SPEAKER_04: Light of the world, in grace and beauty, mirror of God's eternal face, transparent flame of love's free duty, you bring salvation to our human race.
SPEAKER_04: Sacred mystery, we light the second candle of Advent for faith and for healing.
SPEAKER_04: We kindle it with faith.
SPEAKER_04: As mighty God and tender infant, you come.
SPEAKER_04: Prepare our hearts to be transformed by you.
SPEAKER_04: Sacred mystery, look upon your world.
unknown: Give us faith and courage so we can prepare and reach the truth with justice and oppression.
SPEAKER_02: Help us to heal your land and stand to teach us by you to be tender and just.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_04: Blessed be God see you now and forever.
SPEAKER_04: Amen.
SPEAKER_04: Let's pray together.
SPEAKER_04: Almighty God, unto the whole hearts of the world, all desires, and from the secret church.
unknown: Let us inspiration from thy spirit.
SPEAKER_02: That we may perfectly love thee and worthy magnify thy holy name.
unknown: Through Christ our Lord.
SPEAKER_04: Amen.
SPEAKER_04: The Lord be with you.
SPEAKER_04: And with the Spirit, let us pray.
SPEAKER_04: Merciful God who sent thy messengers to prophets to preach repentance.
SPEAKER_04: Prepare the way for our salvation.
SPEAKER_04: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sin, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, who liveth and readeth with thee in the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
SPEAKER_04: As we're being seated, our children are invited to children's chapel with Mr.
SPEAKER_04: Alexander.
SPEAKER_06: Put on forever the beauty of the glory of God.
SPEAKER_06: Put on your head the die down of the glory of the everlasting.
SPEAKER_06: For God will show you your slender everywhere under heaven.
SPEAKER_06: For God will give you every more than the righteous peace of the godly glory.
SPEAKER_06: Arise, O Jerusalem, and stand upon the height, look toward the east, and see your children gather from west and east at the Word of the Holy God, rejoicing that God has remembered them.
SPEAKER_06: For they went out from their own foot, led away by their enemies.
SPEAKER_06: But God will bring them back to you to carry the glory as on the royal front.
SPEAKER_06: For God has ordered that every high mountain and the everlasting hills be made low, and the valleys filled up to make level ground, so that Israel may walk safely in the glory of God.
SPEAKER_06: The woods and every fragrant tree have shaded Israel at God's command.
SPEAKER_06: For God has ordered that every high mountain and the everlasting hills be made low, and the valleys filled up to make it level the ground, so that Israel may walk safely in the glory of God.
SPEAKER_06: The woods and every fragrant tree have shaded Israel at God's command.
SPEAKER_06: For God will make Israel with joy in the light of God's glory, with the mercy and righteousness that come from God, with the word of the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: The spirit of her shallow.
SPEAKER_01: The wolf shall live with the lion, and the leopard shall lie down with the king.
unknown: The calf and the lion shall be fat together, and the little child shall be dead.
unknown: The cow and the bear shall grave, and their young shall lie down together.
unknown: And the lion shall look strong like the ox.
SPEAKER_01: The nursing child shall play over the ball and the ass.
SPEAKER_01: And the wheel child shall be hand like the average.
SPEAKER_00: And they shall be kingdom.
SPEAKER_00: He will establish and according to justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore.
SPEAKER_00: The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
SPEAKER_00: The word of the Lord.
SPEAKER_05: I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion on the day of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_05: It is right for me to think this way about all of you because you hold me in your heart for all you share in God's grace with me, and with my imprisonment, and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.
SPEAKER_05: For God is my witness.
SPEAKER_05: And this is my prayer that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and unblameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Christ for the glory and praise of God.
SPEAKER_05: The word of the Lord.
SPEAKER_03: For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
SPEAKER_03: We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now.
SPEAKER_03: And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption and redemption of our bodies.
SPEAKER_03: The word of the Lord.
SPEAKER_04: A reading from Luke.
SPEAKER_04: In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth to verge and engage to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David.
SPEAKER_04: The Lord is with you.
SPEAKER_04: She was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greed this might be.
SPEAKER_04: The angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
unknown: And now you will conceive in your woman and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.
unknown: You will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.
unknown: And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.
SPEAKER_04: Glory be to the Lord Christ.
SPEAKER_04: Now after John the Baptist was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, saying, The time is fulfilled, and the reign of God has come near.
