Wounded Waiters

Call to Worship:
The heavens are trembling with anticipation,
And we wait for Jesus.

The nights are long and the days are short,
And we wait for Jesus.

Our redemption is drawing near,
And we wait for Jesus.

Let us hope in God and worship as people ready to see the salvation of our God!

Carol: O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Prayer of Adoration and Confession

Creator God, You made the heavens and the earth.
You set the planets in their courses, lit the sun with fire,
caused the stars to shine and the world to turn.
Life springs up wherever your breath moves.
In Jesus Christ, you brought hope into a world full of fear and despair.
You sent your Spirit to enliven our hope and guide us on the way.
We are waiting now in anxious times for the world to be made new.
We wait for new life, and we wait with deep hope.

Redeeming God,
We confess that waiting is difficult for us.
We want to be comfortable in this festive season,
but the pandemic keeps us anxious and unhappy.
We complain about our own troubles
and close our eyes to the suffering of others,
Forgive us for ignoring truths do not want to see.
Forgive us for seeking our own comfort at the cost of others.
Give us eyes to perceive the great need within our community.
Give us eyes to see the deep need within our own lives.
Turn our hearts to you again and again.
In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon
Friends, the good news of Jesus Christ is for all people. There is nothing we have done, nothing we will ever do, that will separate us from the love of God made known in Jesus Christ. This love is yours! So live in love as forgiven and forgiving people.

Prayer for Understanding
God of grace, you speak words of hope in the midst of our fear. Send us your Holy Spirit to open our ears to that hope. Guide us to interpret the signs of these times through the lens of your grace, so that we may find comfort and courage in your promises through Christ, your Living Word. Amen

Scripture

Isaiah 64:1-16 “Tear open the heavens and come down,” cries the prophet. Israel is in exile and needs deliverance.

Mark 13:24-37 While at the temple in Jerusalem with his disciples Jesus speaks of the end times and tells them a parable meant to give them insomnia.

Sermon: Wounded Waiters

For many of us waiting is not something we like to do. We have spent much of our adult lives rushing from one appointment to another, one errand to another, only to find that once we get to our destination we have to wait to be served, wait to see the person we wanted to see, or wait for our children’s activity to finish. We wait for this and for that.

I have to confess that I am an impatient “waiter.” I want to get to my destination and appointment “on time,” I want things to happen “on time” at their appointed times. I dislike waiting, which my wife will gladly attest

So here we are 8 months plus into a global pandemic and we are exhausted from waiting for it to be over. As a result I believe we all have a better understanding of Isaiah’s cry of impatience to God in the midst of Israel’s forced exile in a foreign land.
“O that you would tear open the heavens and come down,”
(Isaiah 64:1)

The prophet cries out to God to intervene and deliver God’s people. He openly confesses that Israel has made bad choices that led to their exile. Israel needs and is impatient for God’s deliverance in the midst of their difficult situation.

Isaiah’s sentiments and laments resonate within me more than ever during this Advent. This pandemic has been hard on everyone in so many different ways. I want some relief as I am sure you do as well. I want God to step in and deliver us as God did of old too like Isaiah cries out for. And like Israel, I want God to have done so, not today, but yesterday.

I can relate to Isaiah’s frustration with his fellow citizens being foolish as I continue to hear people argue over mask wearing, social distancing, and personal rights versus social responsibility. What about God’s call to love, serve, forgive, encourage one another? What about God’s call to the puts needs of others before our own and to look after our weaker brothers and sisters?

I can feel the agony of the prophet feelings that God is absent from their situation. I have shared those feelings from time to time throughout this pandemic. One thing that I have learned to do in this pandemic is to lament and cry out for help like the Psalmists and the Prophets do.

In the middle of Isaiah’s cry for help, Isaiah reminds God, which is also a reminder to himself, “Yet, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.” (Isaiah 64:10)

When I come across a verse that mentions “clay and a potter,” I am all over it with a name like mine. Isaiah reminds God (and himself) that God is the Creator / Parent of us all. God is the one who is continually shaping of us into the people God wants us to be, be they good or difficult times. This echoes what we heard from David’s reflections in Psalm 139:1-18 that we looked at a couple weeks ago.

God shaped Israel as a nation profoundly through their time exile just as God shaped and formed Israel through its difficult 40 year wilderness journey. Both exile and wilderness journeys were times of waiting on God, calling on God to help, calling on God to intercede on their behalf, and learning what it meant to be the people of God as they waited on God in those times.

