Sunday Service for 20 December 2020, fourth Sunday of Advent

Worship for 20 December 2020, 4th Sunday of Advent
Prepared by the Rev. Teri Peterson, Gourock St John’s
Email: tpeterson (at) churchofscotland (dot) org (dot) uk

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Hymn #303: It Came Upon the Midnight Clear

 
Reading, Sermon, Prayers

Hymn: My Soul Cries Out With A Joyful Shout (Canticle of the Turning)

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Lighting the Fourth Advent Candle

In the darkest times we cannot see to make our way…
our eyes adjust, but still everything is shadowed and grey.
We reach out, desperate
for comfort
for balance
for the familiar
for hope
In the darkest times,
even a faltering light can be just enough:
the flame flickers, twinkles, dances—and it is dazzling!
For in its light, we see light: God in our midst.

~Candle is lit~

However impossible it seems,
God’s promise will be fulfilled —
and blessed is the one who sees the truth of God’s kingdom in our midst.
Come, O come, Emmanuel, God with us, and we will rejoice.

Reading: Luke 1.46-56
Today we pick up right where we left off last week, with Mary visiting her relative Elizabeth. They’re both pregnant and Elizabeth has blessed Mary for her trust in God’s word to her. I’m reading from the gospel according to Luke, chapter 1, beginning at verse 46, from the New Revised Standard Version.

And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
And Mary remained with her for about three months and then returned to her home.

For the word of God in scripture,
For the word of God among us,
For the word of God within us,
Thanks be to God.

Sermon: Mary Sings

This week I read a startling news article. Did you know that 2020 is the year that human-made things literally outweighed nature? This is the year that all the stuff we have created — our built environment of concrete and metal and glass, machinery, waste, everything we own — all of that now weighs more than all the entire biomass of the earth. Plastic alone weighs more than all the animals on land and sea! And the vast majority of that mass has been created since the second World War.

Reading about this definitely gave me pause when I was shopping for Christmas gifts. How can we celebrate the Christ who turns everything upside down and at the same time not add to this heavy footprint on God’s beloved creation?

I also had Mary’s song at the front of my mind as I was reading about the study titled “poverty linked to higher risk of Covid death” showing that those living in poorer health board areas of Scotland were more likely to have severe cases of Covid requiring intensive care, and because fewer critical care beds were available in those areas, people in economically deprived areas are more likely to die. We’ve seen the effects of that in Inverclyde through this pandemic, and the statistics nationwide bear out that more poor and disadvantaged people are dying—both from Covid and from other things going untreated as the health service tries to cope.

And again, the news this week is full of the epidemic of drug misuse in Scotland, and here in Inverclyde a rising rate of drug use and deaths. Of course we know that drugs and deprivation go hand in hand, so it shouldn’t be a surprise to us.

Into the middle of this reality, where hope seems impossible, Mary sings.

Like all of us, she begins from her own personal experience. Though she was not a person of power or status or wealth, just a poor teenager in an out-of-the-way town in an occupied land, God noticed her. God loved her. God called her. And she sang of her gratitude, her awe and wonder, her praise. This thing that God had done — called her to be a prophet and the mother of the Messiah — would not be easy, yet she said that God had done great things for her! She may have been scared, as anyone in her position would be, but her confidence in God’s goodness was enough to raise her voice.

And then, halfway through, Mary recognises that her own personal experience, her own little life that has been unremarkable, is also part of something bigger. Something that God has been doing for a long time, and will continue to do through her and her son, and on into the future: upend the systems of this world and make them look more like the kingdom of God.

From generation to generation, God works with power and mercy, through the lowliest and the marginalised, to fulfil the promise that changes everything: scatters the proud, brings down the powerful, and sends the rich away empty, while lifting up the lowly and filling the hungry with good things.

This is the Word that becomes flesh in Jesus. This is the promise that Mary is bearing in her body, the fruit of her faithfulness. This is who God is and what God does — from the earliest days of scripture to the very end of the book and beyond.

I wonder how many of us would join Mary in praising God for these things … given that we are far more likely to be the proud, powerful, and rich in this scenario? We are, globally speaking, at the top of this system that God is turning upside down. We are the ones whose lifestyles have created a situation where our stuff weighs down God’s creation. We are the ones who stand at arms length from the realities of deprivation and wring our hands and make a donation here and there and pray for something to change.

We should be careful what we pray for, because the song Mary sings is definitely about change. It’s about an upending of a system that is, frankly, immoral and against the values of God’s kingdom. Which is not to say that those of us who benefit from the system are bad, but rather that the entire system is. We can’t even claim that it’s broken, because the reality is that it’s working exactly as it’s been designed — to privilege the few at the expense of the many, to lift up some on the backs of others. And that system is exactly what God in the flesh will challenge, insisting on valuing every person as a beloved child of God, deserving of enough to eat and inclusion in the community and compassionate care…and that challenge is what will get him killed by the powers that do not want to be scattered or sent away empty. But the Mighty One who looks with favour on Mary will not be thwarted. Not this time, not ever. This is a promise that cannot be broken, and God will find a way to fulfil it, even if it means breaking the power of death to do it.

If this is what God is doing in Christ, then we who are called the Body of Christ had better be ready to be a part of it. If we celebrate Christmas and then nothing is different afterwards, we haven’t celebrated the Messiah that Mary is singing about today. Her words echo through the generations calling us to the kind of impossible Christmas that changes the world. What does the Word of God Incarnate have to say to those who live in such dire poverty that drugs seem the only comfort? Or to those who get richer while the poor get poorer? What does the community of those who love Mary’s son have to say to those who care more about their ability to shelter money in tax havens than about the lack of critical care beds in our hospital? How does the magnificat sound to the earth that groans under the weight of our economy’s need for constant consumption?