SPEAKER_04: Repent and believe in the gospel.
SPEAKER_04: And as Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the sea.
SPEAKER_04: They were fisherfolk.
SPEAKER_04: And Jesus said to them, Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.
SPEAKER_04: Then immediately they left their nets and followed him.
SPEAKER_04: As he went a little farther, he saw James, son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets.
SPEAKER_04: Then immediately Jesus called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the laborers and followed him.
SPEAKER_04: And they went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus entered the synagogue and taught.
SPEAKER_04: The women and men in the synagogue were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having power, and not as scholars.
SPEAKER_04: Immediately after Jesus finished teaching, there was in the synagogue at Capernaum a person with an unclean spirit who cried out, What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
SPEAKER_04: Have you come to destroy us?
SPEAKER_04: I know who you are, the Holy One of God.
SPEAKER_04: But Jesus rebuked the spirit, saying, Be silent and come out.
SPEAKER_04: And then the unclean spirit, convulsing the person and crying with a loud voice, came out.
SPEAKER_04: And the women and men in the synagogue were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, What is this?
SPEAKER_04: A new teaching with power.
SPEAKER_04: He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.
SPEAKER_04: And Jesus' fame immediately began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
SPEAKER_04: The gospel of the Lord great sees me for Christmas.
SPEAKER_04: Well, there's a lot going on today.
SPEAKER_04: Normally, there's a lot going on in the sense that the readings we have, we usually get four, they come from different parts of the Bible.
SPEAKER_04: And the goal is during the liturgy of the Word, that's what we're doing right now, the words are read.
SPEAKER_04: The homily is supposed to show how all four pieces come together to make a coherent message.
SPEAKER_04: Normally we preach on one of them, right?
SPEAKER_04: Because that could be pretty tricky.
SPEAKER_04: Well, today there's like ten of them.
SPEAKER_04: And if you've got your Apple Watch on, you probably already heard your read from sitting and standing like we did.
SPEAKER_04: So lots going on, and I can't uh probably shine a lot of attention on all the readings, or you leave from exhaustion.
SPEAKER_04: Uh but reminder that what we're meant to do today, this is our second week in Advent.
SPEAKER_04: Last week we had the invitation to consider trading what we wish for in exchange for what God hopes for.
SPEAKER_04: And sometimes that takes more work and more noise and more effort than I'd like.
SPEAKER_04: And you know, this is one of those things we always said in the church I grew up.
SPEAKER_04: Never ask God for patience because that means you will have uh to earn it in the following week.
SPEAKER_04: I don't know if you've heard this before.
SPEAKER_04: By the way, I don't ever pray for patience for you or me.
SPEAKER_04: I just pray for peace.
SPEAKER_04: That seems a lot better.
SPEAKER_04: Uh so sure enough, this week I found myself in a couple of situations where uh, frankly, I'd rather not lean into some conflict, but the point of the week is not to lean away, it's to lean in so that there can be a hope of what we're invited to cultivate this week, which is peace.
SPEAKER_04: Now, quite honestly, we normally associate peace with quiet.
SPEAKER_04: And um, this kind of shows up in a lot of areas.
SPEAKER_04: Uh, as you know, we offer a study on world religions every year, and uh, the symbol that I got as a kid and teen, and even until recently, was this maybe you've seen this bomb first sticker that says coexist.
SPEAKER_04: We've seen this one before, where each letter is a symbol from a different religious tradition.
SPEAKER_04: Coexist.
SPEAKER_04: Coexist sounds a lot like tolerance, which also sounds a lot like a demilitarized zone or a stalemate.
SPEAKER_04: I can coexist with you and hate you.
SPEAKER_04: We agree on this, I hope.
SPEAKER_04: When we have conflict, I can say, I'm right, you're wrong.
SPEAKER_04: And since we can't agree that you're wrong, let's just not talk to each other anymore.
SPEAKER_04: And sometimes we make the foolish mistake of calling that peace.
SPEAKER_04: That's not peace.
SPEAKER_04: That's not even a truth.
SPEAKER_04: That's a demilitarized zone.
SPEAKER_04: So we get reminded today that peace is not the absence of conflict, as Dr.
SPEAKER_04: King once said, but rather the presence of God's version of justice.
SPEAKER_04: Isaiah did not say, one day the wolf and the lamb will have their own pens and they'll never see each other or bother each other or have to put up with each other because they don't like each other.
