Second Sunday of Advent

December 8, 2019

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Glebe-St. James United ChurchReaching – Into Faith, Out to Others

Second Sunday in Advent December 8, 2019Portions of the service printed in bold type are to be said by everyone. Please stand in body or spirit for the portions of the service marked *. For hymns: VU = “Voices United,” MV = “More Voices.” All shared prayers and hymns will be displayed on the screens.

Gathered by GodPREPARING OUR HEARTS FOR WORSHIP

Praeludium on Veni, veni, Emmanuel (Hendrik Andriessen)

WELCOME

CALL TO WORSHIP & CANDLE LIGHTING

The day is coming, it is getting closerIt’s almost Christmas!Christmas always make me hope for good things (light one candle)Do you know what I am really hoping for this year?A new phone?Well maybe. But I hope that we can learn from our past mistakes. I hope that God will help us find a way to live together in peace and justice. It has to happen some year right? (light a 2nd candle)I hope so, some year, maybe next year? Let us pray...God you promise us that some day there will be peace throughout the world.

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Peace requires the capacity to forgive. Peace requires a readiness to share generously. Peace requires the violation of strict class stratification in society. Peace requires

attentiveness to the vulnerable and the unproductive. Peace requires humility in the face of exaltation, being last among those who insist on being first and denying self in the interest

of the neighbour. – Walter Brueggemann

Peace between countries, peace within families, peace in our troubled hearts.We haven’t learned how to do that yet. Help all of us be people who bring peace into our lives. Help us change the world around us as we wait for Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Amen.

INTROIT We Light This Candle

We light this candle for Peace.Await the new life within.May our hearts now live each day,So peace can find a way, so peace can find a way.

OPENING PRAYER

God our holy Friend, hope and peace are prepared for those who love you. You sent your prophets and messengers to prepare the way

for the coming of your son, Jesus. By your Spirit, please make ready our lives,

that by our worship and service we may open up paths for the celebration of his coming.

Through us, and through those of like spirit, may his liberating love penetrate the world around us.

In your name we pray. Amen.

*HYMN VU 2 Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

EXCHANGING A SIGN OF PEACE

HYMN MV 221 I Am Walking a Path of Peace

HYMN MV 33 Jesus Came Bringing Us Peace

Listening for the WordSCRIPTURE Isaiah 1:1-103 | P a g e

The vision that Isaiah son of Amoz saw regarding Judah and Jerusalem during the times of the kings of Judah: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.

Heaven and earth, you’re the jury. Listen to GOD’s case:“I had children and raised them well, and they turned on me.The ox knows who’s boss, the mule knows the hand that feeds him,But not Israel. My people don’t know up from down.Shame! Misguided GOD-dropouts, staggering under their guilt-baggage,Gang of miscreants, band of vandals –My people have walked out on me, their GOD, turned their backs on The Holy of Israel, walked off and never looked back.“Why bother even trying to do anything with you when you just keep to your bullheaded ways?You keep beating your heads against brick walls. Everything within you protests against you.From the bottom of your feet to the top of your head, nothing’s working right.Wounds and bruises and running sores – untended, unwashed, unbandaged.Your country is laid waste, your cities burned down.Your land is destroyed by outsiders while you watch, reduced to rubble by barbarians.Daughter Zion is deserted – like a tumbledown shack on a dead-end street,Like a tarpaper shanty on the wrong side of the tracks, like a sinking ship abandoned by the rats.

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If GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies hadn’t left us a few survivors, we’d be as desolate as Sodom, doomed just like Gomorrah.“Listen to my Message, you Sodom-schooled leaders.Receive God’s revelation, you Gomorrah-schooled people.

In scripture, the Spirit of God is alive and active.God’s Spirit is alive and among us. Thanks be to God.

GIFT OF MUSIC Let there be peace on earth (Sy Miller and Jill Jackson, arr. Hawley Ades)

REFLECTION ON SCRIPTURE Images of Christmas and war don’t easily fit together in our minds.

