William H. Willimon - "Now" (December 2, 1990)
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Transcript
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(gentle pipe organ music) | 0:00 | |
- | Advent is a time of self-examination and reflection. | 5:52 |
Of preparation for the Advent | 5:56 | |
of Christ among us at Christmas. | 5:59 | |
Therefore I bid you welcome to this service | 6:03 | |
of worship on the first Sunday of Advent. | 6:06 | |
And I call your attention to the many ways | 6:10 | |
to prepares ourselves, listed during | 6:12 | |
Advent, here in the chapel. | 6:16 | |
One correction of the Advent schedule, | 6:22 | |
the Graduate and Professional Students Fellowship | 6:24 | |
will meet at 5:15 on Monday rather than | 6:27 | |
as it is listed in the schedule. | 6:31 | |
Our choir has been graciously and exuberantly | 6:35 | |
performing Handel's Messiah this weekend, | 6:39 | |
there's one more concert left this week, | 6:44 | |
and we thank them for their presence here today | 6:48 | |
and the way they have blessed us in Messiah this weekend. | 6:51 | |
Now let us stand. | 6:55 | |
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. | 7:02 | |
Churchgoers | And also with you. | 7:06 |
- | The risen Christ is with us. | 7:08 |
Churchgoers | Praise the Lord. | 7:11 |
(religious pipe organ music) | 7:13 | |
(gospel singing) | 7:41 | |
- | Eternal God. | 11:54 |
Before whose power we bow in awe, | 11:56 | |
we thank you for the majesty and grandeur | 11:59 | |
of your creation, but even more and above all | 12:02 | |
we thank you for the revelation of your | 12:05 | |
glory and grace in Jesus Christ. | 12:07 | |
In him, you kindled the hope for new life in a new world. | 12:10 | |
Let that hope be reborn in us today. | 12:16 | |
Amen. | 12:20 | |
- | Let us pray. | 12:29 |
Open our hearts and minds. | 12:31 | |
By the power of your Holy Spirit. | 12:34 | |
So that as the word is read and proclaimed, | 12:37 | |
we might be prepared for your Advent among us. | 12:40 | |
Amen. | 12:44 | |
The first reading is taken from the Book of Isaiah. | 12:45 | |
Oh that you would tear open the heavens and come down | 12:49 | |
so that the mountains would quake with your presence. | 12:52 | |
As when fire kindles brushwood, | 12:55 | |
and the first causes water to boil. | 12:57 | |
To make your name known to our adversaries | 12:59 | |
so that the nations might tremble at your presence. | 13:02 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 13:06 | |
Churchgoers | Thanks be to God. | 13:08 |
- | This reading is taken from Paul's | 13:10 |
first letter to the Corinthians. | 13:11 | |
Listen, I will tell you a mystery. | 13:14 | |
We will not all die, but we will all be changed. | 13:16 | |
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. | 13:19 | |
At the last trumpet. | 13:22 | |
For the trumpet will sound and the dead | 13:24 | |
will be raised and perishable. | 13:26 | |
And we will all be changed. | 13:28 | |
For this perishable body must put on imperishability, | 13:30 | |
and this mortal body must put on immortality. | 13:34 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 13:37 | |
Churchgoers | Thanks be to God. | 13:39 |
- | The gospel for this first Sunday of Advent. | 13:47 |
But about that day or hour, no one knows. | 13:57 | |
Neither the angels in Heaven, | 14:00 | |
nor the Son, but only the Father. | 14:02 | |
Beware, keep alert. | 14:06 | |
For you do not know when the time will come. | 14:08 | |
It is like a man going on a journey. | 14:12 | |
When he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, | 14:16 | |
each with his own work, and commands | 14:20 | |
the doorkeeper to be on the watch. | 14:23 | |
Therefore, keep awake. | 14:26 | |
For you do not know when the master | 14:28 | |
of the house will come, in the evening, | 14:31 | |
or at midnight, or at cock crow, or at dawn. | 14:34 | |
Or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. | 14:38 | |
And what I say to you I say to all. | 14:42 | |
