Blessings of the
Advent Wreath, lighting the first candle
Presider: Our help is in the name of
our God.
All: Who made all of creation, our heavens and
earth.
(Raising our hands
we bless the wreath)
All; Loving
God,
we praise you for your Son, Jesus our Cosmic Christ:
Jesus is
Emmanuel, the hope of the peoples,
Jesus is your wisdom that teaches and
guides us,
Jesus is your Presence in the peoples of every nation.
Loving
God,
let your blessing come upon us
as we light the candles of our wreath
this Advent.
May the wreath and its light
be a sign of Christ’s promise to
bring us to the fullness of our humanity.
May Jesus come quickly and not
delay. Amen.
(We light the first
candle)
When we look at the
first candle, we remember God’s promise. God takes care of God’s people. We
know the Gospel witness helps us understand that God loves us and brings peace.
This gives us hope. We anticipate again the birth of the baby Jesus within us
remembering that Jesus helps us know God’s love for us.
As the candle is
lit we pray
All: Loving God,
we thank you for your son Jesus. Help us to live each day, allowing you to form
us in a way that brings forth your kindom on earth in our time and place.
Amen.
Opening Song: #38
O come, O come Emmanuel: Verses 1, 2, 7
Opening
Prayer
All:
Nurturing
God, you became
human in Jesus and showed us how to live life fully. You know what it means to
laugh and cry, to walk and talk, to love and be loved. We know that your
mothering presence is always with us. May we, like Mary, rejoice as we give
birth to God within us, and may we give birth to God in everything we say and
do. Amen.
Presider: Let us reflect on the
areas in our lives where we need healing and reconciliation
(pause for a
few moments)
(Extend hands
and recite Prayer of
Healing)
ALL: God
our Father-Mother of
mercies, you
reconcile
all
creation
into One
through the
birth,
death and
resurrection of Jesus.
Loving Creator
send the Holy Spirit
upon us for
our healing.
Through the
ministry of the People of God
may
you receive the
peace of healing and reconciliation in the name of
our Loving
God and of Jesus
our
Brother, and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
LITURGY OF THE
WORD
First
Reading: Jeremiah
33:14-16
…The Word of God. All: Thanks be to God.
Psalm
Response Psalm 25 #755 “To you, O God, I lift up my soul.”
Second
Reading
1 Thessalonians
3:12-4:2
…The Word of God. All: Thanks be to God.
Gospel
Acclamation: Alleluia
(sung)
Gospel:
Luke 21:25:-28,
34-36
…The Good News of our
salvation. ALL: Glory
and praise to you
our Brother Jesus Christ.
Dialog homily
Starter
Michael Morewood:
“Joy to the
world!” we Christians sing at Christmas. But what if we are joyful for the
wrong reason? What if the wrong reason actually limits the joy we should be
celebrating?
There is
something not quite right with our traditional understanding of Christmas. We
have been taught that we are celebrating God coming into our world in the birth
of this child, and that sentence highlights the problem.
It is time to
reflect on what “coming into” suggests. For most of my life I understood
Christmas in terms of a God who had disconnected from humanity, who lived in the
heavens and sent His Son down from to take on human form in the baby Jesus.
There was a “sending” and a “coming into” from outside the earthly
realm.
I no longer
imagine “God” in that way. I now believe that everything that exists unfolds
with a Divine Presence, always and everywhere active. There is no “elsewhere”
with this Presence. There is no disconnection from this Presence. The Presence
always has been, is now, and always will be, sustaining everything in
existence.
Here on this
wonderful planet, where the conditions are ideal for life to evolve, this
presence came to magnificent expression as nowhere else in the known universe.
Here, this Presence came to expression in the human, a life form capable of
wonder, creativity, love, compassion, appreciation and communion. Here, the
Divine Presence took on human form.
This is our true
story, It is the story Jesus knew well because it was embedded in hi own human
reality. It is the story he told. It is the story he desperately wanted people
to hear because he knew it had the power to change their lives.
Christianity,
unfortunately, took its eyes and ears away from the story Jesus told, in favor
of another story about disconnection from a God in heaven and that only Jesus
could bridge the gap between heaven and earth.
For Jesus, there
was no gap. That was not the story he told. He wanted people to see the
connection between living in love and intimacy with the Divine Presence. He
wanted to see God’s Presence clearly established on earth through belief that
all people carried this Presence in their lives.
