Of the Father's Love Begotten: Reflections for the 4th Sunday of Advent

 

RCL Advent 4C

22 December 2024

 

Church of the Epiphany

Surrey BC

 

         Within the cultural climate of colleges and universities in the United States there are what are collectively called the ‘Greek-letter societies’.  Some of these societies are social and residential in nature; they’re generally what most people think of when they hear the words ‘fraternity’ or ‘sorority’.  Other societies are devoted to academic and professional achievement such as Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest Greek-letter society in the United States.  It began as a secret society debating the political issues of the pre-revolutionary and revolutionary British colonies on the east coast of what is now the United States.

 

         While I was an undergraduate student, I joined Alpha Tau Omega, a fraternity founded in 1865 with the goal of re-uniting young men from the North and the South after the tragedy of the American Civil War.  Its founders were Southerners and Anglicans, so there has always been a strong Christian under-pinning of the fraternity – even when the fraternity was not on the right side of the civil rights movement in the 1960’s.  Things have changed a great deal since then.

 

         Throughout my undergraduate studies I commuted between Denver, where my university is located, and Colorado Springs, the town where I grew up.  Most Sundays you would find me at my home parish, the Church of Saint Michael the Archangel, singing in the choir.  Among the members of the choir was a gentleman who was also a member of my fraternity.

 

         Every Christmas he and I waited with joyful expectation for the choir director to choose the hymn, ‘Of the Father’s Love Begotten’ – Hymn 132 in Common Praise.  During the first verse, my fraternity brother, a bass, and me, a tenor, would sing these words and share a private smile between us:

 

Of the Father’s love begotten

ere the worlds began to be,

he is Alpha and Omega,

he the source, the ending he,

of the things that are and have been,

and that future years shall see,

evermore and evermore.

 

That third line, ‘he is Alpha and Omega’, meant and still means something to those of us who belong to the fraternity.

 

         This hymn has always been one of my favourite hymns at this time of the year.  It gives me a necessary reminder that what we as Christians are celebrating at this time of the year.  We are celebrating the eternal Love that God, the Lover of creation, reveals to us in the Beloved, Christ the incarnate Word.  That eternal Love of God is so powerful that Augustine of Hippo, who was active at the same time as this hymn was first composed, could speak about the Holy Trinity as ‘God, the Lover, the Beloved and the Love’.

 

         How do we know when we are in the presence of God?  I dare to think that we know we are in the presence of God when we are aware of being touched by Love, not just any kind of love, but Love that dares to embrace those who think themselves unlovable, Love that dares to forgive those whom we think our enemies, Love that dares to risk everything for the sake of one person.  It is this Love that we see embodies in Christ the Word made flesh in Jesus of Nazareth.  It is this Love that helps us distinguish between what the Scriptures say and what the Scriptures mean. 

 

         One of the New Testament writers who explored what Love means for Christians is the writer of the 1^stLetter of John.  In these familiar words the writer reminds us of one of the core beliefs of the followers of Jesus.

 

         God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.  Love has been perfected among us in this:  that we may have boldness on the day of judgement, because as he is, so are we in this world.  There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.  We love because he first loved us.  Those who say, “I love God,” and hate a brother or sister are liars, for those who do not love a brother or sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.  The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also. (1 John 5.16b-21 NRSVue)

 

         Whenever we find ourselves feeling fear, we can reach out and call upon the Love that made all that is, seen and unseen, and that continues to uphold the whole kosmos.  Whenever we find ourselves feeling hatred, we can reach out and call upon the Love that made every human being in the divine image and gives to all of us the power to love.  Whenever we find ourselves believing that we are unlovable, we can reach out and call upon the Love that always holds us in love and who sees in us the image of the Christ, the Beloved, by whom and through whom all things were made.

 

O that birth for ever blessed,

when the virgin, full of grace,

by the Holy Ghost conceiving,

bare the Saviour of our race,

and the babe, the world’s redeemer,

first revealed his sacred face,

evermore and evermore.

 

On the Road to Bethlehem: A Service for the 4th Sunday of Advent

  

 

 

 

 

On the Road to Bethlehem The 4th Sunday of Advent

 

 

We prepare for our celebration of the Nativity by travelling ‘on the road to Bethlehem’ with the Holy Family and all those whose lives were transformed by the coming of the Holy Child.  May this time together renew your sense of joy and wonder in God’s love for us and for all of creation.

