WE GATHER IN GOD’S PRESENCE:

and conscious of each other, together or separated: …

Advent Candle Liturgy – Advent 3 – Joy:

Narrator: Today we light the candle of Joy.[1]

[Light the candle of Hope and the candle of Peace,

then light the candle of Joy.]

A reading from the Gospel of Luke chapter 2 verses 8 to 12

“There were some shepherds in that part of the country who were spending the night in the fields, taking care of their flocks.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone over them.  They were terribly afraid, but the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid!  I am here with Good News for you, which will bring great joy to all the People.  This very day in David’s town your Saviour was born – Christ the Lord!  And this is what will prove it to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

The Prophet Isaiah foretold of a messenger who would be seen coming across the mountains announcing, with joy, the Good News of the victory of God and the regathering of His People back to a right relationship with Him.  (Isaiah 52: 7)  This is the same Good News announced by the angels.  But Rome’s religious leaders also announced good news at celebrations surrounding the Roman Emperor, particularly on his birthday, when he, too, was hailed as “saviour” and “lord”.  But Jesus’ birth in a lowly cattle stall and his being laid in a manger distinguishes the true King from the Roman Emperor, whose loyalists in Luke’s day would have bristled at the implicit comparison.  (Craig Keener in Luke in IVP Background Bible Commentary p194) 

  It is significant that the angels by passed the ruling elite and the religious leaders of Israel and announced their Good News to some shepherds, a group despised by ‘respectable Society’ because a shepherd’s duties kept them from participating in the religious activities of their communities.  (Craig Keener in Luke in IVP Background Bible Commentary p194 and John Carroll in Luke p69) 

  The angels gave three titles to the baby that the shepherds would find “wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger”.  He would be their “Saviour”, their “Christ” and their “Lord”, titles linked to the Old Testament narrative of the “salvation that God is bringing to Israel”.  Jesus is entering Israel’s history as God’s agent of divine deliverance and as God’s anointed ruler who has received sovereign authority from God.  The Good News is joyful news indeed.

  The shepherds, living on the margins of society, were the perfect candidates to be the first to hear the Good News from God that joy and salvation belong to the whole people, not to the self-selected few. 

(John Carroll in Luke p69 & 70) 

Rejoice! It’s Christmas by Helen Steiner Rice

May the holy remembrance of the first Christmas Day

Be our reassurance Christ is not far away.

For on Christmas he came to walk here on Earth,

So let us find joy in the news of his birth.

(From Loving thoughts from Helen Steiner Rice p93) 

Leader: Let us continue on the theme of Joy as we sing:

“O come, O come, Emmanuel”   TiS 265

We Pray:[2]

God of mercy and grace,

we come into your presence

full of expectancy and praise.

We thank you for your committed faithfulness

to your creation and humanity.

Joyfully we recall your message through the angel

to the shepherds, Do not be afraid!

Grant us a commitment to you and your way

which arises from our recognition

of your love and care towards us;

May we within our worship and living,

though our constant joy, and thanksgiving in all things,

remain a people at prayer without ceasing,

revelling in the joy of your glory

through which we gain our strength

to continue our hope for the establishment of your kingdom,

the kingdom for which we pray,

in the words of Jesus:

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done, on earth as it is 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

Welcome

WE LISTEN FOR A WORD FROM GOD

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION (Mark 4)

GRACIOUS GOD,

AS YOUR WORD IS SOWN AMONGST US,

GRANT IT FINDS THE FERTILE SOIL IN OUR HEARTS

THAT WE MIGHT BEAR MUCH FRUIT

TO THE GLORY OF YOUR KINGDOM… AMEN

SCRIPTURE:

PSALM 126  A Song of Ascents.

¹      When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,

WE WERE LIKE THOSE WHO DREAM.

²      Then our mouth was filled with laughter,

AND OUR TONGUE WITH SHOUTS OF JOY;

then it was said among the nations,

“THE LORD HAS DONE GREAT THINGS FOR THEM.”

³      The Lord has done great things for us,

AND WE REJOICED.

⁴      Restore our fortunes, O Lord,

like the watercourses in the Negeb.

⁵      MAY THOSE WHO SOW IN TEARS

REAP WITH SHOUTS OF JOY.

⁶      Those who go out weeping,

bearing the seed for sowing,

SHALL COME HOME WITH SHOUTS OF JOY,

CARRYING THEIR SHEAVES.

