Lord, direct our thoughts, and teach us to pray. Lift up our hearts to worship you in spirit and in truth, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ‘May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy. Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves.’ (Psalm 126:5,6)Hymn: Hail to the Lord’s Anointed...Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24When the Lord comes, he will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness, and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Therefore in the light of Christ let us confess our sins: Most merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we confess that we have sinned in thought, word and deed. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be; that we may do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you, our God. Amen.May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins, and assure us of his eternal love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Prayer for the day: God for whom we watch and wait, you sent John the Baptist to prepare the way of your Son: give us courage to speak the truth, to hunger for justice, and to suffer for the cause of right, with Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.John 1:6-8, 19-28 Please see the message from the minister.Let us join in prayer, asking for the light of the Lord to be known to everyone: We pray for the Church throughout the world, that people will know and share God’s love; We pray for our planet, that all of its creatures will thrive, and work together in peace; We pray for our friends, families and neighbours, that relationships will be strong;We pray for people who are sick or suffering, that they will know Christ’s healing presence;We pray for those who have been bereaved, that they will be held and comforted.Let us pray for the coming of God’s kingdom in the prayer that Jesus taught 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 trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.Hymn: Hark, my soul, it is the Lord...May Christ the Sun of Righteousness shine upon us, scatter the darkness from before our path, and make us ready to meet him when he comes in glory; and may the blessing of God Almighty who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit rest upon us and remain with us always.Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord, in the name of Christ. Amen.
The gospel according to Jesus Christ presents us with a radical and inconvenient truth - ‘All are welcome!’ There is an inclusivity that is formed by the breath of the Holy Spirit and exemplified in the crucified Christ who dared to say, ‘You belong.’Belonging is a deep psychological, emotional and social need. We all want to belong and we all need to feel safe. At this point and as we move towards Christmas, it may be helpful to remember the image of a welcoming table set before us. Think of the table where Abraham welcomed and ate with three visitors in Genesis 18; the table at which Jesus ate his final meal and at which he washed the disciples’ feet; the table we gather around to celebrate Holy Communion in the breaking of bread. Sadly, there are always those people who like to think of the table as a place where only a select few are welcome, a place where another select group has deemed us worthy of belonging, or not.We can all probably recall instances of exclusivity that do not chime with the truth rooted in the transformation of the wilderness of our human failings into the fertile ground of God’s welcome. We read in Isaiah 40 of the ‘herald of good tidings’, the good news for which we should all lift up our voices. The displacement of exile is referenced by Isaiah, but there is good news too. As one commentator writes: ‘Jerusalem is the place of divine self-revelation.’ It is the place where Jesus died, was buried and rose again. These historical moments capture a transcendental reality: at the table of the Last Supper, here is our God. The integrity of the table, therefore, has not been set by us. It is not up to us to decide who can be at the table and who should stand aside. Our job is to protect and promote the integrity of the table.In today’s Gospel reading from Mark, we anticipate meeting this Jesus. Mark’s Gospel is like listening to and watching a mini-series on the telly, written in a fast-paced Greek that isn’t necessarily sophisticated, but it is very real and captivating. The beginning of Mark’s Gospel echoes the passage from Isaiah. John the Baptist is introduced with a mix of references from the Hebrew Bible, speaking to the hopes of the Jewish people at the time. Mark moves us out of Jerusalem only for John the Baptist to point us back towards it, towards a sense of exilic return to the source of all life and the source of all love. Jesus is not even on the scene yet, but we know he is not coming alone: ‘He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit’ (Mark 1. 1-8). We are asked to get ready; we are asked to watch and wait.And so we come back to Advent, to the deep questioning of our relationship in, and with, time during this season of reflection. We recognise that our place at the table of this eternal banquet has been prepared and remains through time and space. We celebrate with confidence that the invitation is authentic and the calling to be at the table is constant and consistent. We come to this table through pain, suffering, and rejection, and loss, loneliness and labelling, betrayal and anger. And Jesus gets all of that because he lived through these experiences too.The Church still has much to learn, so much for which to repent and lament, and so much work to do to remember that the news is good, that the good news is Jesus Christ, and that his table is a non-negotiable space of belonging. As we, the Church, preach the gospel we need to think about the effect our words and interpretations have on others. As we preach Jesus Christ crucified, we preach about the table, and the resurrection and the life.God knows it is not easy to be a follower of Christ, but encourages us to hold onto the image from Isaiah 40. We worship a God who is safe and steady, loving, kind and understanding. We worship a God who is absolutely inclusive, presiding at a table where all are welcome, whoever you are. We can come home to God at the table and relax, because God will feed us through the love, light and healing of his Son. It is here we all belong. This is our feast, this is our fire, this is our resting place.With Advent blessings,Christian
Lord, direct our thoughts, and teach us to pray. Lift up our hearts to worship you in spirit and in truth, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ‘Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky.The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps.’ (Psalm 85:10-13)Hymn: Long ago, prophets knew...Isaiah 40:1-11; 2 Peter 3:8-15aWhen the Lord comes, he will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness, and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Therefore in the light of Christ let us confess our sins: Most merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we confess that we have sinned in thought, word and deed. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be; that we may do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you, our God. Amen.May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins, and assure us of his eternal love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Prayer for the day: Almighty God, purify our hearts and minds, that when your Son Jesus Christ comes again as judge and saviour we may be ready to receive him, who is our Lord and our God. Amen. Mark 1:1-8 Please see the message from the minister.Let us join in prayer, asking for the light of the Lord to be known to everyone: We pray for the Church throughout the world, that people will know and share God’s love; We pray for our planet, that all of its creatures will thrive, and work together in peace; We pray for our friends, families and neighbours, that relationships will be strong;We pray for people who are sick or suffering, that they will know Christ’s healing presence;We pray for those who have been bereaved, that they will be held and comforted.Let us pray for the coming of God’s kingdom in the prayer that Jesus taught 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 trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.Hymn: Make me a channel of your peace...May Christ the Sun of Righteousness shine upon us, scatter the darkness from before our path, and make us ready to meet him when he comes in glory; and may the blessing of God Almighty who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit rest upon us and remain with us always.Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord, in the name of Christ. Amen.
