1st Sunday of Advent

Welcome (1 Corinthians 1:3-9)

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind--just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you--so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Preparation: Emmanuel, Emmanuel

Call to Worship (Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19)

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might, and come to save us!

Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.

O LORD God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people's prayers? You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure. You make us the scorn of our neighbours; our enemies laugh among themselves.

Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.

But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand, the one whom you made strong for yourself. Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name.

Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.

O Come, o come Emmanuel

Prayer

Creator of the world,
This day is not like any other day. It is the day you called us to remember you.
Open our eyes to witness your love,
our ears to hear your word,
and our hearts to witness your grace
that all on earth may stand in awe and wonder
before your marvellous deeds.
Raise our heads in expectation,
that we may yearn for the coming day of the Lord
and stand without blame before your Son, Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

You, O God, are the potter, we are the clay,
and you form us in your image.
Shape our spirits
by Christ's transforming power,
that as one people
we may live out your compassion and justice,
whole and sound in the realm of your peace. Amen.

Scripture: Isaiah 64:1-9

O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence--as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil-- to make your name known to your adversaries, so that the nations might tremble at your presence! When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who works for those who wait for him. You meet those who gladly do right, those who remember you in your ways. But you were angry, and we sinned; because you hid yourself we transgressed. We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls on your name, or attempts to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity. Yet, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Do not be exceedingly angry, O LORD, and do not remember iniquity forever. Now consider, we are all your people.

Mark 13:24-37

"But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in clouds' with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. "From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. "But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep awake--for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake."

Sermon: Waiting and arrival

Wherever you go, there is a waiting room or area. There, you stay until you are called or your turn comes up. Sometimes we don’t have to wait, but mostly we wait. Waiting is very difficult. With instant access to everything we do, we become used to isolating ourselves and distancing from others in waiting rooms. Perhaps this is why we see many frozen faces, expressionless as if they have stopped from living momentarily. Each one keeps busy or is so immersed in one’s own thoughts. Indeed, many people scowl at those who try to engage in talk. Those who are trying to be friendly. Usually they are seen as disruptive and rude for intruding into the private spaces of others. Yes, like so many other things in our world, waiting has become a very private activity.

How do we wait for Jesus today? Where do we go to wait for him? In Jesus’ time no one seemed to have waited for him to come. King Herod for certain was caught unaware. So were the shepherds in the fields near Bethlehem. Even those Magi who followed the star were not waiting for him. They saw the great star. They were not waiting for Jesus while they were observing the sky. Are we no different than those Magi, shepherds and King Herod? Is our waiting connected to Christmas worship services? Do we come to these worship services in high expectation of the arrival of Jesus? Is planning for Christmas the same thing as planning for his arrival? Are sanctuaries or worship spaces our waiting areas where we wait to be called by Jesus?

For many of us thoughts of waiting areas bring up unpleasant memories and feelings. Whether it is an emergency room at a hospital, in an immigration’s centre, or in any office waiting for decisions, waiting makes us feel powerless, filled with anxiety. When there are many people in a small room, it is worse because people feed on each other’s uneasiness. This is why everyone tends to be quiet, trying their best to get their nerves under control by playing with phones, or doing something–anything. We fill our empty time so that we do not get overwhelmed by negative thoughts of what ifs.

I have been thinking a lot about how Christians fill their life with busy activities during the Christmas season. It is as if we are filling our time to prove that we are indeed good and faithful Christ followers. We organize charity activities by giving and volunteering. We plan worship services. We are relentlessly occupied. Of course, we have convinced ourselves how essential these activities are for our minds and spirits. As Christians we do not know any other way of enjoying the Christmas season. Yet, if we step back and take a look, one unavoidable reality is that in this time when we are supposed to be waiting we do everything but waiting or searching to see whether Christ has arrived or not.

Why have we created this situation of exhausting busyness? What are we saying to the world when we absorb ourselves in so many activities without adequate moments of rest, reflection and restoration? Who are we when we take ourselves from one activity to another as if there is no time to breathe? Where did we get this habit of working as if there is no moment to waste? How are we to sustain our mental, psychological, physical and spiritual well being when we tire ourselves out this way?

The passage from Isaiah offers some insights here. People, especially those of us who follow Christ, have become aware of our sinful life. Isaiah’s indictment concerning our sins hits the mark squarely. No one needs to remind us how each of us feel that we have not been perfect, how we could have lived life more righteously and how we could have loved God and neighbours more. Yes, we are the first to admit that Isaiah’s words cut deep into our hearts.

Indeed Isaiah’s verses here are our confession. From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who works for those who wait for him. You meet those who gladly do right, those who remember you in your ways. But you were angry, and we sinned; because you hid yourself we transgressed. We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

No wonder our hearts are heavy. No wonder we go overboard in demonstrating to others why we act so good and busy during the Christmas season. It is a way of cleansing our guilt. Though we know deeply that God’s grace, given in Christ, is sufficient for our salvation, we work out our salvation by not only doing work that shows our love for neighbours, but also drive us to worship services where we hear once again the good news of the coming of Jesus as a baby. By participating in worship and work, then, without realizing, we immerse ourselves in activities that help us avoid the task of keeping awake, watching out and waiting. Patiently keeping awake, waiting and watching is the hardest thing for us to do when we feel so guilty.

