Liturgy

Today is the third Sunday of Advent, and
we light the third candle of Advent for Joy.

Welcome to this shared space of awareness
and anticipation of how divine joy has come and is coming.

As you feel safe and comfortable,
you are invited to pause for a moment.

Allow your body to soften.
Allow your mind to find stillness.
Observe what happens naturally in your body with no effort at all.

Notice your body supporting you, your belly
slowly rising and falling with your breath.
Notice the sensations of touch, of sound,
of sight, of taste, and of smell.

Notice what is here now when the problem-solving mind rests,
when our expectations become more open, and
when our attachment to outcomes become less tight.

From this space of curiosity, awareness, and clarity,
may we turn our attention to how the Divine may be
gracefully disrupting our individual and collective
selves during this Advent, this season of expectation
of the Divine’s presence.

We pray in the name
of God, our Divine Parent,
Christ, our Divine Image,
and the Holy Spirit, our Divine Guide.

(Sean Williams)

Scripture Reading

We invite you to hear from the reading of Matthew 11: 2-6.

2 When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing,
he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you
the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”

4 Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see:
5 the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed,
the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news
brought to them. 6 And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God!
The Good News of Christ. Praise be to you, O Christ!

The grass withers and the flower fades,
but the Word of the Lord endures forever. Amen.

Sermon and Reflection

Sermon Podcast 12.15.19 – Advent: Expectations

How can we practice curiosity around our unfulfilled expectations of God and our circumstances?

Where and who are the margins in our life that we have overlooked?

What expectations do we need to let go of?

Benediction

May we leave this space together
more aware of expectations we hold.
May our individual and communal
questions broaden in scope.

May our attention to the margin of our
individual and collective lives sharpen.
May our receptivity to that which is
holy offensive and distasteful soften.

May we practice embodying more
curiosity, awareness, and clarity
for the holy, disruptive, and
expectation-defying coming
of the Divine in our midst.

Go forth in the name
of our Holy God,
Three in One,
Amen.

(Sean Williams)

Go in peace and live the church.
See you throughout the week.

[Photo by Joe Nigel Coleman @ Flickr]