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11

61 The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
    to bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and release to the prisoners;
² to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour,
    and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;
³ to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
    to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
…

¹⁰ I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
    my whole being shall exult in my God;
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
    he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
¹¹ For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
    and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
    to spring up before all the nations.

1 Thessalonians 5:16–24

Be at peace among yourselves. ¹⁴ And we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the faint-hearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. ¹⁵ See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all.

 ¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰ Do not despise the words of prophets, ²¹ but test everything; hold fast to what is good; ²² abstain from every form of evil.

²³ May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept soundand blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.

Hear this, the Word of God

WE HEAR AND REJOICE!

John 1:6–8, 19–28

⁶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷ He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. ⁸ He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. ⁹ The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.¹⁹ This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from

Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ ²⁰ He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, ‘I am not the Messiah.’ ²¹ And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’ ²² Then they said to him, ‘Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’ ²³ He said,

‘I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
“Make straight the way of the Lord”’,

as the prophet Isaiah said.

²⁴ Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. ²⁵ They asked him, ‘Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?’ ²⁶ John answered them, ‘I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, ²⁷ the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.’ ²⁸ This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.

Hear this, the Gospel of our Lord

PRAISE TO YOU, LORD JESUS CHRIST

Prayer Of Confession

We gather as your people, O LORD

conscious of all that which diminishes us

and which attempt to rob us of our joy in you,

that joy which flows from your gifted grace towards us;

Lord have mercy LORD HAVE MERCY

We come as your people, O Christ,

conscious of all that which interferes

with your desire for us to watch and pray,

to be praying without ceasing

thereby opening ourselves to your gifted enlightenment;

Christ have mercy  CHRIST HAVE MERCY

We gather as your people, O Spirit,

conscious of how little we, even collectively,

manage to be endowed heralds of the good news;

we fail so often: to bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim liberty and release;
² to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour,
        to comfort all who mourn;
³  to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
Spirit have mercy  SPIRIT HAVE MERCY

Holy God: Father, Son and Spirit,

may we who sow in tears,  reap with shouts of joy,

we who go out weeping, come home with shouts of joy!

Declaration of Reconciliation

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, God’s word to us states:

²³ May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept soundand blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.

In Christ all is forgiven us, so we say with joy in our hearts,  

THANKS BE TO GOD

Passing The Peace..

as we raise our hands in blessing to those unseen…
The peace of the Risen Lord be with you all  AND ALSO WITH YOU.

We Sing:   TIS 268   Joy To The World 

CONTEMPORARY WORD

There is no ice cream stand at the Sandgate UCA

Christmas lights festival this year!

This means no spruiking passers by

to have a ‘Golden Gaytime’…

… gaytime… a word which simply used to mean a joyful time,

now overlaid with other meanings.

Unlike with Greek or Hebrew words,

I seldom check the meaning of English words,

probably because I think I know their meaning.

Which is true, I know how a word is currently understood.

I say ‘currently’ because meanings and usage of words

change over time… as per earlier mentioned example.

So I know that the Greek words χαίρω chairō, χαρά chara 

translate into the English ‘joy’.[3]

The Bible Gateway website has some sixty translations of the Bible

accessible on its site.

Of these some 55 use the word ‘joy’[4] in 1 Thessalonians 5:16;

three suggest ‘happy’[5], and two offer ‘celebrate’[6]…

I mention this because for some time

I have been assuming happy and joy are merely different words

for the same human emotion, experience.

I have suggested, no argued, even, that joy sounds more proper,

more restrained to us educated and life experienced people…

happy is for children, frilly and light hearted…

that it is this common perception which prevents us

from sensing that joy includes being happy!

‘This prejudice has resulted in the overwhelming use for joy,

or its verb, rejoice, its adjective, joyful

by translators to translate the Greek χαίρω chairō andχαρά chara’,

so my thinking went…

Such thinking most likely is wrong!  It needs correcting!

Perhaps the translators did know a key difference

between the origin of each of those two words

in spite of meaning very much the same…

i.e. the association of luck with being happy (see note 5 below)

Mind you, it ought to be obvious to us,

think of ‘hapless’, unlucky;

or ‘happenstance’, literally ‘lucky circumstance’…

Not to forget that many people think

the luck of winning the lottery will bring happiness!

There the connection is between the root meaning of the word

and it current usage is clearest!

Nevertheless, Joy or Happy allow a multiplicity of very similar meanings

covering the whole range of emotions and activities

we associate with the euphoric state of being happy, or joyful!