SPEAKER_04: Isaiah said, the wolf will lie down with the lamb, which is impossible, isn't it?
SPEAKER_04: I mean, that's like super natural.
SPEAKER_04: That would be like saying, I don't know, the Ukrainian will lie down with the Russian.
SPEAKER_04: Or like the people who live in Gaza will lay down with the people who live in Temple V.
SPEAKER_04: Actually, I could imagine a wolf and a lamb laying down before those pairs, couldn't you?
SPEAKER_04: That's the difference, though, between a stalemate and peace.
SPEAKER_04: Because that peace is about reconciliation that leaves us resting together instead of building walls.
SPEAKER_04: Truth be told, I don't think we know how to make peace.
SPEAKER_04: Maybe I'll just speak for myself.
SPEAKER_04: I don't really know how to make peace.
SPEAKER_04: I'm not blaming anybody.
SPEAKER_04: But culturally, we like winning.
SPEAKER_04: We like winning arguments.
SPEAKER_04: We don't like listening to arguments.
SPEAKER_04: We like winning them.
SPEAKER_04: We don't like leaving a conversation changed.
SPEAKER_04: We like changing somebody else.
SPEAKER_04: When things aren't going the way we want and we get righteously offended, we like when they lose and they lose hard.
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I am talking about politics.
SPEAKER_04: But I'm also talking about what we call entertainment.
SPEAKER_04: This may not be you, but I do invite you to consider.
SPEAKER_04: It's an old story.
SPEAKER_04: A long time ago, I bought a Blu-ray DVD player.
SPEAKER_04: I was an early adopter.
SPEAKER_04: For like once in my life.
SPEAKER_04: One of my students, I was teaching math at the time, and he did not mean anything poorly by this.
SPEAKER_04: Um, this is actually like one of the lovelier people I know, came up and said, Oh, you got a Blu-ray DVD player.
SPEAKER_04: You need to watch the film The Matrix.
SPEAKER_04: I've dated myself, right?
SPEAKER_04: Because that's an oldie now.
SPEAKER_04: So, um, and he said, the reason you need to watch it is because with Blu-ray, you can hear the bullet casings hit the ground.
SPEAKER_04: I just want you to think about that for a second.
SPEAKER_04: The beautiful part about Blu-ray DVD was that I could better savor violence.
SPEAKER_04: He was right, you can't hear the shells hit the ground.
SPEAKER_04: That wasn't an anonymous conversation because it's very likely if you're under the age of 35, you either play or have played video games that are intended to hone your skills at shooting somebody in the head from more than a mile away.
SPEAKER_04: We call this entertainment.
SPEAKER_04: We don't know what makes cookies.
unknown: Me included.
SPEAKER_04: Whether it's in the movie theater, and by the way, Disney movies are not uh are not free from this.
SPEAKER_04: Having seen the most recent one yesterday, the story really was about when there's problems, you just have to beat the bad guy.
SPEAKER_04: Often it's a bad one, actually.
SPEAKER_04: And you beat them violently.
SPEAKER_04: Because that'll teach them that you're right and they're wrong, and wrong is weak, and you show it with force.
SPEAKER_04: This myth of redemptive violence is so woven into the fabric of our lives that I would contend we don't know what makes for peace.
SPEAKER_04: We know what makes for quiet.
SPEAKER_04: We know what makes for victory.
SPEAKER_04: We don't know what makes for peace.
SPEAKER_04: And I'll tell you, as somebody who is conflict avoidant, I don't like conflict.
SPEAKER_04: And uh it is true that conflict is unpleasant, and it's also true that certain kinds of conflict are necessary for there to be peace.
SPEAKER_04: And we had a rabbi come visit us last year who said a little bit jocularly, and we laughed, and you might laugh now.
SPEAKER_04: It's okay, by the way.
SPEAKER_04: He said, whenever you have two Jewish people talking, you have three opinions.
SPEAKER_04: And um, then he went on to say, and this is philosophical case, this comes from, what do you know, a Jewish philosopher Hegel, who said, one person presents an idea, and that's called a thesis.
SPEAKER_04: The second person responds with an antithesis.
SPEAKER_04: They both leave with a synthesis.
SPEAKER_04: It's a model that I'm coming to appreciate because neither one leaves the way they came in.
SPEAKER_04: They both leave changed.
SPEAKER_04: Maybe that's a little bit of insight into the things that make for peace.