Keep awake. | 14:45 | |
The word of the Lord. | 14:48 | |
Churchgoers | Thanks be to God. | 14:50 |
- | Our parable takes place out in Galilee. | 14:54 |
It's a world of absentee landlords, and servants | 15:00 | |
who were left on their own for years at a time. | 15:04 | |
You do not know when the time shall come, says Jesus. | 15:10 | |
It is like a man who's going on a journey | 15:14 | |
and he leaves home and he puts his servants | 15:16 | |
in charge, each with his or her own work to do. | 15:18 | |
It's a parable about servants, | 15:24 | |
about masters and slaves, and about those | 15:26 | |
who have and those who work for those who have. | 15:31 | |
And right at the beginning you know | 15:36 | |
exactly where our sympathies lie | 15:38 | |
because in such stories you and I are always | 15:40 | |
for the little guy, the have nots. | 15:44 | |
Our sympathies are not with his | 15:48 | |
absentee landlord, but with these servants. | 15:49 | |
We wonder why this master was going on a journey. | 15:54 | |
Well it was December. | 15:59 | |
The days were growing short and cold | 16:01 | |
and each day it took longer to walk out | 16:03 | |
to the barn to feed the livestock. | 16:06 | |
It was about on one of these | 16:08 | |
cold mornings the master said, | 16:10 | |
"Boys, you take care of things for the winter. | 16:14 | |
"I'm going down to Palm Beach. | 16:17 | |
"I'll send you a postcard in February." | 16:20 | |
And you know whose side we're on because, | 16:25 | |
as it turns out, it's a story about | 16:27 | |
the one who is living in Manhattan | 16:30 | |
living off of the proceeds of his | 16:32 | |
coal mines in West Virginia, it's the person | 16:35 | |
lounging by the pool in LA while someone | 16:37 | |
slaves for him in the sweatshops of Hong Kong. | 16:41 | |
It's a story about a man who went on | 16:46 | |
a journey and left his servants in charge. | 16:48 | |
And there must have been a great | 16:53 | |
deal of this in ancient Galilee. | 16:54 | |
Many absentee landowners. | 16:59 | |
Because if you will recall, this isn't | 17:02 | |
the only story that Jesus told about them. | 17:04 | |
Who is the faithful servant? | 17:08 | |
Blessed is that servant whom his master | 17:10 | |
comes will find hard at work, but if that wicked | 17:12 | |
servant says to himself my master is delayed | 17:15 | |
and begins to beat his fellow servants | 17:18 | |
and eats and drinks with the drunken, | 17:20 | |
the master of that servant will come | 17:22 | |
on a day he doesn't expect, at an hour | 17:24 | |
he doesn't know, and he will punish him. | 17:26 | |
Matthew 24. | 17:30 | |
Elsewhere: For it will be as when a man | 17:33 | |
going on a journey called his servants | 17:36 | |
and he entrusted to them his property, | 17:38 | |
and to one he gave five talents, and to another | 17:40 | |
three talents, and to another | 17:42 | |
one talent, and then he went away. | 17:43 | |
Matthew 25. | 17:46 | |
Or there was a man who planted a vineyard. | 17:50 | |
Set a hedge around it, he dug a wine press, | 17:55 | |
built a tower, and then he lent it out | 17:58 | |
to tenants and he went into a far country. | 18:00 | |
Mark 12. | 18:03 | |
It does appear that out in Galilee there was | 18:05 | |
a great deal of this coming and going. | 18:07 | |
Many absentee landowners, there was a lot of absence. | 18:11 | |
And of course whenever the master is absent, | 18:18 | |
it is always an occasion for testing. | 18:21 | |
Now class, I'm going down the hall | 18:26 | |
to the principal's office to get | 18:29 | |
a three-pronged plug so that I can show you | 18:30 | |
a film strip on the rubber industry in Malaysia. | 18:34 | |
I'm leaving the door open, and I hope | 18:39 | |
that I can trust you, but just in case | 18:42 | |
I can't trust you, I've asked Mrs. Moffatt | 18:45 | |
across the hall to listen if there's trouble. | 18:47 | |
Now I'm leaving, and I'd better not hear a word out of you. | 18:52 | |
Absence is a test. | 18:58 | |
