Helen G. Crotwell - "A Time for..." (December 19, 1976)
Loading the media player...
Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
(instrumental music) | 0:03 | |
(upbeat music) | 0:40 | |
(upbeat soft music) | 1:14 | |
(tranquil music) | 5:11 | |
(lively music) | 8:19 | |
(ceremonious music) | 12:22 | |
(choir vocalizing) | 13:04 | |
- | Let us confess to God almighty and to one another | 16:22 |
that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed, | 16:28 | |
by our own fault. | 16:36 | |
And let us ask God to give us the grace of true repentance, | 16:39 | |
to have mercy upon us and to forgive us our sins. | 16:45 | |
So let us pray together in unison. | 16:53 | |
Oh Lord in this season of hope and expectancy, | 16:57 | |
we look at our lives and confess that we are in need | 17:03 | |
of the miracle of your love and peace. | 17:07 | |
We who claim to have heard the good news, | 17:12 | |
live our lives defensively. | 17:15 | |
We are afraid to be made vulnerable by caring too deeply. | 17:19 | |
We hide from pain, loneliness, and involvement. | 17:25 | |
Our lives are full of disillusionment | 17:31 | |
with people and politics. | 17:35 | |
We have forgotten that joy and laughter | 17:38 | |
are part of your gift to us. | 17:42 | |
Come to us in our fear and despair, | 17:45 | |
know us as we are, feel out longing and hunger | 17:50 | |
to be your faith for people, let your love grow. | 17:55 | |
Amen. | 18:01 | |
Now let us offer unto God quietly, each one of us, | 18:04 | |
her own, his own personal confession, | 18:10 | |
the sin of commission in anger, dislike, malice, meanness, | 18:14 | |
the sin of omission. | 18:22 | |
The good we have forgotten to do, | 18:24 | |
this is the sin which worry Jesus more than any other. | 18:28 | |
And let us hear these words of assurance of forgiveness | 18:56 | |
that Advent has found in one of the cuddles for Christmas. | 18:59 | |
God, rest you Mary gentle folk. | 19:06 | |
Let nothing you dismay for Jesus Christ our savior | 19:10 | |
who was born on Christmas day to save us all | 19:15 | |
from Satan's power when we were gone astray. | 19:20 | |
O tidings of comfort and joy, | 19:26 | |
O tidings of comfort and joy. | 19:30 | |
So be comforted and strength. | 19:35 | |
Amen. | 19:42 | |
(instrumental music) | 20:01 | |
(man vocalizing) | 20:14 | |
- | The scripture readings for this Sunday, | 22:13 |
the fourth, Sunday in Advent, | 22:16 | |
come to us from the book of Hebrews, | 22:18 | |
the 10th chapter, verses five through 10. | 22:20 | |
Hear now the words of God. | 22:24 | |
Consequently, when Christ came into the world, | 22:27 | |
he said, "Sacrifices and offerings thou has not desired, | 22:31 | |
but a body has thou prepared for me. | 22:36 | |
In burnt offerings and sin offerings | 22:39 | |
thou has taken no pleasure. | 22:42 | |
Then I said, "Lo I have come to do they will of God." | 22:45 | |
It is written of me in the role of the book, | 22:50 | |
when he said above, "Thou has neither desired | 22:54 | |
nor taken pleasure in the sacrifices and offerings | 22:58 | |
and burnt offerings and sin offerings. | 23:03 | |
These are offered according to the law." | 23:06 | |
Then he added, "Lo I have come to do thy will. | 23:09 | |
He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. | 23:14 | |
And by that will, we have been sanctified | 23:20 | |
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ | 23:23 | |
once for all. | 23:27 | |
The congregation, please rise for the reading of the gospel. | 23:30 | |
Gospel reading to us today comes | 23:40 | |
from the gospel of St. Luke, | 23:43 | |
the first chapter verses 39 through 49. | 23:45 | |
In those days, | 23:50 | |
"Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country | 23:51 | |
to a city of Judea. | 23:56 | |
And she entered the house as Zachariah | 23:57 | |
and greeted Elizabeth. | 24:00 | |
When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, | 24:02 | |
