November 29, 2020 Service

so so foreign good morning and welcome to the fort myers congregational united church of christ on this first sunday in the season of advent it's actually new year's day for the christian church and today we start a four sunday journey that will lead us sunday after sunday to the manger of bethlehem i'm dave busey pastor my worship team this morning is thad goodman on the organ amy mandeville pianist and director of music and her tech team is charlie richie and robert nolan i want to make special mention this morning of our advent wreath that was very carefully and lovingly made by carolyn martin she brought this idea from a former church where she and roger served and so you have sent in your handprints and traced she has traced them and cut them out in green felt and she tells me there's plenty of room for more so as you remember where you put that paper that your hand tracing is on get it out send it to carolyn and as advent proceeds she'll be putting more and more of those on remind you that our sunday school is today at 11 a.m on zoom our coffee hour is at 11 30 on zoom and also next friday at 7 30 p.m brian mclaren will be here to lead us in a study on christian authoritarianism brian delighted us several months ago with a program here and i hope that you'll take time to read the outline of what they're going to do uh in the e-blast and be with us on friday evening on zoom to see what in the world it is that he wants to say about authoritarianism our sock tree is returning there won't be a physical tree in the hallway and near the offices but we will have receptacles outside the main doors of the church you can stop by anytime you care drop off your socks we had dozens and dozens and dozens of pairs of socks last year that went to several community organizations they were very appreciative and we're going to do the same thing again this year on you'll drop them in the two of brightly colored newspaper boxes outside i want to say a word of thanks to charlie richie this morning who will also assist me with the lighting of our advent candle i spoke with john kirschner this week who i believe now over the weekend is taking some time home with his family for thanksgiving before returning to the facility where he's taken up residence but john reminded me that we need to have the cell phones off during the service because of course we all know cell phones are not in the right rhythm and so with your cell phone off or silenced turn to the person sitting with you and pass the piece to them or send a note electronically to someone and pass the piece to them or just silently sit and prepare yourself for worship as we pass the peace of jesus christ the advent candle lighting is a moment to help the community reflect on the year past with its trauma and its displacements in light of the scriptures that call us to faithfully get ready for a new moment in the coming of christ the reading today is uncomfortable giving expression to the scenes of violence and desperation natural disaster and community displacement the feelings that it evokes may be all too familiar to those who have lived through 2020 and faced into crisis the loss of covet 19 natural disasters of fire and hurricane the exposure of societal injustices rooted in racism and sexism and painful political reckonings the scripture reading today is from isaiah 64 verses 1-9 o that you would tear open the heavens and come down so that the mountains would quake at your presence as one fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil to make your name known to your adversaries so that the nations might tremble at your presence when you did awesome deeds that we did not expect you came down the mountains quaked at your presence from ages past no one has heard no ear has perceived no eye has seen any god besides you who works for those who wait for him you meet those who gladly do right those who remember you in your ways but you are angry and we sinned because you hid yourself we transgressed we have all become like one who is unclean and all our righteous deeds are like filthy cloth we all fade like a leaf and our iniquities like the wind take us away there is no one who calls on your name or attempts to take hold for you for you have hidden your face from us and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity yet o lord you are our father we are the clay and you are our potter we are all the work of your hand do not be exceedingly angry o lord and do not remember iniquity forever now consider we are all your people how can isaiah ask for more upset for god to rend the heavens and come down what do we need from god in the midst of this pandemic chaos in verses 8 and 9 god is named a parent and a potter one who shapes a people what form is god shaping us to be by our experience after such a year what have we learned what needs to change what do we need from the holy one who's coming and will you join me in your response to lighting of the first advent candle oh holy one we light this first candle a candle of grief in the midst of the stories of the last year let it burn through these weeks as a beacon to become the light of hope let us let it guide us to your presence in our midst leading us to your justice and joy in the service of peace god be with us in this light of hope you join me now in our call to worship after such suffering we go searching for a sign any sign the sun seems to dim the moon fails the stars fall we need a sign any sign be aware stay awake change is coming we hope that the human one is on the way gathering the faithful from the four winds into a place of peace we need a sign any sign be aware stay awake change is coming nature once offered signs to depend on the fig tree put out tender leaves and we knew summer was near but climate today is hurting unpredictable we need a