SPEAKER_04: This is a season where we celebrate peace, and we often forget that the thing you want least for your daughter or yourself is to be pregnant as a teenager out of wedlock.
SPEAKER_04: That is not peaceful in the traditional sense we just read it.
SPEAKER_04: I mean, I think it was great.
SPEAKER_04: If my daughter came home and said, hey, I talked to this angel, yeah, you know where this is going, right?
SPEAKER_04: I would not say thank you to God.
SPEAKER_04: I would say, oh my God.
SPEAKER_04: And by the way, this was no small thing for Mary to do.
SPEAKER_04: And to be honest, I grew up in a church that said, you know, like, why did Jesus take so long to come?
SPEAKER_04: Why did he come on earth?
SPEAKER_04: Like there was this problem, like, why didn't he wait 3,000 years?
SPEAKER_04: And maybe the answer is Mary was the first woman who said yes.
SPEAKER_04: Maybe God tried this a lot of other times, and the ladies said, like I would have said, uh-uh.
SPEAKER_04: Actually, I would have put other words in front of me.
SPEAKER_04: Like strong, emphatic, not me, pick somebody else, because, frankly, we don't always like conflict.
SPEAKER_04: And I would put before you that the synagogue reading we got today is really interesting, isn't it?
SPEAKER_04: It's not a traditional Advent reading.
SPEAKER_04: It's not, but I do think it exposes a little bit, not only how deeply we misunderstand peace, but sometimes how deeply we misunderstand worship.
SPEAKER_04: And just to be clear, I'm not going to tell you how to make peace.
SPEAKER_04: I'm just telling you we don't do it well.
SPEAKER_04: So that's the theme.
SPEAKER_04: And it shows up in the gospel a couple of ways.
SPEAKER_04: There's somebody with an unclean spirit, and we don't know what that means.
SPEAKER_04: And Jesus drives it out.
SPEAKER_04: And notice he doesn't do it quietly.
SPEAKER_04: He does it puff it.
SPEAKER_04: Well, that just doesn't seem like good manners.
SPEAKER_04: Like, shouldn't you handle conflict quietly?
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, well, uh, he doesn't.
SPEAKER_04: And what do you know?
SPEAKER_04: The people in the room are sort of overall because he has a new teaching.
SPEAKER_04: Like, there's a problem, and he doesn't run away from it or say, come back later.
SPEAKER_04: He goes ahead and rearranges the schedule.
SPEAKER_04: Again, like that just, I don't know if I want to live like that.
SPEAKER_04: It seems inconvenient.
SPEAKER_04: And then there's this other bit that is really interesting.
SPEAKER_04: The person has an unclean spirit and yet is the only person in the room who knows who Jesus is.
SPEAKER_04: Did you understand?
SPEAKER_04: No one else knows who he is except the person with the unclean spirit.
SPEAKER_04: And Jesus does this thing where he drives the unclean spirit out.
SPEAKER_04: And this is how much we misunderstand peace.
SPEAKER_04: We think often, like Jesus said, we I've grown up in churches that believe that this is what Jesus asks us to do, in fact.
SPEAKER_04: When we see somebody who has God well, what we consider an unclean spirit, we're supposed to force it in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_04: Which means we try to pray the autism out of people.
SPEAKER_04: Oh, you've got neuroidiversity.
SPEAKER_04: That's because there's some breach of faith, but I can fix that.
SPEAKER_04: I hope you have not been exposed to that kind of spirituality.
SPEAKER_04: Because it's wrong.
SPEAKER_04: There is nothing wrong with an autistic brain.
SPEAKER_04: There is nothing wrong with having bipolar schizophrenia.
unknown: You're not sinful.
unknown: There's not a demon in you.
SPEAKER_04: We so misunderstand peace that people who aren't like us, we want to fix them until they're as miserable as we are.
SPEAKER_04: And that's the version of the peace that we settle for.
unknown: Not only is it full of hubris and presumption, but again, consider what the end of that is.
SPEAKER_04: There's no life in it.
SPEAKER_04: Beyond that, we love the easiest, fastest bit.
SPEAKER_04: And so I didn't mention this already, sorry if you heard it.
SPEAKER_04: But I used to be a chaplain in a drug rehab facility for homeless black crack addicts in Atlanta.
SPEAKER_04: And wouldn't it be great if you could pray away and debris in a second?
SPEAKER_04: Any addict or alcoholic in the room will tell you when you start believing that lie is when you're about to fall off the wagon.