the baby leaped in her womb, | 24:04 | |
and Elizabeth was filled with the holy spirit, | 24:07 | |
and she exclaimed with a loud cry. | 24:11 | |
Blessed are you among women and blessed | 24:14 | |
is the fruit of your womb. | 24:16 | |
And why is this granted to me that the mother of our Lord | 24:20 | |
should come to me. | 24:24 | |
For behold when the voice of your greeting came | 24:26 | |
onto my ears, the baby in my womb, leaped for joy. | 24:29 | |
And blessed is she who believed | 24:35 | |
that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her | 24:38 | |
from the Lord. | 24:43 | |
And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord | 24:44 | |
and my spirit rejoices in God my savior, | 24:49 | |
for he has regarded the lowest state of his handmaiden, | 24:52 | |
for behold henceforth, all generations will call me blessed | 24:55 | |
for he who is mighty has done great things for me. | 25:02 | |
And holy is his name." | 25:06 | |
May the Lord add his blessings to the hearing, | 25:09 | |
the reading and the understanding of his holy word. | 25:11 | |
Amen. | 25:15 | |
(choir vocalizing) | 25:25 | |
- | Let us affirm what we believe. | 26:02 |
We believe in God, who has created and is creating, | 26:07 | |
who has come in the truly human Jesus, | 26:13 | |
to reconcile and make new. | 26:17 | |
Who works in-- | 26:21 | |
- | Us and others by the Spirit. | 26:22 |
- | We trust God who calls us to be the church, | 26:25 |
to celebrate life and its fullness, | 26:30 | |
to love and serve others, | 26:34 | |
to seek justice and resist evil, | 26:37 | |
to proclaim Jesus crucified and risen, our judge | 26:41 | |
and our hope in life, in death, in life beyond death, | 26:46 | |
God is with us. | 26:54 | |
We are not alone. Thanks be to God. | 26:56 | |
The Lord be with you. | 27:01 | |
- | And be with you too. | |
- | Let us pray. | 27:05 |
Let our first prayer be one of Thanksgiving at Advent. | 27:17 | |
Great God of power and love. | 27:26 | |
We thank thee for Jesus Christ, | 27:30 | |
whose birth we celebrate so soon, | 27:33 | |
we thank thee for the prophets hope, the angel song, | 27:38 | |
the Wiseman's tribute. | 27:44 | |
We thank thee that in Jesus thou has joined us, | 27:48 | |
sharing human pleasures and human hurts. | 27:53 | |
We thank thee that through the holy spirit, | 27:59 | |
he is still with us. | 28:02 | |
Glory be to thee for thy wonderful love. | 28:06 | |
Glory be to thee eternal God | 28:11 | |
through Jesus Christ forever and ever, amen. | 28:14 | |
Let our second prayer be one of intercession at Advent. | 28:23 | |
For God who through thy son has taught us to make prayer | 28:29 | |
for all conditions of folk. | 28:32 | |
We would remember them. | 28:36 | |
We offer our prayers for the trustees and administration | 28:39 | |
of our university to the joy of Christmas may be in them, | 28:43 | |
for any work well done, for the faculty that learning | 28:49 | |
and religion, inseparably connected, | 28:56 | |
maybe recognized in Jesus of Bethlehem and Nazareth. | 29:01 | |
For the students that they may reach their homes in safety | 29:09 | |
find joy in their families and return to us | 29:14 | |
with Christmas gladness in their hearts. | 29:18 | |
For the employees who serve us with graciousness and skill, | 29:23 | |
that they may know that they belong to a beloved community. | 29:29 | |
For those who must spend this season in the hospital, | 29:37 | |
some in gratitude that a child is born, | 29:41 | |
some in pain, others in sorrow, | 29:46 | |
some offering their skill and devotion as doctors | 29:52 | |
and nurses, | 29:55 | |
let our hospital be a thoughtful place of love | 29:57 | |
at this holy time, | 30:02 | |
for all men and women in all places that peace may come | 30:05 | |
because of goodwill, honor. | 30:12 | |
For thy creatures here and everywhere, | 30:16 | |
we offer this prayer of intercession. | 30:19 | |
