Sunday 29TH November 2020
First Sunday of Advent
Collects, Psalm and Readings
Collect for the First Sunday in Advent:
Almighty God, Give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and to put on the armour of light now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility; that on the last day when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who is alive and reigns w through him who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Isaiah 64: 1-9
O that you would tear open the heavens and come down,
so that the mountains would quake at your presence—
2 as when fire kindles brushwood
and the fire causes water to boil—
to make your name known to your adversaries,
so that the nations might tremble at your presence!
3 When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect,
you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
4 From ages past no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who works for those who wait for him.
5 You meet those who gladly do right,
those who remember you in your ways.
But you were angry, and we sinned;
because you hid yourself we transgressed.
6 We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
7 There is no one who calls on your name,
or attempts to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity.
8 Yet, O Lord, you are our Father;
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
9 Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord,
and do not remember iniquity for ever.
Now consider, we are all your people.
Psalm 80: 1-8, 18-20
1 Hear, O Shepherd of Israel, ♦ you that led Joseph like a flock;
2 Shine forth, you that are enthroned upon the cherubim, ♦ before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
3 Stir up your mighty strength ♦ and come to our salvation.
4 Turn us again, O God; ♦ show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.
5 O Lord God of hosts, ♦ how long will you be angry at your people’s prayer?
6 You feed them with the bread of tears; ♦ you give them abundance of tears to drink.
7 You have made us the derision of our neighbours, ♦ and our enemies laugh us to scorn.
8 Turn us again, O God of hosts; ♦ show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved
18 Let your hand be upon the man at your right hand, ♦ the son of man you made so strong for yourself.
19 And so will we not go back from you; ♦give us life, and we shall call upon your name.
20 Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts; ♦ show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.
1 Corinthians 1:3-9
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, 5for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— 6just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you— 7so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Mark 13
24 ‘But in those days, after that suffering,
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
25 and the stars will be falling from heaven,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
26Then they will see “the Son of Man coming in clouds” with great power and glory. 27Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
28 ‘From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he* is near, at the very gates. 30Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. 31Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
32 ‘But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33Beware, keep alert;* for you do not know when the time will come. 34It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. 35Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, 36or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. 37And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.’
29 November 2020: First Sunday of Advent
Mark 13: 24-37
1:Despite still being in the month of November, in the Church we are marking a NEW YEAR as we reach the First Sunday of Advent.
If you have a Prayer Book at home you might like to look at Page 27 where you will see the readings for Year A , Year B and Year C. This 3 year cycle is designed to ensure that over a 3 year period all the Gospels are covered. (The 4th Gospel -the Gospel of John- is integrated from time to time into each year but mainly this year).
So this Sunday the first Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of Year B and the focus this year will be on St Marks Gospel.
The change of year (like New Years Day on 1st January) gives us a chance to stop, pause, stand back and think of where we are and where we are going in our spiritual lives.
This year is probably different, as most of the things we have taken for granted are no longer certain. As I write this there is great talk about the Toy Show (but without an audience), we don’t know if people can come home from abroad or even what restrictions will apply to travel.
So an unusual year, yet a year– more than most– where we have less distractions and,in light of the danger around us, more opportunities for reflection on the deeper things in life.
2: Traditionally as we prepare for the Incarnation— the coming of God amongst us in human form– the liturgical colours we wear are Purple, which are Penitential Colours. Penance is about conversion, about changing direction, about turning. We have to turn from the old to more fully embrace the new. The old in this case is our unsatisfying lives and the new being a more fulfilling life in Jesus. We turn from sin so that we may belong more fully to God.
3: If we were in a Church this Sunday we would have an Advent Wreath to symbolically help us on our journey over the next 4 Sundays. The wreath has 4 purple candles around the side with a white candle in the centre to be lit on Christmas Day.
At the beginning of the service each Sunday it is traditional to light one candle.
Each candle represents a person or group whose Faith continues to be a source of encouragement to us even today, many thousands of years after they were on this earth.
- This Sunday, the First Sunday of Advent, the first candle represents the Patriarchs. These are people lost in the midst of our dim and distant history, yet they were the ones whose Faith allowed Gods message to be carried on to the Jewish people.
The letter to the Hebrews tells us of the Faith of Abraham
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; 11.8
9By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.11.9
11By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old—and Sarah herself was barren—because he considered him faithful who had promised. 11.11
The following prayer is usually recited when lighting the candle for the Patriarchs
Blessed are you, Sovereign Lord, God of our ancestors,
to you be praise and glory for ever!
You called the patriarchs to live by the light of faith
and to journey in the hope of your promised fulfilment.
May we be obedient to your call
and be ready and watchful to receive your Christ
a lamp to our feet and a light to our path;
for you are our light and our salvation.
Blessed be God for ever.
- Our readings this morning are very much in line with the theme of the Advent Season.
The Collect for this Sunday request the Grace to cast away the works of darkness and to put on the armour of light.
Psalm 80 has a constant refrain of change “Turn us again O God show the light of your countenance and we shall be saved”.
Paul in his letter to the citizens of Corinth reminds his followers that because of the grace given in Christ Jesus they are not lacking in any spiritual gift and they will be strengthened to the end.
Our Gospel reading this morning is very much in line with this message of change and repentance. While it was written at a time when the early Christians expected the world to end imminently, the message is still relevant to us. The followers were awaiting a vision of the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory and therefore were told to keep awake lest they be found asleep at the Second Coming.
Today we do not live in a culture expecting the world to end imminently. However, for each individual, the world ends when she/he dies.
The thrust of all our readings on this First Sunday in Advent is encouraging us to take time out and turn back to Christ. This is a life long journey during which we attempt to align our lifestyle and values to those of Jesus. This is not a one-off or occasional commitment but a long-lasting and permanent one, one that ensures that at all times we can follow the advice of Mark and “Keep awake”.
Let us take the opportunity of this New Year to renew our commitments as we prepare to celebrate the real Christmas in less than 4 weeks time.