Advent Sunday 29th November 2020

The United Benefice of Rastrick

The Anglican and Methodist Church of St. Matthew

Advent Season

Organ prelude for Advent by Buxtehude

HYMN   Come thou long-expected Jesus 

Words by Charles Wesley (1707-88)

 Tune Cross of Jesus by John Stainer

St John's College Choir, Cambridge

Come, thou long expected Jesus

Israel's strength and consolation

Born thy people to deliver

The Preparation

The Lord be with you

And also with you

Almighty God,

to whom all hearts are open,

all desires known,

and from whom no secrets are hidden:

cleanse the thoughts of our hearts

by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,

that we may perfectly love you,

and worthily magnify your holy name;

through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Prayers of Penitence

When 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.

God, through Jesus Christ, will judge the secret thoughts of all:

Lord have mercy.

Lord have mercy.

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven:

Christ have mercy.

Christ have mercy. 

Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches:

Lord have mercy.

Lord have mercy.

“I am making all things new” says the Lord.

This is Christ’s gracious word:

“Your sins are forgiven.”

Amen. thanks be to God.

The Collect

After a time of silence the prayer for the day, the Collect, is said. 

Almighty God,

as your kingdom dawns,

turn us from the darkness of sin to the light of holiness,

that we may be ready to meet you

in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

 All respond Amen.

The Liturgy of the Word

Gospel Reading  (stand)

Alleluia, alleluia

Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,

And all flesh shall see the salvation of God,

Alleluia.

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark

Glory to you, O Lord.

Mark : Chapter 13 Verses 24 to 37

²⁴ “But in those days, after that suffering,

the sun will be darkened,
    and the moon will not give its light,
²⁵ and the stars will be falling from heaven,
    and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

²⁶ Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. ²⁷ 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.

²⁸ “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. ²⁹ So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. ³⁰ Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. ³¹ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

³² “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³³ Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. ³⁴ 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. ³⁵ 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, ³⁶ or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. ³⁷ And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”

In response to the Gospel:

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon 

The count-down has begun!

The rhythm of the Christian year begins with Advent.

I like the word rhythm when we talk about the Christian year.

For some people it takes a lifetime to get to grips with that rhythm.

We see that rhythm every week when we come to church.

We see the change of the colours on the communion table and the colours the priests wear.

We see it in the change of service sheet and in the words of the communion prayers.

We see that rhythm in the weekly pattern of services.

We see that rhythm in our daily prayers.

I did quite a lot of my training at Mirfield and I was always struck by the continual cycle of prayer that the brothers followed.

This was the rhythm of their lives.

So we now begin a new liturgical year starting once again, just as we have since this church was built.

A new cycle in the rhythm of our fellowship.

The word Advent means “coming” so in this season we think about Christ coming into our lives every day, and coming to us at our death.

I think we would all agree meeting with Jesus is a solemn event especially if we have things on our conscience.

So we use this season of advent to confess our sins and we use the sombre colours of Blue or purple to remind us of that.

In some churches they follow a medieval tradition and change the colours on the third Sunday of Advent to pink or rose! 

Here at St Matthew’s we change the colour of the Advent candle.

And no it’s not a special candle for Mary – we remember Mary on the last Sunday of Advent.

So the services in Advent follow this sombre pattern.

We leave out the Gloria “Glory to God in the highest”

And strictly speaking we should also leave out the Christmas music – except for carol services!!

(That would be very strange)

A mark of the season is the lighting of our Advent candles on the Advent ring.

On:-

Week 1 we think of the Patriarchs.

Week 2 the prophets

Week 3 John the Baptist

Week 4 The Virgin Mary

Then the Christ

Each Sunday reminds us of those who prepared the way for the coming of Christ.

So when we light our candles we say a prayer that reflects the themes of Advent.

So it seems Advent is a time of confession – if you like symbolically getting ourselves right.

And a time of waiting and remembering.

They all had a reason for waiting.

The patriarchs were waiting for their king.

The prophets were waiting for God to reveal himself to the world and demonstrate his power.

John the Baptist was the messenger sent by God to announce that the Saviour was coming.

I guess none of them knew exactly who to look for.

Would he be a mighty King riding a great horse followed by an army?

Would he look like an angel or a super hero.

Only Mary knew that he was coming as a tiny, helpless new born baby.

Jesus told us to wait too.

He promised that his kingdom will come one day and on that day he will come back down to earth heaven.

That’s what he said in our Gospel today.

“At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.”

So what is it like to wait for someone?

I’m sure that at some time you will have a time to wait for someone you love.

Sometimes we wait in fear!

