Second Sunday of Advent, Year A
From the archives of December 4, 2022 (and December 8, 2019, December 4, 2016, and December 8, 2013)
Worship Resources for December 4, 2022—Second Sunday of Advent
Revised Common Lectionary: Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12
Narrative Lectionary: Esther 4:1-17 (Matthew 5:13-16)
For the second Sunday in Advent, the Hebrew scriptures continues a series in Isaiah with 11:1-10. The prophet Isaiah, having witnessed the corruption of kings that led to the northern kingdom of Israel’s demise and Judah’s own troubles, prophesies a new king who will come and lead as David led. While Isaiah was hoping for the new king Hezekiah in his time, the prophet’s hope is for all future leaders, that they would judge with righteousness and equity the poor and those in need. That a future king would not look to what benefited them but to the wisdom of God, and to seek God’s guidance in how they led. When the leader of the people seeks God, peace comes over the land, for there is no more competition with each other—it is only how they can best live according to God’s ways. The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard live with the goat—these symbols of peace in creation are representative of God’s abundant love. There is enough for all when we look to God’s ways. Other nations will look to Judah, to their king, and be drawn to them because of what God has done for them.
Psalm 72 is a blessing upon the coronation of a new king. The psalmist prays for God’s blessings for the new king, that God would grant them wisdom to rule with justice. The psalmist prays that the new king would remember the poor and those in need, and prays that the king would defend the most vulnerable, and that the king be blessed with long life and his reign with abundance and peace. The psalmist concludes by blessing God, for it is God alone who can accomplish peace and justice.
The Epistle reading continues in Romans with 15:4-13. Paul writes that the scriptures written before were to give us hope in the here and now, by God’s steadfastness and encouragement through the ancestors of our faith. Paul gives instructions to the church in Rome to welcome one another—indeed, throughout the letter Paul has encouraged the Jewish followers to welcome in the new Gentile converts. According to Paul’s explanation, Jesus was Jewish to confirm the promises made through the ancestors of the faith, but Paul also quotes the scriptures where it lifts up the Gentiles as people who also praise God. Finally, Paul quotes Isaiah, linking Jesus as the one who will come from the root of Jesse. It is important for us to remember that while Paul and other early Christians made this connection to Isaiah and Jeremiah, there are other interpretations among Jews about the Messiah, from before and after Jesus’s time.
The Gospel turns to John the Baptizer in Matthew 3:1-12. The writers of all four Gospel accounts link John the Baptist to Second Isaiah, where in 40:3 the prophet declares that a voice cries out from the wilderness. Second Isaiah was writing of the time when the people returned from exile in Babylon, around 520 B.C.E. However, the Gospel writers identify this as John centuries later, who came from the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Some scholars believe John may have been part of the Essenes, a group of Jews who gathered near the Dead Sea and prepared for the Day of the Lord to come. They had similar practices of not eating meat, and the Jewish practice of the mikveh, a ritual cleansing in water immersion, was practiced more rigorously by the Essenes. John came from the wilderness and proclaimed this baptism, and people from all along the Jordan came to him. However, when some of the Sadducees and Pharisees, two other different Jewish groups, came to be baptized, John warned them not to rely on their identity or ancestry, but that they must go through the inner transformation, to bear fruit worthy of repentance. John declared that one was coming after him who was more powerful, one whose axe lay at the foot of the tree and whose winnowing fork was on the threshing floor. The one coming after John would work on them and they might not like it, for anything bad would be cut off, anything chaff would be torn from the wheat and would be burned. In other words, the one coming after John was coming to purify and cleanse. The masks any of us wear for the world, the things we hide behind—our religious identity, our lineage, wealth, power—whatever it is, it will not hold up to the truth of God—it will be torn away. We can’t hide who we are from God. Too often we want to hide our faults and shortcomings. But if we allow God to work in us, God can help us bear good fruit.
The Narrative Lectionary turns to Esther, specifically chapter four. Esther’s cousin Mordecai went into public mourning at the gates of the city. Esther tried through her servants to get him to wear proper clothing, but he refused, and she didn’t know why he mourned. Mordecai was making it public that he was both Jewish and mourning for what would happen to the people, while Esther was comfortable in the palace, no one else knowing she was Jewish. When Esther finally was able to get a messenger to Mordecai, he told her about the decree Haman issued to destroy the Jews and told her she must go to the king and tell him what had happened. Esther replied that no one could go to the king without being summoned or risk being put to death. However, Mordecai warned her that she would not be safe, not even in the palace. If she refused to speak, someone else would come to their aid, but perhaps she ought to look at all that had happened to get her to the palace—perhaps she ought to recognize her privilege in this position might be for “such a time as this.” Esther recognized that it was indeed such a moment, and ordered that Mordecai let all the Jews in Susa know what was going on and to fast on her behalf, for she would risk her own life and go to the king to save her people.