And then prayer of supplication for ourselves at Advent. | 30:24 | |
Oh God, what curious praise is ours, for Jesus Christ. | 30:34 | |
I read tricycle, for small and busy feet. | 30:41 | |
Skis for a boy to ride the wind, | 30:47 | |
perfume for her and tobacco for him, | 30:52 | |
a check or two or three or 10, for charity at Christmas. | 30:58 | |
Christmas cards signed love by hand, | 31:10 | |
letters to friends long lost in years ago, | 31:14 | |
much weariness and ribbons and short tempers. | 31:18 | |
Oh find in this dear God, | 31:25 | |
our human hearts, our hope for one another. | 31:27 | |
Our praise for thee and love for thy son. | 31:32 | |
And now as our savior Christ taught his disciples, | 31:40 | |
we pray together saying, our father who art in heaven, | 31:45 | |
hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come. | 31:51 | |
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. | 31:56 | |
Give us this day, our daily bread | 32:01 | |
and forgive us our trespasses | 32:04 | |
as we forgive those who trespass against us. | 32:07 | |
And lead us not into temptation, | 32:11 | |
but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom | 32:14 | |
and the power and the glory forever. | 32:18 | |
Amen. | 32:24 | |
Our preacher this morning is known to you, | 32:28 | |
Reverend Helen G. Crotwell, the Associate Minister | 32:32 | |
to the university. | 32:36 | |
- | Advent is a time of waiting, of preparation, | 32:45 |
of expectation, a time of hope, promise and joy. | 32:52 | |
This is how we describe Advent when we are talking about | 32:59 | |
what we'd like for this season to be for us. | 33:04 | |
But when we think about some of the other dimensions | 33:10 | |
of Advent, we say it is a time of a million carpools, | 33:13 | |
of too many exams to take or to grade, | 33:20 | |
too many papers to write or to read, | 33:25 | |
a time of frantic activity of frustration, of short tempers, | 33:29 | |
of exhaustion, a time of anxiety, depression, | 33:33 | |
despair, heightened loneliness, | 33:39 | |
a time when there are more suicides | 33:43 | |
than at any other time of the year, | 33:47 | |
what a contrast between some of our expectations | 33:51 | |
and some of our experiences, | 33:55 | |
a time for waiting, a time for preparing for the celebration | 33:58 | |
of the birth of Jesus, | 34:04 | |
but a time which is so rushed and so hectic | 34:07 | |
there is not even time for our cup of tea. | 34:11 | |
There is not even time to hear of the hurts of another, | 34:15 | |
a time of hope and promise and expectation, | 34:21 | |
yet a time when many people feel the most hopeless, | 34:26 | |
the most lonely, the most despair. | 34:31 | |
Now I want to point up some of the dimensions of our life, | 34:36 | |
which contribute to the star contrast | 34:40 | |
between our expectations and our experiences | 34:44 | |
during this season. | 34:47 | |
First and most important. | 34:50 | |
This is a family time, more than any other of our holy days | 34:53 | |
or our secular celebrations. | 34:59 | |
And the other two dimensions are related to our response | 35:02 | |
to God's gift to us and our giving to others, | 35:06 | |
making this a season of giving and receiving. | 35:11 | |
Now consider that this Christmas Advent, | 35:17 | |
season is a family time. | 35:21 | |
You have heard people say, | 35:24 | |
it's especially said that she died at Christmas, | 35:27 | |
or how much harder this pain must be for you to bare | 35:33 | |
at this particular time? | 35:38 | |
Or how terrible that the marriage had | 35:41 | |
to break up at Christmas? | 35:44 | |
Now we know that anytime a family is broken because of anger | 35:47 | |
or alienation or death or divorce, | 35:51 | |
it is awful and terrible and sad. | 35:54 | |
And yet it does seem more difficult, | 35:59 | |
even worse at this time, at this season. | 36:02 | |
And this is because it is a time to be with your family, | 36:07 | |
