For Sunday, December 15, 2024,
Readings: Zephaniah 3:14-20, First Song of Isaiah/Canticle 9,
Philippians 4:4-7, Luke 3:7-18
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 our Sunday of Rejoicing. In an older tradition, it was "Gaudete
Sunday” [gow-day-tay] from the Latin for rejoice. 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 the 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 war, 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 as a faith-filled person. 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 Advent 3 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 thought and
action 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 again for the birth of our Christ, that we turn away from the tide of hatred and division around us. Guide us to inspire all who design or impose their political pathways on this world, this nation, and this community, to turn toward justice, compassion, 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, continually revive our desire to bear good, worthy, and faith-filled fruit in our souls. Turn us always to You, that we may receive and experience the depth of Your love for us with each and every breath we are given and to give, in turn, to all we meet. 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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