Jesus spoke to his disciples about the end times in what was to be his last visit there before his trials that lead to his death. Jesus described a world was that seemed out of control naturally, relationally, and religiously. When Mark wrote this gospel as Peter’s scribe and editor, the world was falling apart, the was being persecuted, the Jerusalem temple had been destroyed, many had fled to the hills to avoid the deadly fate of those who stayed in Jerusalem under the Roman siege of it. Many of the events Jesus has shared had literally come true.

Jesus’ word to those who are remaining faithful in uncertain times, as we are doing now, is to stay alert for the signs of the kingdom in our midst, those very small but important acts that reveal God’s presence with us. Bless all of you who are doing your best to keep connected to and encouraging family, friends and neighbors. You are much needed signs of the kingdom that people need right now. Bless all the wounded angels among us who care and support others as they themselves are hurting. Two such angels dropped off food for my family this week.

Jesus also reminds us to keep awake and to stay active in carrying out God’s mission in the world (i.e. 1. Bring honor to God, 2. love God and neighbor, 3. be and make faithful followers of Jesus). Until Christ returns, we are on the front lines of being God’s agents of God’s Grace, Love, and Good News.

As our wonderful and tired and exhausted frontline health care workers know so well, you can’t let down your guard even especially when the Covid-19 numbers are going in the wrong direction. A COVID-19 vaccine is on the horizon and has not arrived yet, but it’s coming. This along with a great love for others, a desire to fulfil their mandate as healers and helpers pushes them on to the get job done of healing and protecting others done.

On this first Sunday of Advent, in the midst of a global pandemic, we are given new ways to relate to the laments and desires of Isaiah and Israel for God the Potter to “come down and intervene” in our midst. We continue our laments and prayers for our world as a people of faith who love our world be it our neighbor next door or the person on the other side of the world who is hurting in various ways as we are in this pandemic .

And as we begin this Advent season reminded that the signs of our times continue to point us to the One who did “come down and intervene” on our behalf and who promises He will come again as sure as we see signs of spring each year. But in the meantime, there is still work to be done on our Master’s behalf during this season, even as we are tired and exhausted.

May God help us all to be his faithful wounded waiters as we bring comfort and hope to those who are struggling under heavy burdens this season.

To Father, Son and Spirt, be all glory and praise.
Amen.

Mission Moment –Responding to COVID-19 Globally

As COVID-19 continues to affect people and communities around the world, Presbyterian World Service & Development (PWS&D) is responding to some of those most impacted. After initially supporting lifesaving and urgent care projects, PWS&D is now helping provide long-term COVID-19 relief through Canadian Foodgrains Bank and ACT Alliance. Given the enormous risk of food insecurity, food aid is being provided. PWS&D is also helping ensure families have access to clean water and sanitation, and that COVID-19 prevention messages are being shared. Additionally, psychosocial support is being offered to help cope with the effects of the pandemic.

Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession

Merciful God, the signs of our times are worrisome.
We gather in your presence, aware that the earth groans in pain and many people are suspicious of each other.
We thank you for your comforting presence in times of suffering and uncertainty, and for your promise of life beyond death, and hope beyond fear.
As the longest night of this year draws nearer, comfort those who dread the darkness and direct those who have lost their way.
Wherever people are overwhelmed by the demands of this season and the complications of COVID-19, let them hear your still small voice within all the clamour and confusion, and catch a glimpse of your light shining in the night.

God of all our days and nights, we remember that the days leading up to Christmas are difficult for many, especially this year.
We pray for those who are hungry and cold.
Alert us to the ways that we can set a feast for those in our community and beyond whose cupboards are bare.
Warm them with your love.
We pray for those who are grieving.
Make us patient and compassionate companions to those in mourning, even when we’re not sure what to say.
Fill emptiness with your comfort.

We remember those who are feeling very isolated this year.
Inspire our hearts with ideas of how to reach out in friendship.
Bring hope to the lonely with your friendship.

We pray for those who feel like the world is ending; whose lives have been uprooted by fire, flood, or storm, illness, job loss or death.
Steady us amid the upheavals of this year of pandemic and remind us that you alone are constant.
Your steadfast love will see us through.
Heaven and earth may pass away,
but you are the source of everlasting life and undiminished hope.
Help us trust in you, no matter what is happening.

And now we pray together, using the words that Jesus taught us:

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name, your kingdom come,
your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory
are yours now and forever. Amen.

Carol: Come thou long expected Jesus

Charge and Benediction (Rom. 15:13)

We are sent into new week by Christ
To be his agents of hope, comfort, and encouragement
to those who we reach out and encounter

May the God of hope
fill you with all joy and peace in believing,
so that you may abound in hope
by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.