Have they got lost?

Has something happened to them?

Sometimes we long for someone to come.

Please hurry up!

In a way it’s the same for waiting for Jesus.

Perhaps that’s what it’s like for all those who wait for Jesus.

That’s how it is for us today.

We know Jesus will come back.

He tells us to keep awake.

To be ready!

We also wait for God in our daily lives.

When we take our problems and our worries to him.

That’s when we speak to him in prayer.

Praying is all about putting those things that we are concerned about, that frighten us, that worry us, into God’s hands.

Then we wait!

We wait in hope, in fear, with constant longing, in readiness and in faith.

By praying we can do what today’s gospel tells us all to do.

Wait, be alert, be ready for God.

I wonder, how many of us are waiting for something today?

A card and a message from someone you love?

Maybe you are waiting for an operation?

Are you waiting to find a new job or even a new home?

Or are you just hanging on hoping that someone or something in our lives will get better?

Perhaps Advent is good time to remember the people who are waiting today?

The message from today’s gospel is that we should always be ready and waiting for God.

Perhaps our prayers in Advent should be a sign of our readiness?

This is time when we prepare for a very special guest.

When I was growing up we always had the table set with the best cover and the best crockery because you never knew who would come round.

Just in case!!

(That’s what people did in those days!)

Our Communion Table is very much like that.

Because that is where we are all invited to gather round to share the bread and wine and to receive his blessing.

We cover it with our best cloth.

We bring the fruits and produce of God’s earth to the table.

We meet under the sign of the cross – the sign of God’s love for us.

At our table prepared for our communion we wait for God.

At this time we wait for the time we will be able to gather round our table as a family once again reunited.

May you know the joys and the anticipation of this season of Advent.

Revd Stephen

The Creed  

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is,
seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven,
was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.

Prayers of Intercession  (sit or kneel). by Richard Kay

Let us pray for the Church and the World, and let us thank God for his goodness.

We pray for people in Rastrick, this week in New Hey Road, New Road Square, Regent Close, Spout Hill, Sage Grove, for the pupils and staff who make up Woodhouse School, and for The Space @ Field Lane, and finally for The Care Homes in Rastrick - for the residents who are without visits from their families  and for the staff who look after them day by day. May they be kept clear of the Covid virus, and may the time come soon when their loved ones can once more visit.

Lord have mercy.   Hear our prayer.

Lord , we pray for those who are suffering from illness whether physical of spiritual. Give them comfort in their time of suffering and may your healing power be upon them.

Lord have mercy.   Hear our prayer.

Lord, we remember before you those who have recently died, Grant them release from their suffering and bring them into your eternal kingdom in the place you have prepared for them

Lord have mercy.   Hear our prayer.

Keep us, good Lord, under the shadow of your mercy in this time of uncertainty and distress. Sustain and support the anxious and fearful, and lift up all who are brought low; that we may rejoice in your comfort knowing that nothing can separate us from your love in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Merciful Father,

accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.

The Liturgy of the Sacrament

The Peace  (stand)

May the God of peace make you completely holy, ready for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The peace of the Lord be always with you.

And also with you.

Let us offer one another a sign of God’s peace.

We greet each other saying, “The peace of the Lord be with you.”

As our Saviour taught us, so we pray

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.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever. 
Amen.

Prayer after communion

The Blessing and Dismissal

Christ the Sun of Righteousness shine upon you, 

scatter the darkness from before your path, 

and make you ready to meet him when he comes in glory;

and the blessing of God almighty,

the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

be among you and remain with you always.

Amen.

FINAL HYMN  Christ, whose glory fills the skies

Charles Wesley (1707-88)

Tune : Ratisbon by William Henry Havergal

Performed by Thomas Edward Morgan, Music Director of St. John's Episcopal Church, Boulder.

1 Christ, whose glory fills the skies,
Christ, the true, the only Light,
Sun of Righteousness, arise,
triumph o'er the shades of night;
Dayspring from on high, be near;
Daystar, in my heart appear.

2 Dark and cheerless is the morn
unaccompanied by thee;
joyless is the day's return
'til thy mercy's beams I see;
'til they inward light impart,
glad my eyes, and warm my heart.

3 Visit, then, this soul of mine;
pierce the gloom of sin and grief;
fill me, Radiancy divine;
scatter all my unbelief;
more and more thyself display,
shining to the perfect day.

As we await the coming of our Saviour

go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

In the name of Christ.  Amen.

Organ Postlude : Wachet auf  J.S. Bach

organist Wolfgang Zere on October 21st 2014 at St Catherine's Church, Hamburg.