The cold cruelty of war seems about as far as one can get from the warm generosity of the holiday season.

The pain and suffering of battle contradict the joy and celebration of Christmas. But for those who fought in World War I, Christmas arrived right in the midst of an intense global battle.

Life in the trenches was brutal and gruesome. New technologies such as tanks and mustard gas had advanced military capabilities to kill even more efficiently and painfully.

But against this backdrop, individuals chose peace. Early in the war, during December 1914, many German and British soldiers took peace into their own hands.

On Christmas Eve, they sang and played carols to each other across the destroyed no-man’s-land, finding that they knew the same songs even if the lyrics were in different languages.

And early on Christmas Day, German soldiers walked across the scarred landscape, unarmed and shouting “Merry Christmas” to their enemies.

Allied soldiers, a little distrustful at first, crawled out of their trenches and joined them, shaking hands, exchanging gifts of cigarettes and plum pudding, and they sang Christmas carols together.

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Apparently there was even a documented game of soccer during this unofficial cease-fire.

The Christmas Truce was never repeated. Unfortunately, the officers made sure of it by threatening punishments.

But on that special day, enemies placed their shared humanity before their grievances and experienced the Christmas spirit of peace in a truly powerful way.

In a similar way, God’s peace can fill us and rule within us even when we are surrounded by death and evil.

God’s presence and peace can pierce even dark and painful surroundings and circumstances, including any war or any emotional valley we find ourselves in.

Christmas is typically, and rightfully, thought of as a season of joy, but it can be a painful season for many people. Maybe you’re one of them.

What struggles do you face today? What shadows haunt you even under the twinkling lights, candles, and decorations?

We may not be able to end the personal, emotional, cultural, or physical wars we are fighting this holiday season, but even in those darkest places, we can lean into the God who is with us.

Today as we continue our Advent journey toward Christmas, we are focusing on and celebrating peace, the peace that has been brought into our word by Immanuel, God with Us.

My hope is that today each of us will experience the comfort of Christ’s peace deep within our souls.

If you’ve been journeying with us toward Christmas, you know that we have been celebrating Advent.

Advent offers us the opportunity to share in the ancient longing for the coming of the Messiah, to celebrate His birth, and to be alert for His second coming.

Advent looks back in celebration at the hope fulfilled in Jesus Christ’s coming, while at the same time looking forward in hopeful and eager anticipation to the coming of Christ’s kingdom when He returns for His people.

During Advent we wait for both –it’s an active, assured, and hopeful waiting.

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And each week, we focus on a different attribute of God represented in the coming of Jesus: hope, peace, joy, and love.

Because Jesus is Immanuel, “God with Us,” he is the embodiment of these traits, who has entered our world and who fills us with them all.

The shepherds in the Christmas story often get a bad rap. They are presented as outcasts – a dirty, unruly group that was at the bottom rung of society.

And while they definitely held a lower place in society, not all scholars believe they were so unrespectable.

In fact, shepherds had at one point held a very high position in Israel’s history. Faithful Jews would have known the stories of the patriarchs of their faith who were shepherds: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and even King David.

But whether or not shepherds of Jesus’s day were a totally motley crew, the profession had undeniably fallen in esteem since the days of the patriarchs.

They were definitely considered a lower social class. They held a menial vocation that involved hard labor in the elements and physical work with the animals. Stinky animals.

It’s safe to say a shepherd wasn’t what most mamas dreamed their boys would grow up to be. They were a pretty lowly bunch.

At the other end of the spectrum in Israel were the religious leaders of the day. Smug in their moral goodness and high positions of power, they made sure everyone else knew their place in the caste system –Pharisees and Sadducees and the like at the top; everyone else below in descending order.

They kept themselves lifted up by putting everyone else down.

They believed they were the ones with a direct line to God and His purpose for everyone else’s lives.