a time of memories of those you love. | 36:11 | |
A time of renewed hope | 36:14 | |
for this primary Christian community, the family, | 36:16 | |
and when the hopes and dreams are unfulfilled or shattered, | 36:22 | |
our pain and our despair is heightened. | 36:28 | |
And when separation comes to our family during this season, | 36:33 | |
we know that from then on, | 36:38 | |
this season, our time of joy will have the shadow | 36:40 | |
of this sad memory of what once was and is no more, | 36:44 | |
dimming its joy. | 36:50 | |
Advent Christmas is a family celebration because God chose | 36:54 | |
to come to us, to bring us hope by being born | 37:00 | |
as a baby in a family. | 37:05 | |
And so when we recall what little we know about Jesus | 37:09 | |
in relation to his family, | 37:12 | |
we gain some perspective on our need for, | 37:14 | |
and our search for a family, for a supportive community. | 37:18 | |
Before one of the students in the Divinity School preached | 37:25 | |
using the Luke scripture, which we heard today, | 37:27 | |
which talks about a time of waiting, | 37:31 | |
of preparation, of expectation. | 37:33 | |
She talked to some women about what was it like | 37:36 | |
to discover that they were pregnant? | 37:40 | |
Their response was similar to Mary's, | 37:43 | |
shock, unbelief, wanting to be alone, | 37:45 | |
but soon wanting to talk with another woman, | 37:50 | |
who could understand what she was experiencing. | 37:54 | |
And so Mary visited her cousin, Elizabeth. | 37:58 | |
God comes to us in the form of a baby, | 38:02 | |
in the context of a family. | 38:06 | |
And as we recall the gospel accounts of Jesus' life, | 38:09 | |
we remember reports, very brief reports, | 38:14 | |
but important ones of his relationship with his family, | 38:18 | |
a place where as a baby, | 38:24 | |
he was cared for by his mother and father, | 38:26 | |
a place where he was nurtured and taught, | 38:29 | |
a place where he was introduced to the religious community, | 38:32 | |
the religious traditions, the rites and rituals | 38:36 | |
which are so important for our being human, | 38:40 | |
the place where he learned about God and about value in life | 38:44 | |
and God's creation. | 38:49 | |
And he broke away from his first dependence on his family | 38:52 | |
at a very early age, | 38:57 | |
becoming independent, yet always maintaining a relationship | 39:00 | |
to his family. | 39:05 | |
It was this child who followed the family was so important | 39:06 | |
who became the adult who pushes and stretches our vision | 39:11 | |
and image of the family, | 39:17 | |
beyond that of the blood can to those who I need, | 39:20 | |
to those who want to do the will of God. | 39:25 | |
And in the final days, when he knew he was to die, | 39:30 | |
we remember his concern for his mother, | 39:34 | |
and his giving this responsibility to John, | 39:38 | |
the beloved disciple, | 39:41 | |
this responsibility to care for his mother. | 39:44 | |
And so the celebration of the birthday of Jesus | 39:49 | |
is primarily our family's celebration. | 39:53 | |
And we all have memories of what this was and is for us, | 39:57 | |
the family selecting and decorating the Christmas tree, | 40:03 | |
the good smell of the food in the house, | 40:07 | |
reading together the Christmas story, | 40:09 | |
the Advent wreath and calendar, | 40:12 | |
the visit to shut-ins and relatives, | 40:15 | |
the joy of making and giving your first gift, | 40:18 | |
the special church services, | 40:22 | |
carol sings, and own and own, you remember. | 40:24 | |
One student was telling of a special joy in her family | 40:28 | |
that they find in cherishing | 40:32 | |
and using different expressions, | 40:34 | |
which our grandmother creates and uses over and over | 40:35 | |
at different times. | 40:38 | |
One was, you always know the first time you do something, | 40:41 | |