sign any sign be aware stay awake change is coming so together we search for a sign of the one who's coming clarity and confusion green chute in a barren landscape song arising in a weary soul be aware stay awake change is coming come let us worship rejoin me now in our unison prayer of invocation come into our midst o holy one writer of the clouds of heaven surprising answer to heartfelt prayer in whatever way you choose come shake us up help us find you at work in our lives showing the way to make all things new in jesus name we pray amen i have a word i want to say to the children this morning of course you already know how i do this i think back to when i was about your age and i think about adventures my family went on when our vacations each summer were vacations all around the eastern united states by car and so sometimes we'd call it an adventure it might have only been a trip to georgia or a trip to chicago but somehow my family was able to frame it as an adventure and the first thing that happened we get in the car and we'd go about oh 10 miles and one of the children would say are we there yet and that would draw a stern look from my father who was well aware we'd only gone 10 miles a glance from my mother who said it's going to be a long way boys find something to do look for cars with license plates from other states see how many different brands of cars you can find i'm telling you right now that worked in 1955. i'm not positive that still works in 2020. we were on an adventure and we had a goal in mind and we would certainly get there but there'd be a lot of travel in between you heard me say earlier that this morning we started an adventure that the church calls advent the beginning the start of an adventure we're heading in four sundays we are heading to bethlehem to see that all familiar picture of a baby in a manger a young mother and father and shepherds and eventually oh people wise people came from the east but just like the busy children who always said are we there yet are we almost there we as christian citizens get in a hurry we want christmas now we want to sing christmas carols now we want to open the gifts now things that are worthwhile sometimes take a while to come and so during these four sundays we'll be talking about advent and about the adventure of going to the manger of bethlehem don't get in a hurry i promise you there will be presents and gifts at your house there will be singing there will be extra fancy food but it takes a while to get to something that's really very worthwhile let's pray loving god we thank you for adventures we thank you for advent we thank you for the coming of the christ child to each and every one of us brand new this christmas amen so you so during these months of the covet 19 pandemic hundreds of thousands of families have been separated by love from loved ones grandparents have not seen their newborn grandchildren spouses have been separated and when loved ones have died grieving families have not always been able to come together for a funeral service carol willison's story is an example of this and her story leads us to isaiah 64 where the prophet pleads with god to tear open the heavens and come down it was early may 2020 when lillian yuffing sue 87 years old died in an assisted living facility in white plains new york now as a child growing up in china she had lived through world war ii she later studied medicine in taiwan and her next step was a major move she took the long journey to the united states to complete her medical internship i knew i'd become educated so i would be totally independent she would say in her later memoirs in time she became not only a doctor but a geneticist her research was published in such journals as the american journal of medical genetics and the journal of pediatrics she was often the only foreigner and or the only woman in her class or in her office or in her lab and she later told generations of grandchildren about difficulties dealing with inconsiderate men for working to the top of her field she set up the first lab in new york city that performed amniocentesis setting the international standard for prenatal diagnostic testing when she died none of her family members could be with her they were only able to chat with her occasionally via zoom in a two-week period just before her death thanks to the kindness of nurses and aides on her floor at her burial only 10 people were allowed and of course they had to maintain social distance one of her children the daughter was unable to join other family members to grieve and share she was in shanghai the city of her mother's birth her name is carol carroll taught in elementary school of a prominent international school there her husband is the reverend john p willison the lead pastor of a large international congregation in shanghai carol wasn't with her mother when she died she was not at her mother's funeral and although she desperately wanted to be there it just wasn't going to happen she might have been able to leave shanghai to be with her mother and attend her funeral but guess what if she left shanghai for the u.s she wouldn't be allowed to re-enter china she was stuck separated from her dying mother if she stays separated from her husband if she goes and risking the loss of her teaching position as well carol's experience is not unlike thousands of others during the pandemic separated by quarantine rules canceled flights entry rules like yang zhang and her husband who said goodbye to each other in hong kong on february 2nd and still have not been reunited spouses separated when one caught the virus and had to be isolated for the safety of family members in extreme cases children separated from parents others isolated on cruise ships some americans having difficulty getting home from europe they were stuck they could not find