So in this hierarchy, shepherds weren’t exactly accustomed to being contacted by angelic beings.

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They didn’t expect direct messages from God through celestial representatives of light. Imagine their surprise on that star-filled night on the outskirts of Bethlehem when the brightest star in the sky dimmed, and then the whole dark expanse began to glow with the brilliant light of an angel of the Lord.

Luke described the scene like this: “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified” (Luke 2:8–9)

What was going on here? And then, as if a vision of an angel wasn’t enough, the glowing guy spoke –to the shepherds!

“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger’” (Luke 2:10–12).

Unbelievable! But wait . . . there’s more. Literally, more. As in, more angels: “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests’” (Luke 2:13–14).

The words were almost more unbelievable than the messengers themselves. The angels were making a proclamation of peace to those on whom God’s favor rests.

And they were making it to shepherds?

Can you imagine the confusion and doubts that were probably going through the shepherds’ heads?

Wait, I think they got the wrong guys. But angels don’t make mistakes. So, I guess that’s us. God’s favor is on us. And His peace is with us. Seriously?

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And while we’re on the subject of wondering what the shepherds might have been thinking during this angelic appearance, have you ever wondered what the sheep were doing this whole time?

I mean, granted, sheep have a reputation for being pretty dumb. But it’s unlikely they didn’t notice the bright light and the loud noises.

And while they aren’t exactly racehorses, spooked sheep can move fast! It seems realistic that all those white wooly ones could have bolted during this heavenly announcement – not exactly a peaceful scene on that hillside.

The Bible doesn’t tell us those details. Perhaps it was chaos, or perhaps the sheep were dazed and motionless, or perhaps the sheep’s response is just irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

Whatever the case, this was completely out of the ordinary. This wasn’t supposed to happen to shepherds.

Supernatural encounters with God’s messengers and promises of blessing and favor didn’t come to shepherds.

Those were reserved for the super-spiritual religious leaders of the day.

But like much of Jesus’s coming, this announcement didn’t fit the mold of expectations. Ironically, the religious elite are conspicuously absent from the birth announcement.

Those considered by society to be the “most holy” weren’t given a place in the stable to kneel on holy ground and witness the arrival of the Messiah.

The announcement to the shepherds that God had come to be with us in the birth of the Messiah turned the current system on its head.

It reminded people – and it reminds us today –that God’s favor is not based on human standards.

His favor is on all those who humbly acknowledge their brokenness and accept the gifts of hope, love, joy, and peace that Jesus brings.

The angels appeared to shepherds; the shepherds received the announcement of the good news; and then they became the message bearers of peace.

In three short steps they had come full circle, as Jesus’s arrival meant a kind of restoration for the role of shepherds.

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In fact, throughout His teaching, Jesus used shepherds as an example of good things, not bad.

Jesus even went so far as to call Himself the Good Shepherd who loves and cares for His sheep.

That restoration of wholeness and oneness with God is the essence of peace. The comforting knowledge that all is well and as it should be brings peace of mind and heart.

Jesus’s arrival for the shepherds marked the starting place of peace to all those on whom His favor rests – to all those with whom He is present, which includes us.

The God of peace is truly with us. Peace is not based on class or position or occupation but on His purpose and design to bring good news that will cause great joy for all the people.

Glory to God in the highest! The Prince of Peace has come. On this final Sunday in Advent, let’s explore together what that means and looks like throughout history and in our own lives today.

Way back in history as recorded in the Old Testament, when God gave the Law to Moses and set up the roles and duties of the priests to guide the spiritual life of the ancient Jews, God gave them the ultimate blessing to speak to the people: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace”

(Numbers 6:24–26). The Hebrew word used in that blessing and throughout the Old Testament is shalom,

and it conveys rich, powerful meaning. So much more than just the absence of fighting, shalom reflects safety,

completeness, and wholeness.