but you never know when it will be the last time. | 40:47 | |
A statement, which is poignant. And with some sadness. | 40:51 | |
It may be the last time a mother or a father cuddles a child | 40:55 | |
before the child pushes away | 41:01 | |
in the first steps of independence, | 41:03 | |
you never know this until after it has happened. | 41:05 | |
It may be the last time the family sits around a fire | 41:09 | |
to read the Christmas stories or sing the Christmas carols | 41:14 | |
because the next year the family may be separated, | 41:18 | |
because a new family has come into being | 41:21 | |
or because of divorce or death. | 41:25 | |
You'd never know until it has happened. | 41:27 | |
Now, for those are without family at this time of year | 41:31 | |
because of separation by distance or death or whatever, | 41:36 | |
you find hope in knowing that Jesus pushed out images | 41:41 | |
and vision of the family to include more | 41:46 | |
than the natural family. | 41:50 | |
And Bob Young sermon entitled, | 41:53 | |
"Who Are My Brothers and Sisters." | 41:56 | |
he says, and I quote, | 41:58 | |
"Our natural families are not always with us. | 42:01 | |
We leave them or they leave us. | 42:04 | |
They grow apart from us, or we grow apart from them. | 42:08 | |
We become different in those ways | 42:13 | |
where our differences count. | 42:16 | |
But as this happens, we reach out | 42:18 | |
and others reach out to us. | 42:21 | |
And a new family is found" | 42:24 | |
End of the quote. | 42:27 | |
Any group can become your family if it can bear the marks | 42:29 | |
and carry the weight of being a family, | 42:35 | |
a place where you are nurtured and sustained, | 42:38 | |
where your hurts are healed, | 42:42 | |
where you can share your joys, | 42:44 | |
where you are called into question in your selfishness, | 42:47 | |
supported in your doubts, | 42:52 | |
where you share a common commitment toward what is important | 42:54 | |
and of value in your life. | 42:58 | |
Now, such a group can only be a family | 43:01 | |
when there is mutuality, | 43:05 | |
where there is a sharing and the giving and the taking. | 43:07 | |
A sharing and the telling and the listening, | 43:12 | |
for if it is one-sided, | 43:15 | |
then the relationship is one of counselor to counselee, | 43:17 | |
or social worker to one in need or something else, | 43:21 | |
but not a family. | 43:26 | |
Now people have often asked me, | 43:29 | |
"What it's like to be a single person in a community | 43:31 | |
so far from any family?" | 43:34 | |
And I respond with thankfulness, saying that I stay human | 43:37 | |
and whole because there are several groups and families | 43:42 | |
to which I feel I belong. | 43:46 | |
And the sense that I have just talked about | 43:48 | |
how other than the natural family can be your family. | 43:50 | |
And for this I give thanks. | 43:54 | |
Now we know that the family is especially important, | 43:57 | |
is a place to care for those who cannot care for themselves. | 44:00 | |
The very young, or the very old, | 44:05 | |
or those who are incapacitated in some way. | 44:09 | |
Sometimes homes for the aged or hospitals | 44:13 | |
or children's homes, become family for these people. | 44:16 | |
And we give thanks that so many of these institutions | 44:21 | |
are responsible and are not exploitive | 44:25 | |
and callous in accepting this responsibility. | 44:29 | |
And yet when we have a member of our family away from us, | 44:34 | |
we want it all times. | 44:37 | |
And especially at Christmas to be united with them | 44:39 | |
in some way, to be united with the people we love, | 44:43 | |
to help relieve the loneliness which must be theirs | 44:47 | |
at this very poignant and nostalgic time, | 44:51 | |
Advent, Christmas, or family time, | 44:56 | |
our time to share with those you love | 45:00 | |
what is most important to you. | 45:03 | |
What is meaning filled? What is most (indistinct). | 45:05 | |
