BUCKHORN PASTORAL (NM) CHARGE
ADVENT 1, FIFTH SUNDAY
NOVEMBER 29, 2015
Web Site: http://buckhornpastoralcharge.weebly.com/
Email: [email protected]
MINISTER – ALL OF THE CONGREGATION
With Patricia McLeod, student minister
Home Office: 705-874-6943
Wesley – 10:00 a.m. Curve Lake – 11:30 a.m.
Leader of Music Secretary
Jacqueline Jacobson Delma Foster
A warm welcome is extended to everyone worshiping with us today by reading this posted liturgy. Whether you have a deep faith or are looking for an indefinable 'something' we hope that you enjoy a sense of God's presence and a feeling of connection with others through this site. May the joy you experience in worship be with you throughout the coming week.
Leader reads plain text; congregation responds in bold text.
WELCOMING, GATHERING, SHARING, CARING,
LIGHTING THE ADVENT CANDLE
Holy One, we light this candle, a flicker of starlight, cradled in a forever circle of green,
a sign of belonging, of growth, of possibility, of awe and wonder.
May it be a reminder of your divine spark, kindling new beginnings within us.
Hope be born among us.
We wait in hope with all your people through the ages and into tomorrow. Amen.
ADVENT CANDLE HYMN VOICES UNITED #7 [verse 1]
1 Hope is a star that shines in the night,
leading us on till the morning is bright.
When God is a child there's joy in our song.
The last shall be first and the weak shall be strong,
and none shall be afraid.
CALL TO WORSHIP[i]
We come from a world of darkness
Into Christ’s world of light.
We come from a world of weariness
Into God’s strength and hope.
We come from a slumbering world.
Strengthened by the Spirit, we come to awaken our souls
and watch for the coming of Christ.
OPENING PRAYER
1ST TESTAMENT READING: Isaiah 7:14, 11:1-5
INTRODUCTION TO HYMN
The hymn O Come, O Come Emmanuel is ancient. . . . and the author is unknown. It is believed to have been written sometime before 800 C.E.. This was during a time often referred to as "the Dark Ages." Civilization, it seemed, had broken down and mankind was sliding backwards into more chaos, ignorance, and unending warfare. But somewhere in a monastery in Europe, an unknown monk penned a song that would reach across the ages to encourage believers.
During those "Dark Ages" the Bible was inaccessible for most people. But the monk who composed this song must have had a full and rich knowledge of Scripture. The song displays a wealth of phrases from Old Testament prophecies that speak of the coming of the Messiah. He is "the rod of Jesse," the "Dayspring from on high," the "Key of David," and "Wisdom from on high." For the people of the Medieval world who did not have a Bible to read, this was a teaching tool, expressing the hope and truth of Christmas--- the fulfillment of ancient prophecies in the birth of Christ.
In the early 19th century an Anglican priest named John Mason Neale came across this hymn of faith in a Latin text. The tune that went with the text was from a 15th century French Franciscan convent of nuns ministering in Portugal.
Because of Rev. Neale’s translation, today we are able to participate and sing a sacred Advent hymn least 11 centuries old.
*OPENING HYMN “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” VU # 1 (verses 1, 2, 4, 6 & 7)
GOSPEL READING: Luke 1:78-79
INTRODUCTION TO HYMN
This may be the only commonly sung Christmas carol that does not mention the birth of Christ! The focus is rather on the song of the angels, “Peace on the earth, good will to men.” This is one of the earliest social gospel hymns written in the United States and published on Dec. 29, 1849.
This was a troubled time. The California Gold Rush was creating excitement, but was also disrupting the lives of men and women caught up in Gold Fever. The Industrial Revolution was enticing people from their tiny farms to the cities, where they often just exchanged one form of poverty for another. And, of course, in the United States, there were tensions over slavery, which would soon erupt into Civil War.