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to the Church of the Epiphany

 

We acknowledge that we gather and worship on the unceded and traditional territories of the Coast Salish peoples.  With the whole Anglican Church of Canada 

we commit ourselves to strive for justice and peace 

and reconciliation among all people 

and to respect the dignity of every human being.

 

Whether you have been a life-long Anglican 

or are new to our tradition, 

we welcome you with us this morning! 

 If you are unaccustomed to the Anglican way of worship, simply let the words, music and symbols gently speak to you.  Participate as fully as you feel comfortable in doing.  

We stand to sing and sit to listen.  

Some people kneel for prayer, 

some sit and some stand.  

Please do what you find is most helpful to your prayer.

 

You are invited to join in reciting the texts in bold text.

 

 

 

The Gathering of the Community

 

Prelude

 

The Greeting

 

Blessed are you, O Christ, Word of God,

born before time began.

Blessed are you, Sun of righteousness,

you brighten the universe with God’s love.

Blessed are you, Child of Mary,

you became a human child,

so that we can become children of God.

 

The Lighting of the Advent Wreath

 

The Collect

 

The Collect is prayed in English and then in Arabic.

 

God of promise, you look with favour on the lowly, you scatter the proud and you fill the hungry.  May we, Like Mary, respond to your call and be obedient to your will; through Jesus Christ who is to come.  Amen.

 

The Proclamation of the Word

 

The 1^st Reading:  Isaiah 52.7-10

 

A reading from the prophet Isaiah.

 

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”  Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices; together they shout for joy, for in plain sight they see the return of the Lord to Zion.  Break forth; shout together for joy, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem.  The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

 

Holy Wisdom, Holy Word.

Thanks be to God.

 

Hymn:  ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’

Common Praise #120

 

During the Hymn the Animals are carried in procession to the Crèche.

 

The 2^nd Reading:  Luke 2.1-5

 

A reading from the Gospel according to Luke.

 

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.  This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.  All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David.  He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.

 

Holy Wisdom, Holy Word.

Thanks be to God.

 

Hymn:  ‘Away in a Manger’

Common Praise #126

 

During the Hymn Mary and Joseph are carried in procession to the Crèche.

 

The 3^rd Reading:  Luke 2.6-7

 

A reading from the Gospel according to Luke.

 

While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child.  And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place in the guest room.

 

Holy Wisdom, Holy Word.

Thanks be to God.

 

Hymn:  ‘The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy’

Common Praise #128 verse 1 & refrain (sung twice)

 

During the Hymn the Christ Child is carried in procession to the Crèche.

 

The 4^th Reading:  Luke 2.8-14

 

A reading from the Gospel according to Luke.

 

Now in that same region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.  Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign for you:  you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.”  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!”,

 

Holy Wisdom, Holy Word.

Thanks be to God.

 

Hymn:  ‘Hark!  The Herald Angels Sing’

Common Praise #138

 

During the Hymn the Angels are carried in procession to the Crèche.

 

The 5^th Reading:  Luke 2.15-20

 

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.

Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

 

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them, and Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.

 

The Gospel of Christ.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Hymn:  ‘’Twas in the Moon of Wintertime’

Common Praise #146

 

During the Hymn the Shepherds are carried in procession to the Crèche.

 

The Homily

 

The Prayers of the Community

 

Intercessions, Thanksgivings & Petitions

 

Let us offer our prayers to the Christ Child this night, saying, ‘In your mercy, hear our prayer.’  In your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

Holy Child of Bethlehem, we pray for all who are homeless:  In your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

Holy Child of Mary, we pray for all who live in poverty:  In your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

Holy Child of Joseph, we pray for all who are lost, alone and cry for loved ones:  In your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

Holy Child of the shepherds, we pray for all who live with danger and all who are persecuted:  In your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

Holy Child of the angels, we pray for all who are far from their homes:  In your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

Holy Child of the manger, help us to see you in people everywhere:  In your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

Lord Jesus, your birth at Bethlehem draws us to kneel in wonder at heaven touching earth:  accept our heartfelt praise as we worship you, our Saviour.  Amen.