And the return of the master is an | 19:00 | |
occasion for an accounting. | 19:02 | |
Johnny, what are you doing on top of that desk? | 19:05 | |
And so Jesus, all of Jesus' story is about absence, | 19:09 | |
the master's absence, are stories about testing. | 19:14 | |
What will we do when the master's away? | 19:20 | |
This Sunday we begin the season of Advent. | 19:26 | |
A time when we prepare for the Advent of the Messiah. | 19:29 | |
The babe at Bethlehem is to us a sign, | 19:34 | |
this shall be a sign unto you, you shall find | 19:37 | |
the babe wrapped and so on, a sign | 19:39 | |
of God's presence among us. | 19:42 | |
Immanuel, God with us. | 19:45 | |
And we long for that presence. | 19:49 | |
If you will note, all of our Advent hymns | 19:51 | |
sing of expectation of presence. | 19:54 | |
Come, thou long expected Jesus. | 19:57 | |
Return for thy servant's sake. | 20:03 | |
Today's lesson from Isaiah. | 20:05 | |
Oh that thou would rend the heavens the come down. | 20:08 | |
That the nations should tremble at thy presence. | 20:12 | |
The prophet pleads for presence. | 20:19 | |
He prays that there will be a day when God | 20:22 | |
would just split the heavens and come down | 20:24 | |
and be among us, irrefutable presence. | 20:26 | |
And we assume that somehow faithfulness | 20:32 | |
would be a lot easier if he were present. | 20:35 | |
Earlier Isaiah says we become like one who is unclean, | 20:41 | |
like a polluted garment, we fade like a leaf. | 20:46 | |
Why? | 20:51 | |
Because thou hast hid thy face from us. | 20:54 | |
Absence tends to produce faithlessness. | 21:00 | |
When the master goes on a journey there's a test. | 21:07 | |
Which we often flunk. | 21:10 | |
And so we pray come, thou long expected Jesus. | 21:14 | |
It's a story, today's parable, of an absentee landlord. | 21:20 | |
And therefore it is a story of absence, | 21:25 | |
it's a story about a dry place. | 21:27 | |
Where there is nobody to stand | 21:31 | |
beside us and look over our shoulders | 21:33 | |
and tell us how well we're doing. | 21:35 | |
It's a story about these great gaps, | 21:38 | |
this absence, these valleys. | 21:41 | |
And here's where the trouble begins, when there is | 21:45 | |
no master, and there's nobody taking names. | 21:48 | |
And there's no supervisor walking | 21:53 | |
up and down the assembly line. | 21:54 | |
And there's no parent downstairs to say George, | 21:59 | |
don't you have homework to be doing tonight? | 22:01 | |
And no Mrs. Moffatt running breathless | 22:06 | |
into the office saying Miss Jones, | 22:09 | |
you'd better get back down to your class. | 22:11 | |
And the way I figure it, most of the New Testament | 22:16 | |
is concerned with this problem of absence. | 22:20 | |
Oh when Jesus was with us in the flesh, | 22:24 | |
oh that was one thing. | 22:26 | |
Because then from his own voice we could hear | 22:29 | |
reassuring things like rise, and have no fear. | 22:31 | |
Peace be with you. | 22:35 | |
There was always, when he was with us, | 22:39 | |
this possibility of the healing touch, | 22:41 | |
the reassuring word, the comforting gesture. | 22:43 | |
But in the meantime. | 22:48 | |
In the absence. | 22:51 | |
In this valley between his first | 22:54 | |
Advent and the next, what of us? | 22:57 | |
Is not this the great issue behind | 23:04 | |
at least two-thirds of John's gospel? | 23:06 | |
What of us? | 23:08 | |
In John's gospel, the disciples frequently ask | 23:10 | |
the questions, the questions of little children. | 23:14 | |
Little children always ask the same questions | 23:17 | |
when they see mama and daddy gathering up coats | 23:19 | |
and hats and getting ready to go out for an evening. | 23:21 | |
What are the questions, always the same. | 23:24 | |
Where are you going? | 23:26 | |
Can we come too? | 23:29 | |
Who's gonna stay with us? | 23:31 | |
And I think this parable is Mark's way | 23:35 | |
of addressing that very same question of absence. | 23:39 | |
It's like a man that goes on a journey. | 23:45 | |
