WEBVTT 00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:10.879 In the past three weeks, we've lit three candles, one for hope, one for peace, and one for joy. 00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:14.800 Today we light the fourth candle, the candle of love. 00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:24.159 With this flame, we signify the love of God that surrounds and fills us at all times, but that we recognize in a special way in the Christmas story. 00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:26.479 There is no greater power than love. 00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:33.840 It is stronger than rulers and empires, stronger than grief or despair, stronger even than death. 00:02:34.159 --> 00:02:36.639 We love because God loves us. 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:43.280 Loving God, we open ourselves to you, trusting you that this is how you made us. 00:03:43.599 --> 00:03:47.520 You create us for joyful hearts and hearts. 00:03:47.919 --> 00:03:50.719 Show us the creative power of hope. 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:54.159 Teach us the peace that comes from justice. 00:03:54.479 --> 00:03:58.319 Fill us the kind of joy that cannot be contained. 00:03:58.479 --> 00:03:59.919 But let us share. 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:07.039 Prepare our hearts to be transformed by you that we may walk in the Living Christ. 00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:08.240 Amen. 00:04:08.800 --> 00:04:12.960 Blessed be God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 00:04:13.520 --> 00:04:16.480 Blessed be usually prayer. 00:04:17.120 --> 00:04:17.680 Amen. 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:19.120 Let's pray. 00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:20.319 Almighty God. 00:04:20.879 --> 00:04:23.040 To you all hearts are open. 00:04:23.279 --> 00:04:24.879 All desires are known. 00:04:25.199 --> 00:04:27.040 And from you know the secret star. 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:33.279 Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit. 00:04:33.519 --> 00:04:38.800 That we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name. 00:04:39.040 --> 00:04:40.959 Through Christ our Lord. 00:04:41.279 --> 00:04:41.839 Amen. 00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:44.240 Hear what our Lord Jesus Christ saith. 00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:50.160 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. 00:04:50.399 --> 00:04:53.120 This is the first and greatest commitment. 00:04:53.279 --> 00:04:55.279 And the second is like unto it. 00:04:55.519 --> 00:04:58.079 Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 00:04:58.319 --> 00:05:02.000 On these two commitments hang all the law and the prophets. 00:05:03.199 --> 00:05:10.160 Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and mortal one, have compassion upon us. 00:05:10.480 --> 00:05:11.759 The Lord be with you. 00:05:12.079 --> 00:05:13.279 And the Holy Spirit. 00:05:13.600 --> 00:05:14.959 Let us pray. 00:05:15.279 --> 00:05:19.680 Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation. 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:31.439 That your Son Jesus Christ at his coming may find in us a mansion prepared for himself, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. 00:05:32.720 --> 00:05:36.240 As you're being seated, our children are invited to children's church with Mr. 00:05:36.319 --> 00:05:37.360 Alex in the back. 00:06:39.040 --> 00:06:44.720 Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she is in labor, is brought forth. 00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:47.199 Then the rest of his kindred shall return. 00:06:47.680 --> 00:06:49.920 Excuse me, return to the people of Israel. 00:06:50.800 --> 00:06:58.240 And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. 00:06:58.879 --> 00:07:05.040 And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. 00:07:05.279 --> 00:07:07.680 And he shall be the one of peace. 00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:10.879 Hear what the Spirit says to God's people. 00:10:03.840 --> 00:10:08.799 Then I said, See, God, I have come to do your will, O God. 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:11.440 In the scroll of the book, it is written of me. 00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:20.320 Then he said above, You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings. 00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:23.039 These are offered according to the law. 00:10:23.759 --> 00:10:27.120 Then he added, See, I have come to do your will. 00:10:28.159 --> 00:10:32.240 He abolishes the first order to establish the second. 