I’m sure I’m not alone in wishing Christmas was just about celebrating a birth and then getting back to normal life, just like any other birthday party. But what God is doing in Christ is saving the earth and all that is in it, even if that means saving us from ourselves. This is an act of love so monumental that it turns everything upside down. Who are we to wish that God would…what, love us a little less so we could go on as before? It’s impossible for God to do anything but love, and to fulfil promises, and this is the promise that makes Mary rejoice and that hopefully brings us the same kind of joyful commitment to God’s call that we, too, will be willing to bear God’s word in our bodies—and into the world that is desperate for the good news to be more than just pretty words or songs or cards or presents.

May it be so. Amen.

Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer
God who has created and is creating,
through all of history you have been making things new.
Your vision of justice and peace, compassion and community,
has always been and will always be.
Remember your mercy, O God,
and fulfil your promise of new life for all.

In this season when we prepare for your coming among us in the flesh,
we pray for all who cannot afford to wait any longer for justice —
for those yearning for peace;
for those facing holidays with an empty stomach;
for those whose physical and mental health is suffering;
for those whose Christmas list asks only for a safe place to call home.
Remember your mercy, O God,
and fulfil your promise of new life for all.

We pray too for those at the other end of the Magnificat —
for the rich, that they may learn true generosity;
for the full, that they may know the gift of emptying;
for the powerful, that they may use their position to do justice;
for the proud, that they may experience wonder and extend grace.
Remember your mercy, O God,
and fulfil your promise of new life for all.

We give you thanks, living God,
for your faithful people who have taught us your way.
For those who have recognised your work in our lives,
offering encouragement and blessing when we most needed it.
We thank you for friendship unconfined by generation,
for voices that cause our spirits to leap,
for the family of faith that nudges us to the next step on your path.
Remember your mercy, O God,
and fulfil your promise of new life for all.

Nothing will be impossible with you,
and so we ask for the blessing of trust that we might follow wherever you lead,
in the name of the One who is making all things new, Jesus the Christ,
who taught us to pray together
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 forever.
Amen.

Benediction
Go into your week committed to God’s call, to bear the word of God into a world that needs the good news to be lived and enacted by us all. And as you go, may the Spirit of God go above you to watch over you; may the Spirit of God go beside you to be your companion; may the Spirit of God go before you to show you the way and behind you to push you into places you might not go alone; and may the Spirit of God go within you, to remind you that you are loved more deeply than you can possibly imagine. May the fire of God’s love burn brightly in you, and through you into the world. Go in peace. Amen.

Announcements

* If you would like to attend in-person worship in the sanctuary, you will need to book a place as we can only safely accommodate 35 people at a time under current distancing guidelines. Please phone Cameron (630879) on a Friday morning between 10-12 or Anne Love (07904 617283) on a Saturday morning between 10-12 to book in for that Sunday. If we reach our capacity, you’ll be given the first seats the following week.
Inside the church: face coverings must be worn, you may give your offering at the door rather than by passing it through the rows, we will ask you to sit in a particular seat to ensure everyone’s safety as there is a one-way system in place, and the service will be around half an hour with no singing but with instrumental music. Families are welcome, and children should stay in the service for the whole half hour — there will be a children’s time for them though! If you’ve been out of the area in the past 2 weeks, or if you have any symptoms that could be covid, please plan to worship online rather than in person.
If the government Tiers or regulations change, that could affect our services. Should that happen, we will contact everyone who is booked in for a service, and will use all our regular communication channels to advise of any new restrictions or procedures or plans.

* Online and audio recording-by-phone (call 01475 270037 to listen to the service) worship will continue, and the print version will continue to be available on request.

* The theme for Advent is “The Blessings of an (Im)possible Christmas.” You may want to have a candle handy when you worship at home during Advent, so you can join in the Advent Candle Lighting.
In addition, there is a daily devotional for Advent, written by members of the congregation. Print copies are available, and it is also posted each day on our Facebook page.
Teri will be doing a “carol calendar” throughout Advent via Facebook Live, too!

Christmas Services:
We will have online services for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the first Sunday of Christmas (27 December, led by the Moderator of the General Assembly, no in-person worship that day).

We will also have an in-person Christmas Eve service at 7pm, with all the usual protocols in place — please book by phoning/texting/emailing Teri no later than 21 December (manse: 632143, mobile 07549866888, email tpeterson@churchofscotland.org.uk).

* Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Youtube, and to sign up for our email devotions! Midweek you can watch Wine and the Word on Youtube, pray with video devotions on Facebook, and consider a new angle on something with a devotional email. Feel free to share with your friends, too!

The Boys Brigade is again meeting in the large hall — if you know any boys from P1 – S6 who would like to explore what it’s all about, please contact Alan Aitken: alanandrewaitken at gmail dot com. There are spaces available in all sections (Junior Section on Mondays at 7pm, Anchor Boys on Tuesdays at 5:30pm, Company Section on Fridays at 7:30pm). The Guides are working on their plans and hope to start up after Christmas. For information, contact Gillian Dick: gndick at hotmail dot com.

No other organisations or groups are currently using our halls, so that we have time to adequately clean and ensure the space is safe for everyone. This will be reviewed after Christmas.

The Kirk now has online giving! If you have not already set up a standing order in order to facilitate your spiritual discipline of giving, or if you would like to make an extra gift to support the ministry St. John’s does in our parish, you can give online. If you would like to set up a standing order, please contact Peter Bennett, our treasurer, or Teri and she can give you his details. You can also send your envelopes to the church by post or with a neighbour who is coming to in-person worship and we will ensure they are received. Remember: no one is coming to your door to collect your envelopes, so please stay safe!