It was with those troubled contexts in mind that Sears wrote this hymn that emphasizes peace as a gift from "heaven's all-gracious king" (v. 1). He portrays angels bringing peace to a still-weary world––angels hovering above "sad and lowly plains" (v. 2). Sears portrays a painful view of life, with its "crushing load" ––and "painful steps and slow"––and a "weary road"––but offers the hope of “the time foretold, when peace shall over all the earth its ancient splendours fling” (v. 4). And he looks forward to the fulfillment of prophecy––"When the whole world send back the song which now the angels sing".
More than 150 years later, the promise of 'Peace on the earth, good will to all” being echoed over all the earth still touches us deeply today.
HYMN “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” VU # 44
SPECIAL MUSIC – Special Musical Guest, Bill and Janet Crossett, Wesley Choir
1ST TESTAMENT READINGS: Isaiah 61:1-3
INTRODUCTION TO HYMN
The carol we now know as "Hark! the herald angels sing" was first published in 1739. Originally it was made up of ten four-line verses, rather than the longer eight-line verses with refrain which we have now at least four people edited or changed it before it reached its current form.
Charles Wesley, the famous hymn writer wrote the poem, but the first line was not what we sing today. It began "Hark how all the welkin rings/ Glory to the King of kings. . . ." What, you may ask is a "welkin?" It's an old Anglo-Saxon word for the vault of heaven where the angels dwell.
The phrase "Glory to the King of kings," was intended to echo Luke’s account of the praise of angel voices saying "Glory to God in the highest heaven."
In 1753, George Whitfield, who had been a student with Wesley, changed this to "Glory to the newborn King". Now instead of praising God, the angels are inaccurately described as praising Jesus. It is also interesting to note that Luke’s gospel doesn’t describe the angels as singing, but praising; so it is possible that by his reinterpretation Whitfield has fostered the popular but unscriptural image of angels singing.
Time passed and there was still no tune. Until the mid-19th century, long after Wesley and Whitefield are gone. In 1840, Felix Mendelssohn, wrote a tune to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Gutenberg printing press. It was intended to celebrate technology. Mendelssohn was adamant that his music NOT be used for religious purposes, but only for secular themes. Little did know that someday, this tune used with the Wesley/Whitefield's poem to celebrate the birth of Christ.
In 1855, Dr. William Cummings, a relatively unknown organist took the tune poem from Wesley/Whitefield and set it to the tune Mendelssohn wrote. The following year Christians began singing this song for Christmas. For me, this is a lesson that everyone is important. Everything you contribute is important. What you and I are doing today may be used in some way in the future, in ways we never dreamed of. . .to bless others.
*HYMN “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” VU # 48
GOSPEL READING: Luke 2:1-14
INTRODUCTION TO HYMN
On Christmas Eve in 1865, Phillips Brooks, rode the perilous journey from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, to assist at the midnight service in the Church of the Nativity.
Writing home in the week following Christmas, he described the experience:
“After an early dinner, we took our horses and rode to Bethlehem. It was only about two hours when we came to the town, situated on an eastern ridge of a range of hills, surrounded by its terraced gardens. It is a good-looking town, better built than any other we have seen in Palestine. . . . Before dark, we rode out of town to the field where they say the shepherds saw the star. It is a fenced piece of ground with a cave in it (all the Holy Places are caves here), in which, strangely enough, they put the shepherds. The story is absurd, but somewhere in those fields we rode through the shepherds must have been. . . . As we passed, the shepherds were still “keeping watch over their flocks or leading them home to fold.”
Three years later, Rev. Brooks described the memory of that night as "still singing in my soul," That was the inspiration for this much loved carol which he wrote for his Sunday school and which was was sung for the first time at Christmas, 1868.
HYMN “O Little Town Of Bethlehem” VU #64
PRAYERS OF THE COMMUNITY AND LORD’S PRAYER
GOSPEL READING: Psalm 98
INTRODUCTION TO HYMN
Isaac Watts, the author of Joy to the World, was born in 1674, in South Hampton England.