 

The Greeting of Peace

 

May the peace of Christ who has come among us 

be with you now and always.

And also with you.

 

The Offertory Hymn:  ‘What Child Is This’

Common Praise #137

 

The Holy Communion

 

Prayer over the Gifts

 

God of peace, 

your Son Jesus Christ has reconciled us to you. 

May all we offer you today renew us 

as members of your household.  

We ask this in his name.  Amen.

 

The Great Thanksgiving

 

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

 

Blessed are you, gracious God, creator of heaven and earth, because in the mystery of the Word made flesh you have caused a new light to shine in our hearts, to give knowledge of salvation in the face of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.  Now with angels and archangels and the whole company of heaven, we lift our voices to proclaim the glory of your name.

 

Holy, holy, holy Lord,

God of power and might.

Heaven and earth are full of your glory,

hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest.

 

Holy One, the beginning and the end, the giver of life:  Blessed are you for the birth of creation.  Blessed are in the darkness and in the light.  Blessed are you for your promise to your people.  Blessed are you in the prophets’ hopes and dreams.  Blessed are you for Mary’s openness to your will.  Blessed are you for your Son Jesus, the Word made flesh.

 

In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks; broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:  Take and eat; this is my body, given for you.  Do this for the remembrance of me.

 

Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying:  This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin.  Do this for the remembrance of me.

 

Let us proclaim the mystery of faith:  Christ has died.  Christ is risen.  Christ will come again.

 

With this bread and cup we remember your Word dwelling among us, full of grace and truth.  We remember our new birth in his death and resurrection.  We look with hope for his coming.  Come, Lord Jesus.

 

Holy God, we long for your Spirit.  Come among us.  Bless this meal.  May your Word take flesh in us.  Awaken your people.  Fill us with your light.  Bring the gift of peace on earth.  Come, Holy Spirit.

 

All praise and glory are yours, Holy One of Israel, Word of God incarnate, Power of the Most High, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

 

The Lord’s Prayer

 

Rejoicing in the presence of God here among us,

as our Saviour taught us, so we pray:

 

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name,

thy kingdom come,

thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power, and the glory,

for ever and ever.  Amen.

 

The Breaking of the Bread

 

We break the bread of life,

and that life is the light of the world.

God here among us,

light in the midst of us,

bring us to light and life.

 

Behold who you are.  Become what you see.  

These are the gifts of God for the people of God.  

Thanks be to God.

 

Communion

 

The Prayer after Communion

 

Giver of all life, 

the child born for us is the Saviour of the world. 

May he who made us your children 

welcome us into your kingdom, 

where he is alive and reigns with you now and for ever.  Amen.

 

Announcements

 

The Blessing

 

May God, who in the Word made flesh joined heaven to earth and earth to heaven, fill you with joy and make you heralds of the good news of God in Christ.  And the blessing of the holy and life-giving Trinity, one God, Author of creation, Word of redemption and Spirit of wisdom, be upon you and remain with you always.  Amen.

 

Closing Hymn:  ‘Silent Night’

Common Praise #119

 

The Dismissal

 

Go forth to proclaim the coming of the Christ.

Thanks be to God.

 

Postlude

 

 

Upcoming Services

 

24 December 2024

Christmas Eve

4.00 p.m. and 6.00 p.m.

 

29 December 2024

1^st Sunday after Christmas

10.30 a.m.

 

5 January 2025

The Feast of the Epiphany

10.30 a.m.

 

Bishop John will be coming to preach and preside at our Epiphany eucharist.  A potluck lunch will follow the service.  Please mark your calendar and plan to attend.

 

Joy Shall Come Even to the Wilderness: Reflections on the Propers for the 3rd Sunday of Advent

RCL Advent 3C

15 December 2024

 

Church of the Epiphany

Surrey BC

 

         As part of my personal spiritual reading, I have been working my way through a collection of what are called ‘apocryphal gospels’.  These are works written by ancient writers, some of whom were Christians, some of whom we now call heretics and some of whom we know were marginally if at all Christians in the common understanding.  One of these writers, a Christian teacher named Marcion, prepared a unique version of the Gospel according to Luke, the only Gospel Marcion thought was worth keeping.

