+ In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen
The Greeting:Grace, mercy and peace
from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ
be with you
and also with you.
Prayer of Preparation:Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden:
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit
that we may perfectly love you
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our lord.
Amen.
The Collect – Fourth Sunday in AdventGod our Redeemer,
who prepared the Blessed Virgin Mary
to be the mother of your Son:
grant that, as she looked for his coming as our Saviour,
so may we be ready to greet him
when he comes again as our Judge;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
AmenReadings:
Micah 5: 2-5a“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.”
3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned
until the time when she who is in labour bears a son,
and the rest of his brothers return
to join the Israelites.
4 He will stand and shepherd his flock
in the strength of the LORD,
in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness
will reach to the ends of the earth.
5 And he will be our peace
Hebrews 10: 5-105 Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me;
6 with burnt offerings and sin offerings
you were not pleased.
7 Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—
I have come to do your will, my God.’”
8 First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law. 9 Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. 10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Luke 1: 39-45 39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfil his promises to her!”
Homily:In our readings today we see quite a few of God’s plans for saving his people coming together. In Micah, we read of the significance of the town of Bethlehem in God’s plan. The prophet tells us that it is the smallest and most insignificant place, but God has chosen it as the place where the Messiah will be born. Historically, Bethlehem was quite a large place. It was the capital of what had been the Israelite tribe of Judah but over the years it had lost a lot of its significance and at the time of Jesus’ birth was nothing more than an overgrown village. Of course, we all know from our study of Ruth, a month or two ago, that the plans had been started generations before. Ruth, the foreigner, had shown both her contemporaries and her descendants what a life dedicated to loving kindness could look like. Back in her home country of Moab, she had had a good life. She was married and looking forward to having children in order to carry her husband’s name. That was not to be, as we know, when her husband died. She could have stayed and remarried but she chose to leave her own land and go with her mother-in-law: Naomi back to Israel. She did not know what she was going to, but she knew she had to show kindness to the woman who had taught her about God. Our theme today is: “Saying Yes”. Ruth started a chain of events by her “Yes” to God.
Her grandson became the greatest King Israel had ever known: David. And as the generations passed, eventually a young man descended from that line had the choice of whether to stand by his fiancé when she told him an angel had said she would bear the Messiah. Joseph said “Yes” to God and married Mary because, somehow, he knew that, even though they both suffered the tongue-wagging and cruel comments of the whole town, God had a bigger plan for them. Saying “Yes” to God never has and never does ensure a trouble-free existence.
Today, in our Gospel reading, we have the beautiful story of Mary meeting up with Elizabeth. The angel had told Mary that Elizabeth was also having a baby. They all knew of course that Elizabeth had never had children and was too old to start. They had no telephones in those days, so the news that she was pregnant was not instantly available. Mary would only know if this was true by visiting her cousin. And we have that lovely moment where the two women embrace and the baby inside Elizabeth does a little dance because he recognizes God’s Son within Mary.
John the Baptist had to say “Yes” to being the forerunner for Jesus. He was like the support act before the main star came on the stage. John was to prepare peoples’ hearts in order to receive Jesus. Sometimes when we say yes to God, we will be the support act to other peoples’ roles. I know it is hard work for the relatively few people we have in our group of churches here to hold everything together: to decorate the churches, bake for fundraising, meet to discuss all the things which need to be done and apply for grants to keep the buildings in as good repair as possible. Then there is the spiritual side of things. I know that you pray for others and visit those who are ill. And every “Yes” is as valuable as every other. We have to serve according to our physical and emotional abilities and those change as we go through life. I don’t think that John the Baptist ever saw his role as subordinate to Jesus. He saw his task as fulfilling what God required of him and Jesus doing the same. We shouldn’t have hierarchies in our churches.