This is the type of peace brought by God with Us. Jesus is the Prince of Shalom foretold by the prophet Isaiah:

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“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever” (Isaiah 9:6–7).

The Jews of Jesus’s day wanted a Messiah to establish political justice against their oppressors.

After all, they lived under the iron rule of the Roman Empire, and this was not by choice. They were a conquered people, at the mercy of a powerful military empire.

But the Jews also understood and longed for shalom. The concept was foundational to their culture and spiritual life.

This completeness and wholeness with God is what Jesus brought into and left in our world.

It is the peace that calms our souls deeply. It is the calm acceptance that “it is well with my soul” no matter what swirls and storms around me.

This is the peace we celebrate today. And when Jesus returns one day, He will heal all that’s been broken and restore God’s complete realm of shalom.

Yes, there will be the absence of war and hatred, but even that type of peace will be an extension of the wholeness that He will establish.

Near the end of Jesus’s life, he spoke these words to his disciples shortly before he was arrested and crucified: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.

I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).

Jesus knew His followers were about to experience a crushing blow. But He had a gift for them that was different from anything in our world –

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his peace is not given as the world gives. It is not a gift that can be taken away nor is it something we can create on our own.

It is not the absence of pain, hurt, noise, violence, or uncertainty. Peace is a person. Peace is Jesus with us as the Prince of Peace.

And his assurance to the disciples was that even in what would appear to be the most hopeless of situations, he would be with them.

His peace is his presence with us no matter the circumstances.

How peaceful is your Christmas season? If we’re honest, we might choose words like busy, hectic, and frantic to describe our lives at this time of year – or maybe all year round.

Maybe it’s an overloaded schedule that robs you of peace. Or maybe it’s something more: relational conflict,

pressure at work, a lost job, an illness. You name it. For many of us, peace sounds like a long way away.

A good idea. A nice thought for the holidays. Something we long for. If only we could feel the peace of God with Us!

If this is where you find yourself today, let me encourage you that Jesus shows up when the storms of life threaten our peace and hope and joy.

He is there with us when love seems lost and the way forward is totally unclear. But yes, even the disciples, who lived with Jesus every day, had a hard time grasping this.

Do you remember the story of the disciples in the boat on the Sea of Galilee? It must have been one bad storm on the water that day to make the disciples so afraid.

After all, many of them were fishermen, and this was their regular sea. Yet as their boat took on water, they were terrified.

As the waves rose and the wind howled, Jesus slept through it all. Finally, the disciples shook Him awake, shouting, “Don’t You care what happens to us?”

With just a command for peace from Jesus, the storm calmed and the sea turned tranquil. 12 | P a g e

The disciples were in awe, for very good reason.

Those disciples sure sound like us, don’t they? When things aren’t looking good for us, we’re often quick to cry out, “God, don’t You care?”

We think He’s not paying attention or doesn’t realize the magnitude of our situation, and we add to the spiral of our own storm.

But in reality, God is there. He is God with Us, always present, and he knows all that swirls around and within us.

He sees beyond the waves and winds of our circumstances. The power of his peace isn’t diminished by our storms.

We can allow it to fill our hearts with calm and courage as we turn to him, giving our requests to Him in prayer and focusing on His faithfulness.

God with Us will never leave us. He will never fail. It is this presence of peace that we celebrate on our journey toward Christmas.

And it is this presence of peace that we can access and practice.

How?

When we come to God through prayer, He changes us inside. God’s peace is able to bring a powerful transformation in our spirits.

No matter what we are anxious or worried about, we can bring our needs and requests to God.Paul described the process like this: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6–7).

As we talk to him and give him thanks, God’s peace swells within us and guards our emotions.

This is a miraculous peace, one that transcends all understanding. 13 | P a g e

It doesn’t make sense given the worry and fear we are facing. It wouldn’t naturally exist in the midst of our struggles.