 

         Earlier this week I found myself hooked by one verse in Marcion’s version of Luke:  “A good man brings out good from the good stored in his heart, and an evil man brings out evil from the evil stored up in his heart.  For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.” [1]  I decided to compare Marion’s text with those we use today.  I discovered that this verse was pretty much the same in whatever contemporary translation I checked.  And I heard in my heart, ‘May only God’s truth be spoken.  May only God’s truth be heard.’

 

         To be sure, Marcion’s views on God and the Scriptures are ones that I do not share, nor have they been endorsed by the overwhelming numbers of Christian teachers throughout the centuries.  But even a person considered an outsider can speak God’s truth.

 

         This Sunday is traditionally known as ‘Gaudete Sunday’ – ‘Rejoice Sunday’.  In the midst of the busyness of preparing for the coming Christmas celebrations and after weeks of readings that speak of the coming judgement of God, it is good to hear these words of Paul:

 

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.  Let your gentleness be known to everyone.  The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. [2]

 

         As I read these familiar words of Paul in the light of my diving into one verse of Luke’s gospel, I found myself thinking, ‘What if joy is like good?  If our hearts, our inner selves, overflow with joy, then will we be a joyful people?’  Over these past months with electioneering on both sides of the border and in many other places in the world, there seemed to be a distinct lack of joy.  The joy that Kamala Harris tried to use to counter the fear conjured by Donald Trump did not seem to sway the eventual electorate.  We all are waiting to see if the joy awakened by the defeat of the Assad regime in Syria will be met with hope-filled possibilities for change and renewal in that country.

 

         What prevents our hearts from overflowing with joy?  I think that joy is only possible when our inner selves are fuelled by gratitude.  Without gratitude we can only look at the world through the lens of scarcity.  Scarcity dries the heart and makes us see only wildernesses that threaten us.  Scarcity awakens fear and fear leads us into paths that cause us to turn inwards and to hoard whatever resources we may have, whether physical, spiritual or emotional.

 

         Awakening gratitude requires us to re-visit our past and to discover how God has been at work in our lives and, even when we have been close to despair, has reached out to us to show us a path towards hope.  Awakening gratitude requires us to look at the present and to recognize the signs of God working in us, through us, around us and, dare I say, sometimes despite us.

 

         One of my favourite Christmas traditions is to watch one of the film versions of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.  Many of us are familiar with the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a miser who has much but always thinks himself poor, a lonely man who doesn’t dare love because he is afraid that he’ll lose that love.  Over the course of an evening, Christmas Eve to be exact, Scrooge is taken on a journey of transformation through the past and the present and into the future.  As he revisits his past and his present, Scrooge begins to discover gratitude and that gratitude awakens joy.  It always grieves me that people forget the story when they portray Scrooge as perpetually miserly and lonely and unlovable.  They forget the joy and joy is the heart of the story.

 

         There is a Welsh hymn written in the 1890’s by Daniel James called ‘Calon Lân’ – ‘A Pure Heart’. [3] I learned it when preparing for the funeral of one of my parishioners at Saint Faith’s ten years ago.

 

Nid wy’n gofyn bywyd moethus Aur y byd na’i berlau mân: Gofyn wyf am galon hapus, Calon onest, calon lân.   Calon lân yn llawn daioni Tecach yw na’r lili dlos; Dim ond calon lân all ganu, Canu’r dydd a chanu’r nos.

I don’t ask for a luxurious life, The world’s gold or its fine pearls; I ask for a happy heart, An honest heart, a pure heart.   A pure heart full of goodness Is fairer than the pretty lily: None but a pure heart can sing, Sing in the day and sing in the night

 

         I know that there are many for whom joy is still somewhere in the distance.  But it is there.  The prophet Isaiah proclaimed these words to the people of Israel even as they faced an uncertain future:  “The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and shouting.” [4]  To discover that joy one must only make a journey of re-discovery to find the springs of memory which will give the waters of gratitude.  Those springs are not always easy to find, but they are still there, and they have not dried up.

---

[1] Luke 6.45 in ‘Marcion’s Gospel’ in The Apocryphal Gospels, trans. Simon Gathercole.

 

[2] Philippians 4.4-7 (NRSVue).

 

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calon_Lân accessed on 14 December 2024.

 

[4] Isaiah 35.1 (NRSVue).