00:10:32.559 --> 00:10:40.960 And it is by God's will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all. 00:11:25.919 --> 00:11:35.120 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:47.919 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leapt in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 00:11:48.080 --> 00:11:50.000 And why has this happened to me? 00:11:50.240 --> 00:11:52.639 But the mother of my Lord comes to me. 00:11:52.879 --> 00:11:57.600 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. 00:11:58.000 --> 00:12:03.759 Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord. 00:12:04.799 --> 00:12:06.639 The gospel of the Lord. 00:12:45.039 --> 00:12:50.559 In the name of one God, invisible, made visible through the womb of the Virgin Mary. 00:12:50.799 --> 00:12:51.440 Amen. 00:12:55.600 --> 00:12:56.879 I love you. 00:12:57.440 --> 00:12:58.399 I love you. 00:12:59.039 --> 00:13:11.679 I've been waiting all week to say those words because it was last week when Father Mike was preaching about joy that I realized how significant this relationship is to me. 00:13:12.320 --> 00:13:14.080 You see, the week before I had been absent. 00:13:14.159 --> 00:13:16.080 I was at Iona studying. 00:13:16.399 --> 00:13:19.840 And that caused a separation in this relationship. 00:13:20.080 --> 00:13:26.240 And so when I returned last week, I was able to experience putting that relationship back together. 00:13:28.720 --> 00:13:30.639 So thank you. 00:13:31.519 --> 00:13:33.200 And I've been looking forward all week. 00:13:33.279 --> 00:13:36.720 I've been enjoying waiting on saying those words. 00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:42.240 Just like we now have a week or so in preparation for that next great day. 00:13:43.039 --> 00:13:44.240 The coming of our Lord. 00:13:45.200 --> 00:13:55.279 As a quick recap, week one of Advent was hope, week two was peace, week three is joy, and today, this week, we now celebrate and practice love. 00:13:57.519 --> 00:13:58.639 So what is love? 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:02.000 Well, love is relationship. 00:14:03.279 --> 00:14:09.120 And if you've ever been to a wedding, you probably heard those well-used lines from the Corinthians. 00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:17.440 As things come to pass, hope, love, they remain, and above those, all is love. 00:14:18.960 --> 00:14:21.600 There are five love languages if you study relationships. 00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:23.200 In tennis, love is zero. 00:14:23.279 --> 00:14:23.840 It means nothing. 00:14:23.919 --> 00:14:25.759 It means you haven't square points. 00:14:26.960 --> 00:14:33.200 In the Episcopal Church, there is a practice for living called the way of love, a way of living a Christ-centered life. 00:14:33.440 --> 00:14:42.480 And at the dawn of the 21st century, the band Foreigner had a hit with the words that you may remember. 00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:45.440 I want to know what love is. 00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:47.519 I want you to show me. 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:50.320 I want to feel what love is. 00:14:50.879 --> 00:14:52.480 I know you can show it. 00:14:52.960 --> 00:14:54.480 So let's talk about love. 00:14:55.519 --> 00:14:57.360 Love is about relationships. 00:14:57.600 --> 00:14:59.919 Our gospel reading today is about relationships. 00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:02.639 You have the relationship of Mary and Elizabeth. 00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:05.679 You have the relationship of Mary and her child. 00:15:06.399 --> 00:15:09.039 You have the relationship of Mary and God. 00:15:10.240 --> 00:15:21.279 And then you have the relationship, the family relationship, the family lineage that is described in this creation myth of John the Baptist. 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:27.120 His mother Elizabeth from the Levite priest line of Aaron and Moses. 00:15:27.440 --> 00:15:35.039 And his father, Zachariah, Elizabeth's husband, in the eighth order of priests, anointed by King David. 00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:36.399 What does that mean? 00:15:36.639 --> 00:15:39.519 It means John the Baptist has authority. 00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:46.639 He is a powerful earthly human being by all evaluated standards of the first century. 00:15:47.440 --> 00:16:01.360 And yet, when he encounters that child in the womb, in the innermost heart of Mary, he realizes there is a superior authority. 00:16:02.960 --> 00:16:04.080 That's what he leaps. 