Believe it or not Watts’ work, in his day, was not always well received. You see, Watts was boldly introducing (what was for his time, contemporary) “praise and worship” songs into the life of the church. Up until that point, the hymn sung in most Protestant churches was d almost exclusively Psalms. During the Reformation, John Calvin, had translated the Psalms into the common language of his people so that they could be sung during worship. However, Isaac Watts began introducing poetry that wasn’t from the Psalms into his hymns. Many people were outrage, but some felt it was a breath of fresh air.
Christmas season would hardly seem complete without the singing of Joy to the World, yet Isaac Watts, its author, never intended it to be a Christmas carol at all.
If you notice the lyrics of the song, Joy to the World, you will see nothing about shepherds, a manger, wise men, angels, or any other character or element that we normally associate with the Christmas story. The reason being it was never intended to be a Christmas song.
Watts based Joy to the World on Psalm 98, which he understood as being not about the birth of Jesus, but about his triumphant return. He wrote “Joy the world! The Lord has come,” envisioning a time when “the Savior reigns” and when “He rules the world with truth and grace.” The author transformed the old Jewish psalm of praise for some historic deliverance into a Christian song of rejoicing for the salvation of God began to reveal when Christ was born in Bethlehem.
HYMN “Joy to the World” VU #59
INVITATION TO OFFERING
*DEDICATION HYMN
Mah mwih yuh wuh mah dah mah buh
Wain je shuh wain dah go ze yung
Wa yoo se mind wa gwe se mind
Kuh ya pah ne zid O Je Chog
*PRAYER OF DEDICATION
GOSPEL READING: Luke 2:15-20
INTRODUCTION TO HYMN
It was 1914 and in Flanders, on the Western Front was composed of miles of opposing trenches, 6-8 feet deep. The area between them, in some places as narrow as a soccer field was called “No Man’s Land”. On Christmas Eve, so the story goes, some German troops began to put small Christmas trees, lit with candles outside their trenches.
Then the allied troops recognized a familiar tune being sung. It was Silent Night the German troops were singing “Stille Nacht”. Suddenly, the British and Canadian troops joined in the night was filled with both sides singing in their own language this familiar carol.
Before long, a German soldier climbed out of his trench with a white flag of truce. Imagine the surprise that an enemy would reach out at Christmas! Slowly, as they decided they could trust one another the troops from both sides began to climb out of the trenches. Some of the Germans troops had worked in England before the war, so could speak English and translate.
They shared food and candy from home, photos of loved ones and even played soccer with improvised balls. Of course this had to be played carefully around unexploded artillery shells and land mines!
Through that long night, each side realized that other men weren’t the enemy; these men were just like themselves, young, lonely and a long way from home at Christmas. This was an enemy you’d been told to hate, but who laughed with you, played with you and most of all shared a faith with you. When the impromptu truce was over, the soldiers parted, often with handshakes.
In some areas it was actually New Years day before things returned to “normal”. The generals didn’t like what they saw happening and commanded the troops to fire on one another. However these men had trouble seeing the new friends they had shared Christmas with as enemies. In a number of cases the soldiers spent a days wasting ammunition shooting at stars instead of the opposing army. In some cases, men were threatened with court-martial or simply moved to other positions; such as ambulance drivers, when they were unable to bring themselves to resume fighting.
For a few precious moments, in the midst of harsh combat, there was peace on earth, good will toward men. It all started because of a shared faith and a few Christmas Carols. Today it is known as the Christmas Armistice.
Fredrick Niven, a Scottish poet of the Great War closed his poem “A Carol from Flanders” with these words:
"O ye who read this truthful rime
From Flanders, kneel and say:
God speed the time when every day
Shall be as Christmas Day."
HYMN “Silent Night” VU #67
BENEDICTION
*CHORAL BLESSING
May the Lord, Mighty God, Bless and keep you forever
Grant you peace, perfect peace, courage in every endeavour.
Lift up your eyes and see God’s face, take his grace forever.
May the Lord, Mighty God bless and keep you forever.
[i] United Methodist Church, First Sunday of Advent 2015, Call to Worship,
http://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/adventchristmas-liturgies-year-c, used with permission.