| New Book now Available Here is an anthology of over 1100 brief prayers and thought-starters, for each day of the year, with almost 400 original prayers by Bruce Prewer. Included is both a subject index and an index of authors-- an ecumenical collection of about 300 different sources. |
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| Title: Brief Prayers for Busy People. Author: Bruce D Prewer ISBN 978-1-62880-090-6 Available from Australian Church Resources, web site www.acresources.com.au email service@acresources.com.au or by order from your local book shop or online on amazon. |
Year C, Advent 3
Luke 3:
7-18
(Sermon
2: “Bad News that is Good news”)
Zephaniah: 3:
14-20...
Philippines 4:
4-7 ... (Sermon 1: “Be
Happy”)
Isaiah 12: 2-6
GETTING FOCUSSED
The happiness of the Coming Christ be with you all.
And also with you.
The Holy Spirit is the Harpist,
and of our strings that are
strung with love will make a sweet
and joyful sound together.
[from Mechtild of Margdeburg]
Be happy in the Lord, always. I repeat: Be happy in the Lord!
Sing aloud,
daughters of faith, shout with joy you sons of hope!.
Be happy in the Lord, always. I repeat: Be happy in the Lord!
Laugh and celebrate
with all your heart, children of God!
[from Philippians & Zephaniah]
OR–
As we gather to worship the God of Advent,
let us draw sparkling water
from the wells of salvation.
We will say
this day:
We thank you,
Lord, and call upon your name,
we make known your deeds among
the nations!
Sing praises to God, who has done gloriously
Shout and sing
for joy, all people of Zion,
for great in our midst is the
Holy One of Israel.
[from Isaiah 12]
PRAYER:
APPROACHING GOD
Most holy and most generous God, you have more
laughter in store for us than we can ever imagine. As we step one more week
closer to Christmas, convey us from the trivial to the profound, from worry to
eagerness, from brief pleasures to that divine joy which nothing on earth or in
heaven can ever subdue. Through Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Amen!
REPENTING AND TRUSTING GRACE
Let is confess our sins, not as frightened servants
but as children of the household of God.
Whenever we live like losers, without the
faith-optimism of those who have received grace upon grace; Lord have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
Whenever we serve slavishly, forgetting the glorious
liberty of those who have been named children of God; Christ have
mercy.
Christ have
mercy.
Whenever we only laugh sarcastically, mocking human
faults instead of participating in the joy of the redeemed; Lord have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
God our Saviour-Friend, by the grace of Christ Jesus
please bring us to repentance and annul our sins, and by the infusion of your
Spirit help us to recover the joy for which we are created. With all the
enlightened souls on earth and in heaven, we long love you all the days of our
life, and adore you throughout eternity.. For your name’s sake.
Amen!
FORGIVENESS
With joy draw waters from the well of salvation!
Forgiveness is real! Trust it and share it; forgive
as you have been forgiven.
Jesus said: “There is joy in heaven over one sinner
who repents.”
Truly, God is
our salvation
we shall; trust and not be
afraid.!
The peace of our Saviour Jesus Christ be with you all.
And also with
you
PRAYER FOR CHILDREN
Waiting
Dear God, I can hardly wait
for Christmas Day
but I just have too!
So while I wait
help me to get my heart ready
as well as my cards and presents.
Amen.
Ó B D Prewer 2000
& Open Book Publishers
PSALM: ISAIAH 12
On that most wonderful day
you will dance and sing:
The Lord who gave us discipline
now does his saving thing!
Take a long look: God is healing,
love drives out all fear.
The Lord is my rising song,
for now is salvation near.
As from a great artesian basin
you shall drink from living waters.
On that greatest of great days,
laugh! God’s sons and daughters!
Call now upon the Lord’s name,
celebrate the matchless grace.
Tell it to all the nations,
carry it through outer space.
O people of God, sing your best songs,
broadcast to the whole earth!
Let all Australians sing for joy,
sing for all you’re worth!
© B.D. Prewer 2000
(Another
version is in ‘More Australian Psalms’)
DIPPER JOHN
It was a weird place to choose
from which to launch his mission
to the nation
and get himself in the six
o’clock news.