These many meanings are also reflected within the bible…

especially in the Hebrew scriptures…

E. Lee comments, People find joy in ordinary daily life:

the love of a spouse (Prov 5:18; Eccl 9:9),

wise children (Prov 10:1; 15:20; 23:24–25),

good meals (Eccl 10:19; Ps 104:15),

harvest time (Isa 9:3 [Heb. 9:2]; Ps 126:5–6),

the fruit of one’s labors (Eccl 3:22),

an “apt answer” (Prov 12:20; 15:23),

and good news (1 Sam 11:9).[7]

However, the biblical understanding of the cause of such joy, happiness,

clearly moves away from attributing any of it to merely ‘luck’…

We read this morning in the Psalm (126):

“THE LORD has done great things for them.”

³      The Lord has done great things for us,

and we rejoiced.

Joy occurs in theological contexts that celebrate who God is

and what God does.

Those who have experienced:

• deliverance (Ps 21:1; Isa 25:9; Hab 3:18),
• protection (Ps 4:7),
• steadfast love (Ps 21:6–7; 31:7; 90:14),
• forgiveness and restoration (Ps 30:5; 51:8, 12),
• righteousness judgments (Ps 48:11; 67:4; 96:11–13),

these rejoice in God,

not only in thanksgiving for past deliverance

but also in anticipation of future salvation

(Ps 40:17; Isa 30:29; 35:10; 55:12; 61:7; Jer 31:12–13).

The psalmist declares that there is “fullness of joy”

and “pleasures forevermore”

whenever one is in the presence of God (Ps 16:9–11).

Such rejoicing often occurs during corporate worship[8]

and on special feast days that commemorate God’s marvelous acts

(Num 10:10; Deut 16:11–15; 2 Chr 30:25–26; Ezra 6:22; Esth 8:17). These festivals typically feature a common meal

that embraces all members of the community,

including aliens, orphans, and widows (Deut 14:29; 16:11, 14; 26:11), so that rejoicing before the LORD spills over into the social realm,

where even the most needy are given cause to be glad.

God’s people are urged to rejoice, because God is a God of joy!

We read in Nehemiah 8 that the people who heard the Law read to them

upon their return to Jerusalem, burst into weeping and wailing

when they realized how they had failed to live according to its precepts…

Then we read this:

¹⁰ Then he (Nehemiah) said to them,

‘Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine

and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared,

for this day is holy to our Lord;

and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’ 

¹¹ So the Levites stilled all the people, saying,

‘Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.’ 

¹² And all the people went their way to eat and drink

and to send portions and to make great rejoicing,

because they had understood the words that were declared to them.

Everyone joins in the feasting,

even those who have nothing to prepare,

those who have, share with those who have not..

Equally important, they feast because of God’s joy in them!

The joy of the Lord shall be your strength!

The Isaiah text extents this joy of the Lord to all the nations.

so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
    to spring up before all the nations.

The prophet depicts a new and final age joy,

where the gift of salvation reaches beyond Israel to all nations

(Isa 56:7).

Israel’s joy in worship takes on a universal dimension as well.

Because God reigns over all the earth,

all creation and all peoples are called to exult in God (Psalm 47.1).

Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with loud songs of joy.

(see also for example, Ps 96:10–13; 97:1; 98:4–9).

The Psalmist exclaims: (104:31)

May the glory of the Lord endure for ever;
    may the Lord rejoice in his works—

The Luke reading brings this universal joy of the LORD

to the fore with the birth of Jesus…

emphasising its origin in God and embrace of all peoples…

as was read to us in the Advent Candles litany: (Luke 2:8-12)

They were terribly afraid, but the angel said to them,

“Don’t be afraid! 

I am here with Good News for you,

which will bring great joy to all the People.

So Paul urges us: (1 Thess. 5)

¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you

Paul speaks to the church of 1 Thessalonians with the heart of a pastor—comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable,

as Reinhold Niebuhr has described that role.

Using the triad of faith, hope, and love

(later expanded in 1 Corinthians) to bracket the letter (1:3 and 5:8),

1³ remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labour of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ…

 then eventually…

5⁸ But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.

Paul addresses the new ekklēsia of the Thessalonians,

literally “assembly” or “community”

but later called “church” in a nuance of the original meaning.

The significance of this ekklēsia

is not derived from its location in a particular place

but from its “location” in a particular god,

namely the one God of Jews and Christians—

known to both traditions as the Creator and Father of all.

