Christ United Church
12 Perth St., Lyn, ON, K0E 1M0
(613)498-0281 (Phone) (613)498-2589 (Fax)
lynunitedchurch@cogeco.net www.lynunitedchurch.com Follow on Twitter: @Ch1United
Worship Leader: Paul Whiteley, LLWL Music Director: Tim Hallman, B.Mus.,B.Ed.
THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT – JOY
DECEMBER 15, 2024
“Drinking from the Well”
Welcome / Announcements / Celebrations
Land Acknowledgement
Lighting Of Christ Candle:
One: Joy, in the midst of sadness- is it possible? (light first purple candle)
All: We come weary but full of hope that this is true,
full of love for one another and God.
Joy even when things are hard, this joy we seek
today. (light second purple candle)
One: Let us pray for Emmanuel, for joy, for wisdom to
Find those glimmers of joy like stars in the night
sky. (light pink candle)
Advent Hymn: VU 7 “Hope Is a Star” (vs. 1–3)
Call To Worship:
One: Eternal God, Timeless One, come into this time.
All: Loving Christ, you who are coming,
enter in with your grace.
One: Holy Spirit, Flame of Life, baptize us in your mystery.
All: Burn in us with love and justice. Prepare your way in us. Amen.
Steve Garnaas-Holmes, from unfoldinglight.net, 2009
Opening Hymn: VU 23 “Joy Shall Come”
Opening Prayer:
One: Surely God is our salvation.
All: We will trust and not be afraid.
One: With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
All: With joy we come to the well.
Thirsting for your grace, we lower our prayers
into the deep, clear waters of your Word.
One: Sing for joy, for God is in your midst.
All: We come with joy to the well.
Steve Garnaas-Holmes, from unfoldinglight.net, 2009
Passing of the Peace
Anthem
Scriptures:
Isaiah 12:2–6 “Proclaim God’s deeds to the nations.”
Philippians 4:4–7 “Rejoice in God always! Again, I say, rejoice!”
Hymn: VU 820 “Make a Joyful Noise”
Reflection: “Water from the Well”
“With joy, you will draw water from the wells of salvation” – Isaiah 12:3
“Don’t be anxious about anything; rather, bring all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, while giving thanks. Then the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hears and minds safe in Jesus Christ.” – Philippians 4:6-7
Advent is the beginning of the church year. It represents a season of preparation, of waiting for Christmas and the year beyond. Preparing for this service, this year, I spent some time reflecting back on the time of the recent pandemic, of Covid closures and restrictions. It has become hard for me to remember aspects of that time – the alternate routines we made when we couldn’t follow our usual weekly ritual of work, and shopping, and church seem almost stripped away, at least in the way I remember them. I can call up the experience of worshipping apart, and I’m thankful for the small miracles of technology and the contributions of those who volunteered that made that possible. And I remember the feeling of loss from not being able to worship together, and the restricted feeling of services with masks and social distance and late cancellations.
But from that pandemic time I also remember deeper feelings. Time spent mourning loss, but also time for reflection and discernment and re-evaluation of priorities. Time spent hoping and planning new things, new ways of being. And time spent waiting to return.
Our ancestors in faith in medieval times lived more than their fair share of pandemic, of plague and famine and loss. And they set aside two times of the year for waiting and purification – there was Lenten time to prepare for Easter, and Advent time to prepare for the coming of Christ at Christmas. And just as church music purists won’t allow “hallelujah” to be sung during lent, there is a similar attitude that won’t allow us to sing Christmas carols during Advent. These times of purification are to be taken seriously.
But on this third Sunday of Advent we celebrate Joy – “Gaudete Sunday”, from the first word of the chant for the day, in Latin, offering joyful praise to God. And on this day, the Church year allowed a bit of a break from the disciplines of preparation, a bit like a “cheat day” on a diet regime. Today we celebrate joy: the joy of the present moment, this day, as well as the joy we anticipate from Christmas and the year to come.
How can we understand Joy? Readings from scripture give us different images, and especially the one from Isaiah offering “water from the wells of salvation”. As some of you may remember, my father spent his career of more than 40 years as a professional hydrologist and researcher into water resources. His discipline is mostly concerned with surface water: rivers, lakes, and the water that flows into them from rain and melting snow. But under some circumstances – especially in dry places – ground water and wells are also important.
Those of us who live on rural properties are well aware of the importance of ground water, of the natural filtration that happens to water passing through stone, and of our dependence on pumps to draw ground water to the surface. Some braver souls now even use ground water as a source of heat and cooling, moderating their living or working spaces using modern geothermal systems.
Our ancient ancestors were also aware of ground water, including springs where natural underground pressures bring water to the surface in ways that can seem miraculous. But even more so, their lives revolved around still water wells, like cisterns. These are quite different form our deep wells with pumps: they had to be dug using hand tools, with laborious effort. And even to get water from them no pumps were available – neither electrical nor hand-powered – so people made a patient exercise of lowering and filling containers for water for daily living. Drawing water from wells, in the dry climate that is home to most of our scriptures, is a slow but necessary work. The patience shown by those at the well in scripture – especially by women – is for the families depending on them an act of love.
And so, what is the joy we can draw from these saving wells? I think again of the end of pandemic restrictions, when we were able to plan, connect, and drink deep of connection with our families, our communities, and our church once again. And I think of places like Syria, where sudden changes of fortune for the powerful have led to a regime that clung to power through violence for the last decade suddenly letting go. In spite of the uncertainty, I’m sure one of the widespread feelings in Syria this month is a sense of joy, a sense of fresh cool water, as well as a sense of hope.
So in our own lives, today, this month, and into the new church year, I pray that we may do the patient work, live through the preparation and discernment, and experience the joy that comes from the deep wells of God’s life-giving waters. And to God be the praise, and the thanks; Amen.
Paul Whiteley, December 15, 2024
Invitation For Offering
Offering Hymn: VU 542 “We Give You but Your Own”
Offering Prayer
Prepare Our Hearts for Prayers: VU 400 “Lord, Listen to your Children Praying”
Prayers Of People / Lord’s Prayer:
We bless you, God, for you have visited and redeemed your people.
You have raised up a savior for us, and saved us from all that diminishes life,
so that we may serve you in holiness without fear.
And you, children, will be called the prophets of the Most High;
for you will go before our God to prepare the ways of the Promised One,
to give knowledge of salvation to God’s people by the forgiveness of their sins.
Steve Garnaas-Holmes, from unfoldinglight.net, 2009
Closing Hymn: VU 249 “Rejoice in the Lord Always”
Benediction:
By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. Amen.
Steve Garnaas-Holmes, from unfoldinglight.net, 2009
Choral Blessing: “Go Now in Peace”
"A Village Church With A Heart For The World"
Christ United Church
12 Perth St., Lyn, ON, K0E 1M0
(613)498-0281 (Phone) (613)498-2589 (Fax)
lynunitedchurch@cogeco.net www.lynunitedchurch.com Follow on Twitter: @Ch1United