OBAN FM
THE 10-MINUTE SERVICE FOR advent SUNDAY 27 november 2011
MURDOCH MACKENZIE
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Good morning Breege and good morning to all our listeners out there in Argyll on this wet and windy morning. Today is Advent Sunday, the fourth Sunday before Christmas, when, as the name suggests we have a venue to keep. We have a journey to make, with Mary and Joseph, with the shepherds and with the wise men – to Bethlehem. But let’s begin with a prayer: An Advent Collect. Let us pray: |
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Loving God, make us watchful and keep us faithful as we await this advent, for the coming of your Son Jesus; that when he appears, he may not find us sleeping, unaware of what’s going on, wondering what Christmas is all about, but alert and awake to the possibilities of new life for ourselves and for others as we share and receive our gifts with them. And this we ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
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Now to the Bible in Matthew’s Gospel chapter 25 where Jesus says: ‘ for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my sisters and brothers, you did it to me.' Thanks be to God for these words of Jesus. Amen.
Have you ever heard the story of the Fourth Wise Man? Like the other three wise men he followed the star not knowing where it would lead. His three gifts were carefully concealed in his cloak. As he was passing through an oasis town in the desert he met someone suffering from leprosy. At that moment the heart of the fourth wise man was strangely moved and putting his hand inside his cloak he took out one of his precious gifts and placed it between the stumps of the leprosy sufferer. He said to himself ‘Two gifts will be enough for the Christ-child’. He travelled on, following the star, to a big city but could not find a bed for the night. So they put him in gaol where he shared a cell with a man who told him the story of his life which was very moving. In the morning, before leaving, the fourth wise man’s heart was again strangely touched and from inside his cloak he took a second gift and gave it to the man in the prison. He thought to himself one gift will be enough for the Christ-child. Again he followed the star until on a cold snowy night he came very near to Bethlehem and huddled against the wall of a house was a poor woman cradling her baby in her arms. So moved was the fourth wise man that he reached into his cloak once more and gave the woman the final gift. Soon the star stopped overhead and he found himself at the stable in Bethlehem just as the other three wise men were offering their gifts of gold, and frankincense and myrrh. The fourth wise man felt very foolish and so hid in the shadows hoping no-one would see him. But Joseph saw him and beckoned to him to come forward and as he knelt in the straw and looked at the child in the manger he thought he saw around the baby’s head three sparkling jewels, and he thought he heard a voice saying: ‘As you did it to one of the least of these my sisters and brothers you did it to me.’ As we buy our gifts this Advent, as we do our shopping, let’s remember what Christmas is all about that Jesus was born in poverty in a stable in Bethlehem, that he was soon to become a refugee fleeing from Herod into Egypt, that in the bleak mid-winter frosty wind made moan, earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone, snow had fallen snow on snow in the bleak mid-winter long ago. Let us remember that Jesus’ life was like that, a hard life with nowhere to lay his head except finally on a cross. Christmas is about more than fireworks. It is about wise men, shepherds and angels the kind of angels for whom the Oban Times is searching to conclude their 150th anniversary celebrations. People who are compassionate, caring and selfless, thinking of others instead of themselves. People to whom Jesus will say: ‘ Well done good and faithful servant. As you did it to one of the least of these my sisters and brothers you did it to me.’ So let us make the Advent journey, including of course World Aids Day on 1st December and Human Rights Day on 10th December, and let us like the fourth wise man offer our Christmas presents to those who need them most. And so let us pray: |
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Loving God, what can I give you poor as I am, if I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb, if I were a wise man I would do my part, yet what I can, I give you, give you my heart. Amen.
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And now we can sing along or just listen to Christina Rossetti’s wonderful hymn ‘In the bleak mid-winter’.
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1. In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, Water like a stone; Snow had fallen, snow on snow, Snow on snow, In the bleak mid-winter Long ago. 2. Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him Nor earth sustain; Heaven and earth shall flee away When He comes to reign: In the bleak mid-winter A stable-place sufficed The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ. 3. Enough for Him, whom cherubim Worship night and day, A breastful of milk And a mangerful of hay; Enough for Him, whom angels Fall down before, The ox and ass and camel Which adore. 4. Angels and archangels May have gathered there, Cherubim and seraphim Thronged the air, But only His mother In her maiden bliss, Worshipped the Beloved With a kiss. 5. What can I give Him, Poor as I am? If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb, If I were a wise man I would do my part, Yet what I can I give Him, Give my heart. |
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Now may the blessing of the holy angels be with us and with all other people living on the margins of life, throughout the coming weeks of Advent, so that on Christmas Day we all may hear the angels sing: ‘Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace goodwill to all people.’ AMEN
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