00:16:05.519 --> 00:16:12.399 And in the Greek, leaping for joy means recognizing or acknowledging the divinity of God. 00:16:12.879 --> 00:16:17.919 God's grace that is present in that innermost heart of Mary. 00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:38.000 You see, Mary, the words that are used in Greek to describe this moment, it is about Mary's heart, the center of her spiritual being, that vessel that Mary is that allows God to enter into his creation through her as a vessel, as an instrument. 00:16:41.039 --> 00:16:50.960 So with these relationships, now we have Elizabeth, who, recognizing this, says, yo, Mary, this is great, and I want to bless you. 00:16:51.200 --> 00:16:57.039 I want to bless you as a woman, because in the first century you see a woman wasn't just a lady. 00:16:57.519 --> 00:17:01.600 A woman was a marginalized person with no agency. 00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:07.119 And in the Gospel of Luke, Luke focuses on what St. 00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:25.279 Paul does in his ministry as he goes to the edges, to the fringe of the Roman Empire, the dark, quiet corners of society where the marginalized, the poor, the hungry, the oppressed, the non-Jewish, the Gentiles, even tax collectors are. 00:17:25.839 --> 00:17:40.319 So in this passage in Luke, when Elizabeth says, Blessed are you among women, she is speaking not just to the women in the room, the women in the world, she's speaking to all who are left out or who feel left out. 00:17:41.759 --> 00:17:46.799 She then continues to say, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:50.079 Remember that womb is an innermost heart of Mary. 00:17:50.559 --> 00:17:53.839 And fruit may be the key to unlocking the scripture. 00:17:54.640 --> 00:17:57.920 Karpos is the Greek word for fruit. 00:17:59.519 --> 00:18:03.599 And it means it means a partnership with Christ. 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:06.079 That means a partnership with God. 00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:11.759 It is said to be two life streams that become unified. 00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:15.519 I want you to think about the imagery of a stream for a moment. 00:18:16.160 --> 00:18:17.279 It is endless. 00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:22.960 There is no beginning and no end of water flowing through that stream. 00:18:23.119 --> 00:18:27.119 In this case, these two streams united as one, super abundantly. 00:18:28.079 --> 00:18:31.200 This is what Elizabeth is blessing in Mary. 00:18:32.319 --> 00:18:38.799 And when she does, she then identifies that it is the soul of Mary that she speaks to. 00:18:38.960 --> 00:18:43.039 The soul in Greek is the breath of God that is creation. 00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:51.200 It is what God breathes into every single one of us that makes us unique and special and divine. 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:54.079 There's nothing else like it in the world. 00:18:54.400 --> 00:19:05.039 The words again in this passage, take Mary and separate her, sanctify her, put her above all else because she is holding the God within her. 00:19:09.440 --> 00:19:12.079 Mary answers this in the magnificat. 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:18.720 Last week Father Mike pointed out that the magnificat, which means magnify in Latin, so it sounds really cool, but it just means magnify. 00:19:19.279 --> 00:19:22.240 I had to color that up because I didn't know what I was going to talk about. 00:19:22.480 --> 00:19:28.640 So magnify is the magnificat is exclusive to Luke. 00:19:28.880 --> 00:19:33.359 It's one of the five or seven or so things that happen in Luke that don't happen in the other gospels. 00:19:33.519 --> 00:19:37.279 Remember, Luke is a one-off apostle, or Paul is a one-off apostle. 00:19:37.519 --> 00:19:39.359 He wasn't there in the original group. 00:19:39.519 --> 00:19:50.079 Jesus came to him through divine revelation, through a spiritual birth in Paul that called him to change his name and go out into the world, into the edges of society. 00:19:50.400 --> 00:20:08.079 And so, as Mary expresses this magnification of her soul, that God breath that begins her life, she says, it now is magnified within me. 00:20:09.200 --> 00:20:11.519 It continues to reverberate. 00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:14.880 That breath continues to resonate. 00:20:17.200 --> 00:20:24.480 It's what happens when a flute player blows across the pipe and initiates that note with a breath. 