This week the sacred stories converge to tell a story of a holy family that extends beyond a nuclear family or even a single lineage. It begins with the family we might today call Iraqi who will become the ancestral parents of the people who will come to be called Israel, a reminder that we are one human family. The psalm calls us to preserve our ancestral heritages across generations by by telling and teaching our stories of and with God. As the generations unfold and we wait for the culmination of the great story, Romans calls us to persevere and hope for that which we do not yet see. The gospel marks the climax of the story beyond compare. The sacred story is bigger than any one individual or people. The ark of salvation bears us all. In the present it can be difficult to reconcile our shared identity as the family of God with the very serious issues that divide and fracture us. At the same time, our shared identity does not require erasure of the identities we already have in our families and lineages. The Church has always struggled to accept these realities, preferring instead to sanctify some identities, genders, ethnicities, nationalities and, ways of practicing and believing above others. This new year on the calendar of the Church offers a new beginning, another chance to live into the richness of the tapestry that is the heritage of God as the story unfolds.
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Rev. Samuel Paul, Jr.
November 13, 2021 5:14 amI thank God for your witness, your wisdom, and your scholarship.
Wil
November 27, 2021 9:35 amThank you.
Tracy Spencer-Brown
November 18, 2021 2:59 pmCALL TO WORSHIP
ADVENT 2
** is bolded for responsive reading
Advent 2, 12/5/21
Give ear, my people, to my teaching;
**incline your ear to the utterances of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a proverb;
**I will utter riddles from of old.
In order that a coming generation, children yet to be, might know,
**and will rise up and tell their daughters and sons.
Then they will put their confidence in God, and not forget the works of God
**but will keep her commandments.
Wil
November 27, 2021 9:35 amThank you for these,
Bruce Cole
November 29, 2021 12:18 pmI wrote this collect for Advent 2 (and welcome any improvements):
O God, the living hope of the world, who builds families, communities, and peoples: incline our ears to your promises of care and keeping for the whole human family, and turn us from all divisions and hostilities that trouble our relationships with you and with one another; that we may prepare confidently for the return of the holy child who completes the work of healing and reconciliation for all humanity, Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and forever. Amen.
Danielle
November 29, 2021 12:37 pmAs I reflected on the Luke text, I wondered if Mary would have traveled alone to Elizabeth, or if she would have traveled with others? I had this image of her in my mind traveling the countryside alone, but I wondered how accurate that was…
Wil
November 29, 2021 1:10 pmUnlikely in an honor/shame society where suspicions and accusation could have lethal consequences.
Revd Wendy D
November 30, 2021 8:22 amHere is today’s Ministers Muse conversation about the texts for Advent 2. My context is the UK and a traditional Anglican Parish and each week I draw together three different preachers to explore how we are engaging with the texts and how we might preach them. Thanks for the gift of the Women’s Lectionary.
https://youtu.be/TMEE2DrUp5Q
Rev. Katie Aikins
December 1, 2021 10:38 amSharing here, again in gratitude. A member of our congregation, Lynn Lampman wrote these prayers for the second Sunday in advent. We are spelling out HOPE for the four candles on the wreathe. So this Sunday we make “O” bold in the lighting of the wreath:
Lighting of the Advent Wreath
Obviously, it being impossible did not matter to you, God.
Overlooking their old age and young age, you determined they would be an essential part of your plan.
Oblivious to the naysayers around them
Elizabeth and Mary chose joy.
O God, may we too believe
the impossible is possible,
we are chosen and essential,
and you come so we may have joy.
Prayer of Confession
Sarah, Elizabeth, and Mary’s God,
We have laughed in your face and in each other’s face because we thought we knew better, especially about the who, what, and where.
We have given up hope regarding anything getting better or being other than it is
because what you proposed seemed so
ridiculous, preposterous, nonsensical, absurd, peculiar, and even pathetic.
Renew our hope for a brighter future,
increase our trust in your ways,
and prepare us for the labor and birth pangs we will all face as we too become bearers
of new life.
Silent Confession
Leader: God’s mercies are new every morning, including this morning. Our honesty leads us into new beginnings. The past no longer holds us in its grip. The future holds great promise.
All: in Jesus Christ we are set free.
Chrissy Cataldo
December 1, 2021 5:23 pmHere’s a unison prayer I pulled together. I used some of the names of God in the back of the commentary. I also tried to link it with the ideas of community members or relatives or a lineage that provides a welcome and celebration. Also, I brought in some Dr. Gafney’s commentary where she says the holy child’s work is “reconciliation and restoration.” I think I’m going to talk some about the people we go to with big news in the sermon, so this prayer is also setting the groundwork for that idea.