When our Bishops are consecrated, they are reminded that when they were first ordained they were Deacons and remain Deacons. Deacons in the New Testament were the ones who were chosen by the first disciples to serve the poor and distribute food to the widows. They are also reminded that they were ordained as Priests and remain as Priests. Priests are like The Good Shepherd who constantly searches out the sheep that get lost and brings them back. Years ago, Bishops used to be treated and, some of them in my experience expected to be treated, as very important and the ones who had the special seats and made all the important decisions about their areas of responsibility. Nowadays I see many Bishops who consult much more and ask for our views on their decisions before they make them. We obviously treat them with respect when they visit or write to us, but we see the “Yes” they have said to God as their part in our joint “Yes” as the Church.
So, part of the Bishop’s role at this time of year is to encourage the clergy. In the post on Friday, I got two Christmas cards: one from Bishop Jane and Archdeacon Ian and the other from Bishop Graham. The one from Bishop Graham shows a snowman in his garden which overlooks Norwich Cathedral. I found myself wondering in view of what I have just said about our different “Yeses” who built the snowman. I don’t think it was Bishop Graham! Inside he has had printed two verses from a Carol we probably sing every Christmas on some occasion or other. The words are by Christina Rossetti and probably sum up far better than I could what I have been trying to say:
“Our God, Heaven cannot hold him, nor earth sustain;
heaven and earth shall flee away when he comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
the Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.
What can I give him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
if I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
but what I can I give him: give my heart”.
Intercessions:As we share in Mary and Elizabeth’s joy at the coming of our Saviour, let us quieten and still ourselves in the presence of God.
Heavenly Father, we can only marvel at the news of the Annunciation and we pray that like Mary we as present day Christians can also work together to further your kingdom. We pray for those who will be taking part in services at Christmas in churches or in their own homes, watching services on television or listening to radio broadcasts. We pray for Christians all over the world. In our Diocese we pray for our Bishops: Graham, Alan and Jane. We pray for all who will be drawn to our churches this Christmas that they may find God’s love and peace. We also pray for mission agencies and their ministry throughout the Anglican Communion.
Lord in your mercy: Hear our prayer
Heavenly Father, we ask for reassurance and encouragement during this time of uncertainty in the world. Give us insight into the real needs of our country, but also the wider world. We pray for our government, our MPs and local councillors in their decision-making at this time. We pray for all those still affected by the corona virus throughout the world, especially the poorest nations. We pray for our Queen and members of the royal family and we pray for all people who will be travelling to see their families at Christmas time.
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayerHeavenly Father, we pray for our group of parishes and the villages that make up this Benefice. We pray for our friends and neighbours and those we come into contact with. We pray for our local schools, places of work, our farms, and the local shops that we use. We pray that we may take no one we meet for granted. We pray for all those who visit our homes for their continued care and help.
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayerWe pray for those we know who are in pain and discomfort. We pray for those who look after them. We pray for the residents and staff of Thorp House. We pray for those who are sick and we especially for…………
Our Archdeacon Ian has asked for our prayers as he and his family deal with the shock of his recent diagnosis of cancer.
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayerHeavenly Father we know that death can be so cruel especially when people are taken at a young age but thank you for the knowledge and the belief in eternity and that one day we will gather together in your kingdom. We give thanks for the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints and all those we know locally who have recently come to the end of their earthy journey. In silence we remember Barry John Sewell whose funeral took place this past week and Patricia Audrey Plummer whose funeral takes place this coming week.
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayer Merciful Father
accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
AmenThe Peace:
In the tender mercy of our God,
the dayspring from on high shall break upon us,
to give light to those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow
of death and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
The peace of the Lord be always with you
And also with you.
The Lord’s Prayer:
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.
Final Prayer:Heavenly Father,
who chose the Blessed Virgin Mary
to be the mother of the promised Saviour:
fill us your servants with your grace, that in all things we may embrace your holy will
and with her rejoice in your salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
The Blessing: Christ the Sun of Righteousness shine upon you,
scatter the darkness from before your path,
and make you ready to meet him when he comes in glory;
And the blessing of God Almighty,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you
always.
Amen