flights back babies were born grandparents sometimes had to wait months before seeing the little ones and we have been stuck here in fort myers in florida under stay-at-home rules wait we don't have stay-at-home rules in florida restaurants are still somewhat open churches are allowed to assemble if they choose to few sporting activities so really we're stuck we're all stuck we know the angst the pain the silent suffering the fear the loss of hope we miss our loved ones my grandson titus rebels was born at the end of january in 2020 i still haven't been able to see him if only a door would open and our husband or our wife or our child or our parents would come bursting through the door well we can zoom we can facetime we can google meat we can do teams but we've missed touching a face hugging laughing crying together we lost something and we want it back we want a return of relationships we want to return to what we would call normal the way things used to be this is the emotional psychological and spiritual context of the isaiah passage that charlie read the glory of israel had long faded hundreds of years earlier the northern kingdom had disappeared and now the memory of life in judea and temple worship was but a faint memory carried into captivity the ancient hebrews have been exiles in a foreign land their recent history when still in their homelands had been scandalous they neglected their religious observances they lived in open rebellion toward god their leaders had set up false idols and corruption and disregard for the poor and dispossessed was rampant they'd refused to listen to the prophets and so was for a long time since they had experienced prosperity or enjoyed blessings from the land the hand of god in fact god for years now had seemed far away as though he had abandoned them isaiah writes you've hidden your face from us and delivered us in the land of our iniquity in captivity in a strange land the hebrews now recalled the glory of their past they remembered how god had intervened on their behalf they longed to know and experience the presence of god now and so the prophet opens today's readings with these anguished words oh that you would tear open the heavens and come down have these hebrews forgotten that god is a visiting god that god loves to visit our bible begins with the creator god not only bringing creation into being but visiting our first parents in the garden of eden in fact according to genesis 3 the lord god came walking into the neighborhood where adam and eve lived and the lord god called to the man where are you isn't that our question this morning where are we where exactly are we in our relationship to god god wants to visit us so what are we doing the southern kingdom of judah clearly was not paying attention to god they had other things to do then worship the lord and as i said god loves to visit from the very beginning this had been amply demonstrated god had visited abraham and the guys of angels who sat down for a meal god visited jacob wrestling with him in the night moses god visited moses in the burning bush on mount sinai god's presence went with the israelites through the wilderness in the form of fire and cloud god visited samuel as a boy calling him in his sleeping hours god visited elijah in a still small voice and now the prophet isaiah cries oh that you would tear open the heavens and come down when you did awesome deeds that we did not expect you came down the prophet said in effect hey you used to visit us a lot what gives why aren't you coming around anymore please come for a visit and please come soon yes it's in god's nature to visit and this is still true do we want a visit from god god is surely willing and eager to visit even to stay for a while but isaiah speaking for his people feels as though he is in some sort of a quarantine what a great word quarantine well he must be infected or something there's some reason god's staying away knowing that god is a just god he suspects that something's wrong you meet those who gladly do right he says in verse 5. he also knows that god works for those who wait for him echoing lamentations 3 25. now recognize that it's been a long time since they've had a visit from their father as they call him in verse 8 he complains that god has left them committing his own people to an unwelcome quarantine no visit from god no meals left at the door no face to face encounters no zoom no nothing they've infected the relationship with their sin and their adultery and he says you hid yourself now even though they attempt to take hold of you you have hidden your face from us now some of the hebrews have returned but their homeland is in turmoil the temple needs to be rebuilt the walls need to be erected the city of jerusalem is in ruins they need the lord to visit them from lamentations again how lonely sits the city that once was full of people how like a widow she's become she that was great among the nations she that was a princess among the provinces she has become a vassal well today is the first day of advent we know there's going to be a reopening we know there's going to be a visit from god as matthew writes look the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and they shall call him emmanuel which means god is with us yes as isaiah asked the heavens were torn open and though he was in the form of god he did not regard equality with god as something to be exploited but emptied himself taking the form of a slave being born in human likeness and being found in human form says paul in philippians well what kind of a visit will this advent visit be how will we receive him how do we receive him now we're still a people in a strange land where in this 2020 strange land exiles if you will we long for our heavenly home we too would like a visit yet this is polite this is precisely the promise of