Rather than
celebrating God coming into our world uniquely in this baby, let us celebrate
the Divine Presence in every baby, in each of us. Let us look around our
Christmas gathering of family and friends and acknowledge that each person here
bears the same reality we acknowledge in Jesus. We are all human expressions of
the Divine Presence.
Joy to the
world, indeed, if people could hear such a story about Jesus and about
themselves!
(From Corpus Reports Nov/Dec 2015: p 43)
What is my understanding of
Michael’s reflection?
What does this reflection speak to
my heart?
After reflecting on the reading by
Michael Morewood how might I prepare to celebrate Advent and Christmas
differently this year?
“Namaste”
a
translation “My divine soul recognizes the divine soul in you” is very much in
keeping with Hindu belief. The literal translation is “I bow to you.”
Profession of
Faith:
ALL: We believe
in God who is creator and nurturer of all. We believe in Jesus, the Christ, who
is our love, our hope, and our light. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the breath
of Wisdom Sophia, who energizes and guides us to build caring communities and to
challenge injustices. We believe in the communion of saints our heavenly
friends, who support us on life’s journey. We believe in the partnership and
equality of women and men in our church and world. We believe that
all are
one in
the community of
creation. We believe that
God who calls us to live fully, love tenderly, and serve generously.
Amen.
Prayers of the
People of God
Presider:
O God, you gave us Jesus to teach us
that you hear the cry of those who are poor and those in need. Give us hearts
of flesh that we may respond with compassion.
Response:
Loving God
within, hear
us.
Presider:
O God, you reached out to lepers and
healed them; help us to embrace the outcasts of our society. Response:
Loving God
within, hear
us.
Presider:
Jesus, you talked with the Samaritan woman and
healed the child of the Canaanite woman; teach us to cross the thresholds of
prejudice. R.
Presider:
For those who suffer
from war, unemployment,
addictions and despair may they
experience the mothering comfort of
God in their lives, we pray. R.
(Other
Intentions)
PREPARATION OF
THE GIFTS
Offertory
Song: "Prepare Ye
the Way of Our
God," to melody from
Godspell
Presider:
Blessed are you, God of evolving existence; past, present
and future, through your goodness we have
bread, wine, all of creation,
our own faith and lives to
offer as an acceptable gift of our
worship. Through this sacred meal may we
become your new creation knowing Jesus dwells in the center
of our souls.
ALL: Blessed be
God forever.
Presider:
God is with you.
ALL: and also with you.
Presider:
May we lift up our
hearts. ALL: We lift them up to God.
EUCHARISTIC
PRAYER
Voice One:
Mother-Father,
you bring forth all
creation from your loving energy of
evolution. Lover of
all humanity in every
age, we praise you and leap for joy in
your Presence.
O Holy One of ancient Israel, you
revealed yourself in Mary's womb, in a shining star, in humble shepherds, in a
baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. You embrace us with infinite love in every
situation and relationship. You dwell in the depths of our
hearts.
We invite you this day
to deepen our awareness of your
boundless love as we gather around the table of
abundant life. With grateful
hearts, we proclaim your
praise:
ALL:
We are holy,
holy, holy…we are whole. I am holy, holy, holy…I am whole; you are holy, holy,
holy…you are whole; We are holy, holy, holy…we are whole.
Voice Two:
Praise to you, all-giving God, born
of Mary. You are born of the body
and blood of woman. We glorify you, nurturing God for the dawning of the sacred
promise of God's Anointed, fulfilled in Jesus the
Christ.
We celebrate the birth of Jesus, our
newborn Emmanuel who came to give us fullness of life. During this holy season
we share the bread of awakening
consciousness and lift the cup of
thanksgiving.
All:
Come
Holy Spirit deepen your Presence within us and
in
these gifts
of bread and wine, that they may become the Body of Christ
(please all
extend hands as we recite the consecration
together)
Presider:
As Jesus gave birth to the Christian Covenant,
he took bread, gave thanks, broke the bread, and shared it with all those
present saying:
ALL: Take this
all of you and eat it. This is my body.
Presider:
Then Jesus took
a cup of wine, blessed you Loving God;
shared the cup with his family, friends
and disciples saying:
ALL: Take this
all of you and drink from the cup of the
covenant, poured out for you and for everyone. Do this in memory of me.
Presider:
Let us proclaim the sacred presence of our nurturing God:
ALL: Christ, by
your life, death
and rising, you have
blessed us with
truth and abundance that will never end.