A time to express in specific ways, | 45:09 | |
thanks and appreciation for the gift of love and life. | 45:13 | |
And it is, as we try to express this appreciation | 45:19 | |
that we discover another source of our sadness | 45:23 | |
and despair and depression, | 45:27 | |
and hear the word of Hebrews speaks to us. | 45:31 | |
We know that we do not try to relate to God | 45:34 | |
or to express our love to God, to the sacrifice | 45:37 | |
as did the people in the biblical times. | 45:40 | |
And yet, as we try to be obedient to God, | 45:43 | |
to respond to God's love by sharing our love | 45:47 | |
with those who need it. | 45:50 | |
We know how we would like to do something, | 45:52 | |
to fulfill our responsibility and get it over with, | 45:55 | |
and get on living with our lives untroubled, | 45:59 | |
by the hungry and the cold and the lonely. | 46:02 | |
And so it is just here that this scripture can speak to us | 46:05 | |
and our situation today. | 46:10 | |
This is a season when the needs of the human community | 46:12 | |
are lifted before our eyes, we are troubled and saddened, | 46:17 | |
and we as a community, respond and give generously. | 46:23 | |
But we are humbled by the fact that many of us | 46:28 | |
spend more money on unnecessary gifts to those we love | 46:32 | |
than some of these people have to eat on for the whole year. | 46:38 | |
And we are concerned that these people will be cared for | 46:46 | |
at Thanksgiving and Christmas, | 46:48 | |
but maybe forgotten the rest of the year. | 46:51 | |
And we are concerned that our giving not be dehumanizing | 46:55 | |
and demeaning. | 47:00 | |
Hear this poem from the daily meditation booklet, | 47:02 | |
which was prepared by some students who were planning | 47:05 | |
for the world, hunger fast at Thanksgiving. | 47:09 | |
"I would let you help me, but to feel obligated | 47:13 | |
to one I do not respect, as I must if I accept your aid, | 47:19 | |
enslaves my love and leaves me with less than I began with. | 47:25 | |
It is indeed no blessing and at least easier to be able | 47:33 | |
to give than to have to receive. | 47:38 | |
Yet if the need is great enough to blot out my pride, | 47:44 | |
I can will to beg and gladly perhaps thankfully receive, | 47:50 | |
give if only because you can, perhaps because you must, | 47:58 | |
but hopefully without buying your own dignity, | 48:03 | |
by taking the dignity of another. | 48:09 | |
Give cheerfully, because you love." | 48:12 | |
End of the poem. | 48:17 | |
We know we want to respond to immediate need, | 48:19 | |
but we also want to commit ourselves to eliminate the need | 48:23 | |
for people to have to beg for food, for love or for shelter. | 48:27 | |
Now finally let us look at our giving to those whom we love. | 48:34 | |
We sent some dis-ease even here, | 48:40 | |
for we are afraid we will let the secular determine | 48:43 | |
how we shall show our love. | 48:47 | |
Try to find our joy or celebrate God's gift to us. | 48:50 | |
I looked through some advertisements | 48:55 | |
and found what I expected and realized | 48:57 | |
a subtle influence these words can have on us, | 49:00 | |
words which offer promises which cannot be fulfilled. | 49:04 | |
Hear a few of these, | 49:08 | |
the love you get is the love you give. | 49:11 | |
Give a watch, it tells a person more than the right time. | 49:14 | |
Express the value of your love to another at Christmas, | 49:19 | |
by buying a valuable gift or diamond, | 49:23 | |
spend a little, but give a lot. | 49:28 | |
And this was an advertisement for a cheap gift, | 49:30 | |
which only cost $50. | 49:33 | |
There is one joy, there is only one joy, | 49:36 | |
and that is the costliest perfume in the world. | 49:39 | |
A status bracelet, add to your | 49:44 | |
or someone else's collection this Christmas. | 49:47 | |
The nicest way you can show you care is to give and share. | 49:50 | |