The supplementary verses are Matthew 5:13-16, in which Jesus tells the disciples after giving the Beatitudes that they are the salt of the earth, the light of the world. They are meant to give flavor, to shine and not be hid. They are meant to be known so that God might be made known through them.
Advent means “coming into view.” This is the time when masks are falling off and our true selves are revealed. Either we are watching for the signs of Christ’s return in our world and in our lives, or we are still living in the ways of this world. The ways of this world call us to desire more and to consume more, to look for ways to increase our privilege and power. The way of Christ calls us to seek the welfare of others, to live into righteousness and justice. John prepares the way because John reminds us that we have to bear fruit worthy of repentance. That we can’t pretend we are faithful to Christ when we haven’t been faithful each and every day. It’s better for us to be honest with ourselves, that we have fallen short, that we have failed to seek God at times, and that we try to do better, than to put on the world’s mask and pretend that we are good and faithful people. John calls us to tear off the mask. Esther reminds us that even if we have privilege, we must use that privilege to help the most vulnerable among us and if we aren’t willing to risk it, then we’re still living with the mask on. We’re being fake, and we’re seeking the ways of the world and not God. We are called to get real with ourselves, for Christ is coming.
Call to Worship
Watch for it! It’s coming into view—
The ways of this world have led to dead ends,
but Christ leads us to life.
Wait for it! The signs are around us—
When we seek the welfare of the most vulnerable,
we seek the well-being of all.
The time is at hand! Repent!
It is time to recognize where we have gone astray,
Time to turn back to God’s love and justice.
We are almost there!
Let’s be real with one another: we need each other.
May we find a way to journey together in hope.
Prayer of Brokenness/Confession
Creator God, we confess that we put on masks in this world: masks of happiness to cover our depression. Masks of wealth to cover our emptiness. Masks of social status to cover up our feelings of inadequacy. We think some masks are better than others, when underneath it all we are simply bone and flesh, brought together by You. Help us to take off the mask and be our real self. Help us to acknowledge our shortcomings and mistakes. Help us to embrace our depression and illness so we can find ways of healing. Call us to look in the mirror and see our true self: the image of the Beloved One, the image of You. Help us to remove our masks, so we can truly view the world as it is, and work to repair what is broken. Amen.
Blessing/Assurance
We are fearfully and wonderfully made. We are tenderly cared for by our Beloved God. May we be tender with each other as we remove the masks of the world. May we help each other repair and heal, restore and make whole. May we love one another with the tender love of our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom we have life. Amen.
Prayer
O Come, Thou Wisdom from on high, and order all things far and nigh. To us the path of knowledge show, and cause us in her ways to go. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, God With Us, and lead us away from the ways of the world we have made, and into Your wisdom. May we listen to the prophets and sages of old, and hear the cries for justice in the hear and now. O Come, Desire of Nations, bind all peoples in one heart and mind. Bid envy, strife, and quarrels cease. Fill the whole world with heaven’s peace. May we rejoice in Your arrival in our hearts and world in a new way. Amen.
Worship Resources for December 8th, 2019—Second Sunday of Advent
Revised Common Lectionary: Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12
Narrative Lectionary: Isaiah of the Exile, Isaiah 40:1-11 (Mark 1:1-4)
Isaiah prophesizes a new king in 11:1-10. This new king shall come from the line of Jesse, the line of David. Where a stump has been due to the downfall of the kings since David’s time, a shoot shall spring forth from that stump. The Spirit of the Lord will be with the new king, who will have wisdom and understanding, who will judge with righteousness and equity. This new king will bring peace, restoring the balance of creation’s intention.
The psalmist gives a blessing for a newly anointed king in Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19. The blessing includes charges to the king: to judge the people with righteousness and the poor with justice, to defend the needy and poor and to crush oppression. The psalmist calls upon God to bring prosperity and peace to the king’s reign, and concludes by blessing God, the one who does marvelous things for the people.
