to Mary, but we often miss thinking about this part of the Christmas story as we are busy with Carol services next week. So I have decided to jump forward a week so that we can think about the angel’s visit to Mary today.
Prayer
God who strengthens, sustains, raises up, redeems, births, brings, gathers and celebrates,
God whose love is bigger than the skies,
firmer than the earth, wider than the seas,
you who reveal your story and your goodness to us through life and faith and courage and witness,
to you be glory and praise and all thanksgiving.
Today, we are reminded that you approached the world through the words of an angel, asking consent of Mary, an ordinary girl, who accepted your will with no conditions attached, acknowledged your glory and received your blessing, and you gave unexpected and miraculous life.
Now we approach you, in the joy of welcome,
knowing that you will never turn us away.
We celebrate your grace as we turn to you,
glad that we are gathered for the feast of kindness and courage which you shower upon us.
Today, days before we celebrate your self-giving
in life, in conversation, in generosity and in courage, we turn to you knowing how often we fall short in life, in conversation, in generosity and in courage.
Forgive us, and make us more like you, not because it will make you love us more, but because it is for our sake, and for the sake of the people you love so much, that you came among us.
May we have the courage to listen for your word, and to respond in obedience and commitment.
Amen.
Reading - Luke 1: 26-38
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’29But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. 31And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ 34Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ 35The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37For nothing will be impossible with God.’ 38Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.
Reflection – ordinary but extraordinary
In the Catholic tradition, Mary is venerated alongside Jesus, but in our non-Conformist tradition, whilst we acknowledge her special role in the birth and life of Jesus, we do not hold her in quite such special standing.
What is it about Mary that is so extraordinary, other than the obvious, of being the mother of Jesus?
Have you ever met anyone in your life who was ordinary, but did something extraordinary? Mary was an ordinary girl. In her society she had nothing particularly special to look forward to. She would marry and then spend her life looking after her husband and raising her family. But then, the extraordinary happened.
There are many ordinary people who do extraordinary things. Greta Thunberg is an ordinary teenager who has a passion for the environment and raised the consciousness of the whole world to the plight of our planet. Capt Tom Moore is an ordinary Grandad who decided to go for a short walk every day, and raised over £30m himself, but also inspired many others to raise money for good causes. Mary was an ordinary teenage girl whose life was interrupted by a visit from an angel and had a baby. Ordinary people doing something extraordinary – or are they extraordinary people doing something ordinary?
In God’s eyes, Mary was far from ordinary, she was extraordinary – she said “Yes”.
Have you ever been faced with a situation which you thought was impossible to achieve? Did you embrace it, or run from it? Mary’s story is an example of the impossible being made reality through the faith and courage of an ordinary teenager. Not only did she accept the impossibility of the angel and the pregnancy he foretold, but what about the response of the community in which she lived, which she would have to face? She would not have had much of a future ahead of her simply because she was a woman. But now she faced the rejection of the community when they heard of her pregnancy, and the shame that she had brought to Joseph and her family. Her news could well have resulted in her being stoned to death, but against all the odds, God was using her to do the impossible, and she said “Yes”.
And she was not alone. Elizabeth, much older, had been pregnant for 6 months, was also walking a similar path of obedience to God’s will despite the seeming impossibility of her age. One was older, one was younger, one would give birth to the one who would pave the way, one would give birth to the one who was The Way. We all need people to help us who are a little further along their journey of faith to encourage us , to allay our fears and to accompany us through our doubts.
Our nativity story presents an ordinary Mary and a faithful Joseph submitting to and accepting God’s will for them, and playing their part in God’s plan for us all. We too are ordinary, but extraordinary in God’s eyes. May we too be obedient, faithful and courageous in responding to his will when he calls us to do ordinary things, which he then makes extraordinary.
Amen
Song – Mary did you know?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifCWN5pJGIE
Intercessions
Lord, we have heard in our reading today how Mary was visited by your angel, and her response meant that her life was changed for ever. We have been reminded that our lives also are easily and often affected and changed by unexpected events and challenges. Sometimes we rise to that challenge, other times we find ourselves overcome by events over which we have no control.
And so today, we remember and pray for all those whose lives are not as they had planned, who have been overcome by the vagaries of life, and who suffer through no fault of their own.
We are living in a chaotic world, and we pray for those whose lives have been changed by the coronavirus – those who have lost family members, livelihoods and jobs, or who fear they are going to. We pray also for those who fear the impact of Brexit, who may not be in fear for their lives, but who do fear for their livelihoods and jobs.
Gives us all the courage of Mary, as we step out into the unknown, unprepared and uncertain of the future, but held in the knowledge that you walk with us.
We pray for our families and friends, and for all those in need at this present time.