Paul addresses this new extension of God’s family, giving thanks that the church has remained faithful amid persecutions. ^[9]

The verses before us for Third Advent, Gaudete (Rejoice) Sunday,

begin, appropriately, with joy.

What gives coherence, however,

is not joy but completeness and wholeness,

which is the presupposition of the entire passage.

“Rejoice always,

pray without ceasing,

give thanks in all circumstances” (5:16–18 emphasis added).

Be sanctified entirely (holoteleis) (5:23).

The whole (holoklēron) of spirit, soul, and body is to be spotless (5:23). This is an approach to life not of moderation,

but of thoroughgoing devotion.

Wholeness is at the foundation of Paul’s understanding of the good life. This reflects all sides of his education,

the purity code of Hebrew Scriptures and popular Hellenistic thought, both emphasizing completeness as perfection.

It is in this sense that we better understand the call for unceasing joy, prayer, and thanksgiving—not as hyperbole or temporal impossibility,

but as unrestrained action.

We are to rejoice, pray, and give thanks (eucharisteite) (5:18) unreservedly and absolutely,

just as the whole of our being, spirit and soul and body,

are to be unblemished.

The shape of the Christian life is not shaped in measured sections

—one part work to one part prayer, or some other recipe for spiritual fulfillment—but in unreserved and all-consuming self-giving.

As Paul will later write, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect [teleion]” (Rom. 12:1–2).

The exuberance of expression

is to be matched by an exuberant life^[10]

In a fine essay on JOY, titled

WHAT IS GOOD. JOY AND THE WELL-LIVED LIFE by Miroslav Volf [11] 

he writes:

If joy meant simply feeling good,

we could take a joy pill—or smoke weed—and rejoice.

But we can’t, because joy is feeling good about something good.

The good over which we rejoice could be

a good circumstance in our lives: good health, wonderful family,

or winning the lottery, for instance.

(The most important of all such circumstances for monotheists

is the existence and character of God,

which is why they can “rejoice in the Lord”

despite otherwise adverse circumstances.)[12]

The good over which we rejoice could also be admirable conduct,

like leading lives of integrity, humble service, or courage.

(The most important source of joy

in some strands of Judaism is the Law itself.)

This sort of good which generates joy Paul sums up in 5:23…

pray without ceasing

This is the second of the three admonitions

which present a kind of synonymous parallelism.

The way that Christians rejoice

and the way that Christians give thanks is by praying.

Put the other way around,

constant rejoicing and regular thanksgiving

are themselves perpetual prayer.^[13]

give thanks in all circumstances…

Martin B. Copenhaver comments on this:[14]

Here we come upon another irony:

it’s by continually expressing thanks that we can come to be thankful. Day in and day out, in and out of season, we are to offer thanks, perhaps at first just to get the feel of it and then because we feel it.

So sometimes, especially at first,

we don’t come to worship to offer our thanks to God

because we are thankful.

Rather, we come to worship to offer our thanks to God

so that we might some day be thankful.

Sometimes words of thanks need to be on our lips before,

by some slow and largely imperceptible process,

they can take up residence in our hearts.

I think we have some understanding of this.

We say to our children, “Say ‘thank you’ to the gentleman,”

or “What do you say to the nice lady?”

We continually prompt, coax, urge, and demand that thanks be offered. Do we put our children and ourselves through all of that

just so they will behave in a polite manner? Perhaps.

But we do this also because we have some understanding

that continually offering thanks, day in and day out,

in and out of season, whether we feel like it or not,

helps engender a spirit of thankfulness.

It may begin slowly, because we’re so accustomed

to receiving God’s gifts with casual minds.

We begin by saying thanks, not just one day a year,

but by practicing thanksgiving every day

and seeking opportunities to do so in every circumstance.

In an intriguing book called 365 Thank Yous,

John Kralik writes about writing a thank-you note a day

for an entire year.

He didn’t resolve to write all of those thank-you notes

at a time when he was feeling particularly grateful.

In fact, it was at a particularly low time in his life.

His small law firm was losing money and losing its lease.

He was going through a difficult divorce.

He lived in a small, stuffy apartment

where he often slept on the floor

under an ancient air conditioner.

He was middle-aged, overweight, and at the end of his rope.

Then, one day, he got lost on a mountain hike

and didn’t know how to get home.

By the time he found his way down the mountain he had a plan.

He would write a thank-you note each day for a year.

He writes, “My only problem:

Did I have anything to be grateful for?

The way my life was going, I hardly thought so.”

But he got started, by writing notes to the people close to him,

his family and friends.