But this is God we are dealing with! This is our Prince of Peace, the giver of shalom, the giver of his Spirit of peace.

When we come close to him – when we go to worship him like those shepherds did –we connect with him, and he transforms us and our outlook.

No matter how bad the storm swirling around and within us, he can calm it. And he can carry us through it.

Let me encourage you in this week of Advent to look for him, even when the winds blow and the storms swirl.

You may find him as a babe lying in a manger or a carpenter’s son asleep in the boat. It may even initially seem to you, as it did to the disciples, that He does not care.

But in the midst of whatever life holds this week, remember that Jesus comes in power as the Prince of Peace, always with us, restoring us to God through wholeness and comfort.

May he be your peace this week, guarding your soul with peace, filling your spirit with the wholeness of shalom, and ruling as the Prince of Peace in your heart.

Inspired by the Word

*HYMN VU 312 Praise with Joy the World’s Creator

THE OFFERING Franconia (Andrew Fletcher)

*WE OFFER OUR GIFTS TO GOD VU 217 All Creatures of Our God and King (vs. 5)

OFFERING PRAYER

For all that we are –Thank you God of Peace.For all that we have –Thank you God of Peace.

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For all that we are becoming – Thank you, God of Peace.Now. Forever.Thank you, God of Peace.

PRAYER OF JESUS (Our Mother and Father…) VU 959 (David Haas)

Sent by the Spirit* HYMN VU 20 On Jordan’s Bank

*COMMISSIONING AND BENEDICTION

In peace, we are born.In peace, we live.In peace, we receive.In peace, we give.In peace, we love, we serve, we kneel.In peace, we grieve, we hurt, we heal.In peace, we are held. To peace, we belong.All of our living, tuned to peace’s song.And so we sing:

CHORAL AMEN (Kriewald)

MUSIC FOR THE JOURNEYWinchester Old (Philip Moore)

Thank you for choosing Glebe-St. James United Church.Please join us for a time of fellowship and community

in Fraser Hall following this morning’s worship.

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Glebestjames.caThe new Glebe-St. James website has gone live. Please check it out and let us know what you think. Thank you Crystal and team for all your work on this.

Organ TalkIf you didn’t have a chance to fill in last week’s questions regarding the Organ, the form is attached to this e-mail and will also be in Sunday’s bulletin.

United Church CalendarsWe have a limited number of UCC calendars available in the office.Cost is $ 6.00 per calendar.

Labyrinth Walk @ GSJ - Sunday, December 15th, 3:00 pmCome find your quiet centre

2019 Glebe-St James Annual Report - contributions welcome!The deadline for contributions to the 2019 Glebe-St James Annual Report is Wednesday, December 18, 2019. If you have photos, suggestions or contributions, please get in touch Jennifer Reid, the Office administrator, or David Brown, Chair of Council, through the church office.

Drivers NeededThe Pastoral Care Committee is looking for assistance in delivering Christmas poinsettias to shut-in and ill GSJ members on December 15th. If you can help out please contact Adele MacLeod at 613-216-7519 or Jennifer Reid in the church office.

Looking forward into January, drivers are needed to bring Rev. George Clifford to church as well as occasionally others.

Grocery Gift CardsThe December order will be available for pick up today following worship.

OMRA thanks you for your support of the Refugee Housing Program. If you don’t currently order grocery cards through Glebe-St. James and are interested, please speak with Donna-Fay Mailhot, Marisa Romano or Janice Vennos.16 | P a g e

Financial Update…… December is our $$$$$ month We are doing ok financially and as always we will need a strong $$$$$ December to balance our operating budget. Yes, we will need just over $40k in givings to balance and this is what we have done for the past many years. And we will help. Dec 10th our Christmas $$$$$ letter and envelop is in the mail, please treat us $$$$$$$ nicely.