00:20:24.640 --> 00:20:37.200 And then that breath carries that note on out through the end of the flute and into the sanctuary, reverberating, echoing, and then continuing out into the world, and each and every one of you felt like you said. 00:20:40.559 --> 00:20:48.079 This is what the passage is inviting us to feel and to consider and to think about in this week of life. 00:20:49.759 --> 00:20:56.720 Mary concludes the magnificat by saying, all of this wonderfulness is available to everybody. 00:20:57.759 --> 00:21:03.759 Everybody who is willing to surrender to God's will. 00:21:04.960 --> 00:21:09.039 The passage that we will read says fear, and you had me right up until that point. 00:21:09.119 --> 00:21:10.480 Because I read fear and I push back. 00:21:10.559 --> 00:21:11.119 I don't like fear. 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:12.000 I don't know about y'all. 00:21:12.160 --> 00:21:13.519 I'm fear-averse. 00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:18.799 Last week, Father Mike pointed out that fear is the opposite of joy, and it is. 00:21:19.680 --> 00:21:26.079 Yeah, in this passage, fear means to revere. 00:21:26.559 --> 00:21:28.000 It means to honor. 00:21:28.400 --> 00:21:35.279 It means to adore, to love, to surrender, and to obey. 00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:49.119 So what Mary is really saying after Elizabeth gives her this wonderful blessing, acknowledging the fruit that intertwined life stream, Mary says, all of this is available to you too. 00:21:49.359 --> 00:21:50.559 It's available today. 00:21:50.799 --> 00:21:55.519 All you have to do is choose to surrender to God's will. 00:21:56.240 --> 00:21:59.759 To become a vessel to allow God to enter into your life. 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:10.559 Into your womb, into your inner being from the center of your spiritual being, and then be magnified into this world. 00:22:12.079 --> 00:22:16.480 This is what this practice of love this week offers and invites us to do. 00:22:17.680 --> 00:22:18.960 So, what is love? 00:22:20.480 --> 00:22:28.799 It's the opportunity that is translated through the gift that Jesus gives us the gift of compassion and understanding. 00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:44.559 It is then transfigured within us from the center of our spiritual being as we allow our Creator to enter into his creation and be brought into the world. 00:22:44.720 --> 00:22:47.359 This is Christ alive in us. 00:22:47.680 --> 00:22:55.359 This is Christ alive in this room, from the choir, through all of you, and then out into the world to love. 00:22:56.000 --> 00:23:16.720 With the hope that you had three weeks ago, with the peace that you enjoyed two weeks ago, with the joy that you lived in this last week, and now in this week, we are invited to seek opportunities in the world, in the fringes, in the edges, in the corners. 00:23:17.039 --> 00:23:23.519 Those people that seem like they are poor in the spirit. 00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:30.400 And to invite them, to give them, to offer them this magnification of the love that is in. 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:39.920 What God means to me, what Jesus means to me is love. 00:23:40.240 --> 00:23:42.480 Many years ago I tried to figure out what God was. 00:23:42.640 --> 00:23:44.240 It was a really easy job. 00:23:44.640 --> 00:23:45.759 Just kidding. 00:23:46.640 --> 00:23:57.519 And I decided that God was love because when I thought about it, to me, when I was in love with something, when I felt that feeling, that was God present in this world. 00:23:57.759 --> 00:23:59.279 And so to me, God is love. 00:23:59.359 --> 00:24:01.440 And then I thought about that and I thought I had it wrong. 00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:08.640 I forgot whether love was God or God was love, and I started dealing with this, saying it back and forth, and I decided, you know what, it's both. 00:24:09.039 --> 00:24:12.160 It's the unification of those two life streams. 00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:20.559 The fruit in the womb of the Virgin Mary, the fruit that is in the inner being of every single one of us that God has wreathed into us. 00:24:21.839 --> 00:24:23.440 That is love. 00:24:25.279 --> 00:24:31.599 The theologian Carl Barth says of love, Advent love this way. 00:24:31.920 --> 00:24:35.759 Advent love is a promise that's expected. 00:24:37.200 --> 00:24:40.480 And it's a promise of a gift, two things. 00:24:40.799 --> 00:24:46.000 The gift is the love that Jesus gives us, the sacrifice that Jesus makes for us. 00:24:46.880 --> 00:24:54.720 The promise, the expectation of that promise, is what that then brings to us, and that expectation is hope. 00:24:54.960 --> 00:24:59.200 Because hope is the knowledge of that love. 00:25:00.240 --> 00:25:06.799 So what do we accomplish in adventure we created a space? 