Dear People of God
Grace to you and peace
Several people have commented (favourably) on the John Betjeman poem which in included in last week’s mailout. Someone, I don’t know who, left another poem on the table in the vestry. It’s worth contemplating, so I have included it in this week’s edition.
Don’t forget the Combined Churches Carol Service this evening at St Paul’s. Santa won’t be calling and the only present which we will be contemplating is the Gift wrapped in swaddling bands and lying in a manger. I see notices everywhere for community carols sponsored by service clubs, schools and various commercial enterprises: hopefully the churches in our community can bring a glimpse of the Eternal Light into the celebrations.
An advance notice: Archdeacon Rod Bower will be in the parish on 18 February when he will preside, preach and conduct a Visioning session. It’s important that the way ahead after I leave the parish (last service 28 January) be a towards a future in which you have some say. The Anglican Communion is not a series of “stand-alone, independent churches”: we have a common Creed, Scripture, Sacramental and Governance system and the Threefold Ministry (four actually, bishop, priest, deacon and laity) and within that discipline we have the right and responsibility to conduct an effective ministry in our community. I commend the process to your very focussed prayer.
Our thanks go to all the people who organised, set up and cleared away the Christmas Market last weekend at St Michael’s. It took a little over $1500. I managed to speak to all of the stallholders and many of the customers. The stallholders were pleased to be there, in spite of some earlier rain and the consequent reduced number of customers (nine people who had booked a stall failed to show up) they all expressed their intention to return for future markets.
Advent begins in the darkness of night,
Waiting and watching for signs of a light,
Walking, in faith that a path will appear,
Daring to follow in spite of our fear.
Advent begins with our dreams yet deferred,
Love sound ridiculous; prayer seems absurd.
But in the midst of life’s centreless maze,
We lift together out protest of praise.
Advent begins in oppression’s domain,
Marked by the cries of confusion and pain.
Yet hope is kindled where justice is done,
Mercy is nurtured and peace is begun
Advent goes on till the promised dawn breaks,
Tyrants are toppled and God’s dream awakes.
Hope is perfected and faith is made sight,
Love is our centre and Christ is our light.
David Bjorlin © GIA publications
The Lord be with you
Fr George
gmaiprize@bigpond.com 0410 586 119
PROPERS for ADVENT 2
Sentence
Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. For the glory f the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together. (Lk 3:4 Isaah 40:5a)
Collect
Merciful God, you sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen
Collect of the Season
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and out on the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came among us in great humility, that on that last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen
Readings
Isaiah 40:1-11 The people of God are strengthened
Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13 Prayer for help
2 Peter 3:8-15a Wait patiently upon God’s own timing
Mark 1:1-8 The promise of the Lord’s coming.
Sermon (Fr George)
In the Name of God. Amen
One of the most terrifying soloists for a singer comes at the start of Handel’s Oratorio, “The Messiah”. After a lengthy orchestral prelude there is a complete silence for a time, and the tenor soloist, unaccompanied, begins “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people”. The very word “comfort” means to “take strength”. The Bayeaux Tapestry, the medieval work of art depicting William the Conqueror’s invasion of England (1066 and All That) has a panel captioned “King William comforteth his troops” and shows King William sticking a spear into the backside of a soldier! Some comfort! Second Isaiah might well start out saying “Get a grip on yourselves”, but “Comfort ye” sounds much nicer.
Conquering kings came into their acquired territory on triumphal routes. The prophet uses this imagery to liken the fore-runner of the triumphal procession exhorting the people to get cracking on preparing the highway with whatever means of engineering they could muster to make it a road worthy of the new ruler. Isaiah uses the same imagery, but this time he is announcing a ruler greater than any on earth could imagine; the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, but it’s a king with a difference, it’s one who cares for each individual in his kingdom: he will feed his flock like shepherd and gather the lambs into his arms. Some king! Some servant!
There are various scholarly views on the letter ascribed to Peter. It is generally that that 2 Peter is written by someone who was familiar with the preaching of Peter and appears to have been written around 65 or later, and continues with a number of the themes set out in the Letter of Jude. All that’s as may be but the themes are ones equally applicable to our time. However this small part of Creation comes to an end, the timing is God’s and God’s alone. Whether our universe is swallowed into a Black Hole, or cools down into a frozen waste, or whatever, our concern is live as people of God both individually and corporately.
Turning to the Gospel: Mark cuts straight to the chase, without any of the nativity stories or theological explanations and genealogies of the Matthew, Luke and John. He identifies John the Baptist with the voice crying out the wilderness of which Isaiah wrote “Get yourselves ready! He’s about to arrive! Prepare the royal highway!” There’s an urgency in all of Mark’s gospel: it’s full of “and immediately Jesus did such and such”. There’s no time to waste: it’s all here and now!
