Advent
Prayers of Approach
God of love, as we begin this season of Advent, a season of watching and waiting, fill us with your love that we might be bearers of love to others.
God of hope, as we begin this season of Advent, a season of watching and waiting, fill us with your hope that we might be bearers of hope to others.
As we take our first steps on the Advent journey we take them with you, and for you; with one another, and for one another; and with Christians around the world. We follow the path of those who have gone before us, refreshing it for those who will come after us, and trusting you every step of the way, hopefully and joyfully.
Abundant God, Saviour Christ, life-giving Spirit, we praise you that each day and new season offers a fresh beginning, full of opportunity, hope and promise. May our love for you and those around us increase day-by-day; may your grace fill us and those around us more deeply; and may your kingdom come in us and through us. Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we praise you. Amen.
Hymn O come, O come, Emmanuel (R&S 126)
Readings: Jeremiah 33:14-16
Luke 21:25-36
Introduction
In today’s readings Jeremiah is addressing the bleak experiences of the people in the 6th century BC. Jerusalem and the temple have been destroyed and its leaders and many of the people exiled to Babylon. Into this situation Jeremiah speaks a message of hope using the image of a branch as a symbol of that hope. A branch grows naturally as a hopeful beginning. But Israel’s hope comes in God’s trustworthy promise.
On the first Sunday of Advent, Jesus speaks of signs that the kingdom of God is near. We are to be alert to them so that we are not caught out unawares. At first glance this passage can seem full of big, threatening images. Yet, if we keep reading, we see the signs of hope: the buds on the tree heralding summer; the signs of God’s kingdom; and the encouragement to ‘raise your heads’. Sometimes it can be hard to see the joy that awaits, that will come…in time. But in tough times, we need to look for those little signs of hope.
The season of Advent raises questions about hope. What does it look like? Where might we find it? How might we share it? As we start Advent, we explore the theme of hopeful beginnings as we begin to look toward the coming of Jesus at Christmas.
Hymn Lo He comes, with clouds descending (R&S 656)
Sermon
The season of Advent could be summed up in three words – it is a time of watching, waiting and hoping. For us in the northern hemisphere this is the darkest time of the year, it is a time to huddle round firesides (or television in the warmth of our central heating) and wait for the lengthening of days, the return of the light, and spring and summer. We may remind ourselves too of times when darkness turned to light both spiritually and metaphorically as well as physically, when bad times turned to good.
Remembering and reflecting on the past can often give us hope for the future. Hope like that expressed by Jeremiah during a time of persecution – hope that justice is coming; hope like that in the story told by Luke when Jesus uses the new shoots on a fig tree in spring to describe the hope and joy of new beginnings; hope like that expressed when we light the first of our Advent candles – a reminder that a light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not, and never will, overcome it.
And yet Advent Sunday brings us face to face with our worst nightmares. ‘Fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world’ still haunts us. Climate change, we have been warned, will bring ‘distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves’. Changing weather
patterns bring drought or floods resulting in famine, extreme weather brings devastation. Political, ideological and religious differences lead to civil unrest, war and terrorism. We see this daily as we watch images from Gaza, Israel, Lebanon and Syria, and still from the Ukraine. Jeremiah and Luke both suggest apocalyptic events that will change the world as it has been known, and they emphasise that this will happen at a given moment in time that is fast approaching.
The passage from Jeremiah begins, ‘the days are surely coming, says the Lord…’ and though they promise better times to come sometimes we feel that we have been waiting too long and it is hard to be patient when you are waiting for something you really want. Jesus’ words seem particularly bleak and he is looking way ahead to a future that is terribly troubled. His words about the signs that will be visited upon the world when the powers of heaven are shaken would induce deep fear in most people, but Jesus tells his followers to respond by standing up and raising their heads. This is a call to action, not as a target, but as a beacon of hope.
While others may ‘faint from fear’, Jesus calls his listeners, and us, to a decisive response: Surely this would make them targets? Or is it to be more like a lighthouse? Figures such as Nelson Mandela and Malala Yousafzai risked standing up and raising their heads. For a brief time they became targets for the repressive forces of this world, but ultimately they became beacons for a more hopeful future that speak across cultures and nations. What’s the difference between being a beacon of light and hope and being a target?
Each Sunday of Advent we will light another candle, and the light that holds so much promise will become stronger each week – culminating in the hope that is Christ’s birth. In dark days, we wait and watch and hope – and our hope will not be in vain.
Where do we see signs of hope?
How does prayer help us to have hope in difficult times?
How can I be a sign of hope to someone?
Hymn How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him (MP 249)
Prayers of Intercession
Lord, thank you for the signs of hope we see in the world today. Thank you that, even when things seem hopeless, with you there is always hope.
Loving God, we bring to you all those who find the winter hard; those who are not looking forward to the Christmas season; those who are being robbed of energy and life by illness or anxiety; those who have been bereaved.
Loving God, we pray for all those bowed down by fear and anxieties: for those in places of violence and war – we pray peace; for those in communities divided by race and religion – we pray understanding; for those who are hungry and cold – we pray support; for those whose health is failing – we pray courage; for those whose relationships are breaking – we pray healing; for those who have lost hope – we pray encouragement. For all people and for all creation – we pray blessings Touch their hearts with hope, and use us to bless them in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Hymn Hills of the north rejoice (STF 172)
Blessing
Lord, may we remember every day that you are our hope. Let us go out in hope to share God’s hope with others, that we might bring light into the dark corners of the world. Amen.
Prayers and other material (adapted) © Roots for Churches Ltd. Used by permission.