This year, as we did a few years ago we will keep track of the December $$$$$ top up by using replicated envelopes to decorate the Christmas Tree. My sense is that we will need around 100 envelopes on the tree to balance the 2019 Operational Budget.

“Thrifty Meals”…..unique cookbookInspired by the 2018 Canada Food Guide, all recipes have been adapted tested and costed by Natasha Hollbach. Please drop by the “Welcoming Table” at coffee hour to check it out.

A message from M&PWe are blessed and thankful for the work of staff in our congregation. The Ministry and Personnel (M&P) Committee acts under the guidance of The Manual of The United Church of Canada. M&P works confidentially to maintain positive and trusting relationships between staff and the congregation, and ensure that staff are supported to carry out their roles.

Each member of M&P supports a member of our staff. As part of our duties, M&P regularly invites the congregation to share praise or concerns about staff, both ministry and lay personnel, in signed correspondence, with the committee at any time. Both praise and concerns will be discussed with staff. Issues will be considered confidentially and acted upon by the M&P Committee. M&P members meet regularly with their staff person, and conduct an annual review, usually in late spring.

Presently serving on the committee & the Staff member(s) they support arePam Fitch (plf350@gmail.com) –

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Rev Teresa Burnett-Cole, Co-ordinating Minister and Rev George Clifford, Minister of Visitation Marsha Hay Snyder (marshahaysnyder@rogers.com) – James Caswell - Minister of MusicJim Louter (jim.louter@gmail.com) – Jennifer Reid, Office Administrator Susan Palmai (palmaisusan@gmail.com) - Congregational contact for the Custodians (employed by Jani King)Margo Williams (margoewilliams@yahoo.ca) – Stephanie Langill, Christian Development Minister

Friendly VisitsFriendly visits: an empathetic person to listen to you – your celebrations, your sorrows, your concerns and your joys. If you would like a visit, or know someone who would, please contact the GSJ office or Adele MacLeod, 613-216-7519 or lyndellmac@gmail.com

Our Second Annual New Year’s Eve Party - back by popular demand!Want to ring in the New Year with friends in a place filled with joy and laughter? (And where you don’t have to stay up until midnight?)

Come and join us at Glebe St. James in Fraser Hall on December 31, 2019. We will turn the hall into a magic place with pot-luck finger food, Robert's famous meat balls, punch, tons of sweets, of course, entertainment, dancing and maybe a New Year’s quiz to keep you on your toes, if the dancing doesn’t!

The evening begins at 6:30 with the New Year celebration happening at 9:00!

Sign-up sheets will be available following worship all Sunday services in December. To assist us in our planning, please let us know if you are coming and what finger food or sweets you might bring!

Monday Craft Group – back at it!1 – 4 pm at the home of Judy Wolanski.

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GLEBE ST. JAMES PARTICIPATION

December 8th December 15th

Presiding Rev. Teresa Burnett-Cole Stephanie LangillMusic James Caswell James CaswellGreeting & Ushering Barb & Dudleigh Coyle

Don & Martha HallJack LivingstoneDave & Heather Stinson

Rebecca DaltonGreg RogerNaina & Paul Thoppil

AV Team Jim RichardsonJosh Thoppil

Jim RichardsonJosh Thoppil

Scripture Reader Marilyn Hamilton Stephanie LangillOffering Counters Jack Livingstone

Brenda SmithDonna-Fay MailhotJim McCulloch

Making Coffee Marion DunningBeth Sharp

Chris BurbridgeEric Dormer

Coffee Hour Greeters Margaret Ford Andy HamiltonPrayer Circle Coordinator Adele MacLeod Adele MacLeod

Children’s Church Stephanie Langill Stephanie LangillNursery Tashi Farmilo-Marouf Tashi Farmilo-MaroufSexton Saj Patni Alex Totten-Thomas

Glebe-St. James United Church650 Lyon Street South, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 3Z7613-236-0617 www.glebestjames.ca

e-mail: glebestjames.church@bellnet.ca

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