In a way, gathering to worship at the church, especially in the dark times such as ours, is a way to keep awake. In worship, Christ and we are together. Christ prepares his table and calls us to come so that he may feed us. Worship is a moment of eternity, Christ’s reign, breaking into this dark world of woes and troubles. At that moment, we are invited to his table to be fed by him. We are not called to fill our time so that we can avoid our anxiety and fear regarding our sinfulness. We are not called to work out our guilt by doing so much work that we have no time to sit at the table and be fed. In his grace, we are called to be at his side and receive the very life he gives. We keep awake in order to receive the bread and wine he so generously offers.

The world may wonder why we stop from doing work that can save this world from the power of death. After all, looking at Gaza, West Bank, Ukraine, Yemen, our cities and neighbourhoods filled with dying people cannot be saved if we take time off to be at the table of the Lord, can it? Should we not exhaust any time we have left to spend it doing the work that offers hope? Is it not better for us to be busy at least just for a brief moment of the Christmas season so that our efforts will make someone feel a bit better?

We are convicted by Isaiah’s words. With Mark’s words, we are freed from the guilt to respond to God’s call. There are all kinds of signs that bring death to us. That is, the time of the end of our world is near. As the world darkens and the powers in heaven shaken, if we keep awake, we shall see the Son of Man coming down with great power and glory. If we know how to read the signs, we will keep awake, then, we shall be able to welcome the Son returning with great power and glory. The mystery of Jesus’ return is there for us to witness and welcome.

Indeed, in places where death overwhelms life–places like Gaza, Ukraine and our own streets where the homeless neighbours huddle for warmth in deathly cold nights–if we keep awake we will witness our Lord setting his table in full might and glory, calling those who are dying to himself. Mark’s words take away our eyes from the power of death that pushes us into exhausting busyness rising out of guilt to the great power and glory of our Lord so that we may truly witness the breaking in of Christ’s reign where eternal life is given breaking up the reign of death where lives are shortened and taken.

We gather in worship because worship is where we find the table of the Lord and are fed by him, redeeming us into his reign. Our busyness, our attempts to avoid waiting and keeping watch, is transformed into his banquet where fear is cast out and life is restored. In this way, the waiting is transformed into joyful praises from silent distancing and from distracting and exhausting activities. The church is revealed not as a waiting room full of people who are busy working out salvation, but as a joyful communion where Christ and his people rejoice together even in the midst of the darkest time this world has ever seen. This is the way Mark’s words unveil our eyes of faith so that we may see the coming of the Son of Man in great power and glory and witness the transformation of this dark world into the world of light under Christ.

Prayer

O God,
We give you our praise. You have heard our prayers and did not hesitate to send your Son. Through your Son you call us continually to make us yours. On this first Sunday of Advent, we wait. We keep watch in case you may return in full power and glory, transforming this dark place into the place of abundant life rooted in peace and love. We thank you.

As we come, we bring our love for you and for our neighbours. As we ponder the limitless love you give us, we bring concerns for our neighbours. Hear our prayer.

In Gaza, threats of bombing have turned into reality once again. In Ukraine, even the women and children are facing the conscription to fight wars of politicians. On our streets, the homeless and hungry are pushed aside in the cold. Fears of high prices deprive people of any joy of the Christmas season. In this very uncertain time, we lift up our voices for those who cannot speak for themselves because they are too busy trying to survive in this dark world. Be kind to them. May their prayers rise to your ears through our inadequate words. Tend to their needs. Spread your table in their midst. Call them unto the very seats you have prepared for them. Feed them so that by your love they may gain your life again.

We pray for those who are in despair among us. Our appearances may not expose how desperate we are, but there are many who are losing hope. So many are wondering if their lives are worth anything, if anyone cares for them, if any love is given to them and if they ought to stretch their hands for help. Strengthen them. Give them hope that is only possible when love is shared fully. Restore them to health and strength.

We pray for us. We gather here to worship, praise and offer our love for you. We are the blessed who received so much from you. Empower us to love each other. Make us see that we have more than enough to share with one another as we care for each other. Open our eyes to see how you are able to feed and tend to many through each of us.

On the first Sunday of Advent, Fortify our spirits to keep awake and see how into this dark world you, our Lord, will come in full power and glory. Though our eyes, ears, hearts, minds and bodies are weak, by the Holy Spirit keep us awake to be the witnesses to your coming.

All these we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Offering/Offering Prayer

Announcements

Mitten Tree

We are continually collecting new mittens, toques, gloves and socks for winter. Please share the warmth. Unlike other years, Mitten Tree will continue throughout the Christmas season.

Christmas Turkey Dinner

Saturday, December 16 at 5:30 pm we will have our Christmas Turkey Dinner. Cost is $25/person. Please let us know if you are interested.

Christmas Singalong Concert and December Birthday Party

On Sunday, December 17 at 2:30 pm, the House of Light band will be back to lead us on Christmas singalong. Please invite your family and friends. It will be a wonderful time of fellowship.

Also please remember that we will have our Birthday Party for all who were born in December after the service. Please come and join us.

Christmas Eve Evening Worship

On Christmas Eve (December 24) we will have regular Sunday worship at 10:30 am and have our Christmas Eve Evening Worship Service at 8 pm. Everyone is welcome.

Christmas Day Worship

Again this year, we will have our Christmas Day worship service at 11 am followed by lunch. If you are able, please come and join us. Bring friends and family.

I love to tell the story

Benediction