Sunday worship 6th December 2020 - Advent 2

Croeso! Bore da! Welcome to you all this Second Sunday of Advent. Please do make yourself known to me if you are popping in or if I can help in any way.

+Yn enw'r Tad, a'r Mab, a'r Ysbryd Glan. Amen

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. AMEN

Our opening hymn today is: O come, O come Emmanuel

Heavenly Father,

we have sinned in thought, word and deed,

and have failed to do

what we ought to have done.

We are sorry and truly repent.

For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ

who died for us, forgive us all that is past,

and lead us in his way

to walk as children of light. AMEN

May God our Father,

who by the Lord Jesus Christ

has reconciled the world to himself

and forgives the sins of all who truly repent,

pardon and deliver us from all our sins,

and grant us the grace and power of the Holy Spirit. AMEN

Collect for the Second Sunday of Advent

Father in heaven, who sent your Son to redeem the world and will send him again to be our judge: give us grace so to imitate him in the humility and purity of his first coming that, when he comes again, we may be ready to greet him with joyful love and firm faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. AMEN

Isaiah 40:1-11 NRSV Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. 3 A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. 5 Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” 6 A voice says, “Cry out!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever. 9 Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings;[a] lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings,[b] lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” 10 See, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.

The Gospel of Christ according to St Mark

Glory to you. O Lord.

Mark 1:1-8 NRSV

1 The beginning of the good news[a] of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.[b] 2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,[c] “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,[d] who will prepare your way; 3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’” 4 John the baptizer appeared[e] in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8 I have baptized you with[f] water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

This is the Gospel of the Lord

Praise to you, O Christ.

Homily

Today is the feast of St Nicholas. It is the day when all over the world children will be small welcoming gifts. Much as our own children hang up their stocking hoping they will be filled by Father Christmas or Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. St Nicholas though was a real person who lived in the fourth century and lived in Asia Minor, present day Turkey. He was a Bishop of Myra. He was a very rich man as he had inherited his parent’s wealth when he was young. He was able to serve God’s people and was generous with his money giving to those in need, the poor, neglected and abused. Nicholas liked to offer secret gifts to people whom he thought were in need. There are several legends about St Nicholas but what we don’t know is how true any of these stories are.

One of the main stories about Nicholas involved a poor family where the father couldn’t meet the request for a dowry so his first daughter could marry. Nicholas is said to have thrown gold coins in through the window one night – and they landed in a stocking drying by the fire. Nicholas then repeated this act of kindness to each of the man’s two other daughters. He was however, recognised on the final visit, but people in Myra said any gift which came in secret was a gift from the man, the saint himself.

Now we don’t know if this is true or not, though possibly there is truth within the story somewhere and we can clearly see where the story of Father Christmas comes from, the stocking filled with small, unexpected delights and given in the secret of a dark winter’s night.

However there is so much to Nicholas, more than just the visit of the older white haired gentleman on Christmas Eve. The story of Nicholas is not just about children, as about sailors and the needs of those who suffer from whatever cause. Nicholas’s life as Bishop was one of concern for those in any kind of need and so having finance behind him, gave willing and often in secret.

Advent reminds us to be alert, as we thought last week, for the Christ child’s coming, to remember our weaknesses as individuals and communities and to work hard at our relationship with God. God didn’t give up on his wayward people and instead gave generously to them. The giving of Christ, being the biggest and greatest gift.

But what of our own giving – of course we are reminded constantly to give at this time of the year to our partner, children, grandchildren, the lady next door, the church, charities etc etc. We are bombarded with advertisements through tv, radio, media or the internet for the best product whether, perfume, gadgets, chocolates, jewellery but do we give from our hearts or from a sense of duty? To give is show our love, yes, but more than that it is to commit to someone or something we give. A bequest in a will is not just a sharing of the goods and shackles of someone, but a link to the deceased to the living, something special precious given with endearment and love. At this time of the year we give to charities often to appease our sense of doing something – our charitable bit done, ticked off the list so to speak.

Giving as Christ gave is more than offering special items, money or promises to someone, but rather giving time to stand alongside a stranger, friend and be with them. This week I heard of someone who had died and friends bundled everything up and went and stayed with Derek, taking time to just sit with him, clean the kitchen, cook some meals, hold his hand and cry with him. They gave to their old friend time – a costly gift, but so important. Time to let him be, and time to be with him. There is also the giving of personal energy and effort as well, to a individual or community in a vulnerable situation. The Caribbean community support actively their own community, if someone dies, with meals, finance, company and addressing any issues around the grave.

Jesus knew the meaning of that sort of giving, but also opened our eyes, to giving friendship, companionship, standing alongside those with needs who society condemned. Nicholas had learned this through his Lord, that money might help, but thoughts, support, befriending, giving himself, was giving to new depth.

Of course the greatest giving is the giving of oneself both physically, mentally and spiritually and we are all far more reserved with this type of giving, as maybe it is the most costly and unpredictable. Christmas and St Nicholas offer us a chance in Advent to give fully, more than gifts of small worth and opportunities to make a difference to individual and community lives to the church.

Of course Father Christmas exists, in the giving to all in secret and unexpected ways. The message of Advent is to wake up and remember how we too respond to the God who continuously surrounds us with love, how we deepen our faith and how we find Christ by loving and giving in any way to others.

Intercessions and Lord's Prayer

Everlasting God, as we journey through this season of Advent, seeking to make our paths straight for His coming, we now offer our prayers and petitions through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.