00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:09.279 A space for love. 00:25:10.880 --> 00:25:13.359 For that love to be nurtured. 00:25:14.559 --> 00:25:16.480 To allow that love to grow. 00:25:32.160 --> 00:25:36.319 And then to magnify that love into the world. 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:51.359 So I offer to you, if you are able to be Marian like this week, to surrender to God's will, to allow God to play you like an instrument. 00:25:51.680 --> 00:25:57.039 To let him breathe into you, and then let that breath be magnified out into the world. 00:25:58.880 --> 00:26:07.519 So that we can take that offering and that sacrifice and return it in hope, and peace and joy. 00:26:08.160 --> 00:26:08.799 And love. 00:26:46.640 --> 00:26:52.720 We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of earth. 00:26:53.359 --> 00:26:55.440 All that is seen and unseen. 00:26:56.160 --> 00:27:08.480 We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of the Father, the eternal begotten of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God. 00:27:09.440 --> 00:27:13.279 God in one day, of one name with the Father. 00:27:13.519 --> 00:27:15.680 Through him all things are made. 00:27:16.240 --> 00:27:27.599 For us our salvation, he came down from heaven, out of the power of the Holy Spirit, he became heart of the Virgin Mary, and was made man. 00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:31.839 For our sake he was responsible for the Father. 00:27:32.079 --> 00:27:34.160 He suffered death and was buried. 00:27:34.720 --> 00:27:39.039 On the third day he rose again, Lord was to the scriptures. 00:27:39.599 --> 00:27:44.319 He ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father. 00:27:44.640 --> 00:27:50.640 He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no man. 00:27:51.440 --> 00:27:58.720 We believe in the Holy Spirit, Lord and your life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. 00:27:58.960 --> 00:28:02.720 With the Father and the Son, he is worshiped and glorified. 00:28:02.960 --> 00:28:05.359 He is spoken through the prophets. 00:28:05.680 --> 00:28:09.359 We believe in one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. 00:28:09.680 --> 00:28:13.440 We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. 00:28:13.759 --> 00:28:18.640 We look for the resurrection of the dead and the light of the world to come. 00:28:19.200 --> 00:28:19.839 Amen. 00:28:44.559 --> 00:28:52.160 For the holy church of God, that it may be filled with truth and love and be found without fault at the day of your coming. 00:28:52.400 --> 00:28:54.559 We pray to you, O Lord. 00:28:57.599 --> 00:29:06.160 For all the holy people of God, for all bishops and other ministers, for Andy, Hector, Jeff, and Kay, our bishops. 00:29:06.319 --> 00:29:08.880 In the diocesan cycle of prayer, St. 00:29:08.960 --> 00:29:10.960 John the Divine Houston and St. 00:29:11.119 --> 00:29:12.559 Martin's Houston. 00:29:13.119 --> 00:29:15.680 For Michael, our presiding bishop. 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:24.240 For Mike, Jim, Craig, Bill and Lillian, and the priests in our community, we pray to you, O Lord. 00:29:24.960 --> 00:29:26.400 Lord have confession. 00:29:27.440 --> 00:29:39.920 For all who fear God and believe in you, Lord Christ, that our divisions may cease, and that all may be one as you and the Father are one, we pray to you, O Lord. 00:29:40.400 --> 00:29:42.000 Lord have compassion. 00:29:45.119 --> 00:29:51.519 For the mission of the Church, that in faithful witness it may preach the gospel to the ends of the earth. 00:29:51.759 --> 00:29:53.759 We pray to you, O Lord. 00:29:54.240 --> 00:29:55.920 Lord, have compassion. 00:29:56.559 --> 00:30:03.759 For the peace of the world, that the spirit of respect and forbearance may grow among nations and peoples. 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:06.319 We pray to you, O Lord. 00:30:06.960 --> 00:30:08.720 Lord have compassion. 00:30:09.680 --> 00:30:21.440 For those in position of public trust, especially Joe, our president, and Greg, our governor, that they may serve justice and promote the dignity and freedom of every person. 00:30:21.839 --> 00:30:24.160 We pray to you, O Lord. 00:30:27.119 --> 00:30:32.400 For the poor, the persecuted, the sick, and all who suffer. 00:30:32.799 --> 00:30:41.839 For refugees, prisoners, and all who are in danger, that they may be relieved and protected, we pray to you, O Lord. 00:30:42.319 --> 00:30:44.240 Lord, have compassion. 