And he puts his servants in charge. | 23:49 | |
Oh we pray for Advent. | 23:53 | |
For Christ's presence. | 23:56 | |
In the Eucharist, Holy Communion, | 24:00 | |
it's the church's way of proclaiming | 24:04 | |
the real presence of Christ in bread | 24:06 | |
and wine and sharing food and drink. | 24:09 | |
But today's parable suggests that sometimes | 24:13 | |
we talk so much in the church about presence | 24:15 | |
'cause we've got so much absence. | 24:18 | |
When you think about it, we've really | 24:23 | |
never known any time with Jesus, the church. | 24:24 | |
Except absence. | 24:28 | |
We've never lived anywhere except in that time, | 24:31 | |
the mean time between his first Advent and the next. | 24:35 | |
Absence. | 24:40 | |
And so we pray and we read and we listen. | 24:43 | |
We eat and drink. | 24:46 | |
But still, even in church, something rises | 24:49 | |
in the heart to meet the prophetic word. | 24:52 | |
Thou hast hid thy face from us. | 24:57 | |
Oh in this service. | 25:04 | |
Here in the chapel you may feel God's near presence. | 25:06 | |
You may feel, sometimes, that it is as if | 25:10 | |
the heavens are just rendered. | 25:12 | |
Or at least made somewhat ajar so that just a smidgen | 25:16 | |
of divine light pours through, but it's enough. | 25:19 | |
But shortly, you're gonna leave this place. | 25:25 | |
And you're gonna go back to your carol in the library. | 25:28 | |
Back to preparing for exams, back to Pegrum. | 25:32 | |
Or the OR or the kitchen sink, and you may find | 25:36 | |
that prayer may not come as easily as here. | 25:39 | |
The presence will not be as sure | 25:45 | |
as it is in this blessed bread and wine. | 25:46 | |
Hunger for God temporarily assuaged | 25:50 | |
at the altar of the chapel. | 25:53 | |
Will rise again, and your Monday prayer will be... | 25:56 | |
Thou hast hid thy face from us. | 26:02 | |
Of course Jesus warned us. | 26:09 | |
It will be like a man going on a journey. | 26:13 | |
When he leaves home. | 26:18 | |
And he puts his servants in charge, | 26:21 | |
each with their own work to do. | 26:22 | |
Did you hear that phrase in the story? | 26:27 | |
In the initial shock of absence, | 26:32 | |
going on a journey, when he leaves home, did you | 26:35 | |
hear that phrase he puts his servants in charge? | 26:39 | |
Each with his or her own work to do. | 26:46 | |
The story is a parable about absence, | 26:51 | |
yes, about masters who go away | 26:54 | |
just when we could use their advice. | 26:56 | |
And in listening to the story we're happy | 26:59 | |
to hear that and absolutely nothing else. | 27:01 | |
Absence, painful absence. | 27:03 | |
But the story is also a message about the meantime. | 27:06 | |
How now do we live? | 27:12 | |
The master is going away, yes yes yes, | 27:15 | |
we know all about that, we've known | 27:18 | |
about that for 2,000 years now. | 27:19 | |
But here's something you may not know | 27:24 | |
if you hadn't come to chapel this morning. | 27:26 | |
The master puts his servants in charge. | 27:30 | |
Each with his or her own work to do. | 27:37 | |
Oh there's a curse of absence. | 27:46 | |
But there's also a grace in vocation. | 27:51 | |
Because the class, it won't work except | 27:58 | |
when Miss Jones is pacing up and down | 27:59 | |
the aisles with her ruler, is a worthless class. | 28:01 | |
The servant who can only be trusted | 28:07 | |
when the master happens to be | 28:08 | |
in residence is a worthless servant. | 28:10 | |
The faith that can only be trusted when Messiah | 28:15 | |
is standing next to us is a worthless faith. | 28:18 | |
The piety that knows no other prayer | 28:22 | |
than God come down here and do something... | 28:25 | |
Is worthless. | 28:29 | |
Moral behavior. | 28:32 | |
Which has no basis other than the naked | 28:35 | |
omnipresent stare of God, isn't very moral. | 28:37 | |
Oh certainly God's presence is decisive. | 28:44 | |
The return of the master, whenever he returns, | 28:48 | |