Paul begins to wrap up his lengthy letter to the Romans in chapter 15, reminding them that the scriptures they have known teach them of God’s steadfast love and encouragement. Paul calls upon the church in Rome to welcome one another, especially the Gentile believers, just as Christ has welcomed them. Christ was made known to them so that they might in turn welcome others. Paul reminds them that the one Isaiah prophesied in Isaiah 11:10 was a king for all nations. Paul interprets the messianic passages as promises of God’s salvation for Gentiles as well as Jews.
Matthew’s Gospel interprets the image of the voice crying in the wilderness in Isaiah 40:3 as John the Baptist in Matthew 3:1-12. John appears in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming that the kingdom of heaven has come near and for the people to repent. John baptizes the people in the river Jordan, where they confess their sins—but when Sadducees and Pharisees come to him, he warns them that they must bear fruit worthy of repentance. John is concerned that they think their group is in the right, that because they are children of Abraham they do not need to repent. Sadducees and Pharisees were at odds with each other theologically, and politically in terms of Jerusalem. John tells them that one more powerful than himself is coming after him, one who will have the winnowing fork in his hand, ready to separate the wheat from the chaff, ready to separate out the sin within us. But the axe is lying at the root of the tree—if the fruit of repentance isn’t there, the tree is worthless.
The Narrative Lectionary focuses on Second Isaiah, which scholars use to distinguish Isaiah 40-66 from 1-39 (some scholars also used Third Isaiah for Isaiah 55-66, though it may be the same writer as Second Isaiah, just later in life). Second Isaiah begins after the exile into Babylon, as the Babylonian Empire fell to Persia and Cyrus, ruler of Persia, began to allow the exiles to return home. This prophet, who took on the mantle and name of First Isaiah, speaks words of comfort to the people. God is going to lead them out of the wilderness and God will care for the people. Like a shepherd, God will feed the people, caring for the lambs and carrying the youngest.
The beginning of the Gospel according to Mark begins with the words of the prophet Isaiah, and identifying the voice crying out in the wilderness with the prophet John the Baptist, who came out of the wilderness and proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
A voice is crying out. Repent, for the reign of God has drawn near. Believe in the Good News. Turn back to God, and you’ll find God is right there. We are waiting in this season of Advent for Christ to come again, but Christ is already with us, now. The reign of God is here, now. We are participating now and waiting for the fullness of God’s vision to be realized. Believe now in the good news, for it is coming.
Call to Worship (from Isaiah 40:1-5; Matthew 3:2-3)
A voice cries out, “Prepare the way of the Lord.
Make a path, direct and straight through: a way for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain made low.
The uneven ground shall become level, the rough places a plain.”
God is restoring what has been unequal, uneven, unjust;
God’s glory shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together.
For God has spoken through the prophets:
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Prayer of Brokenness/Confession
We confess, O God, we are like those that gathered at the river with John. We want to believe. We want to be part of Your coming kingdom. But we do not want to change. You have called us to repent, and we dig our heels in. You have called us to come into the water, but we are afraid to stick our toe in. You have called us to bear fruit, warned us that the axe lies at the root of the tree, but we fail to bear forth Your goodness and mercy in us. Forgive us. Help us to make the first move in faith—to turn back to You, to wade into Your waters of new life, to blossom in justice, mercy, and hope. Help us to repent and to believe in the Good News, for Your reign has drawn near. In the name of Christ we pray. Amen.
Blessing/Assurance
The seeds God has planted in us are always ready to break forth, no matter the season. There is always time to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. You always have possibility dwelling within you. Know that your mistakes, your shortcomings, your hesitations are forgiven. Just strive to do better. Love more, forgive more, show mercy more, give grace more, for our God is abundant in love that encompasses us all. Go and share the good news. Amen.
Prayer
Holy One, in this season of bright lights and busy streets, may we sit in the darkness and shadows and silence. In a season of parties and food and cheer, may we remember what it is like to be hungry and to go without. We know our neighbors are sleeping outside in the cold. We know parents do not have enough food for their children. We know many are lonely. Call us into the holy work of this season, to lift up the lowly, to fill the hungry with good things. Help us to heed Your voice and Your way of justice, mercy, and love by participating in Your reign now, and preparing for what is to come. We pray in the name of Christ, is who coming into our world and lives in a new way. Amen.
