Advent 2: We Find Joy in Connection

Sunday, December 8, 2024
10:30 AM 11:30 AM 10:30 11:30

Union Presbyterian Church 200 E Main St Endicott, NY, 13760 United States (map)

Google Calendar ICS

In community, our joy expands. When we can’t rejoice, we can carry each other’s joy.
That is what Elizabeth and Mary do for each other. The good news begins to take
shape in Elizabeth’s womb, but scripture tells us that she stays secluded, hiding"
her pregnancy from others—that is, until Mary arrives at her door, also pregnant.
Perhaps Mary’s arrival is the inbreaking that changes everything for Elizabeth, for in
that moment, her child leaps in her womb and she is filled with the Spirit. She can’t
help but to rejoice. Her joy is contagious and wraps around Mary like a hug. Through
the prophet Isaiah, we hear God speak tender words of comfort; this is the comfort
we can give to and receive from each other during this season.
~ From “How does a weary world rejoice?” Copyright A Sanctified Art, 2023

You can join us for worship in our beautiful sanctuary, or right here online. Worship is live-streamed; videos are available here or on Youtube following the service. You are invited! You are always welcome to come, and seek joy and connection here.

How Does a Weary World Rejoice?

Advent 2

We Find Joy in Connection

Isaiah 40:1-11; Luke 1:24-45

Union Presbyterian Church

December 8, 2024

Sharing the Light of Christ, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Liturgist: Diane Sommerville Preacher: Rev. Pat Raube

Welcome

Announcements Diane Sommerville

Prelude Choir

“Hope Waits for Us at Advent,” Amanda Udis-Kessler

Used with permission.

Peace waits for us at Advent.

Peace waits for us to rest.

Peace waits for our acceptance

Of the truth that we are blessed.

In this time of preparation

For the work of co-creation,

For the birthing of a world

Of gentleness and play,

Peace is born in us each day.

* Call to Worship

Family of faith, one of the greatest joys of worship is that it is not a solo act. We gather together. We find joy, and God, in the act of connection. So as we begin our worship, I invite you to turn and face someone you are close to so that you can see one another. (Pause as people get in position.) Now repeat these phrases after me:

Welcome to worship.

Welcome to worship.

I am glad you’re here.

I am glad you’re here.

Surely God is in this space.

Surely God is in this space.

I see God in your face.

I see God in your face.

Let us worship together.

Let us worship together.

* Hymn # 152 W & R

“Prepare the Way O Zion,” Charles P. Price

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.   

Prepare the way, O Zion, your Christ is drawing near!

Let every hill and valley a level way appear.

Greet One who comes in glory, foretold in sacred story.

Oh, blest is Christ that came in God’s most holy name.

He brings God’s rule, O Zion; he comes from heaven above.

His rule is peace and freedom, and justice, truth, and love.

Lift high your praise resounding, for grace and joy abounding.

Oh, blest is Christ that came in God’s most holy name.

Fling wide your gates, O Zion; you Savior’s rule embrace.

His tidings of salvation proclaim in every place.

All lands will bow before him, their voices will adore him.

Oh, blest is Christ that came in God’s most holy name.

Candle-Lighting Liturgy Pat and Kathy Sullivan

How does a weary world practice peace?

By listening before we speak and saying “sorry” when we need to.

By advocating for justice and caring for our neighbor.

By practicing Sabbath and forgiving seventy times seven.

By choosing grace over hate and opening the door for each other.

There are a million ways to practice peace.

So today we light the candle of peace as a reminder and a charge.

With God’s help, may we bring peace into a weary world.

* Call to New Life

Family of faith, one of the ways we find joy in a weary world is through connection. The prayer for wholeness and peace is a place of connection with God. In the prayer for wholeness and peace we get to come before God with our full, messy, honest selves. And in the midst of that mess, God tells us that we are loved, claimed, forgiven, and healed.

There is no greater joy than that.

Join me in our prayer for wholeness and peace, not because you have to but because you can. Let us connect with our merciful God.

* Prayer for Wholeness and Peace (Responsive)

God of laughter, God of open front doors and family reunions,

we confess that we often doubt good news.

We move through this world waiting for the other shoe to drop,

waiting for life to fall apart, waiting for our humanity to get the best of us.

Instead of leaning into joy, we lean into scarcity.

We lean into fear. We lean into isolation.

[Silent Prayer]

And we pray,

Forgive us for forgetting that joy is amplified when shared.

Heal the wounds we have from past hurts,

and teach us how to throw open our doors like Elizabeth.

Show us how to find joy in connection. Amen.

* Words of Assurance

Faith family, I imagine when we come to God with the truth of our lives

God meets us like Elizabeth meets Mary in our scripture today.

The door is thrown open. There is laughter.

There is joy. There is embracing—and it is holy.

So trust this. Believe this:

We are claimed. We are loved. We are forgiven. We are healed.

And we are sent to serve. Let us find joy in that. Amen!

* Sharing of the Peace

Sometimes we walk into a space—maybe the house of a friend, maybe the home of a stranger—and we know, instantly: This is home. This is a place where I will find peace.

May the peace of God be with you.

And also with you.

Let us offer one another a sign of God’s peace.

Scripture Isaiah 40:1-11

A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah, beginning at chapter 40, verse 1.

Comfort, O comfort my people,
    says your God.

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.

A voice cries out:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
    make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

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.

Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
    and all flesh shall see it together,
    for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

A voice says, “Cry out!”
    And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All flesh is grass;
    their constancy is like the flower of the field.

The grass withers; the flower fades,
    when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
    surely the people are grass.

The grass withers; the flower fades,
    but the word of our God will stand forever.

Get you up to a high mountain,
    O Zion, herald of good news;
lift up your voice with strength,
    O Jerusalem, herald of good news;
    lift it up, do not fear;
say to the cities of Judah,
    “Here is your God!”

See, the Lord God comes with might,
    and his arm rules for him;
his reward is with him
    and his recompense before him.

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.

Time for Young Disciples Rev. Pat Raube

Music: “Every Valley,” John Ness Beck

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.   

Anthem Choir

“No Wind at the Window,” Jennifer Kerr Breedlove

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.   

No wind at the window, no knock on the door;

No light from the lampstand, no foot on the floor;

No dream born of tiredness, no ghost raised by fear:

Just an angel and a woman and a voice in her ear.

“O Mary, O Mary, don’t hide from my face.

Be glad that you’re favored and filled with God’s grace.

The time for redeeming the world has begun;

And you are requested to mother God’s son.”

“This child must be born that the kingdom might come:

Salvation for many, destruction for some;

Both end and beginning, both message and sign;

Both victor and victim, both yours and divine.”

No payment was promised, no promises made;

No wedding was dated, no blueprint displayed.

Yet Mary, consenting to what none could guess,

Replied with conviction, “Tell God I say yes.”

No wind at the window, no knock on the door;

No light from the lampstand, no foot on the floor;

No dream born of tiredness, no ghost raised by fear:

Just an angel and a woman and a voice in her ear.

Scripture Luke 1:24-45 (NRSVUE)

A reading from the Gospel according to Luke, beginning at chapter 1, verse 24.

After those days [Zechariah’s] wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, “This is what the Lord has done for me in this time, when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.”

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

Response  Holy Wisdom, Holy Word: 

Thanks be to God! 

Sermon “We Find Joy in Connection”

* Statement of Faith

We believe that joy is a sacred gift,

existing on a plane deeper than happiness,

stemming from the truth that we belong to God.

We believe that joy is not meant for isolation.

Joy is meant to be shared, weaving us together in laughter and in hope.

And when joy feels impossibly out of reach,

we believe that part of being sacred community is leaning on one another.

So together we say:

I will share my joy when yours runs out.

You will share your joy when mine runs out.

And in doing so, we will both see God.

Amen.

* Hymn “I Can Celebrate You,” Anna Strickland

Used with permission.

I can celebrate you, I can hold your joy

When the load is crushing and you’ve lost your voice

I can celebrate the promise your life holds

When the weariness bears heavy on your soul

I can recognize good fruit that you will bear

When your own self-doubt hides gifts you have to share

I can recognize your Christ-light deep within

Every gift that God has sown waiting to begin

We can hold each other in our joy and fear

Knowing that the Spirit moves when we are near

We can hold each other, lift each other up

Filling one another from the Spirit’s cup

Prayers of the People   

The Lord’s Prayer   

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. 

Prayer Response # 174 W & R

“Prepare the Way of the Lord,” Jacques Berthier

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.   

(Sing twice:)

Prepare the way of the Lord,

And all people will see

The salvation of our God.

Call for Offering

* Doxology

"Doxology for a Weary World,” Anna Strickland

Used with permission.

Praise the one Creator, praise the Living Christ

Praise the Holy Spirit, praise both day and night

Praise when you are weary, praise in times of joy

Praise, my soul, with all your strength

And your heart and voice

* Prayer of Dedication

* Hymn # 155 W & R

“Comfort, Comfort Now My People”

(Public Domain)

"Comfort, comfort now my people;
Tell of peace!" so says our God.
Comfort those who sit in darkness
Mourning under sorrow's load.
To God's people now proclaim
That God's pardon waits for them!
Tell them that their war is over;
God will reign in peace forever!

For the herald's voice is crying
In the desert far and near,
Calling us to true repentance
Since the Kingdom now is here.
Oh, that warning cry obey!
Now prepare for God a way!
Let the valleys rise to meet him,
And the hills bow down to greet him!

Straight shall be what long was crooked,
And the rougher places plain!
Let your hearts be true and humble,
As befits his holy reign!
For the glory of the Lord
Now on earth is shed abroad,
And all flesh shall see the token
That God's word is never broken.

* Benediction

Family of faith,

as you leave this place,

you go into a weary world—

so speak tenderly.

Do the good that is yours to do.

Choose connection.

Hold onto hope.

And remember

that Christ took on flesh for you.

You are God’s beloved.

So go rejoicing.

The world needs it.

Amen.

Postlude Chris Bartlette

“Everlasting Power and Glory,” Lani Smith

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.   

Where an * is indicated, please rise in body and/or in spirit.

“W & R” ~ the red Worship and Rejoice hymnal

“PH” ~ the blue Presbyterian Hymnal

Words for Worship taken and/ or adapted from How Does a Weary World Rejoice, Words for Worship Advent-Baptism of Christ Sunday, Rev. Sara (Are) Speed, A Sanctified Art, 2023.

Two Mothers by Nicolette Peñaranda; Inspired by Luke 1:24-45

Acrylic, ink, and mixed media collage on canvas; copyright A Sanctified Art; @sanctifiedart.org