is a time of accounting and judgment. | 28:51 | |
And we are right to come here and pray about, | 28:54 | |
and to sing about, and to enjoy | 28:58 | |
the presence of God whenever we get it. | 29:00 | |
Here in bread and wine on this altar on Sunday | 29:06 | |
are over coffee and cornflakes on Monday. | 29:10 | |
Having experienced one Advent of Christ | 29:14 | |
at Bethlehem, we are right to stand | 29:17 | |
on tiptoes expecting the next. | 29:20 | |
But my point is that doesn't change a thing in the meantime. | 29:24 | |
Which is the only time we've ever known. | 29:29 | |
Because whether the master is present with us, | 29:34 | |
or absent from us, present in Durham | 29:38 | |
or absent in Palm Beach, with us out here | 29:41 | |
in Galilee, or off somewhere more exciting, | 29:45 | |
The good news is the master has put | 29:50 | |
his servants in charge, each with his own work. | 29:53 | |
Therefore you got to watch, therefore, | 29:57 | |
'cause you don't know when the master may come. | 29:59 | |
Whether it'll be an evening, or morning, | 30:01 | |
or in just a few moments when you receive | 30:03 | |
blessed bread and wine here at the altar, | 30:05 | |
or tomorrow morning over your cornflakes, you don't know. | 30:08 | |
But the point is that the Kingdom of God, | 30:12 | |
the presence of God, the presence of God in our world, | 30:15 | |
is not only a matter of absence, painful empty absence. | 30:19 | |
It's also a matter of important work | 30:25 | |
being entrusted to a bunch of servants. | 30:28 | |
Servants. | 30:34 | |
With responsibilities to be met and lives to be lived | 30:36 | |
and children to be raised and exams to be taken. | 30:39 | |
And classes to be attended. | 30:43 | |
And words to be spoken and prayers to be said | 30:46 | |
and bread and wine to be received and deeds to be done. | 30:48 | |
The master, the first time he was | 30:53 | |
with us, put his servants in charge. | 30:56 | |
Each with his or her own work. | 31:02 | |
And he told us to keep at it until he got back. | 31:06 | |
We don't know when he'll come and put us to the test. | 31:11 | |
We don't know when we shall hold our lives | 31:14 | |
in the palm of our hands and have to | 31:16 | |
render account, we don't know. | 31:18 | |
Of that our Jesus says nobody knows, | 31:19 | |
not even the angels in Heaven, not even the Son. | 31:22 | |
All we know is that the Kingdom of God is now. | 31:27 | |
We don't have to wait until our Advent | 31:32 | |
prayers for presence are answered, | 31:34 | |
and come thou long expected Jesus | 31:36 | |
is not just a pious wish, but a present fact. | 31:38 | |
All we know is that the Kingdom is now. | 31:45 | |
He's put his servants in charge. | 31:49 | |
Each with his or her own work. | 31:54 | |
Last week, a group of us met | 32:01 | |
to discuss the fearful situation in the Middle East. | 32:05 | |
What could we do, we wondered, what could we do? | 32:09 | |
So we called together community leaders. | 32:11 | |
And there were people there, a lot of | 32:15 | |
clergy mostly, and some professors. | 32:17 | |
Some of the people there were very important people, | 32:22 | |
somebody had just been on the phone | 32:24 | |
with Jimmy Carter asking him what he thought. | 32:25 | |
Somebody else had been on the phone with somebody else, | 32:28 | |
and somebody had just gotten back from | 32:32 | |
Baghdad with a group of dignitaries. | 32:34 | |
I noticed in the meeting there was a woman | 32:37 | |
sitting over at the side knitting. | 32:39 | |
Nodding in agreement occasionally during the discussion. | 32:41 | |
And at the break I asked her who she was. | 32:45 | |
What she was doing there. | 32:48 | |
She said she had caught wind of the meeting | 32:50 | |
from her pastor and she wanted to be there. | 32:52 | |
And then she told me, she said, | 32:57 | |
A person does what can be done. | 33:01 | |
For the last two months I have begun | 33:06 | |
every day by writing a personal | 33:08 | |
letter to each of our senators. | 33:10 | |