00:30:45.039 --> 00:30:52.720 For this congregation, that we may be delivered from hardness of heart and show forth your glory in all that we do. 00:30:53.039 --> 00:30:55.200 We pray to you, O Lord. 00:30:58.240 --> 00:31:14.240 For our enemies and those who wish us harm, and for all whom we have injured or offended, for ourselves, for the forgiveness of our sins and for the grace of the Holy Spirit to amend our lives, we pray to you, O Lord. 00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:38.799 For all who have commended themselves to our prayers, for our families, friends, and neighbors, especially Chris, Sean, Ken, Nancy, Amber, and those the congregation wishes to name at this time, silently or aloud, we pray to you, O Lord. 00:31:39.759 --> 00:31:41.759 O Lord, have compassion. 00:31:42.559 --> 00:31:56.799 For all who have died in the communion of your church, and those whose faith is known to you alone, that with all the saints they may have rest in that place where there is no pain or grief, but life eternal. 00:31:57.039 --> 00:31:59.279 We pray to you, O Lord. 00:32:02.480 --> 00:32:10.720 Rejoicing in the fellowship of all the saints, let us commend ourselves and one another and all our life to Christ our God. 00:32:11.519 --> 00:32:13.759 To you, O Lord, our God. 00:32:14.559 --> 00:32:18.960 For yours is the majesty of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 00:32:19.200 --> 00:32:24.160 Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, now and forever. 00:32:24.480 --> 00:32:25.039 Amen. 00:32:26.640 --> 00:32:29.839 From time to time I make a mistake when I edit the bulletin. 00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:35.839 We've already prayed for forgiveness of our sins and the grace to amend our lives, and God heard us the first time. 00:32:38.079 --> 00:32:40.640 The peace of the Lord be always with you. 00:32:41.039 --> 00:32:42.400 And I prefer it. 00:33:07.119 --> 00:33:12.880 If you're new to this or haven't done this before in the room right behind this one, it's called the Narfix. 00:33:12.960 --> 00:33:18.720 But these little cards that say welcome, and we'd be tremendously grateful if you would fill one of those out so we have a record of your visit today. 00:33:18.799 --> 00:33:20.319 And thanks for worshiping with us. 00:33:20.480 --> 00:33:27.519 You know, unlike uh the last several years, we actually have five days to practice love before it's Christmas. 00:33:27.680 --> 00:33:32.160 So I hope you will take that as a spiritual discipline, as Eric pointed out. 00:33:32.319 --> 00:33:34.720 We don't always feel like love. 00:33:35.359 --> 00:33:40.240 And of course, it's the practice of love that we're meant to cultivate this week. 00:33:40.319 --> 00:33:42.559 So practice that with one another. 00:33:42.720 --> 00:33:45.920 Um, a few opportunities that I want to uh call to attention. 00:33:46.079 --> 00:33:47.680 The first is our service schedule. 00:33:47.839 --> 00:33:55.359 So before I talk a bit Christmas Eve, I want to mention that today at 4 30 is a service called the Longest Night. 00:33:55.440 --> 00:34:11.599 And it's an opportunity, quite honestly, for those of us who are in the middle of things like grief or anxiety or just honestly not feeling in the holiday spirit to name that in a holy place before God and with one another and go out nourished by the Eucharist. 00:34:11.679 --> 00:34:13.280 So that'll be at 4:30. 00:34:13.360 --> 00:34:15.199 It'll last about 45 minutes. 00:34:15.280 --> 00:34:18.079 It includes uh Eucharist in a short sermon. 00:34:18.159 --> 00:34:23.760 Um, and again, that opportunity is not for everybody, but it is an open invitation for the community. 00:34:24.239 --> 00:34:31.039 Friday is Christmas Eve, and there are the following opportunities to worship here on Christmas Eve. 00:34:31.280 --> 00:34:35.360 The first is our family service that begins at 3.30. 00:34:35.599 --> 00:34:44.719 It's a spontaneous Christmas pageant, which means if you come by 3.15, you can get a costume and you can sort of come up when your park's call. 00:34:44.880 --> 00:34:46.639 The great thing is there's no lines. 00:34:46.880 --> 00:34:50.000 Now, sometimes shepherds fight each other. 00:34:50.159 --> 00:34:51.280 This has happened. 00:34:51.360 --> 00:34:57.599 Uh sometimes shepherds chase their siblings around who are sheep, uh, which is why we do this thing. 00:34:57.679 --> 00:34:59.280 It's like joyful and lovely. 00:34:59.440 --> 00:35:07.039 I do have adult costumes too, so if you want to be in the thing, you can come at 3.15, although most of our people in costume are kids. 00:35:07.119 --> 00:35:08.639 So that's the first opportunity. 