Why not a cathedral, or maybe
a theatre, town hall or music
bowl,
or a midday show on the TV?
Or if John had his heart set
on the outdoors, with sand and
water,
wouldn’t Bondi or Surfers Paradise
be a much more profitable bet?
Instead, this preacher chose a small space
a long way from the seas,
on a bend of the old inland
river,
where the clay coloured waters
meander
between weathered trees
hoping one day to find the ocean.
As I said, a most weird place
from which to launch his
mission.
But then, John himself is a very odd bloke,
wearing faded army camouflage
pants,
a battered akubra on his
head,
and eating witchetty grubs and
honey ants.
But for me the really big surprise
is that his mission is
working!
First the curious and a few local guys,
then a bigger mob from the river
towns,
now bus loads from ‘the big
smoke”
drawn by a feature on “Sixty
Minutes”
that had treated John as a joke.
One of the Murdoch newspapers
sort of christened him “Dipper
John,”
because converts who want
to make a new start, full on,
let the preacher dip them in
the stream.
The word is out that even ex-crims
have got their act together like
a dream.
He is a weird bloke, this Dipper John.
Instead of cashing in on his fame
he keeps saying that he is not
worth a flipper
compared with another fella, a big
name,
whom he’s expecting to arrive
and catch on–
a super star who’s already on
the way.
I tell you, if the new fella is bigger than Dipper,
then he’ll be something worth
seeing, heh?
© B.D. Prewer 2000
COLLECT
Most wonderful God, you have called us not to
slavery but to liberty, not to grief but to joy. Please renew that call in our
minds and hearts today, that as we serve you we may do it without anxiety,
taking faith-risks to the glory of your name. Through Christ Jesus, who with
you and the Holy Spirit deserve all love and praise.
Amen!,
SERMON 1: BE HAPPY
So, with much
urging, John preached the good news to the people. Luke 3:18
Rejoice in the
Lord always. I tell you again: Rejoice
Philippians 4:4
Good news!
Rejoice!
Be happy!
!
Joy is a special kind of happiness
which wells up from deep springs.
It
is neither superficial nor fickle,
yet a little child may know it.
Joy
overflows in time
yet is the stuff of eternity.
This special happiness is the dominant theme of the
3rd Sunday of Advent.
¾ Both of the Old Testament
readings ( Zephaniah and Isaiah) are songs of joy.
¾ Paul in Philippians 4 celebrates the
truth that the Lord is near.
¾ In the Gospel reading, John
the Baptist preaches the good news, the gospel,
to those who come to
hear him. Joy is the theme.
WHAT GIVES HAPPINESS?
If I were to ask many of my fellow Australians: What
gives happiness, their answers are likely to reflect the slick assumptions and
illusions of the community. Things like¾
wealth; winning
the first division lotto prize, or being a millionaire by the age of 30.
Plenty of money equals happiness.
being young; hence the cosmetic industry
focussed on making us look younger than we are.
To stay youthful equals happiness.
good health; the massive market for health
products witnesses to the assumption
that good health equals happiness.
popularity: To be popular, to have admiring people around you, who flatter you.
If possible,
to be a sports star, TV of pop star, these are happiness.
good marriage: To marry a person that you
are in madly in love with, is supposed to guarantee happiness.
Hence
the happy ending the majority of people still demand in cheap novels, soap
operas
and romantic films.
having children: This remains (regardless of
the many couples who now choose not to have children)
a much wanted source of happiness for the majority.
I suggest to you that these would rate highly on the
list of Aussie assumptions about the sources of happiness. You might wish to
add a few more like “success”, “power”, and those promiscuous bedroom exertions
which are euphemistically called “good sex”.
SOME CLARIFICATION
Before I proceed any further, let me not acknowledge
the good in most of these assumptions. They have some validity.
Wealth: there is no virtue in grinding
poverty; some money helps our well being.
Youth: the energies of the young are a
considerable asset. Old age has its drawbacks.
Health: only a hypochondriac would
prefer disease to good health.
Popularity: we all have a need to be
liked and respected . Being unpopular is not fun.
Good marriage: of course a love-match is a good start.
Children: for most of us, kids are a
wonderful privilege.
