Second Sunday of Advent
Scripture Reading for Today:
Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.You, Lord, showed favor to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob. 2 You forgave the iniquity of your people and covered all their sins.
8 I will listen to what God the Lord says; he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants— but let them not turn to folly. 9 Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land. 10 Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. 11 Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. 12 The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. 13 Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps.
Isaiah 40:1-11
Comfort for God’s PeopleComfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. 3 A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” 6 A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?” “All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. 7 The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” 9 You who bring good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!” 10 See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. 11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.
2 Peter 3:8-15
The Authority of Jesus Questioned8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. 14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.
Mark 1:1-8
John the Baptist Prepares the WayThe beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, 2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way”— 3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” 4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Star Light, Star Bright
by Diane Clifford
Diane Clifford currently resides in Fort Frances, Ontario, a small town in Northwestern Ontario surrounded by lakes, streams, rocks and trees to the east and fields to the west. The family in faith where she pastors is a group of people who believe that the Holy Spirit has called them into the world to share the love of Jesus in their everyday lives. Diane has always intentionally functioned in a bi-vocational capacity which provides plenty of opportunity to be active in the community, to meet people and to be engaged in the neighbourhood. Diane serves as a member of the New Leaf Network Board.
Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight.
Wish I may, wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.
Remember these lyrics from a childhood nursery rhyme.
My friend Lorraine and I stood outside gazing at the night sky filled with a million stars shining and twinkling brightly against the darkness. The air was brisk and cold but we were bundled up in our parkas and snow pants, hoods over our toques, scarves wrapped around our necks and covering our mouths, warm boots on our feet and woollen mittens on our hands so we didn’t notice how cold it was out there. We stood close together, shoulders touching, hands by our sides, our faces tilted upwards so we could see the fullness of the heavens. Neither of us spoke for a few moments. Then together we recited the words reverently, slowly, hoping against hope, that our wishes would come true.
Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight.
Wish I may, wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.
We had been friends since birth, growing up beside each other in the middle of nowhere surrounded by trees and more trees. It was a small community, a bush camp in Northern Ontario, with no television to watch or stores to shop in. The only real access to the world of shopping was the Eaton’s catalogue that came twice a year. When the catalogue arrived, we would pore over it, marvelling as we turned the pages, exclamations of delight and excitement especially at Christmas. What would be under our Christmas tree to open this year?
One year when we were about ten, we both fell in love with this one doll that we saw in the catalogue and we decided that was all we wanted for Christmas. The doll was about 8 inches tall, she had brown hair, mid-length in a poufy kind of style and she was wearing a red and white polka dot dress and red shoes. She was beautiful. We liked to be outside as much as we could and didn’t play with dolls very much but for some reason, we really wanted this doll. After supper, we would meet in the field behind our houses and say these words together, fervently, earnestly as though our lives depended on it. Every evening we stood in the bitter cold, looking up, believing that our wishes would come true.
Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight.
Wish I may, wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.
This memory from my childhood has stuck with me. Did we get the doll? Of course, we did. Did we play with the doll much? For a while, but not long. Was it really about the doll? It may have seemed so at the time but the doll is long gone and our friendship remains to this day. It was the anticipation and hope that we shared that still resonates with me as we embark on the season of Advent.
Anticipation and hope! A time of expectancy! What are we waiting for?
Like many congregations our family in faith has an Advent Wreath; however, the Advent wreath we celebrate the season with is somewhat different. Traditionally, the candles are either purple or blue with one pink and the white Christ candle. The advent devotions we use have been taken from The Dancing Sun - An Indigenous Advent Resource. The four candles in the Advent wreath are yellow, black, red, and white and the Christ candle in the centre which symbolizes and reminds us that Christ is with us and is the centre of who we are, is blue. The four coloured candles remind us of the four directions, yellow - east, black - south, red - west, white - north and the people of the world. The greenery in the wreath is cedar which is sacred to First Nations people.
Rev Evelyn Broadfoot wrote these words “This advent wreath reminds us that we are part of the circle of life - we are a part of the whole of God’s creation and that everybody comes and has a place in the circle. We must always remember that and work towards that - this is the way of the circle - everyone is worth something and Jesus is always the centre of all that we are and all we profess to be!”
The advent wreath we use reminds us that all of life is sacred – that all is connected in some way and that we do this in community. As community, we dream together in anticipation and hope of the coming of Jesus bringing peace and reconciliation, one with another, one with all creation.
Sometimes when I ponder the world as it is currently, I recall the faith of that child who stood outside in the cold night looking up at an incredible sky filled with millions and millions of stars reciting the words:
Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight.
Wish I may, wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.
What do I wish and hope for this year? As I stand in the circle of God’s creation I pray that I may have that childlike faith to walk in the light of Jesus with others in a way that brings peace, healing and love along the journey. Anticipating with hope and believing that it is possible!
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