00:35:08.800 --> 00:35:15.440 It has a Eucharist, it's like 45 minutes start to finish, and it's a really lovely spirit in the room. 00:35:15.760 --> 00:35:26.639 5 o'clock is a more traditional Christmas uh service, and you'll have uh not only the excellence of our choir, but we'll have a harpist at 5 o'clock as well. 00:35:26.880 --> 00:35:30.559 Um, another opportunity is at 9 o'clock p.m. 00:35:31.039 --> 00:35:37.440 We'll do a carol sing led by uh some choral solos, some harp solos. 00:35:37.599 --> 00:35:40.480 We'll join in and the service will begin at 9.30. 00:35:40.639 --> 00:35:44.719 It is midnight somewhere, so midnight mass is at 9.30 here. 00:35:45.519 --> 00:35:54.000 If you come to that service, there's champagne and chocolate afterward in the hallway, sending us sort of forward into Christmas Day. 00:35:54.159 --> 00:35:56.159 So those are the three opportunities. 00:35:56.320 --> 00:35:59.440 Some people do more than one of them, that's up to you. 00:35:59.599 --> 00:36:09.039 Uh there are no services Christmas Day, and on Christmas uh the 26th, which is the second day of Christmas, it turns out, in the church, right? 00:36:09.119 --> 00:36:09.840 There's 12 days. 00:36:10.079 --> 00:36:12.480 Second day of Christmas, one service at 9 a.m. 00:36:12.719 --> 00:36:13.519 So it's really important. 00:36:13.599 --> 00:36:15.840 If you come at 10:30, probably everybody's gone. 00:36:16.000 --> 00:36:18.159 So next Sunday is 9 a.m. 00:36:18.639 --> 00:36:18.960 only. 00:36:19.360 --> 00:36:22.159 Uh yeah, okay. 00:36:22.719 --> 00:36:26.079 A couple other things to raise to your attention. 00:36:26.320 --> 00:36:29.679 Um there's a shipping container out there in the parking lot. 00:36:29.760 --> 00:36:30.559 That's on purpose. 00:36:30.880 --> 00:36:36.880 A couple of our parishioners are going to help us reside the front of the building and ask us there to store supplies. 00:36:36.960 --> 00:36:40.960 So a few people asked today, and that's just temporary storage for materials. 00:36:41.280 --> 00:36:43.360 By the way, thank you guys for doing that. 00:36:43.599 --> 00:36:47.760 Um there's some uh envelopes here, you might have noticed. 00:36:47.840 --> 00:36:50.880 It's our last week that we're doing flower dedications for Christmas. 00:36:51.039 --> 00:37:00.239 So it's an opportunity to dedicate flowers that'll be up here next week in memory or Thanksgiving for somebody in your life or a gift that God has given you in your life. 00:37:00.400 --> 00:37:04.000 Um, and then uh somebody asked me this morning about the pipe orbit. 00:37:04.159 --> 00:37:17.840 Yeah, I mentioned to you about two months ago, a couple parishioners put together a matching pool of funds of$25,000 that they'll match dollar for dollar to help us get the chambers built sort of towards the end of January, is what we're hyping. 00:37:18.239 --> 00:37:22.880 Really happy to tell you that we're like close to close to fulfilling that match. 00:37:22.960 --> 00:37:26.639 I want to say like 22,500 have been given against the match. 00:37:26.800 --> 00:37:27.599 So thank you. 00:37:27.760 --> 00:37:34.079 It's because of your generosity that we're gonna get this thing done ahead of schedule and wind down with our capital funds code. 00:37:34.320 --> 00:37:35.440 So again, thank you. 00:37:35.519 --> 00:37:42.719 Uh we we had quite a year between redoing the floor and paying off the mortgage, and this is the last thing left, is is the Piper. 00:37:43.360 --> 00:37:44.000 So thank you. 00:37:46.719 --> 00:38:07.199 You know, in the middle of what can be a busy week, I I do pray, I do pray that you will make some time this week with me to really practice hope instead of wishing, to practice making peace instead of keeping the peace. 00:38:08.800 --> 00:38:14.559 To cultivate some joy instead of just focusing on momentary happiness and of course. 00:38:15.039 --> 00:38:16.079 To practice love. 00:38:17.039 --> 00:38:17.760 Walking love. 00:41:31.119 --> 00:41:34.480 This is the table not of the church, but of Jesus Christ. 00:41:34.800 --> 00:41:38.719 It is made ready for those who love him and those who want to love him more. 00:41:38.880 --> 00:41:39.679 So come. 00:41:40.000 --> 00:41:48.400 You who have much faith and you who have little, you who have been here often, and you who have not been for a long time or ever before. 00:41:48.719 --> 00:41:52.480 You who have tried to follow and you who have failed, come. 00:41:52.880 --> 00:41:58.000 Not because the church invites you is Christ, he invites you to meet him here. 00:42:01.199 --> 00:42:04.159 The Lord be he with you. 00:42:33.360 --> 00:43:01.039 It is very meet right in our bounding duty that we should at all times and in all places give thanks unto thee, O Lord, Holy Father Almighty, everlasting God, because thou didst send thy beloved Son to redeem us from sin and death, and 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 to behold his appearing. 