The big question for us now is “who are the prophets and what are they telling us?”
I may be cynical, but it so often seems to me that we have confused “prophet” and “profit” and it just might be that the search for “profit” is the very thing preventing us from hearing clearly the voice of the prophet. We read and hear about so many examples of price-gouging by supermarkets, service stations, banks, property developers, airlines and the super-profits which they generate which all go to make the lot of the ordinary citizen that much harder, and especially the lot of the underprivileged and marginalised. Our foreign aid giving is lamentable. Jesus was not born into wealth and comfort and his disciples were generally the lower rungs of polite society (although there were some notable exceptions such as Nicodemus and Jospeh of Arimathea, and the “wife of Herod’s steward” and possibly Mary Magdalene).
What is the prophetic voice today warning us about? Have we made for ourselves “gods which are not gods”. I can very well get myself into an argument, and often do, when I suggest that we take a close look at the newspapers and commentaries to see just who are the “voices crying in the wilderness” telling us to “make straight the way of the Lord”. If they make us feel very uncomfortable they are doing their job. Our task is to “repent and believe the Gospel”. It’s not all about Santa Claus and endless supply of goodies. It’s about justice and reconciliation with God and with each other. Mark’s gospel very shortly goes on to the Temptation in the Wilderness, where Jesus is invited to seek worldly wealth and approbation: the other Evangelists spell it out in more detail, and Jesus very firmly turns his back on all that, with his gaze fixed very firmly on God.
May God continue to bless you Advent journey towards a deeper experience of the Incarnation.
Amen
Intercessions
Let us pray for the world in which we are set:
For the leaders of the nations, and especially for the leaders of Palestine and Israel, Ukraine and Russia; and for the work if the United Nations Organisation as it strives to bring about cessation of hostilities: for leaders of political parties who seek advantage over justice and good governance. For the political, commercial and social leaders of this our own country: Anthony our Prime Minister and Chris our Premier, all members of the governments which they lead, and for all Members of Parliament
Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer.
Let us pray for the Church throughout the world:
For all people of faith of whatever tradition, and especially for the Christian Church; for mutual tolerance and co-operation in proclamation of the Gospel; for Justin, Archbishop of Canterbury and the Anglican Church throughout the world; our sister Diocese of Guadalcanal and at this time for the Religious Society of the Sisters of the Sacred Advent; and for the Outback Fund
Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer
Let us pray for the Church in this land:
For our Primate Geoffrey Smith, our Metropolitan Kaneshka Raffel, and in this Diocese for our Bishop Peter and the Bishops Assisting, Sonia and Charlie; for the CEY Ministries and for Fresh Expressions and all new ministries. For our clergy George and Gail, our Home Groups, and for the grace and peace of this parish; for those Christinas from whom we are divided by denominational allegiance and especially for the ecumenical Carol Service this evening.
Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer
Let us pray for all those known to us in any need, mental, physical or spiritual; those for whom prayer has been sought and those whose need is known to God alone
(silence)
Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer
Let us remember before God that great fellowship into which we are called, with Paul and Michael our Patrons, Mary the Blessed Mother, the mystic John of the Cross, and the martyr Lucy; we remember those whose Year’s Mind falls at this time, Anne Atkins and Alick Redman; and those without whom our lives seem incomplete, whom we have loved and see no more.
(silence)
Eternal joy grant to them, good Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them.
Holy God, you have promised to hear us grant that what we have asked in faith we may, by your grace receive, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Saints and Commemorations of the Week (10-16 December)
13 Lucy, martyr and virgin (394) there are various popular stories about Lucy and how she came to be martyred: about the only certainty is that she died during the Diocletian persecution after having been denounced by a pagan suitor. Her feast day is kept in Scandinavian countries as a promise of the return of the sun during the long, dark winter, when a fair-haired girl comes into a darkened room with a wreath of candles on her head and carrying a bun symbolising the return of harvest. (I have cautioned my Swedish-resident grand-daughter about wearing lighted candles! Fr G)
14 John of the Cross, mystic and teacher (1591) joined a Carmelite order of friars under the influence of Thereas of Avila and worked to reform the corruption and laxity which had crept to the order. His best-known writing is “The Dark Night of the Soul” which describes a journey towards compete union with God. The Church needs its Mystics, as they help to turn our gaze onto the greatest mystery of all: the self-giving love of God for all of Creation.
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