St. Albans and Welwyn Circuit Service for Sunday 11th December 2022

A Service prepared by the Rev Andrew Prout

Today is the third Sunday of Advent. It is a day, long in tradition, that Christian people everywhere remember in their preparations for Christmas the work and ministry of John the Baptist. In your preparation you are invited, if you have an Advent Ring, to light the third candle with the first two, pausing for a moment of silence, or using the Circuit Advent Liturgy for 2022.

Hymn STF 173 (Maggi Dawn b. 1959 / Tune: As Set)

Opening Prayers (From an ‘All We Can’ Resource)

Father God, as we gather for worship today, may we be open to receiving from you. May we expect to learn more about you, expect to be challenged by you, and expect to encounter you. But Lord we gather not just to receive but also to give. To offer worship and to offer our service as the natural response to what we have received. As we move further through advent, through this time of waiting and anticipation, we thank you that you are not a God who is in a hurry. The process of creation which produced the beauty of a winter’s morning took hundreds of millions of years, so the process of new creation, of which Jesus’ life and death is the first fruits, will be a slow but steady march towards beauty and restoration.

We ask that in our worship together today, we may catch a glimpse of that beauty. At the same time we acknowledge that sometimes we get in the way of restoration breaking into the world; that sometimes we contribute to its failing rather than its recreation. For this, we are sorry, and we come humbly before you to ask for forgiveness as we take a moment to acknowledge how we have fallen short in this past week. We ask this in your holy name, and in full assurance of your forgiveness. Amen.

The Collect (Third Sunday of Advent)

God of mercy and power, whose Son rules over all,
Grant us so to live in obedience to your holy will,
That at his appearing we may be raised to eternal life;
Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
One God, now and for ever. Amen.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 11: 2-11 (NRSV)
The Enquiry of John the Baptist

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples 3and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ 4Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. 6And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me.’

7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? 8What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. 9What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10This is the one about whom it is written,

“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.”

11Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Hymn STF 182 (John Chandler 1806-1876 / Tune: Winchester New)

Address

The words of Jesus about John the Baptist demand our attention and reflection. Jesus said to his crowds, ‘Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John’. Such words invite us to consider the life and witness of John the Baptist, to ponder his humility, his simplicity, his boldness and his courage.

And yet in this section of the Gospel we also meet a doubting and questioning John. No wonder as at the time he was in prison under Herod’s guard, hoping for a miracle, and yet and most probably, with so many of those who have placed themselves at the service of a greater cause, resigned also to his fate. John somehow gets word to some of his disciples and asks them to approach Jesus and ask Him a straight question: ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ Jesus reply is to instruct John’s disciples to tell John what they hear and see: ‘the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them’. These are all signs that the Kingdom of God is at hand, and that therefore John need not doubt. His faith and hope in Jesus is well placed.

In periods when we question and doubt such words offer us comfort too. For through faith in Christ we see the same Kingdom of God at hand today, a kingdom revealed in human kindness, in Churches up and down the country that are opening their doors and offering welcome as ‘warm spaces’, in voices that are raised against injustice, and in lives that continue to be transformed by the Gospel. To our doubt Jesus invites us, as He invited John’s disciples to ‘Look and see, to listen and hear’.

Jesus words to John however offer even more. For John they gave assurance that Jesus was the promised Messiah and that all things would be revealed and come to pass in time. I like to think that in his final days in prison, and even when the executioner came, that these words comforted John, and allowed him to approach the inevitability of his death knowing it would not be in vain. This is a message for all the innocent, for all the suffering, for all the people locked up in prisons unjustly around the world, for the women and protestors in Iran facing the same fate as John, and the people of Ukraine enduring the hash cold of winter as a result of Putin’s war. Jesus words make it clear. The time has come. The kingdom of God is at hand. Every just martyr and innocent will be vindicated!

John as we know would not live to witness Jesus’ own death and resurrection. Thence Jesus’ words ‘Yet even the least in the kingdom of God is greater than John’. And yet its reward would be his, as much as for the penitent thief to whom Jesus said ‘Today you will be with me in paradise’.

Advent, lest we forget, is a season of hope and expectation. It is an invitation to us do both, even in the mess and harsh realities of this world. For if we open our eyes and look, and our ears and listen, we see and observe that God is at work, even now, and in our seeing and observing we come to know what John came to know through his disciples: the day will come when His kingdom shall prevail. The Old Testament text for today is drawn from Isaiah 35:1-2

35The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus 2it shall blossom abundantly,
and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the LORD,
the majesty of our God.

These words were written at a time the nation and people of Israel were in decline. Soon exile would come and yet for Isaiah the vision of the desert in bloom gave hope. Those who wait, says Isaiah, even in the toughest of environments and circumstances, may know that a day of restoration, deliverance and transformation will come. So speaks the prophet to the faithful of every generation.

‘Go tell John’ says Jesus to John’s disciples. ‘Go tell John what you see and hear: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them’. Friends … The kingdom of God is at hand! It was then and it is now, and all we hope for will come to pass, as it did in the days of Mary and Joseph, and of John.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

Hymn STF 185 (Charles Silvester Horne 1865-1914 / Tune: The Glory Song)

Prayers of Intercession (From an ‘All We Can’ Resource)

Lord Jesus,
Thank you that you are the one that history was waiting for, and that we need not wait for another.
Thank you for your servant John the Baptist who helps us see this, and may we seek to share this good news with those around us.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

The prophet you chose did not wear the fine robes of royals, but ate locusts and wore camel’s hair.
Help us to recognise the prophets we may ignore because of their appearance or demeanour, help us to shed that which restricts our service to you.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Thank you that when you are at work in us and at work in your Church it looks like the blind seeing, the lame walking, and good news to the poor.
We pray for the work of Methodist organisations that enable service to the most vulnerable on a scale we could not manage alone.
We pray for All We Can and their partners in countries like Zimbabwe, where women have transformed their lives through basket weaving, will continue to tackle poverty using local skills and expertise.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Thank you that as great as John the Baptist was, you promise us that the least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he. As we look forward to the full realisation of this upside down Kingdom, help us to build it here today.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Now in silence let us hold unto God all who are on our hearts this Advent-tide. Let us also pray for ourselves and remember all who have gone before us.

Silence

Finally, let us offer the prayer that Jesus taught us …
Our Father who art in Heaven;
Hallowed be Thy Name …

Hymn STF 201 (Graham Kendrick b1950 / Tune: As Set)

The Blessing (Written by Tim Baker from the Vine resource)

Let us go, liberated and set free by the God who loves us, who comes amongst us, and who is here with us.
Let us go out, believing in the miracle of a Christmas God who came, who comes, who will go on coming, amongst us, with us, alongside,
Let us go in the name of the Christ, Immanuel.
And the blessing of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
Remain with us and with all whom we hold in our hearts, now and forevermore. Amen.

Copyright Notices

Hymns

Hymn words where displayed are in the Public Domain.

Hymn organ recordings where used are from Small Church Music. Copyright notice: Rev. Clyde McLennan, performer in this collection, has assigned his performer rights in this collection to Hymnary.org. Non-commercial use of these recordings is permitted.

Other hymns are from YouTube and covered by YouTube copyright processes.

Bible Readings

Bible readings are from the New Revised Standard Version copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images

Images where used are from pixabay.com and free for commercial use no attribution required.