The best there is. | 49:56 | |
And when they say you really shouldn't, don't believe them. | 49:58 | |
And then this final one, this is my favorite. | 50:03 | |
Give a bottle and be highly esteemed, | 50:06 | |
but give a case and be revered. | 50:09 | |
(crowd laughs) | 50:13 | |
We are amused, but we are haunted | 50:20 | |
that we may be more influenced by the secular message. | 50:24 | |
The only way we can show we care to find joy, | 50:29 | |
to have a happy holiday is to spend a lot of money. | 50:31 | |
Advent is a time to continue our pilgrimage to the manger, | 50:37 | |
to celebrate the fact that God is with us. | 50:42 | |
Let this be a time of waiting, of expectation, | 50:47 | |
of letting the spirit of Christ be born again in your life. | 50:52 | |
A time to find the source of joy and peace and love, | 50:57 | |
which will sustain you in a world distraught by war | 51:01 | |
and greed and exploitation and poverty and hunger. | 51:05 | |
A time to find a joy whose source begins in a manger, | 51:10 | |
but ends in a crucifixion and a resurrection. | 51:16 | |
We are not promised life without pain | 51:21 | |
or heartache or brokenness. | 51:24 | |
These are false expectations and distortions | 51:27 | |
of the Christmas message, | 51:30 | |
but we are promised that God will be with us | 51:32 | |
and all of our joys and in all of our pains, sustaining, | 51:36 | |
supporting, healing. | 51:41 | |
Advent is a time to find peace and joy and hope. | 51:44 | |
A time to nourish our souls as well as our bodies, | 51:49 | |
a time to learn to care for those without families, | 51:54 | |
and a time to learn to give the most valuable gift, | 51:59 | |
the gift of ourselves to God and to those we love | 52:06 | |
and to those who need us. | 52:12 | |
Let us pray. | 52:15 | |
We thank you oh God, | 52:19 | |
for coming to us and the human and Jesus our Christ, | 52:21 | |
for offering your love to us, | 52:27 | |
the hope which sends us forth and enables us | 52:30 | |
to continue our pilgrimage. | 52:35 | |
We thank you for speaking your word, despite our deafness, | 52:38 | |
for putting your word in our stubborn hearts. | 52:44 | |
And because we know you and the human Jesus, | 52:48 | |
we can meet you in our brothers and sisters, | 52:52 | |
and a forgiving word, a reassuring smile, | 52:57 | |
and friends who walk mysteriously into our lives | 53:01 | |
and awakened good in us we never knew existed. | 53:05 | |
Oh God, your word is hope, creativity, imagination, | 53:10 | |
and new beginnings. | 53:16 | |
So that somehow we can start out again from the ashes | 53:18 | |
of defeat and disappointment or depression and despair. | 53:23 | |
Your word, oh God is yes to who we are and all we do | 53:29 | |
as we struggle to discover your presence in ourselves | 53:36 | |
and our world. | 53:41 | |
And for this, we give you thanks. | 53:44 | |
Amen. And amen. | 53:46 | |
(instrumental music) | 53:52 | |
(choir vocalizing) | 54:48 | |
(slow music) | 57:13 | |
(man vocalizing) | 59:04 | |
(soft piano music) | 1:02:01 | |
(choir vocalizing) | 1:02:35 | |
- | Here we offer and present onto thee O God, | 1:03:40 |
our gifts as at the cradle of thy son, | 1:03:44 | |
let them symbolize gold because he reigns as our king, | 1:03:50 | |
frankincense because he lives as our high priest, | 1:03:56 | |
myrrh because he died for our wellbeing, | 1:04:02 | |
accept them for we bring them in gratitude and love | 1:04:08 | |
to his honor and glory. | 1:04:15 | |
Amen. | 1:04:19 | |
(bright music) | 1:04:23 | |
(choir vocalizing) | 1:05:28 | |
May God almighty bless you. | 1:09:01 | |
May God himself protect and defend you in all things, | 1:09:05 | |
who for our sakes mercifully took upon himself, | 1:09:12 | |
our human infancy through him who is Emmanuel, | 1:09:18 | |
even Jesus Christ, our Lord. | 1:09:25 | |
Amen. | 1:09:32 | |
(playful music) | 1:09:44 | |
(audience clapping) | 1:15:26 |