I write one letter approving and one letter disapproving. | 33:14 | |
And each day I try to think of something new to say, | 33:19 | |
some new rationale why we should not have war. | 33:22 | |
And I've written now about a hundred such letters. | 33:28 | |
And then she said to me, I guess that's a little thing. | 33:35 | |
But sometimes a person just has | 33:41 | |
to do what you're supposed to do. | 33:43 | |
The master has gone away | 33:52 | |
and left his Kingdom in the hands of a bunch of servants. | 33:55 | |
Amen. | 34:03 | |
Nancy | The Lord be with you. | 34:13 |
Churchgoers | And also with you. | 34:15 |
- | Let us pray. | 34:16 |
Oh wisdom, breath of the most high, | 34:23 | |
pervading and permeating all creation. | 34:26 | |
You have called us to watch for your return, | 34:30 | |
for soon the veil between earth and sky will be lifted. | 34:33 | |
We receive your promise with grateful hearts, | 34:37 | |
even as we admit that it causes us to tremble. | 34:40 | |
Lord, hear us as we pray. | 34:46 | |
Come, Lord Jesus. | 34:48 | |
Oh radiant dawn, splendor of | 34:52 | |
eternal light and son of justice. | 34:53 | |
We who are so addicted to activity | 34:57 | |
have been directed to wait. | 34:59 | |
We who are so anxious to get ahead | 35:02 | |
have been called to prepare the way for another. | 35:05 | |
We who would build mansions have been beckoned to a manger. | 35:09 | |
We who would be great must kneel before a baby. | 35:13 | |
Lord, hear us as we pray. | 35:18 | |
Come, Lord Jesus. | 35:20 | |
Oh root of Jesse standing as a signal to the nations, | 35:23 | |
before whom all kings are mute. | 35:27 | |
To whom the nations will do homage. | 35:30 | |
You call us to become your peacemakers among the nations, | 35:33 | |
but we continue to be plowshares into battleships, | 35:37 | |
and pruning hooks into missile heads. | 35:41 | |
You command us to love our neighbors as ourselves, | 35:45 | |
but we afflict them with cold hearts, | 35:48 | |
quick tempers, and cruel deeds. | 35:51 | |
Lord, hear us as we pray. | 35:55 | |
Come, Lord Jesus. | 35:57 | |
Oh Lord of Lords and leader of the House of Israel, | 36:00 | |
who appeared to Moses in the burning bush | 36:03 | |
and gave him your law on Sinai, | 36:06 | |
make us open to the people around us | 36:09 | |
and the troubled world in which we live. | 36:11 | |
Especially those whom we call our enemies. | 36:14 | |
Multitudes of your children suffer | 36:18 | |
unspeakable pain out of sight. | 36:20 | |
Give us open eyes. | 36:23 | |
Their cries for help are muffled. | 36:25 | |
Give us open ears. | 36:28 | |
Their pain is often born alone. | 36:30 | |
Give us open hearts. | 36:33 | |
Their hope and encouragement are ours to grant. | 36:35 | |
Give us open hands. | 36:39 | |
Lord, hear us as we pray. | 36:41 | |
Come, Lord Jesus. | 36:43 | |
Oh Immanuel, our king and lawgiver, | 36:47 | |
the anointed of the nations. | 36:50 | |
Forgive us our faint spirits. | 36:52 | |
Forgive us our timid souls. | 36:55 | |
As we open our arms to the Christ child, | 36:58 | |
clasp us to your heart. | 37:01 | |
Teach us with a firm hand how to | 37:03 | |
refuse the evil and choose the good. | 37:06 | |
And lift us up with a gentle hand when we stumble and fall. | 37:09 | |
This we pray for thy love sake. | 37:14 | |
Amen. | 37:17 | |
Christ invites to his table all who love him | 37:22 | |
and who desire to live in peace with one another. | 37:25 | |
Let us stand and offer each other | 37:29 | |
signs of peace and reconciliation. | 37:31 | |
As a forgiven people call to wait for the Lord, | 37:54 | |
let us offer our gifts and ourselves unto God. | 37:57 | |
(singing in foreign language) | 38:38 | |
(uplifting orchestra music) | 39:12 | |
(singing in foreign language) | 39:55 | |
(religious pipe organ music) | 43:23 | |
♪ Praise God, from whom all blessings flow ♪ | 44:01 | |
♪ Praise God, all creatures here below ♪ | 44:07 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 44:13 | |
