Third Sunday of Advent - Year B

Texts:  Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11; Psalm 126; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8,
19-28

Call to Worship
L: Here, in this place,
we discover the great things God has done.
P: In story and song, in silence and sacrament,
we are reminded that God's relationship with us
lasts forever.
L: Here, with these people, we find our true home.
P: where we can run home laughing,
after being lost for so long.
L: Here, during this holy season,
we hear those promises made so long ago.
P: Of the One who repairs all our mistakes,
of the One who reshapes our brokenness.

Prayer of the Day
from those held captive
in temptation's bonds,
you create a community
of compassion and joy.
For those whose tears
spill out of their souls,
you reach out to cradle
their grief-shattered hearts.
To all held incommunicado
from the good news,
you send the angels
to sing carols of great hope.
Planter of justice,
we lift your glory to the skies.

When we would put on
the soft slippers of evil,
you hand us the muddy boots
of justice and hope,
saying, 'follow me.'
When we would let goodness
slip through our fingers,
falling on the ashes of our dreams,
you hand us a bouquet of hope,
filled with joy and grace.
Friend of justice,
we tell your good news to all.

We would grumble
with ingratitude,
but you come and tickle us
with sheaves of joy,
until our tongues
tingle with thanksgiving,
and laughter splashes
off of our lips.
Spirit of Justice,
we offer your peace to the world.

God in Community, Holy in One,
anoint us with your hopes and dreams,
even as we pray as Jesus teaches us,
Our Father . . .

Call to Reconciliation
Hope, joy, forgiveness, life - these are the gifts
God offers to us in this season of preparation and
anticipation.  But too often, we put God's love to the
test, with our foolish behavior and unwise choices.
Let us confess, out loud and in silence, the lives we
lead, praying,

Unison Prayer of Confession
    Anointer of righteousness: you whisper songs about
mercy to us, but we would rather rejoice in another's misery.
When we would dam off the Spirit with our shoulds and shall nots,
you knock down our words, so grace can flood into the world.
When we gossip about the foolishness of our friends, you testify to us
of their compassion and kindness.
     Forgive us, Giver of grace.  Salvation is your gift to us, not
something we can buy on sale.  Joy is that seed you plant deep
within us, so we may share the harvest with all we meet.  Hope
is the healing offered to our brokenness, through Jesus Christ, our
Lord and Savior.

Silence is kept

Assurance of Pardon
L: This is the good news:  God anoints us with grace and
peace, not so we can become better than others, but so
we can be the servants of a hurting and hungering world.
P: We will go, taking the good news with us, testifying to all
we meet, with our words, our hearts, our lives.  Thanks be
to God, we are forgiven.  Amen.

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
L:  May the God who restores us be with you!
P:  May the God who makes our dreams come true be with you!
L:  People of God, lift your hearts to the One who blesses us with hope.
P:  We were lost, now we will run home laughing all the way.
L:  Children of God, praise the One who lifts us out of our grief.
P:  We wept, now we will sing 'Joy!  Joy!"

You scattered chaos
with the fresh breath of creation,
Lover of all that is good and beautiful.
You whispered 'glory'
as the moon and stars shone bright;
you sang carols of joy
as you planted the seeds
of peace and justice deep within
those created in your image.
But we filled our hearts
with the empty longings for power,
and drank from the brackish water
found in the deserts of death.
You anointed prophets like Isaiah and John
to sing to us of your hopes of our return,
but we despised their words,
and continued to test the limits
of your justice and peace.
So, you sent Jesus to come
into the prisons we had created for ourselves,
to set us free to live in your kingdom.

So, we join our voices with the broken-hearted
and with those healed by your grace,
who, in every time and place,
long for your coming into their lives,
forever lifting their songs to the skies:

P: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of compassion.
All creation overflows with your joy and peace.
Glory to you in the highest.

Blessed is the One who is anointed with your good news,
     bringing freedom to the captives of sin;
     cradling all who are broken by injustice;
     sharing the tears of all who grieve.
Glory to you in the highest!

Hope is heart which beats within you, Holy One,
and blessed is Jesus Christ, your Servant, our Savior.
Taking our wounds as his own,
he swaddles us in your healing comfort;
bound to the cross,
he releases us from sin's grip;
carrying death to the grave
and leaving it there
in it's final resting place,
he brings forth a resurrection crop
of your children who will live forever
in that creation rebuilt by your hope.

As we remember his willingness to serve us,
as we would follow him into your kingdom,
we testify about that mystery we call faith:

P: Christ came to set us free;
Christ died to give us life;
Christ will come again to bring us home.

Send your Spirit to rest upon
your children gathered at this Table,
and upon the gifts of your peace.
From the harvest of the fields,
you feed us with the bread of life,
planting hope within us,
tending and watering it
until it bursts forth to fill
the hunger of our world.
From the bitter tears
we have caused you,
you anoint us with
the cup of grace,
so we might become servants
who will love justice
more than we love ourselves,
and serve your children
before we sit down at the table.

And when you restore creation to its glory,
and we are gathered in heaven
at the great banquet of the Lamb,
we will find ourselves wrapped
warmly in hope's shawl,
and anointed with joy's oil,
as we witness to your love forever and ever,
God in Community, Holy in One.  Amen.

Charge
L: God has done great things for us!
P: We will go to tell the world that joy
is overflowing from God's heart.
L: God is doing great things with us!
P: We will go to let everyone know
of the One who has rebuilt our lives.
L: God will do great things through us!
Anointed with hope, we will go to serve
all the children of God, in every place.

© 2011 Thom M. Shuman