Worship Resources for December 4, 2016—Second Sunday of Advent
Revised Common Lectionary: Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12
Narrative Lectionary: Joel, God’s Promised Spirit, Joel 2:12-13, 28-29 (Luke 11:13)
The prophet Isaiah finds hope in a future king, one who will rise from the family of David, and rule in a similar manner. The people will once again be led by someone who seeks wisdom, who judges with equity. His reign will bring peace, and the prophet speaks of peace even among natural enemies in the world. Other nations will be in awe and will come to him, and all will be full of the knowledge of God.
In Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19, the psalmist sings a blessing for a new king’s coronation. The psalmist prays that the new king will be full of wisdom, that he will judge with righteousness, and that is reign will be long and full of peace and prosperity. The psalmist blesses God, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.
Paul declares that all the scriptures written before, in the former days, was to encourage and give hope in Romans 15:4-13. Paul calls upon the people of the church in Rome to welcome one another as Christ has welcomed us. Paul interprets the prophets hope of a future king from the root of Jesse as also hope for the Gentiles, through Jesus Christ.
Matthew 3:1-12 is the call of John the Baptist out of the wilderness, a call for repentance for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near. The people heard John’s message and came to the Jordan to be baptized by him, but he warned the religious leaders that gathered near him that they couldn’t rely on their ancestry as proof of their religiousness. Now, they needed to bear fruit worthy of repentance, for the one coming after John is coming to separate out the wheat from the chaff—to separate out of each of us what is not useful. The winnowing fork separates chaff from each stalk of wheat, and each of us have work that needs to be done, that is begun when we repent but only finished through the work of Jesus.
The Narrative Lectionary continues focusing on the prophets with Joel, and Joel’s call to turn back to God. Joel calls upon the people to turn back, and that God will restore the people. God’s spirt will be poured out upon all—old and young, women and men, slaves and free.
Jesus is teaching the disciples about prayer and remaining steadfast in Luke 11:13, and makes this strange comment—because we ought to do the right thing, but we are evil—we still do not always do the right thing—but how much more faithful God will be with us! God’s spirit will be with all who call upon God.
Prepare the way! God is coming again, into our world and into our lives in a new way. Prepare the way for the reign of God! Prepare our hearts to love more fully and deeply. Prepare our world to be ready to love as God has called us to love, to care as God cares for us, to do justice because God judges us all with equity.
Call to Worship (from Romans 15:4,7,13; Matthew 3:2,3,11)
What is written in Scripture is to encourage and guide us;
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is drawing near!
Welcome one another, as Christ has welcomed you;
Prepare the way of the Lord!
May God fill us with all joy and peace in believing,
so we may be full of hope by the power of the Holy Spirit;
The one who is coming will baptize us with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
Come, repent; turn back to God, and prepare the way,
for Christmas, for the Christ-Child,
for God to enter our world and lives in a new way!
Prayer of Brokenness/Confession
We confess, O God, that we have fallen asleep. We confess, O God, that we have not kept awake, that we have not been looking for signs of Your return. Instead, we have been looking at the broken world around us and wondering how it will get fixed. We have been looking at what will help us right now, and not what will help the world in the long term. Forgive us. Call us into repentance, to turn back to You, to remember that You are the Savior of the World, and that we need to work together to prepare Your way, to build Your beloved community here, now, for others as well as for ourselves. In the name of the One who has come and is returning, we pray. Amen.
Blessing/Assurance of Pardon
Every moment we turn back, God is there, ready to receive us. Every moment we work to build God’s beloved community is not in vain. God has need for all of us; God has need for you. Know that you are forgiven and loved, and very much needed in this kingdom-building work. Come, join your hearts, and use your gifts for the reign of God here on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.
Prayer
O Holy Child of Bethlehem, Descend to us we pray; Cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today. O Holy Child, enter our lives again. With childlike faith, may we see You and Your work in our world in new ways. May we be open to the Holy Spirit as a child just learning about the faith. May we see what You are already doing in our lives and in our world with fresh hearts, so that we can participate in Your reign now and in the time to come. In the name of Jesus the Christ, we pray. Amen.
Worship Resources for December 8th, 2013—Second Sunday of Advent
Revised Common Lectionary: Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19; Matthew 3:1-12; Romans 15:4-13
In Advent, as we read the passages from Isaiah, we must remember the context of the time they were written in. The people had been led by corrupt leadership and kings who were interested in their own self-preservation. Isaiah speaks to the longing of a king who will lead with integrity, who will follow the ways of God and will lead the people into a new dawn. The family tree of David has been stunted by the wars between Israel and Judah, and by the wars with other lands; and now a shoot will grow out of the stump of Jesse. This new king will lead with truth and righteousness, lift up the poor and grant justice to the oppressed. Peace shall come with the reign of this new king. This was the hope Isaiah had for the people of his day, hope for a king that would rule with God’s wisdom. As Christians, we are also waiting for the kingdom coming. We are also waiting and longing.
Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19 sings of God’s wisdom and guidance for a new king, one who will lift up the poor and the oppressed. The psalmist prays for God’s blessings upon the king, for long life and health and for peace to prevail. The psalmist ends with a blessing from God , who is the God of the whole earth. God’s blessings for one extend to all. God’s desire for the people, and for the whole world, is peace.
Matthew 3:1-12 tells the story of the ministry of John the Baptist. We read these passages in Advent, remembering that as Christians we have often viewed John the Baptist as the one who has come to prepare the way of the Lord. John comes proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. John calls upon the people to turn back to God’s ways. In Matthew’s version, there are Pharisees and Sadducees; in Luke’s version, there are tax collectors and soldiers as well. In Luke 3, John the Baptist explicitly tells the people to give back what they have taken—whether it be more than what was owed to them in taxes or someone’s coat. In Matthew, John warns them to “bear fruit worthy of repentance” (vs. 8). John proclaims that one’s identity means nothing without actions. To bear fruit means to bring forth something good, something usable for God. Lastly, John finishes with the image of the threshing floor and the winnowing fork. However, this image has often been used in terms of separating people, rather than separating our own chaff from our harvestable wheat. Chaff and wheat grow together. Each piece must be winnowed and have the chaff removed. We all have places where we need to repent and turn back to God. As we prepare for Christ, we must prepare ourselves, to give our lives fully to God.
Romans 15:4-13 is part of Paul’s discourse about welcoming others. As he nears the end of his letter to the Romans, Paul encourages people to welcome in the strangers, that God also goes to the strangers, to the outcasts, and in this case, to the Gentiles. Paul claims that the Scriptures of old give us hope for today and encouragement. As we prepare to welcome Christ, we must welcome all.
The way of the Lord is peace. We long and wait and hope for the day when God will come into our world and into our lives in a new way. Through the Christian Scriptures, we call this the Second Coming of Christ. We are waiting and preparing for Christ to enter our lives and our world in a new way. But as we prepare, we look back on the scriptures of old and see how the people prepared for a new king, one who would lead in God’s ways, and so we prepare for God’s ways to break through in our lives. And we are reminded by Paul that we are called to welcome the stranger; so we prepare for Christ as if we are preparing for someone new. We prepare for God to come and enter and reign, and that God’s reign will bring peace.
Call to Worship (from Isaiah 40):
We hear the voice in the wilderness that calls out,
“Prepare the way of the Lord!”
God is going to lift up the valleys and bring down the mountains,
“Prepare the way of the Lord!”
God is going to do new something new in our world and in our lives,
“Prepare the way of the Lord!”
The Glory of God will be revealed to all.
Let us prepare for God to do something new. Let us prepare the way of the Lord! Amen.
Prayer of Brokenness/Confession
Holy God, we desire our own way. We desire to forge ahead without waiting for Your guidance. We have defined peace to be our own happiness, and have forgotten that peace includes the well-being of all people, especially the poor and oppressed. Forgive us when we have sought our own way, on our own terms, and have forgotten all of Your people. Grant us the wisdom and insight to slow down, welcome the stranger into our lives, and seek out the poor and the oppressed and speak up for justice. In the name of Christ, who is coming unto us in a new way, we pray. Amen.
Blessing/Assurance of Pardon
We are welcomed because Christ welcomes us. The way has been prepared, choose to follow it. This is not to say it isn’t painful, it isn’t hard, but it is to say it is worth it. You are loved. You are blessed. You are forgiven. Go and share the Good News. Amen.
Prayer
God of our Waiting, our Longing, help us to hold on to hope for Your peace to come. We long to hear the angels sing, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace, goodwill to all people.” We long to hear Your peace proclaimed. Help us to live into Your peace by loving our neighbors as ourselves, by seeking nonviolent resolutions, by valuing each life as a gift from You. Grant us Your peace in our lives, so that during our own struggles and challenges, we know that You are with us. Help us to be peace-bearers in our world. In the name of the Prince of Peace we pray. Amen.