“Gracious God, Wellspring of Life, Rock Who Gave Us Birth, we have gathered together again in the midst of our Advent journey. We are ever-moving towards One we can entrust with our hopeful truth. May we be glad for dear ones who hear the truth and rejoice… for the Elizabeths of the world who offer welcome and blessing. As we await the birth of the child we will call the Prince of Peace, guide us in our preparations for reconciliation and restoration. Amen.”
Elaine Ellis Thomas
December 2, 2021 2:10 pmThis is the collect I wrote for Advent 2:
O God who knows the desires and hopes we carry even when they sometimes seem a distant dream: you are the God who heard the cries of Sarah and Elizabeth, both longing for a child in their old age. Give us faith to trust that you also hear the longings of our hearts, for with you nothing is impossible. We pray in the name of the One whose coming we await. Amen.
Kirk VanGilder
December 6, 2021 1:09 pmJust saw the call to participate over here as I reflected on a post on Dr. Gafney’s Facebook page. I’ll copy my experience with this week’s text here.
I’m using the Year W as a devotional as well since I’m not in a pulpit role for my ministry. Read the Genesis text and fondly remembered a fantastic moment at the Deaf church in Baltimore when I used this text.
Many Deaf people encounter English as a second or third language after experiencing language deprivation in their young years, so ‘biblical English’ tends to be a bit of a mystery. A lot of ‘read out the scripture’ is done ‘rote’ style and conforms to English word order in signs rather than ASL grammar. For this reason, the Deaf church in Baltimore went to a bible study > bible drama on Sunday for scripture reading. Super effective in spreading both understanding and contemplation on the meaning of scripture.
Anyway, I was guest preaching there for an Advent service some years back and this was the lectionary. The whole selection was God talking to Abraham, but it mentions his children and their mothers which are … the crux of the dilemma presented in the story. So I wanted some recognition that Sarah and Hagar are … in this story too. I left it up the study group and drama crew to figure out.
So I get there with my sermon all ready and am enjoying the service. We get to the Bible reading/drama. And they’ve got the costumes and ‘character name tags’ worked out. Abraham is talking to God while Sarah is off to the left side of the stage laughing at the whole idea that she’ll have a baby at her age. That’s the extent of her lines.
Meanwhile, we’ve got Hagar seated off to the lower right holding her baby and fussing over him. Hagar…got lines. She stands up and clearly states, “Hi, I’m Hagar, this is my baby Ishmael. And HE’S the daddy! [points to Abraham.] Then takes her seat and gives her full attention to her baby again.
An 80+ year old Black Deaf woman who went to a segregated school back in the day and faithfully attended church EVERY Sunday for decades…who had surely seen this story signed out in some form or another dozens of times…audibly cried out and gasped for air, “What?!? This is in the Bible? What?!? Abraham, you bad!”
I’m to follow this and get up to preach as the fall out of people saying, “Yes it is!” and her continuing to just be a bit flabbergasted by this realization that biblical heroes could be such cads as to have a baby off another woman.
It was a legit Jerry Springer moment, even though the Bible drama group didn’t intend it to come off quite that way.
I open with “Ok, do we really need a sermon today?” Threw out my notes and went with a fairly improvised take on “Abraham wanted an heir to fulfill God’s covenant, and … yeah, he tried to do it the usual human way according to customs of his culture at the time. Then…God came through with God’s plans and now … Abraham has a bit of a paternity problem.”
Wil
December 6, 2021 1:16 pmThis is wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing it.
Maggie Gann
December 7, 2024 4:23 pmSharing another litany of praise I’ve written for my independent catholic community for those who may find it useful in future. Grateful for those who have shared in the past and who are making my prep easier each week!
One: Midwife of Creation—
You hear our groaning,
wipe the sweat from our brow,
and make us ready to bring forth new life.
Come Lord Jesus…
ALL: Come Lord Jesus…
One: Unending Story—
You are being told again and again and again,
Bringing words of comfort, encouragement, and belonging to your people.
Come Christ Jesus…
ALL: Come Christ Jesus…
One: Spirit of Laughter—
When all seems lost, you surprise us with your possibility,
And plant in us your joy and hope.
Come Lord Jesus…
ALL: Come Lord Jesus…