Prayers of the People: All Stirred Up! ~ 3rd Sunday of Advent '21 Yr C

For Sunday, December 12, 3^rd Sunday of Advent, Readings: Zephaniah 3:14-20, First Song of Isaiah/Canticle 9, Philippians 4:4-7, Luke 3:7-18

    The Lord, your God, is in your midst...he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love. [Zephaniah 3:17]

   Surely it is God who saves me; I will trust in him and not be afraid…the Lord is my stronghold and my sure defense, and he will be my Savior... [Canticle 9/Isaiah 12:2, 5]

   Rejoice in the Lord always…The Lord is near. Do not worry...And the peace of God, that passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. [Philippians 4:6]

   Bear fruits worthy of repentance…One who is more powerful than I is coming…He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. [Luke 3:8a, 16b,c]

      In the midst of this otherwise reverently penitential Advent, our season of waiting for the Nativity of Jesus, we come to the Sunday of Rejoicing. The rose candle, the symbol of joy, will be lighted as a sign of our call to be joyous in the nearness of God, in the coming of Christ. This is time to experience the excitement that in Christ we will be baptized with the Holy Spirit and the fire to spark our faith into action. Paul, in this portion of his letter to the Philippians is quite specific by saying Do not worry about anything, because the Lord is near with the peace that surpasses all understanding. It’s hardly easy to relax and not worry in a world seemingly mad with fear and anger, division and hate. Yet all the readings for today exhort us to rejoice, exult, and sing ~ even John the Baptizer, while issuing some serious warnings ~ proclaimed the good news to the people about the One who is coming. Paul did believe, for a while, that he and his followers would know the full Second Coming of Christ in their time. Succeeding generations through millennia have felt the same yet, of course, we do not know when it will happen, only that our faith assures us that it will happen.

     While enjoying the joy, we must also take the Baptizer’s message to heart and take some prayerful time to contemplate our sins. That winnowing fork of Jesus, John speaks of, will gather the faithful but send the chaff that doesn't bear good fruit ~ the unrepentant ~ to burn with unquenchable fire. As I race to hang the stockings with care, I need to consider how am I actually living into the faith that I claim? From these readings it sounds as if my murmurs of familiar words on Sunday morning aren’t quite enough to keep me out of that burning refuse. Church of England Bishop John R.H. Moorman wrote in The Path to Glory in 1960:

“Perhaps the greatest obstacle to reformation of life is fear of what other people will think. If we start to pray, will they think we are getting pious? If we try to be honest, will they think us fussy? If we show forgiveness, shall we be thought weak? And so on. But the ‘baptism of repentance’ demands courage. It is part of the testing and the judgment which is going on all the time in the human soul.”

    Although this is the third Sunday of Advent, it’s a fresh, new moment in time. A chance to begin again, to discover that our God, our Christ, our Holy Spirit is truly in our midst, present, teaching, renewing us in love, and filling us with holy fire. Let us turn our focus toward our God ~ that is, to bear fruits worthy of repentance ~ to refresh our minds and hearts by worship, praise, and prayer. It is time to reconcile who we are in faith with who we want to become. What must I do differently to be thankful, joyful, and live faithfully? This is the time to look through rose-colored glasses to see the joy that lights up the darkness.

      In the Episcopal Tradition, this Sunday is nicknamed “Stir Up Sunday” which comes from the Opening Collect in the Liturgy: “Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever.”

     Together in faith we become a spiritual orchard bearing only good fruit, gathered by Christ, our Savior, stirred up in Faith, and brought Home. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice! [Philippians 4:4]

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
 
Leader:  ~ O God, our Stronghold, stir up our faith that our trust in You will free us from fear and worry. Renew us by Your love as we give You thanks with great rejoicing, exalting Your name by every part of our lives.
 
                                                     O Lord, our Sure Defense              
RESPONSE:                         Guard our hearts and minds in Christ         
 
~ O God, our Stronghold, infuse us with such joy that we may turn the tide of hatred and division into the calm waters of Your peace. Guide us to inspire all who design or impose their political pathways on this world, this nation, and this community, toward compassion, justice, and mercy. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
 
                                                      O Lord, our Sure Defense
                                                      Guard our hearts and minds in Christ         
 
~ O God, our Stronghold, restore health and hope for all afflicted with serious illness, addiction, or despair, and strengthen all who give them love and support. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need… add your own petitions
 
                                                      O Lord, our Sure Defense
                                                      Guard our hearts and minds in Christ         
 
~ O God, our Stronghold, soothe the grieving with the comfort of knowing that You have gathered those we love into the blissful splendor Your Eternal Home. We pray especially for: add your own petitions 
 
                                                      O Lord, our Sure Defense
                                                      Guard our hearts and minds in Christ         
 
~  O God, our Stronghold, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently… add your own petitions
 
                                                      O Lord, our Sure Defense
                                                      Guard our hearts and minds in Christ         
             
~ O God, our Stronghold, grant special grace and enduring eagerness to all anointed to serve You in Your Church, as they draw us to You on our journey to salvation. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
 
                                                       O Lord, our Sure Defense
                                                       Guard our hearts and minds in Christ         
             
 
The Celebrant adds:  Most Holy God Who is always in our midst, revive our desire to bear good, worthy, and faith-filled fruit in our souls. Turn us always in Your direction, that we may receive and experience the depth of Your peace that passes all understanding. We ask through the Good News of Jesus our Christ; and the Holy Spirit, the Fire of our faith; who together with You reign as One God, in glory, now and forever.  Amen.

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