00:43:01.199 --> 00:43:13.039 And therefore, with angels and archangels, with all the company of heaven, especially David Henson, we laud and magnify thy glorious name, evermore praising thee and singing. 00:44:08.000 --> 00:44:15.760 All glory be to thee, O Lord our God, for that thou didst create heaven and earth and didst make us in thine own image. 00:44:16.239 --> 00:44:25.760 With thy tender mercy didst give thine only Son Jesus Christ to take our nature upon him and to suffer death upon the cross for our redemption. 00:44:26.079 --> 00:44:39.920 He made there a full and perfect sacrifice for the whole world, and did institute, and in his holy gospel command us to continue, a perpetual memory of that, his precious death and sacrifice, until his coming again. 00:44:40.800 --> 00:44:43.840 For in the night in which he was betrayed, Jesus took bread. 00:44:44.400 --> 00:44:49.440 And when he given thanks to me, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take, eat. 00:44:50.239 --> 00:44:52.400 This is my body which is given for you. 00:44:53.280 --> 00:44:54.800 Do this in remembrance of me. 00:44:57.519 --> 00:45:00.559 Likewise, after supper, Jesus took the cup of wine. 00:45:01.119 --> 00:45:05.280 And when he given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Drink this all of you. 00:45:05.519 --> 00:45:11.039 This is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins. 00:45:11.679 --> 00:45:15.599 Do this as often you shall drink it in remembrance of me. 00:45:18.320 --> 00:45:29.760 Wherefore, O Lord and Heavenly Father, we thy people do celebrate and make with these our holy gifts which we now offer unto thee, the memorial thy son hath commanded us to make. 00:45:30.239 --> 00:45:40.079 Having in remembrance his blessed passion and precious death, his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension, and looking for his coming again with power and great glory. 00:45:41.360 --> 00:45:54.159 I most humbly beseech thee, O merciful Father, to hear us, with thy word and Holy Spirit to bless and sanctify these gifts of bread and wine, that they may be unto us the body and blood of thy dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ. 00:45:55.199 --> 00:46:08.000 We earnestly desire thy fatherly goodness to accept this, our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, whereby we offer and present unto thee, O Lord ourselves, our souls and bodies. 00:46:08.960 --> 00:46:19.679 Grant we beseech thee that all who partake of this holy communion may worthily receive the most precious body and blood of thy Son, Jesus Christ, and be filled with thy grace and heavenly benediction. 00:46:20.559 --> 00:46:29.599 And also that we and all thy whole church may be made one body with him, that may dwell in us and we in him, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. 00:46:30.480 --> 00:46:38.880 By whom and with whom and in whom, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, our honor and glory be unto thee, O Father Almighty, world without end. 00:46:39.920 --> 00:46:40.559 Amen. 00:46:41.039 --> 00:46:44.719 Now as our Savior Christ hath taught us, we are bold to pray. 00:46:45.599 --> 00:46:48.480 Our Father, who art in heaven. 00:46:48.800 --> 00:46:49.360 Hallelujah. 00:46:59.519 --> 00:47:01.519 And forgive us our trespasses. 00:47:02.159 --> 00:47:05.360 As we forgive us to trespass against us. 00:47:05.840 --> 00:47:08.159 And give us not the temptation. 00:47:08.880 --> 00:47:10.320 Deliver us from evil. 00:47:20.159 --> 00:47:23.760 Hallelujah, Christ, our Passover is sacrificed for us. 00:47:28.159 --> 00:47:31.199 These are the gifts of God for you, the family of God. 00:54:14.320 --> 00:54:17.280 You sent Jesus to be the bread of life. 00:54:17.519 --> 00:54:20.400 We thank you for bringing us the first bread. 00:54:20.880 --> 00:54:32.239 May it strengthen us, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we may embody your desire and be renewed for your service through Jesus Christ our Savior. 00:54:32.559 --> 00:54:33.199 Amen. 00:54:33.599 --> 00:54:40.159 Depart in peace and take with you the certain knowledge that God is always coming into the world. 00:54:40.719 --> 00:54:42.000 We will save God. 00:54:48.320 --> 00:54:50.079 And that's our hearts. 00:54:50.719 --> 00:54:55.360 May the blessings of Advent and Christmas make you a blessing to others. 00:54:55.679 --> 00:54:59.440 May the peace of the season pervade all that you do. 00:55:00.320 --> 00:55:02.880 We will welcome the challenge of the service. 00:55:03.679 --> 00:55:05.599 We will offer ourselves to God. 00:55:07.280 --> 00:55:11.199 We will go forth and go in the destroyed. 00:55:11.440 --> 00:55:18.400 And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be with you this day and remain with you always.