♪ Praise God above, ye heavenly host ♪ | 44:20 | |
♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ | 44:26 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 44:33 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 44:38 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 44:44 | |
- | Join me in giving thanks. | 44:56 |
The Lord be with you. | 44:58 | |
Churchgoers | And also with you. | 45:00 |
- | Lift up your hearts. | 45:01 |
Churchgoers | We lift them up to the Lord. | 45:02 |
- | Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. | 45:04 |
Churchgoers | It is right to give our thanks to Christ. | 45:06 |
- | Almighty God, in this season, | 45:10 |
when we celebrate the coming | 45:12 | |
of your Son, our Lord Jesus, | 45:14 | |
we give you thanks and praise. | 45:16 | |
You created all things. | 45:18 | |
You made us in your image. | 45:20 | |
You did not desert us even when we rebelled against you. | 45:23 | |
You delivered us from captivity. | 45:27 | |
You spoke to the prophets who look forward | 45:30 | |
to that day when the heavens would be rendered | 45:33 | |
and you would come in fullness of presence among us. | 45:37 | |
And so, with your people on Earth, | 45:42 | |
and all the company of Heaven, we praise | 45:45 | |
your name and join in their unending hymn. | 45:47 | |
(religious pipe organ music) | 45:52 | |
♪ Holy, holy, holy Lord ♪ | 46:05 | |
♪ God of power and might ♪ | 46:12 | |
♪ Holy, holy, holy Lord ♪ | 46:18 | |
♪ God of power and might ♪ | 46:25 | |
♪ Heaven and Earth are filled ♪ | 46:31 | |
♪ With your glory ♪ | 46:37 | |
♪ Hosanna in the highest ♪ | 46:43 | |
♪ Hosanna in the highest ♪ | 46:49 | |
♪ Blessed is he who comes ♪ | 46:57 | |
♪ In the name of the Lord ♪ | 47:03 | |
♪ Hosanna in the highest ♪ | 47:09 | |
♪ Hosanna in the highest ♪ | 47:15 | |
- | Holy is your name. | 47:27 |
Blessed is your Son, Jesus Christ. | 47:29 | |
In him you put down the mighty from their thrones | 47:32 | |
and exalt those of low degree. | 47:35 | |
You fill the hungry with good things | 47:38 | |
and the rich you send empty away. | 47:40 | |
Your own Son Immanuel came among us, your presence with us. | 47:43 | |
He humbled himself in obedience to your will | 47:47 | |
accepting death on a cross. | 47:50 | |
On the night he offered himself up for us | 47:53 | |
he took bread, gave you thanks, | 47:55 | |
broke the bread, gave it to his | 47:57 | |
disciples and said take, eat. | 47:58 | |
This is my body given for you. | 48:02 | |
Do this in remembrance of me. | 48:03 | |
And when the supper was over he took the cup, | 48:06 | |
gave you thanks, gave it to his disciples | 48:09 | |
and said drink from this, all of you. | 48:11 | |
This is my blood in the new covenant poured out | 48:15 | |
for you and many for the forgiveness of sins. | 48:18 | |
Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. | 48:21 | |
And so in remembrance of these, | 48:26 | |
your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, | 48:28 | |
we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving | 48:31 | |
as a holy, living sacrifice in union | 48:34 | |
with Christ offering for us as we | 48:37 | |
proclaim the mystery of faith. | 48:39 | |
(religious pipe organ music) | 48:42 | |
♪ Christ has died ♪ | 48:54 | |
♪ Christ is risen ♪ | 48:58 | |
♪ Christ will come again ♪ | 49:01 | |
- | In remembrance of all your mighty acts, | 49:10 |
we ask that you accept this, | 49:13 | |
our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving | 49:15 | |
which we offer in union with Christ, | 49:18 | |
sacrificed for us, as a living | 49:20 | |
and holy surrender of ourselves. | 49:23 | |
Send the power of your Holy Sprit | 49:25 | |
on us and on these gifts. | 49:28 | |
That in the breaking of this bread | 49:30 | |
and the drinking of this wine we may | 49:31 | |
know and knew the presence of the living Christ. | 49:33 | |
Be cleansed by his blood faithfully | 49:36 | |
to serve him in the world. | 49:38 | |
To look forward to that day foretold | 49:40 | |
