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Welcome
Lord Jesus Christ
your world awaits you
Come Lord, desire behind our greatest needs
Come Lord, liberator of humanity
Come Lord, O come Immanuel
Hymn: O Come O come Emmanuel
Lighting the Advent candle
Prayer
Open our eyes, Lord.
Some of us may be tired of looking
Some fear to see too much
For some yesterday, today and tomorrow are much the same
Some only see what we want to see
Open our eyes, Lord
to see the lives we live
the homes we have
the world we live in
and to find signs of hope there
that we can fasten onto and encourage
Give us a bigger vision of what you can do
even with hopeless cases and lost causes
and people of limited ability
Show us the world as you see it
riddled with debt, deceit and disbelief
but also full of possibility
for recovery, renewal and redemption
Help us to see real possibilities for change
in our everyday situation
Open our eyes in yearning for Jesus
On the mountains
in the cities
through the corridors of power
and streets of despair
to help, to heal
to confront, to convert
O come, O come Immanuel
Hymn: Make way make way
Reading Isaiah 64: 1-9
Why don’t you tear the sky apart and come down? The mountains would see you and shake with fear. They would tremble like water boiling over a hot fire. Come and reveal your power to your enemies, and make the nations tremble at your presence! There was a time when you came and did terrifying things that we did not expect; the mountains saw you and shook with fear. No one has ever seen or heard of a God like you, who does such deeds for those who put their hope in him. You welcome those who find joy in doing what is right, those who remember how you want them to live. You were angry with us, but we went on sinning; in spite of your great anger we have continued to do wrong since ancient times. All of us have been sinful; even our best actions are filthy through and through. Because of our sins we are like leaves that wither and are blown away by the wind. No one turns to you in prayer; no one goes to you for help. You have hidden yourself from us and have abandoned us because of our sins.
But you are our father, LORD. We are like clay, and you are the potter. You created us, so do not be too angry with us, or hold our sins against us for ever. We are your people; be merciful to us.
Reflection: preparing for Christmas
Usually at this time of the year people are making all sorts of plans for the festive period: meals in, meals out, cards, presents, decorations etc. For most folk this year, planning is hard, because we don’t know for what we are planning. How many people will be allowed to come together in one house? Can we have friends or relations round? Will we be able to visit them? Can we go out for a meal together? Will we have to post all our presents to Santa, or can we help him by distributing a few to friends, relations and neighbours? What about the relations in care homes, will we be able to see them, and if so how closely? It may be that we don’t have many answers till the last minute.
For some people there are added worries. Some are struggling to pay the bills and put the next meal on the table, they are trying not to let on to others that they are struggling, and they want their children to have as ‘normal’ a Christmas as they can. Some are struggling with loneliness, stress and depression: it is often worse at this time of the year, but the impact of Covid restrictions and uncertainties about what we will and will not be able to do, make it harder for them. And of course there’s all the other stuff like Brexit going on in the background.
‘Tear the sky apart and come down.’ We are with the ancient Jewish prophet on that one. If there really is a God, if there really is a God who cares, then start doing something and come and sort out the mess that your world is in. This portion of the Book of Isaiah seems to come from a time when the exiles in Babylon had returned to Jerusalem, but their initial hopes and dreams of rebuilding their broken land and restoring prosperity had been dashed, and they were beaten down by the dullness and difficulties of life. They felt abandoned by God, and as though their prayers were hitting a glass ceiling and bouncing back. And in the two and a half thousand years between then and now, billions of people will have felt much the same.
Advent is a time of looking forward, looking forward with hope, in spite of the gloomy signs around us. It isn’t just about looking forward to Christmas 2020, and whatever form that takes. The Jewish prophet looked forward, standing on the experience of God’s action towards his people in the past – leading them out of slavery in Egypt, leading them out of exile in Babylon. We look forward standing on the experience of God acting in and through Jesus: coming to earth as one of us, to experience for himself the pain and challenge of being human, of showing and teaching us how we should live together, and through his death and rising again to give us new life and new hope for the future.
Amid all the gloom and uncertainty of the immediate future we do have the hope that next year will bring vaccinations that could transform life in so many ways. Next year we hope to have the Cop 26 conference in Glasgow, with decisions taken on measures to address the climate crisis. Next year we hope that steps will be taken to rebuild the country and world after the Coronavirus pandemic, with greater attention to building peace and justice. Some of our hopes may not turn to reality, but because of the story of Jesus, and our experience of Jesus in our lives, we can keep hoping. We also find that God says to us, ‘It’s not all about me doing all the work. You have to work too, along with me. I will give you my Spirit to help you, to help you to be beacons of light on how to live, to help you to achieve change in the world. Now away you go and get on with it. Advent isn’t just about preparing for Christmas 2020, it’s about preparing to make it the kind of world I want it to be.’
Prayers for others and Lord’s Prayer
Heavenly Father
There are many times –
especially this year –
when we can echo the prophet’s words
“Why don’t you tear the sky apart and come down?”
We want change, we need change
but we feel powerless to bring it about
there are even times we doubt
whether you can do anything
or want to do anything
whether you care
In this season of Advent
we are reminded that you do care
that you have responded to our cries
not by coming in might and majesty
but in the vulnerability of a new baby in a stable
We bring before you all
who are struggling with life and its problems
who share that longing for you to intervene
to bring peace, justice and hope
We pray for all who are ill,
those who look after them
and those who worry about them
those waiting for or receiving treatment
and those for whom there is no treatment
those who are lonely, feeling down, or grieving a friend or loved one
those who are worried about home, work or money
a friend or a relative
those who are living with the after-effects of natural disasters
those who do not have enough to eat, or somewhere to call home
those who long to live in peace and safety
those who have fled from their homes seeking safety
We pray for the Queen, the Government
all in positions of leadership in this and every land
We pray for your church
the worldwide church
the wider church in Dumbarton
our own congregation
We bring to you our prayers for people and situations of special concern to us
We bring our gifts of money, we bring ourselves
take and use them, take and use us
And we sum up our prayers in the words of the prayer Jesus gave us
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen
Hymn: The race that long in darkness pined
Blessing
Look forward in hope
to the coming of your Saviour
prepare the way for Christ your Lord
welcome him with love and faith
when he comes in glory
and the blessing of God Almighty
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
rest and remain with you,
today, and every day, and for ever. Amen