I am not knocking these things. But are they a lasting source of that deep,
undercurrent of
happiness which we call joy? Can they be relied on to deliver
what we imagine they promise?
THE EVIDENCE
Sadly the answer is “no!” Rational thought flatly
contradicts the widespread assumptions about the sources of sustainable
happiness. The roots of joy are not found in wealth, health, popularity,
youthfulness, marriage, or having children.
The evidence is otherwise; evidence that we all can
see and hear. For example --
There are some parents
regard their children as a mistake.
They can’t wait to park them on someone else and get on with their lives. On
the other hand, there are numerous childless folk who have found profound joy.
It is the same with a marriage. Love matches can turn sour and some of those who expected
a life of unabated happiness, end up hating each
other. And even in the happiest of marriages, the soul still seeks something
even more profound.
Then what about popularity?
There are plenty of lonely and despairing super stars, for whom real joy
remains an illusion. Some even resort to suicide.
And as for youthfulness,
we have all met many joyful elderly people and have seen plenty of miserable
young people.
The same can be said about good health. You can visit the numerous gymnasiums and see dozens of
desperately healthy specimens who are morose. On the other hand, in hospitals
or in wheelchairs you can find some radiant characters.
Lastly, there is the biggest furphy [furphy: Aus for
rumour] of them all: wealth. Common
sense shouts at us that wealth does not bring happiness. The world is littered
with nasty, sour, and ruthless millionaires; who smile for the camera with their face muscles (but not with their eyes) while
their souls are as arid as a desert. On the other hand there are millions of
ordinary folk with just enough money to make do, who are a sheer joy to be
with.
What really irks me, my friends, is that I find
people of the church who get caught up in the same illusions as the secular
world. And what irks me even more, is that I find myself sometimes day-dreaming, sucked in by these
illusions. Yuk!
SPIRITUALITY AND JOY
All the major religions of the world have said that
happiness can only be found spiritually.
For Christianity, real joy is to let yourself be found by the generous, supreme love of God in
Jesus Christ.
Joy is to know the love of God, to be treasured and
cherished by the very Spirit who is the source of our existence.
Joy is to lose the anxiety which is bred by slavish
religion, or arid godlessness, and to find the liberty of the children of God.
Joy is to know that in success or failure, sickness
or in health, poverty or wealth, youth or old age, living or dying, our lives
are in the hands of amazing grace.
“Salvation” is the word commonly used to describe
the ministry of Christ in our lives.
Salvation has two meanings: rescue and healing. Both
of these apply. Christ rescues us from all the illusions and bondages that
characterise those who are lost souls. Also, Christ, like a laser of grace,
heals the depths of our being, restores us to health. He enables us to bask and
delight in the affection of God.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the immense, rescuing,
liberating, healing love of God focussed in one human life. He is Immanuel,
God-with-us. That is what we are preparing to celebrate as we draw near to
Christmas.
SAINT PAUL
I return to the words of St Paul with which I
started: Always rejoice in the Lord. I
tell you again: Rejoice!
Because of Immanuel, that devout but miserable
fellow, Saul of Tarsus, became the joyful Saint Paul.
He had been a slavish, religious fanatic, proudly
racist, fearful of what he saw as heresies, anxious lest he break one of God’s
commandments, hating his own body, and angry at the sect known as
Christians. But when on that road to
Damascus was confronted with the blinding love of God in Christ Jesus, joy and
liberty filled his being. Joy was the by-product of his new faith. It welled up
unquenchable from the eternal, intimate Presence of God.
Years later, after being often flogged, shipwrecked
on mission journeys, spat on, hounded out of towns, jeered at by intellectuals,
scorned by his fellow Pharisees, pelted with stones, shackled in prisons;
finally when he was held under
arrest in Rome awaiting his trial and death, Paul was able to write to his
friends:
“Alway rejoice in the Lord. I tell you again:
Rejoice!....
The Lord is near. Have no anxiety about anything.”
Christian joy does not depend on life’s
circumstances.
It
source is eternal.
TAKE SOME DEEP BREATHS?
As we journey on the hectic, fast lane to Christmas,
I
am going to try (may God help me!) take some deep breaths of the Spirit,
and journey with faith, hope and love.
