Reuben's Sermon for the
3rd. Sunday of Advent:

At Evensong.

Sunday, 14th. December 2003 Anno Domini. (cycle C):

Reuben's Sermon for Advent 3:
Reuben's Theme: "Prepare to travel THE WAY"

(Advent 3) - EVENSONG 1830hrs. at Saint George's - Cullercoats.
Sunday, 14th. December 2003 Anno Domini.
Morning Mass: Zephaniah: 3.14-20 Isaiah: 12.2-6 Philippians: 4.4-7 Luke: 3.7-18
Evensong: Psalm: 50. 1-6, 62. Isaiah: 35 Luke: 1.57-66 [67-80]

December 14, 2003 Cycle C Advent 3.



COLLECT

O Lord Jesus Christ, who at your first coming sent your messenger to prepare your way before you:
grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready your way by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
that at your second coming to judge the world we may be found an acceptable people in your sight;
for you are alive and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Morning Masses:

FIRST READING Zephaniah 3.14-20

A reading from the book of the prophet Zephaniah.
Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!
The LORD has taken away the judgements against you, he has turned away your enemies.
The king of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more.
On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands grow weak.
The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival.
I will remove disaster from you, so that you will not bear reproach for it. I will deal with all your oppressors at that time. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth.
At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, says the LORD.

 

CANTICLE Isaiah 12.2-6

RR Shout aloud and sing for joy, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the LORD GOD is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.
3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. RR
4 And you will say on that day: Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth. RR

SECOND READING Philippians 4.4-7

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Philippians.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.
Let your gentleness be known to everyone.
The Lord is near.
Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

GOSPEL Luke 3.7-18

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, 'You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance.
Do not begin to say to yourselves, "We have Abraham as our ancestor"; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.
Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.'
And the crowds asked him, 'What then should we do?'
In reply he said to them, 'Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.'
Even tax-collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, 'Teacher, what should we do?'
He said to them, 'Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.'
Soldiers also asked him, 'And we, what should we do?'
He said to them, 'Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.'
As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,
John answered all of them by saying, 'I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.'
So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.

POST COMMUNION

We give you thanks, O Lord, for these heavenly gifts;
kindle in us the fire of your Spirit that when your Christ comes again we may shine as lights before his face;
who is alive and reigns now and for ever.


Evensong:

Psalm 50. 1-6

1 ¶ A Psalm of Asaph. The Mighty One, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.
3 Our God comes, he does not keep silence, before him is a devouring fire, round about him a mighty tempest.
4 He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 "Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!"
6 The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge!


Isaiah. 35 (RSV)

1 ¶ The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus
2 it 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.
3 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.
4 Say to those who are of a fearful heart, "Be strong, fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you."
5 ¶ Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
6 then shall the lame man leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert;
7 the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
8 And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not pass over it, and fools shall not err therein.
9 No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there.
10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.


Luke 1: 57-66 [67-80] (RSV)

57* ¶ Now the time came for Elizabeth to be delivered, and she gave birth to a son.
58* And her neighbours and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
59* And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they would have named him Zechariah after his father,
60* but his mother said, "Not so; he shall be called John."
61* And they said to her, "None of your kindred is called by this name."
62* And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he would have him called.
63* And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, "His name is John." And they all marvelled.
64* And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.
65* And fear came on all their neighbours. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea;
66* and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, "What then will this child be?" For the hand of the Lord was with him.
67* ¶ And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,
68* "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people,
69* and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,
70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71* that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us;
72* to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath which he swore to our father Abraham,
74* to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.
76* And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins,
78 through the tender mercy of our God, when the day shall dawn upon us from on high
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."
80* And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

 

Reuben's Theme: "Prepare to travel THE WAY."

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

There's a lot going on in our readings tonight.

Our psalm this evening, psalm 50, is a psalm where God calls all mankind to account.

Tonight, in verses 1-5, the summons comes...   ...which sounds a bit worrying.

And in verse 6 we proclaim: "The heavens declare His righteousness, for God Himself is judge!"

If that worries you, you should be worried.

"The heavens declare His righteousness, for God Himself is judge!"

If that comforts you, you have very little to worry about!

Listen closely - and you'll have nothing to worry about.

As I keep saying - I just love the psalms!


In our second reading tonight, which was taken from Luke's Gospel, we hear of the birth of John the Baptist.

The child's strange name, Zechariah's sudden recovery of speech and the outburst of prophecy as his pent-up thoughts find voice, make a deep impression on everyone.

They expect great things of John.

And John is so important.

John is the hand that guides everyone.

The finger that points the way... ...the way to Jesus!

Many years before, someone else pointed to Jesus.

About 600 years earlier - Isaiah pointed to Jesus.

In chapter 35 of Isaiah's prophecy, which we heard tonight, we hear of the salvation of God's people.

This chapter stands in striking contrast to the horror of the previous chapter.

Destruction gives way to re-creation.

God is coming to bring his people home by a 'safe highway'.

At the sight of Him everything is changed.

The dry and lifeless desert, bursting for joy, becomes a paradise of flowing streams, great trees and the glowing colours of flowers.

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it 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.

Isn't this just great news!

Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.

I know all about knee trouble. I've discovered, now that I'm in my fifties, one of the first things to go... ...is the knees.

But, of course this is not what Isaiah is talking about.

Isaiah (when referring to feeble knees) is referring to our feebleness when trying to walk a straight path - the way of goodness - the way of God - the 'safe highway'.

And here's why I tell you not to be worried if it slightly bothered you when, in the psalm, we sang "The heavens declare His righteousness, for God Himself is judge!"

Don't be frightened...

Say to those who are of a fearful heart, "Be strong, fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you."

The prophecy that Jesus will come and save us...

He did... ...and our Saviour will come again!

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

Yes, those who did not understand will understand!

Those who were stubborn will listen!

...then shall the lame man leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy.

People who were getting it all wrong would finally get it right!

Those who did not know how, would shout out and proclaim the Good News with great joy.

It's wonderful stuff, isn't it!

Isaiah goes on to tell us how the Good News will spread and how our way to salvation will be made clear!

For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert;
the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water;
the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way;
the unclean shall not pass over it, and fools shall not err therein.
No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there.

And Isaiah tells us who is to show us the way, this 'safe highway'.

Who is going to show us this "Holy Way"?...

...the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

 

As we look back to Christmas past, let us remember that we are now, at this very moment, preparing for Christmas future.

For the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

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

© Reuben Condie 2003

 
 

This sermon can be reproduced or re-published provided it is attributed to Reuben Condie.

If anyone wishes to use this sermon or any parts of this sermon PLEASE FEEL FREE TO DO SO.
All that I ask is that you let me know, giving me details of who and where you are, so that my prayers can be with you.
If you could send me a copy of your sermon, that would be wonderful, because I love to see how ideas grow and mature
GOD BLESS YOU!
 

Reuben can be contacted at: reuben@church-of-england.org.uk