SPEAKER_04: What does rehab take one day at a time?
SPEAKER_04: I don't like that version of peace because I have to work at it.
SPEAKER_04: I don't have an addictive brain.
SPEAKER_04: I got other problems.
SPEAKER_04: I would love it if I could just have the peace that comes and takes them all away.
SPEAKER_04: If I didn't have to have the conflict of dealing with thought loops and trauma in my life, but guess what?
SPEAKER_04: Those aren't demons.
SPEAKER_04: They're just part of who we are.
SPEAKER_04: And we don't know how to make peace very well.
SPEAKER_04: We just can't ever make peace until we face the conflict.
SPEAKER_04: Now, this is an interesting story about the synagogue because not only does Jesus make peace in public with this person, again, I'm not quite convinced we're supposed to do it just like this, but do consider the public setting.
SPEAKER_04: Not only does he make peace in public, but look at people's reaction.
SPEAKER_04: They say, he's not like what we're used to.
SPEAKER_04: He's helped make peace.
SPEAKER_04: It interrupted lessons and carols.
SPEAKER_04: It interrupted high mass on Christmas Eve.
SPEAKER_04: It's different because there was conflict.
SPEAKER_04: And now the person who was lesser, the one with the unclean spirit, and the people who thought themselves superior, what do you know?
SPEAKER_04: They found themselves in the same room unestranged.
SPEAKER_04: And it was the first time that it ever happened in their lives, and it was powerful.
SPEAKER_04: They made peace with the church.
SPEAKER_04: And it wasn't scheduled.
SPEAKER_04: Join me if we pray our faith in the words of the IC3.
SPEAKER_04: We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, the Neighbor of the Lord, the law that is the Satan of the Satan.
unknown: We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, life from life, true God, true God, not being with the Father.
unknown: For Christ, for salvation, He became God from Heaven.
unknown: He became a comedy from the Virgin Mary and from the same man.
unknown: He suffered death and was married.
unknown: On the third day he rose again, according to the scriptures, accepted the heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
unknown: He will come again in glory to the living and the dead, and seek of life and woman.
unknown: We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
unknown: And the Father and the Son gives worship and glorified.
unknown: We believe in our holy Africa and the Solomon Church.
unknown: We acknowledge my baptism of Jesus Jesus.
SPEAKER_06: Lift up our voices to God in strength, saying, Be patient with us and prepare us, Lord.
SPEAKER_06: Together at your church, we long to see your face.
SPEAKER_06: Speak to us, Lord, as we walk through the wilderness, listen for the sound of your voice.
SPEAKER_06: Give our leaders patience, wisdom, and heart for your will.
SPEAKER_06: For Michael, our presiding bishop, Andy, Hector, Jeff and Kay, our bishops, and Mike, our priest, in your mercy.
SPEAKER_06: We pray for all who govern, especially Joe, our president, and for the Congress and courts of this land.
SPEAKER_06: Guide the leaders of the nations as they work for the welfare of their people and the good of all in your mercy.
SPEAKER_06: Awaken us to the suffering of people near us and those far from us.
SPEAKER_06: Call forth in us a spirit of generosity and kindness.
SPEAKER_06: Equip us to respond to their needs.
SPEAKER_06: Arouse in us a sense of urgency to demonstrate your good news in our lives and voice it that all may hear.
SPEAKER_06: Make us messengers of your love and your mercy.
SPEAKER_06: We ask you to comfort those who have lost hope, who struggle with anxiety about the future, who live in fear.
SPEAKER_06: Bring healing to those for whom we now pray, especially those on our parish prayer list.
SPEAKER_06: We pray for those who have died, that their memories be blessings in our lives in your mercy.
SPEAKER_04: Let us confess our sin against God and our neighbor.
SPEAKER_04: God of all mercy, we confess to you that sickness you are in our lives.
unknown: We have denied for goodness in each other, in ourselves, and in the world that we created.
unknown: We prevent the evil that sins, the evil we have done, and the evil done on our behalf.
SPEAKER_04: Amen.
SPEAKER_04: The Almighty and Merciful Lord grant you absolution and remission of all your sin, true repentance, amendment of life, and the grace and consolation of the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_04: There's these little cards that say welcome.
SPEAKER_04: And we'd be tremendously grateful if you fill one out and put it in a little blue basket out there so we have a record of your visit.
