December 10th, 2007 – Second Sunday of Advent; Prepare and Be Bold
What do we wait for? What do we prepare for in Advent?
There is another kingdom that is described in the first reading of worship from Isaiah. The familiar words of Isaiah where the wolf living with the lamb, the child plays with the asp, where the child shall lead are in this first reading. Is this the world we are trying to bring about? Is this something that can happen or is it some pie-in-the-sky vision of a world we will never know?
Today Pastor Dayle gave a sermon concerning the Gospel Lesson Matthew 3:1-12 which contains the words of John the Baptist to the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, calling them a brood of vipers and commanding them to bear fruit worthy of repentance.
John the Baptist talks about the ax lying at the root of the trees and those that do not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. He also talks about the winnowing fork clearing the threshing floor and then burning the chaff in unquenchable fire.
In Pastor Mark’s Children time he talked about the need for Christians to be bold and strong in their faith. We boldly sang the song we have done in Creator Praise Be Bold, Be Strong, with gestures, along with the children. It was a performance for the musicians, relying on Kelly’s memory of key and chords for the song. And the bold performance highlighted the message
As for John the Baptist’s metaphor of ax and fork, Pastor Dayle said in her sermon this is not a comforting image and it is not easy to see God’s love and grace in this imagery. Her vision of God’s grace comes into this as a process of addressing and distancing ourselves from all that could separate us from God. This perspective does allow both change and God’s grace and love.
What do we wait for? What do we prepare for in Advent?
There is another kingdom that is described in the first reading of worship from Isaiah. The familiar words of Isaiah where the wolf living with the lamb, the child plays with the asp, where the child shall lead are in this first reading. Is this the world we are trying to bring about? Is this something that can happen or is it some pie-in-the-sky vision of a world we will never know?
Today Pastor Dayle gave a sermon concerning the Gospel Lesson Matthew 3:1-12 which contains the words of John the Baptist to the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, calling them a brood of vipers and commanding them to bear fruit worthy of repentance.
John the Baptist talks about the ax lying at the root of the trees and those that do not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. He also talks about the winnowing fork clearing the threshing floor and then burning the chaff in unquenchable fire.
In Pastor Mark’s Children time he talked about the need for Christians to be bold and strong in their faith. We boldly sang the song we have done in Creator Praise Be Bold, Be Strong, with gestures, along with the children. It was a performance for the musicians, relying on Kelly’s memory of key and chords for the song. And the bold performance highlighted the message
As for John the Baptist’s metaphor of ax and fork, Pastor Dayle said in her sermon this is not a comforting image and it is not easy to see God’s love and grace in this imagery. Her vision of God’s grace comes into this as a process of addressing and distancing ourselves from all that could separate us from God. This perspective does allow both change and God’s grace and love.
The synod is also emailing devotions for Advent and Bishop Dave's email for the Matthew text talks about Matthew’s twisting of Isaiah’s prophecy in John the Baptist's mouth. Bishop Dave lets us know that Isaiah is referring to clearing the way in the wilderness and not a voice in the wilderness. We are give two ways to read the text. I look forward to the future devotions during Advent. If you would like to read / receive them follow the synod link on the right of this blog and sign up for these Advent devotions by clicking into Book of Faith Advent Devotions.
I spent the time between services having breakfast with Scott, Diane, Ron, Eileen and Will. I enjoyed getting the report about the progressive dinner from Ron and Eileen and wished that Mary and I could have attended. One story was about a huge box that had contained a 50” TV filled with straw and a lottery ticket hidden somewhere inside. Sounded like the same kind of fun there has been with the white elephant gifts we have shared during the progressive dinners in the past.
I spent the time between services having breakfast with Scott, Diane, Ron, Eileen and Will. I enjoyed getting the report about the progressive dinner from Ron and Eileen and wished that Mary and I could have attended. One story was about a huge box that had contained a 50” TV filled with straw and a lottery ticket hidden somewhere inside. Sounded like the same kind of fun there has been with the white elephant gifts we have shared during the progressive dinners in the past.
posted by Gary at
5:50 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home