by prophets and apostles. | 49:42 | |
When the one who came in humility, | 49:44 | |
and who comes today in word and spirit, | 49:47 | |
shall come in final victory. | 49:49 | |
Through him, and in him, in the | 49:52 | |
unity of the Holy Spirit we pray. | 49:55 | |
All honor and glory is yours, | 49:58 | |
Almighty Father, now and forever. | 50:00 | |
(religious pipe organ music) | 50:02 | |
♪ Amen, amen ♪ | 50:15 | |
♪ Amen, amen ♪ | 50:21 | |
- | Our father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. | 50:32 |
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, | 50:36 | |
on Earth as it is in Heaven. | 50:38 | |
Give us this day our daily bread, | 50:41 | |
and forgive us our trespasses as we | 50:43 | |
forgive those who trespass against us. | 50:46 | |
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. | 50:49 | |
For thine is the Kingdom, | 50:53 | |
and the power and the glory forever. | 50:54 | |
Amen. | 50:58 | |
Come to the Lord's table. | 51:00 | |
And as we come, we will sing 1-9-6. | 51:03 | |
(religious pipe organ music) | 51:06 | |
♪ Come, thou long-expected Jesus ♪ | 52:01 | |
♪ Born to set thy people free ♪ | 52:09 | |
♪ From our fears and sins release us ♪ | 52:16 | |
♪ Let us find our rest in Thee. ♪ | 52:23 | |
♪ Israel's strength and consolation ♪ | 52:30 | |
♪ Hope of all the Earth thou art ♪ | 52:37 | |
♪ Dear desire of every nation ♪ | 52:45 | |
♪ Joy of every longing heart ♪ | 52:52 | |
♪ Born thy people to deliver ♪ | 53:01 | |
♪ Born a child and yet a king ♪ | 53:08 | |
♪ Born to reign in us forever ♪ | 53:15 | |
♪ Now thy gracious kingdom bring ♪ | 53:22 | |
♪ By thine own eternal spirit ♪ | 53:29 | |
♪ Rule in all our hearts alone ♪ | 53:36 | |
♪ By thine all sufficient merit ♪ | 53:43 | |
♪ Raise us to thy glorious throne ♪ | 53:49 | |
♪ Since by man ♪ | 56:22 | |
♪ Came death ♪ | 56:27 | |
♪ Since by man ♪ | 56:36 | |
♪ Came death ♪ | 56:43 | |
♪ By man came also the resurrection of the dead ♪ | 56:58 | |
♪ By man came also the resurrection of the dead ♪ | 57:04 | |
♪ By man came also the resurrection of the dead ♪ | 57:10 | |
♪ For as in Adam ♪ | 57:22 | |
♪ All die ♪ | 57:31 | |
♪ For as in Adam ♪ | 57:40 | |
♪ All die ♪ | 57:48 | |
♪ Even so in Christ, shall all be made alive ♪ | 58:02 | |
♪ Even so in Christ, shall all be made alive ♪ | 58:06 | |
♪ Even so in Christ, shall all be made alive ♪ | 58:10 | |
♪ Even so in Christ, shall all be made alive ♪ | 58:18 | |
(religious pipe organ music) | 58:25 | |
♪ People look east, the time is here ♪ | 59:06 | |
♪ Of the crowning of the year ♪ | 59:09 | |
♪ Make your house fair as you are able ♪ | 59:12 | |
♪ Trim the hearth and set the table ♪ | 59:15 | |
♪ People look east ♪ | 59:19 | |
♪ Love, the guest is on the way ♪ | 59:22 | |
♪ Furrows be glad, though earth is bare ♪ | 59:27 | |
♪ One more seed is planted there ♪ | 59:30 | |
♪ Give up your strength the seed to nourish ♪ | 59:33 | |
♪ That in course the flower may flourish ♪ | 59:36 | |
♪ People look east ♪ | 59:40 | |
♪ Love, the rose is on the way ♪ | 59:43 | |
♪ Stars, keep your watch when night is dim ♪ | 59:48 | |
♪ One more light the bowl shall brim ♪ | 59:51 | |
♪ Shining beyond the frosty weather ♪ | 59:54 | |
♪ Bright as sun and moon together ♪ | 59:58 | |
♪ People look east ♪ | 1:00:01 | |
♪ Love, the star is on the way ♪ | 1:00:04 | |
♪ Angels announce with shouts of mirth ♪ | 1:00:09 | |
♪ Him who brings new life to earth ♪ | 1:00:13 | |
♪ Set every peak and valley humming ♪ | 1:00:16 | |
♪ With the word, the Lord is coming ♪ | 1:00:19 | |
♪ People look east ♪ | 1:00:22 | |
♪ Love, the Lord is on the way ♪ | 1:00:26 | |
- | Please stand for the benediction. | 1:00:36 |
And now may the grace of our Lord | 1:00:45 | |
and Savior Jesus Christ come among you | 1:00:46 | |
and bless you this day and ever more. | 1:00:49 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 1:00:58 | |
(religious pipe organ music) | 1:01:18 | |
(gospel singing) | 1:01:47 | |
(religious pipe organ music) | 1:03:54 |