Second
Invocation of the Holy Spirit:
(placing
hands on each other's shoulder)
All:
God of all people,
You call us "beloved" give
us courage to accept your faith in us and to live your compassion in our world.
Continue
to infuse us with Sophia, Holy Wisdom, that we may
serve you in the last and the least.
Voice Three:
As we wait with joyful hearts for
the fulfillment of your loving presence in
our lives, we remember the prophet,martyrs and
saints who have gone before us: Deborah,
Isaiah, Mary of Magdala, Peter, Martha, Bishop Oscar Romero, Ita Ford,
Maura Clark, Jean Donovan
and all those we remember as heros
and heroines in our church who inspire us today
(Community names
mentors whom they want to remember, living and dead.)
Voice Four:
God of our dreams,
may we give birth to the Word Made
Flesh in us everyday of our lives. May we give birth to the church of
Your dreams
and hopes. May we give birth to a deep reverence for earth and live in harmony
with all creatures on the
earth.
ALL: Through
Christ, with Christ, in Christ, all praise and glory are yours,
Holy
God, through the
power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Prayer of
Jesus:
All:
Our Father and Mother
...
The Sign of
Peace: Presider:
Let us join our hearts praying for peace
in our world for all people and our planet earth, as we sing first the words,
and then add gestures. .
Peace before us,
Peace behind us, Peace under our feet, Peace within us, Peace over us, Let all
around us be Peace
LITANY FOR THE
BREAKING OF BREAD
ALL: Loving God, You call us to speak truth to power,
grant us
courage.
Loving God, You
call us to live the Gospel of peace and justice, grant us
wisdom. Loving God,
You call us to be Your presence in the world grant us
peace.
Presider:
This is Jesus, Emmanuel, God within us, loving us
forever. All are invited to partake of this
sacred banquet of love. ALL: Jesus you make
us worthy to receive you and become your
compassion for others. We
are the Body of Christ.
Presider:
(lift up the bread and
wine)
Let us share the Body of Christ with
the Body of Christ! ALL:
Amen.
COMMUNION Song When all
have returned to their seats.
You are the face
of God, I hold you in my heart,
You are part of
me; You are the face of God.
You are the face
of God, I hold you in my heart, You are my family; You are the face of God.
PRAYER AFTER
COMMUNION
Presider:
God of new beginnings and unending
evolution, thank you for nourishing us
through our worship as your
community. May
your tender
Presence
continue to open our hearts to the daily
miracles of life that surround us each day.
We pray through
Emmanuel, God-with-us. ALL:
Amen.
Individual
prayers of thanksgiving, last thoughts
Announcements
Introduction of
visitors
CONCLUDING
RITE-please
stand
Presider: Our Loving
God is with
you.
ALL: and also
with you.
BLESSING
(everyone please
extend your hands in mutual blessing)
ALL: May our
loving
God fill
you with radiant
joy through out this
Advent season.
May our liberating
God fill you with deep peace, and
may our
compassionate God bless
you always with
strength to
serve those who are
broken and excluded. Amen.
DISMISSAL
Presider:
Let us birth Christ anew in our hearts and our world today. Let us
go in the peace of
Christ to continue our service in and for
the world. ALL: Thanks be to God.
Closing Song:
#584 They’ll Know we are Christians. Please
sing “our God” for “the Lord” Verses 1, 2, 3.
The sun does not
demand a plant to grow more quickly than it
should,
it simply shines
and allows the plant to soak in the rays that it gives. So should our love be,
never forcing but always radiating, allowing growth to happen in
time
.~~ T.B.
LaBerge
About the Advent
Wreath
The color green symbolizes
life
The evergreen on the wreath reminds
us that God’s love for us never changes.
The wreath is a circle because a
circle has no beginning and no end. The circle means our life with God just
keeps going; God loves us and we should always love
God.
The four candles represent the four
weeks of Advent.
Three of the candles are violet
which represent our failures in living fully as
Christians
The pink candle which is lit on
Laetare (to rejoice) Sunday, the third week of Advent means
joy or happiness and reminds us that Jesus will soon be born anew in our hearts
at Christmas.
Taize Chant before
liturgy
1st
Sunday of Advent
THE MORE I SEEK YOU by KARI
JOBE
The more I seek You
The more I find You
The more I find You
The more I love You
Chorus:
I wanna sit at your feet
Drink from the cup in Your hands
Lay back against You and breathe
Feel Your heart beat
This love is so deep
It's more than I can stand
I melt in Your peace
It's
overwhelming