SPEAKER_04: If you don't want to call, don't check that box, you won't get one.
SPEAKER_04: But we're really we'd be grateful if we have a record of your visit.
SPEAKER_04: And thanks for worshiping with us today.
SPEAKER_04: There are a few announcements I want to call to your attention, and then a public service announcement.
SPEAKER_04: So first announcements have to do with the next couple of weeks.
SPEAKER_04: We uh are tremendously grateful to Garmin, the choir, and JP for lessons of carols today.
SPEAKER_04: Thank you all for working with us.
SPEAKER_04: And so this is obviously a different kind of service where we have more carols and more reads.
SPEAKER_04: Next week we're going to have a slightly different service as well.
SPEAKER_04: At 10.30, Bishop Hector Monterroso, our regional bishop, will be joining us to do confirmations.
SPEAKER_04: There'll be 12 confirmations and receptions.
SPEAKER_04: So that'll be at 10.30 as well.
SPEAKER_04: And then next week we're also having a service at 4.30 p.m.
SPEAKER_04: called the Longest Night.
SPEAKER_04: That'll be in here at 4.30.
SPEAKER_04: Uh, it is a service that kind of makes room for an open expression of grief and loss.
SPEAKER_04: Um, it's a neat service.
SPEAKER_04: It isn't for everybody, and it's not for everybody every year, but um it is a service that allows some openness before God that sometimes we're not feeling well what everybody says we're supposed to be.
SPEAKER_04: So I just offer that to you next week at 4:30.
SPEAKER_04: Uh, it's not too early to talk about Christmas Eve because we're doing a few things different.
SPEAKER_04: You know, every seven years, Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday, which kind of makes Advent 4 really hurried.
SPEAKER_04: Like you'll have four hours to cultivate love before you come back to church.
SPEAKER_04: Um, that's how we're doing it.
SPEAKER_04: So the way we're going to do it this year is that we'll have one service in the morning that's Advent 4, and I just want to prepare you.
SPEAKER_04: It'll be morning prayer without a U group.
SPEAKER_04: So we'll do that at 9 o'clock, no choir.
SPEAKER_04: We'll come in and have the readings for Advent 4, and we'll have a sermon, and then we'll do the morning prayer, and then we'll go.
SPEAKER_04: It takes about an hour.
SPEAKER_04: Uh, if you were an Episcopal before 1976, you did this three times a month.
SPEAKER_04: Uh so if you haven't done morning prayer, it's lovely and it's available to you every day.
SPEAKER_04: But we'll do it on Christmas Eve at nine.
SPEAKER_04: Then we'll come back in the afternoon, and there's three opportunities for services on Christmas Eve.
SPEAKER_04: 3.30 is a family service, and um, it's cute and it's fun, and sometimes there's chasing and costumes, and there's been fist fights before.
SPEAKER_04: Uh that's at 3.30.
SPEAKER_04: Among the kids, not the adults.
SPEAKER_04: It's short, it's really it's lovely, and it's really sweet.
SPEAKER_04: It is.
SPEAKER_04: At 5 o'clock, we'll have the more traditional service with the choir and the harp.
SPEAKER_04: At 9 p.m., the choir and the harp will lead us in carols, and they'll have a couple anthems.
SPEAKER_04: There will probably a harp solo for about 30 minutes, and then midnight mass here starts at 9.30.
SPEAKER_04: So we'll have that at 9.30, and that'll be followed with champagne and chocolate in the hallway.
SPEAKER_04: To be honest, it's my favorite service of the year.
SPEAKER_04: I mean, really, like it's it's dark and it's beautiful, and there's candles, like it's just really, really sweet.
SPEAKER_04: So that's what Christmas Eve is like.
SPEAKER_04: We're not having services Christmas Day.
SPEAKER_04: We're not having Christmas Day.
SPEAKER_04: Uh so that's that's the upcoming schedule.
SPEAKER_04: Now, uh, I did mention something.
SPEAKER_04: Oh, one more announcement.
SPEAKER_04: The ladies' group, the blast, the lunch and dinner group, they're having their Christmas party tomorrow at 5:30 at South Shore Harbor.
SPEAKER_04: Is that right?
SPEAKER_04: South Shore Harbor?
SPEAKER_04: Say that again.
unknown: South Shore Grill.
SPEAKER_04: South Shore Grill.
SPEAKER_04: And if you don't know about it, you still can go.