Will you join me?.
Happiness,
profound joy, is the fruit of those who trust the Lord has come,
and is coming right at this moment,
and who will come at the very end
to gloriously complete our salvation.
SERMON 2: THE BAD NEWS THAT IS GOOD NEWS
LUKE 3:18
So with many
exhortations, John preached good news to the people Luke 3:18
We like to play the game
of dividing things
into bad news and good news;
black or white, smile or frown, dance or drag the feet.
But things are not as simple as that.
In
many cases the thing we call bad news is actually good news. That is, the bad
news is good news in the long term.
Examples.
¾ If just before I leave on a
long journey I notice a fault in a car tyre, I may react as if it were bad
news. But it fact discovering that fault is good news. It might well save my
life.
¾ If a physician says: “I’m
afraid we must take out your appendix” we may react as if it is bad news. But
in truth it is very good news; it’s wonderful that what can be a
life-threatening situation can so easily be rectified.
¾ If a young woman working on
her thesis is told by her supervisor: “You will have to widen your scope of
research and tighten up on your argument if you want to get this thesis accepted,”
she may feel it as very bad news. But of course in terms of her goals it is
excellent news.
Good news is not necessarily “nice” news.
Good news may be uncomfortable news. In some cases
it may involve considerable cost. It may bring distress and pain.
JOHN’S GOOD BAD NEWS
Think about the final sentence in the Gospel reading
for today.
So with many exhortations, John
preached good news to the people Luke
3:18
In the passage leading up to this summary,
we hear how John the Baptist
thundered at some of those gathered around him by the Jordan:
You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee
from the wrath to come?
And a little later he speaks of the Messiah who will
come
His fork in his hand, to
clear the threshing floor and to gather the wheat into the silo. But
the husks and rubbish he will burn with unquenchable fire.
Good news?
Does it not sound (on first hearing) more like bad
news for a heap of people?
John’s tough words were not spoken to the merely
curious,
nor to those who came to scoff,
nor to spies who came to gather evidence against him. His words were spoken to
those who had asked to be baptised by him. It is to these that he says:
You brood of vipers! Who warned you
to flee from the wrath to come?
Somewhat caustic, huh?
I don’t think John ever read “How to Win Friends and
Influence People.” Here it seems the prospective converts are getting a blast
from the desert preacher.
What John is saying amounts to this –
Baptism is not enough.
The
outward form is not enough. Just because you have been baptised do not mean you
have really repented.
Nor is your heritage enough.
Don’t
tell me you are the sons of Abraham, that’s not enough! God can make sons out of the wilderness
stones if God so wishes. (Here there is a play on words. benayya are sons and abnayya are
stones.) God is not dependent on your favour. Don’t
put your trust in religious heritage, it is not enough.
Not surprisingly they ask him:
“What
then do we have to do?”
John’s answer is to call for repentance;
but not that kind of penitence that is sentimental
whitewash..
Penitence can be limited to feeling sorry.
For
some, it can be just be a self-centred indulgence. Feel sorry
, weep a little to justify yourself,
then do nothing about your sin. Penitence can be easy;
“nice” news.
Repentance is the bad very-good news.
It
is the pain that can heal. It involves taking drastic action; it is usually
difficult. It means a fundamental about turn; a painful turning away from
self-interest to face God and God’s interest. Repentance means a drastic “sea
change” resulting in a changed direction and a new kind of behaviour.
Repentance means new deeds.
John the Baptist demands
that they bring forth
fruits worthy of repentance.
To the ordinary people he says:
“If
you have two suits, share with the person who has none.
If
you eat well, share with those who go hungry.”
I wonder how far we are prepared to hear
that hard word that still blasts
our indifference?
To those disloyal Jews
who were employed by the occupation
army of Rome to gather taxes, John the Baptist insisted:
Repentance
meant giving up extortion and only collecting what was fair.
Repentance
was a costly business.
To the soldiers, the occupying force,
( Now there’s a surprise! Soldiers?
The Roman army? Even some of them responded to John’s preaching and were
baptised.)
To these he said
“:Stop bullying people. Stop taking bribes.” Repentance was a
costly business.