christmas emmanuel god with us i can tell you this morning that god is with us throughout shelter in place and stay-at-home orders god's with us throughout the quarantine god's with us throughout social distancing and god is with us while wearing those darn masks carol willison is still mourning the passing of her mother lillian yet at the same time a baby a new grandchild been born in the family lillian continues to live now because there's a baby and babies are such miracles miracles of wonder and awe there's no visitation quite like the arrival of a baby quite like the coming of the christ child think of mary and joseph on that night long ago we may know the details of this divine visitation but it was a wonderful event in which the heavens were rent god himself in the person of a small baby paid humankind the most important visit of all and because of this god comes to visit us then and god comes to visit us now this advent is going to be a time not only to prepare for a visit but to experience the fullness of god's presence every day from from the time of isaiah to now a long time had to pass before isaiah's prayer was finally answered answered in the person of a carpenter's son from nazareth the most unlikely of messiahs as recorded in mark 1. the faithful throng on jordan's bank would have no way of knowing but as god as john performs the baptism just one among hundreds the die was cast suddenly it was that foe through a fluttering dove descending upon the mysterious stranger a dove the self-same animal who had proved to noah that the high water mark had been attained jesus had been shown to be the son of man frederick beekner writes in his book the magnificent defeat jesus is apt to come into the very midst of life at its most real and inescapable not in a blaze of unearthly light not in the midst of a sermon not in the throes of some kind of religious daydream but at supper time or walking along a road he never approached from on high but always in the midst in the midst of people in the midst of real life and the questions that real life asked this year god will come to us no matter god will come to the scoffer who refuse to wear a mask as they proclaim their god-given freedom not to wear a mask god comes to a governor who listens more to a washed-up reality star than the cdc god comes to the family who's already lost a loved one god comes to a head of household who cares more about having our holiday across the state than they do about infecting innocent people god comes to the elderly couple separated by covet 19 who only see each other once a week through a plate glass window god comes to a congregation longing to worship together in person but holds back out of concern for becoming a super spreader knowingly or unknowingly homeless people each day may very well be infecting each other god comes to us not where we should have been if we made the right decisions in life not where we could have been if we had taken every opportunity that god offered not where we wish we were if we didn't have to be in this place where we find ourselves not where we think we are because our minds are out of sync with our hearts not where other people think we are or think we ought to be god greets us this year and every year where we really are amen let's pray gracious and loving god with isaiah we call to open the heavens come and visit and we as christians know that we will be visited in the person of the defenseless child when the east when the christmas season begins amen in struggle and in joy god is faithful to us we bring forth our offerings our tithes our treasures our least coins to demonstrate our faithfulness to god will you join me now in our pr unison prayer of dedication oh faithful one accept these gifts of our hearts and hands may they be multiplied and magnified as the living presence of christ in the world amen now as we draw our hearts and our minds closer to god in prayer i want to lift up the names of persons on our prayer list names that you have given that we might be able to pray together about these folks we pray this morning for holly for ted medici for drew mearns the family of glennis herrera walt bembridge and family sally todaro lynn van levan bonita tracy hampton lee housley rebecca woods barb coons the reverend matthew baker mary bucy cliff lawrence carolyn antonio tanya moore becky fair john kirschner mike totaro barbara presnell chris weider john intervalo and clark woods let's go to god in prayer good and gracious god we give you thanks for the gifts of life for gifts of love and joy during this season for gifts of comfort when we do not or cannot feel joy for gifts of healing and mercy for gifts of patience and serenity for gifts of hope as we prepare our hearts for the christmas season christ's presence changes our world so we pray that we may indeed be ready for his arrival that we may be continually cognizant of his birth that the world would be reshaped and reborn as your kingdom emerges around us and within us may our spirit stir us and cause us to long for the day when earth will in fact be like heaven it is this radical vision of a new heaven and a new earth for which we pray and now living god all our prayers cannot be spoken some are held tightly within let us lift those prayers and those names in silence and now loving god hear us as we pray the prayer that jesus taught his disciples our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thines the kingdom and the power and the glory forever amen and now send us into the world refreshed in hope awake alert attune to your presence ready to join your work of blessing for all people amen um now you

Channel: Fort Myers Congregational United Church of Christ

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Length: 46min 25sec (2785 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 29 2020