SPEAKER_04: Just talk to Susan about it, or I'll connect to you if you're interested.
SPEAKER_04: Sorry, it is for ladies only.
SPEAKER_04: Um, the public service announcement I would like to make, that's very important to me, has to do with the little uh candelabra up here on the Lord's table.
SPEAKER_04: So many of you know that our Jewish brothers and sisters are in their holy days of Hanukkah now, and that little candelabra is called a Hanukkih.
SPEAKER_04: There are eight days of Hanukkah, but you'll see it holds nine candles.
SPEAKER_04: The middle one is called the Shamesh, which means the sun.
SPEAKER_04: It's the one you use to light the other eight candles.
SPEAKER_04: So that's why there's nine.
SPEAKER_04: Some people call it a menorah.
SPEAKER_04: Uh, menorhs don't exist anymore.
SPEAKER_04: That's a seven, seven candle candelabra that existed in the Jewish temple, which you all know was destroyed in the year 70.
SPEAKER_04: Um, so even though some people call it a menorah, it's technically a Hanukkiya.
SPEAKER_04: Um why do I have that?
SPEAKER_04: Not just in solidarity with our Jewish brothers and sisters, but to be honest, that's where the advent wreath comes from.
SPEAKER_04: That we light these candles in expectation.
SPEAKER_04: The story of Hanukkah, I'm just going to share it with you really briefly.
SPEAKER_04: Um, Hanukkah was not a major, a major gift-giving festival until about 50 years ago, but it has been a Jewish festival since the year 164 BCE because um there was a Jewish rebellion trying to take back the Jerusalem Temple, and the plan was to take it in time for the High Holy Festival of Sukkot, the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles.
SPEAKER_04: Um, that's a fall festival, and they didn't get there in time.
SPEAKER_04: So they waited to have the festival until they retook the city of Jerusalem, which happened in December.
SPEAKER_04: And when they got there, they said, we'll have Sukkot, which has eight nights, and there was one small problem.
SPEAKER_04: There was only enough consecrated oil for one day, and it took seven days to make more oil and to consecrate it.
SPEAKER_04: So the miracle of Hanukkah was that one day's worth of oil lasted eight, so that there was then consecrated oil that could renew the menorah in the temple.
SPEAKER_04: Our Jewish brothers and sisters tend to put these in their windows, and just like on Friday nights, they burn the candle until it burns down.
SPEAKER_04: Today is the third day of Hanukkah.
SPEAKER_04: Hebraic time, time begins in the evening, and so at about five o'clock, it will be the fourth day of Hanukkah.
SPEAKER_04: This is a different way of telling time from us.
SPEAKER_04: And so tomorrow they'll use the Shamesh to light four, and on the last day they'll use the Sheamesh to light the eighth candle, and the whole sort of burn down.
SPEAKER_04: This is part of what we do with the advent replay, isn't it?
SPEAKER_04: That a little bit of light can go a really, really, really long way.
SPEAKER_04: So uh the blessing is very similar to what would happen on a Sabbath on a Friday night.
SPEAKER_04: It would typically be the oldest lady in the room who blesses the two Shabbos candles.
SPEAKER_04: By the way, do you notice that we have two candles on the Lord's table?
SPEAKER_04: That's because we came out of Judaism, right?
SPEAKER_04: We still have two candles.
SPEAKER_04: So the oldest lady would do this, and the blessing says, Blessed are you, Lord God, ruler of the universe, because you've commanded us to fight the Sabbath lights.
SPEAKER_04: So that's what I'm going to do.
unknown: And that's I don't know how we ever get everybody.
SPEAKER_04: This is the table not of the church, but of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_04: It is made ready for those who love him and those who want to love him more.
SPEAKER_04: So come.
SPEAKER_04: You who have much faith and you who have little.
unknown: You who have been here often and you who have not been for a long time or ever before.
unknown: You who have tried to follow and you who have failed, come.
SPEAKER_04: Not because the church invites you.
SPEAKER_04: It is Christ.
SPEAKER_04: He invites you to meet with you.
SPEAKER_04: Our service continues on page three hundred and thirty-free of your red prayer book.
SPEAKER_04: Page three hundred and thirty-free.
SPEAKER_04: We should at all times and in all places give thanks unto thee, O Lord, Holy Father Almighty, everlasting God, because thou didst send my beloved Son to redeem us from sin and death, to make us heirs in Him of everlasting life, that when He shall come again in power and great triumph to judge the world, we may without shame or fear rejoice and behold his appearing.