So with many
exhortations, John preached good news to the people Luke 3:18
THIS WAS VERY GOOD NEWS
This was really great news.
It
may sound hard, hard as a surgeon’s scalpel, but it opened people up to the new
possibilities of health in the love-kingdom of God. Repentance and its fruits
is very good news indeed. It is a message of hope and happiness!
We tend to run from the hard truth.
We
don’t like disciplines. We shrink from honest confrontation with our own
tricky, scheming souls.
Therefore many hear repentance as only bad news.
But
the good “bad”
news is that God is not content to forsake us, lost in the maze
of our foolishness and sin.
The
call to repentance is a call to truly come home, no matter how painful the
journey.
To
come home and begin bearing the good fruits that are
appropriate for each of our lives.
So with many
exhortations, John preached good news to the people Luke 3:18
Some of this similar good news,
with similar warnings and exhortations from John the
Baptist, may hurt,
but will not harm, you or me this Advent.
How about it?
WE GIVE THANKS FOR LIFE’S HARD LESSONS
We give thanks, God of hope and infinite
resourcefulness, for all the good things that can come from frustrating and
painful situations, and for the joy that transcends even the darkest times of
this mortal life.
For the travail of birth and the joy of a suckling
baby
For the bruises and setbacks
of childhood without which we cannot grow.
For the hard disciplines of
schooling, through which the mind and spirit expands.
For anxiety of seeing our young people leave home to
stand on their own feet..
For the self-giving that must be embraced for a
marriage to flourish.
For those unpleasant truths that we do not at first
want to face.
For the struggle to admit
that we have done wrong and the joy of finding Christ’s peace.
For the discomfort of apologising to those whom we
have harmed by word or deed.
For the cost of restitution
and the pain of sometimes having it thrown back in our face.
For the painful victory over ego that leads to
forgiving those who have wronged us.
For your hard refusals to
our urgent but unwise or selfish prayers.
For the insistence of the
Spirit that we serve in ways that don’t suit our inclinations.
For some much-feared
disasters that happened, yet led us to discover deeper resources.
For periods of spiritual drought from which deeper
faith and love emerged.
For the grinding work we were not spared, and
tiredness that was not quickly relieved.
For grief for which there was no quick fix, which we
had to work through one-day-at-a-time.
Holy Friend, we thank you that we are alive in your
creation where things are not always as they seem, and where grace breaks out
like a flowing stream in wilderness places. Wonderful are your hidden purposes
on earth and in heaven!
Amen!.
WE SHARE GOD’S CONCERN FOR THE WORLD
It is written: See
here, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors;
and I will save the lame and gather the outcaste; and I will
change their
misery into praise, and their honour shall be worldwide.
Let us pray.
God our holy and unshakeable Friend, we seek your
undergirding joy
for the people of planet earth.
Where there is conflict, terrorism and war, bless
all those who work for peace and reconciliation.
Bring your
peace and joy, loving Friend.
Where there is exploitation of the weak and the poor, bless those who work for emancipation.
Bring your
judgement and joy, loving Friend.
Where there are refugee camps, prison compounds, and
ethnic discrimination, bless those who work for justice and liberty.
Bring your
rescue and joy, loving Friend.
Where there is addiction to drugs, alcohol and
gambling, bless those who provide programmes for rehabilitation.
Bring your
healing and joy, loving Friend.
Where there is hunger, malnutrition, disease, and despair, bless the agencies that bring compassion
and practical help.
Bring your
hope and joy, loving Friend.
Where there are the lonely, the suffering and the
sorrowing, bless the merciful who are lovingly there
for them.
Bring your
comfort and joy, Loving Friend.
Where the church is weak and struggling against big
odds, bless all those sturdy souls who keep the faith and practice the love.
Bring your
abundant grace and joy, loving Friend.
SENDING OUT
With joy may you will draw water from the wells of
salvation.
Amen
!
The health of the living God is among you and within
you.
Go out into the world buoyantly and boldly.
Thanks be to God!
The laughter of the saving Christ,
the cheerfulness of the lively
Spirit,
and the joy of the everlasting
God, be with you now and always.
Amen !
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