Then it got harder. “One day,” he writes,

“I just couldn’t think of anybody to thank.”

He stopped at his regular Starbucks,

where the barista greeted him by name—“John, your usual venti?”—and with a big smile.

Kralik reflected, “I thought, this is really kind of a great gift

in this day and age of impersonal relationships,

that someone had cared enough to learn my name

and what I drank in the morning.”

So he wrote the barista a thank-you note.

And so it went through the year.

Each day a thank-you note, each day a day of thanksgiving.

Kralik says the experience of expressing thanks day in and day out changed the way he approached life.

It even got him to church:

I had considered myself something of an atheist for years,

but I started going to this church [near the end of that year].

The music was plentiful, delivered with . . . genuine enthusiasm.

The dominant message was that grace was still available.

To everyone. Even to me. I can deal with that, I thought.

Through the process of writing thank-you notes,

I had developed a notion of being blessed with grace.

There is something about offering thanks that makes us whole.

There is something about offering thanks that can make us feel,

with Kralik, that we are “blessed with grace.”

In fact, the word that is translated as thanks in the New Testament is the same word that’s sometimes translated as grace.

The Greek charis, or “grace,” may define an act of giving

or an act of receiving: if giving, the word means “gift or unearned favor”; if receiving, then the word is best translated as “gratitude.”

We see a reflection of this double meaning in the prayers that are offered before a meal.

Some families “say grace” while others “give thanks.”

It’s the same word (charis) in both instances.

I like to think of it as the endless echo of grace.

We receive a gift in the same spirit in which it is given—it’s all grace. We can even lose track of where it begins and where it ends,

for it all seems to be of one piece[15].

When I was ordained to the ministry of word and sacrament,

Tom Wright wrote, I received many cards and letters wishing me well

and assuring me of the prayers and support of family and friends.

The one that made the deepest impression on me at the time—

and which I can still remember clearly nearly 30 years later—

quoted three words, in the original language,

from verse 24 of this (Thessalonians) passage.

Pistos ho kalon, it said: ‘The one who calls you is faithful.’

It was and is a wonderful phrase,

undergirding both the varied ministries of the church

and also the daily life of every Christian, whether child, woman or man.

I thank God for the wisdom and prayer of the saint

who sent me that card.

The faithfulness of God, in fact, is one of Paul’s great themes

throughout his writing.

He has a good deal to say about the gospel message

concerning Jesus the Messiah,

but the most significant thing about Jesus

is that in him the living God has put into effect his faithfulness

to the entire creation, to Israel, and to each member of the human race.

Paul has a good deal to say about the life of the church, its unity,

its suffering, and its witness before the world;

but the most significant thing about the church

is that it is the company of people held in existence

and maintained in truth not by human will or effort

but by the sheer faithfulness of God.

Paul also has a lot to say about the calling of the individual Christian,

to be holy in body, soul and spirit.

But this never degenerates into a sense of the Christian

simply trying hard to behave and hoping for the best.

It is always backed up, as it is here, by the faithfulness of God.

‘The one who calls you is faithful.’^[16] 

Our joy is not merely happiness due to luck, ‘happenstance’…

but the true joy based on, and derived, from the faithfulness of God…  AMEN

WE RESPOND TO GOD’S WORD

WE Sing: TIS 152 Joyful, Joyful We Adore You

We Bring Our Offering To God

setting aside our gifts to support the local and wider work of the church

and bless our gifts in an act of praise…

We Share Our Community Life

News and Notices

Prayers of the People

Gracious God of all peoples,

we pray that throughout, and all around the world

people will find your joy

in the everyday moments of their living,

in their daily bread provided,

their bodies clothed,

and shelter from the elements and predators;

in unexpected delights and insights,

in lives of integrity

and service to others…

Lord hear us LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

Gracious God of all peoples,

we pray that throughout, and all around the world

people will find your joy

in the wise and caring decisions towards a common good

by our leaders of whatever ilk,

in the generous sharing of your gifted bounty

for the benefit of all,

in water and food security so that none go thirsty or hungry,

Lord hear us LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

Gracious God of all peoples,

we pray that throughout, and all around the world

people will find your joy

in the care they offer as health professionals, family members,

friends and neighbours,

and in any care they receive themselves…

Lord hear us LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

Gracious God of all peoples,

we pray that throughout, and all around the world

people will find your joy

by being part of a community, family, neigbourhood

congregation, group, workplace even

where each receives affirmation as to their human worth…

Lord hear us LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

Gracious God of all peoples,

we pray that throughout, and all around the world

people will find your joy

in unexpected places, and from unexpected people;