SPEAKER_04: Therefore, with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious name, evermore praising thee and singing.
SPEAKER_04: For that thou of thy tender mercy didst give thine only Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer death upon the cross for our redemption, who made there, by his one oblation of himself once offered, a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice of oblation and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world, and an institute, and his holy God will command us to continue, a perpetual memory of that, his precious death and sacrifice, until his coming again.
SPEAKER_04: For in the night in which he was betrayed, Jesus took bread.
SPEAKER_04: When he given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take, eat.
SPEAKER_04: This is my body, which is for you.
SPEAKER_04: Do this in remembrance of me.
SPEAKER_04: Likewise, after supper, Jesus took the cup of wine.
SPEAKER_04: And when he gave it thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Take ye all of this, for this is my blood of the renewed testament which is shed for you and for all for the remission of sin.
SPEAKER_04: Do this as often as you shall drink it in remembrance of me.
SPEAKER_04: Wherefore, O Lord and Heavenly Father, according to the institution of thy dearly beloved Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, we, thy humble servants, to celebrate and make here before thy divine majesty, with these, thy holy gifts, which we now offer unto thee, the memorial thy son hath commanded us to make, having in remembrance his blessed passion and precious death, his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension, rendering unto thee most hearty thanks for the innumerable benefits procured unto us by the saint.
SPEAKER_04: We most humbly beseech thee, unmerciful Father, to hear us, and of thy almighty goodness vouchsafe to bless and sanctify with thy word and Holy Spirit these thy gifts and creatures of bread and wine.
SPEAKER_04: And we receiving them according to thy son, our Savior Jesus Christ's holy institution, in remembrance of his death and passion, may be partakers of his most blessed body and blood.
SPEAKER_04: And we earnestly desire thy fatherly goodness to mercifully accept this, our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, most humbly beseeching thee to grant, by the merits and death of thy son Jesus Christ, and through faith in his blood, we and all thy whole church may obtain remission of our sins and all of the benefits of his passion.
SPEAKER_04: And here we offer and present it to thee, O Lord, ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice unto thee, humbly beseeching thee that we, and all others who shall be partakers of this holy communion, may worthily receive the most precious body and blood of thy Son Jesus Christ, be filled with thy grace and heavenly benediction, and made one body with him, that he may dwell in us and we in him.
SPEAKER_04: And although we are unworthy to our manifold sense to offer unto thee any sacrifice, yet we beseech thee to accept this, our bounded duty and service, not weighing our merits, but pardoning our offenses through Jesus Christ our Lord.
SPEAKER_04: By whom and with whom and in In the unity of the Holy Ghost, all honor and glory be unto thee, O Father Almighty, world without it.
SPEAKER_04: Amen.
SPEAKER_04: Now, as our Savior Christ hath taught us, we are bold to pray, our Father, who has to come, our beyond, thy kingdom come, thy will be done.
SPEAKER_02: Honor Jesus coming.
SPEAKER_02: Give us our head.
SPEAKER_02: And forgive us our trespasses.
SPEAKER_02: And reveal those who trespass against us.
SPEAKER_02: And the temptation.
SPEAKER_02: But the Lord's our people.
unknown: Thine is the kingdom.
unknown: And the power and the glory.
unknown: Forever and ever.
unknown: Amen.
SPEAKER_04: Hallelujah.
SPEAKER_04: Christ our Passifer is sacrificed for us.
SPEAKER_02: Therefore, let us faith.
SPEAKER_04: These are the gifts of God for you, the people of God.
SPEAKER_04: Beat of them in your hearts by faith.
SPEAKER_04: And with thanksgiving.
SPEAKER_02: We look at the many or two.
unknown: And that's the curve.
unknown: And then we are corporate.
unknown: The last company of all the people.
SPEAKER_02: And also, and the Heavenly Father.
unknown: And we may continue in the hand of the flesh.
unknown: And all the good words prepared for us to all.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_04: Take your encouragement from Christ, and your joy may be complete.
SPEAKER_04: We will share in the spirit.
SPEAKER_04: We will find consolation and love.
SPEAKER_04: Practice the ministry of humility and compassion, for God is at work in you, empowering you.
SPEAKER_04: We will go Christ in Christ.
SPEAKER_02: We will live the lives worthy of us.
SPEAKER_02: We will go forth in hope and in peace.