We pray for the churches in our Circuit, this week for Box, and their minister, Elizabeth Kirova
God of surprises, you chose Mary, and she answered “yes”, and you entered the world in flesh and blood. Help us, O God, to find and make time to say “yes” to you, whenever you call us to respond.
Amen.
Blessing of the offering
Hymn – Tell out my soul, the greatness of the Lord!
1 Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord!
Unnumbered blessings, give my spirit voice;
tender to me the promise of his word;
in God my Saviour shall my heart rejoice.
2 Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his name!
Make known his might, the deeds his arm has done;
his mercy sure, from age to age the same;
his holy name — the Lord, the Mighty One.
3 Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his might!
Powers and dominions lay their glory by;
proud hearts and stubborn wills are put to flight,
the hungry fed, the humble lifted high.
4 Tell out, my soul, the glories of his word!
Firm is his promise, and his mercy sure.
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord
to children’s children and for evermore!
Timothy Dudley-Smith (b. 1926)
Based on the Magnificat
Holy Communion
THE THANKSGIVING
The presiding minister leads the great prayer of thanksgiving:
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
God of all glory and light of our salvation,
we offer you thanks and praise
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord.
By your living Word
you called all things into being,
breathed into life the desire of your heart
and shaped us in your own likeness.
Though we rejected your love,
you did not give us up
or cease to fashion our salvation.
You made a covenant to be our God,
spoke to us through the prophets,
and prepared the way for our redemption.
We praise you that in the fullness of time
you sent your only Son Jesus Christ.
The Lord of eternity,
announced by angels and born of Mary,
he became incarnate,
fulfilling the promise of your salvation.
And so we offer our praise
with all your people, on earth and in heaven.
With the full chorus of your creation,
we proclaim the glory of your name:
Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessèd is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
We praise you, Lord God, King of the universe,
through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who, on the night in which he was betrayed,
took bread, gave thanks, broke it,
and gave it to his disciples, saying,
‘Take this and eat it.
This is my body given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.’
In the same way, after supper,
he took the cup, gave thanks,
and gave it to them, saying,
‘Drink from it all of you.
This is my blood of the new covenant,
poured out for you and for many,
for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this, whenever you drink it,
in remembrance of me.’
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come in glory.
He is Alpha and Omega,
the beginning and the end;
the King of kings, and Lord of lords.
Recalling his death and resurrection,
and in obedience to his command,
we celebrate the offering of his eternal sacrifice,
until he comes again.
Through him, our Priest and King,
accept us as a living sacrifice,
a people for your praise.
Generous and holy God,
pour out your Spirit
that these gifts of bread and wine
may be for us the body and blood of Christ.
Refashion us in your image
that we may be found ready
at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessing and honour and glory and power
be yours, O Lord, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
We say together the prayer that Jesus gave us, in its modern translation;
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.
THE BREAKING OF THE BREAD
The presiding minister breaks the bread in the sight of the people in silence, or saying:
Like those that look for the morning
so our souls wait for the Lord.
Be known to us, Lord, in the breaking of the bread.
Silence, all seated or kneeling
THE SHARING OF THE BREAD AND WINE
The true bread of heaven gives life to the world.
Come, all who are hungry, come and eat.
Come, all who are thirsty, come and drink.
The elements that remain are covered with a white cloth.
PRAYERS AND DISMISSAL
Let us pray.
We thank you, Lord,
for feeding us with the bread of heaven
and the cup of salvation.
Keep us in your grace
and at the coming of Christ in glory
bring us with your saints
into the life of your kingdom. Amen.
Hymn – Sing we the King who is coming to reign
1 Sing we the King who is coming to reign;
glory to Jesus, the Lamb that was slain!
Life and salvation his empire shall bring,
joy to the nations when Jesus is King:
Come let us sing: praise to our King,
Jesus our King, Jesus our King:
this is our song, who to Jesus belong:
glory to Jesus, to Jesus our King.
2 All shall be well in his kingdom of peace;
freedom shall flourish and wisdom increase;
justice and truth from his sceptre shall spring;
wrong shall be ended when Jesus is King:
3 Souls shall be saved from the burden of sin;
doubt shall not darken his witness within;
hell has no terrors, and death has no sting;
love is victorious when Jesus is King:
4 Kingdom of Christ, for your coming we pray;
hasten, O Father, the dawn of the day
when this new song your creation shall sing;
Satan is vanquished and Jesus is King:
Charles Silvester Horne (1865–1914)
The presiding minister says:
Christ the Sun of Righteousness
shine upon you
and prepare your hearts and souls
to meet him when he comes in glory;
and the blessing of God,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
be yours, now and always. Amen.
The day of the Lord is surely coming.
Be faithful in worship,
unwavering in hope,
fervent in the work of God’s kingdom
and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
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