in prison or other situations of social stigma,

from persons thought to be hostile,

from total strangers so different to them;

endow us with your Spirit to offer such joy

through acts of ordinary kindness…

Lord hear us LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

Finally, Gracious God of all peoples,

we pray that amongst your people here at Bald Hills

your joy may be manifest

even amidst the presence of grief and pain and suffering,

worry and anxieties…

•  we pause to name specific people-

Lord hear us LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER,  AMEN

WE GO TO SERVE GOD IN OUR WORLD

We sing TIS 216 Rejoice, the Lord is King

Sending Out  1 Thess.5:16.17

As we go to serve God,

• Rejoice always. 
• Pray continually. 
• Give thanks in every situation

      because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 

• Don’t suppress the Spirit. 
• Avoid every kind of evil. 

Blessing 1 Thess.5:23,24

Now, may the God of peace himself

cause you to be completely dedicated to him;

and may your spirit, soul, and body

be kept intact and blameless

at our Lord Jesus Christ’s coming.

The one who is calling you

is faithful

and will do this.

AMEN. AMEN, AMEN

---

[1] This Candle Lighting Liturgy is prepared by Geoffrey Webber

[2] Unless otherwise indicated, what follows is prepared by Rev. Louis van Laar

[3] (the observant person might note how ‘gay’ is so like chai,

pronounced with a hard ch, sort of like in s ch ool, not soft, like the ch in church…

however, https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=gay, 

argues it is derived from Old French gai “joyful, happy; pleasant, agreeably charming; forward, pert; light-colored” and then states ultimate origin disputed, so perceptions can be deceiving).

[4]  https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=joy

c. 1200, “feeling of pleasure and delight;” c. 1300, “source of pleasure or happiness,” from Old French joie “pleasure, delight, erotic pleasure, bliss, joyfulness” (11c.), from Latin gaudia “expressions of pleasure; sensual delight,” plural of gaudium “joy, inward joy, gladness, delight; source of pleasure or delight,” from gaudere “rejoice,” from PIE root *gau- “to rejoice” (cognates: Greek gaio “I rejoice,”…)

[5] https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=happy,

late 14c., “lucky, favored by fortune, being in advantageous circumstances, prosperous;” of events, “turning out well,” from hap (n.) “chance, fortune” + -y (2). Sense of “very glad” first recorded late 14c. Meaning “greatly pleased and content” is from 1520s… From Greek to Irish, a great majority of the European words for “happy” at first meant “lucky.” An exception is Welsh, where the word used first meant “wise.”

[6]https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=celebrate,  mid-15c., “to perform publicly with appropriate rites,” originally of the Mass, from Latin celebratus “much-frequented; kept solemn; famous,” past participle of celebrare “assemble to honor,” also “to publish; sing praises of; practice often,” originally “to frequent in great numbers,” from celeber “frequented, populous, crowded;” with transferred senses of “well-attended; famous; often-repeated.” Its etymology is unknown.General sense of “commemorate or honor with demonstrations of joy” is from 1550s; formerly it also could be with demonstrations of sorrow or regret. Meaning “make widely known, praise, glorify” is from 1610s

[7] Lee, E. (2006–2009). Joy. In K. D. Sakenfeld (Ed.), The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (Vol. 3, p. 417). Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.

[8] ibid

^[9] Bowman, L. W. (2008). Pastoral Perspective on 1 Thessalonians 5:16–24. In D. L. Bartlett & B. B. Taylor (Eds.), Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary: Year B (Vol. 1, pp. 62–64). Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

^[10] Brosend, W. (2008). Theological Perspective on 1 Thessalonians 5:16–24. In D. L. Bartlett & B. B. Taylor (Eds.), Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary: Year B (Vol. 1, p. 64). Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

[11] Volf, Miroslav. (2016) The Christian Century July 1^st 2016  copies available upon request… (about 1000 words).

[12] my emphasis…

^[13] Bartlett, D. L. (2008). Exegetical Perspective on 1 Thessalonians 5:16–24. In D. L. Bartlett & B. B. Taylor (Eds.), Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary: Year B (Vol. 1, pp. 65–67). Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

[14] Copenhaver, Martin B. (2015 )” Learning to Give Thanks” The Christian Century October 30, 2015. 

[15] ibid  

^[16] Wright, T. (2004). Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians (pp. 133–134). London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.