Liturgy

We gather together on the second
Sunday of Advent, and we light
the candle of peace.

We each bring a wound, a weight,
or a worry into this Advent season.
What might yours be?

May we have the audacity and courage
to name to God and those we trust
whatever within is longing for
acknowledgment and comfort.

God, we realize that often the most
painful part of our deeply held pain is
in the effort we make to hide our pain.

May we acknowledge both
our trepidation and our hope.
May we dare to trust that comfort
is promised to us in God.

We pray in the name
of God, our comforting mother,
of Christ, our comforting sibling,
and the Holy Spirit, our comforting breath of life.
Amen.
(Lauryn Williams)

Scripture Reading

We invite you to hear from the book of Isaiah 40:1-5.

1 Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her
that she has served her term that her penalty is paid,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

3 A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way
of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain
and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become
level, and the rough places a plain.

5 Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together, for the
mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

The Good News of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!

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

Sermon and Reflection

Sermon Podcast 12.06.20 Comfort Ye

What kind of comfort do we long for?

What would it take to live as though our lives are God’s home, and to consider God as the most hospitable, comforting host?

Benediction

We are invited into a mindful
pause here at our closing.

May we hold in our awareness for a
moment whatever ails us in this season.
(Reader pause for a moment)

May we hold our burdens together with
an honest invitation of God’s comfort
through whatever form she would gift it.
(Reader pause for a moment)

As we head into our week, may we go
into the complexity of an uncomfortable
world with a comforting God.

Let curiosity, openness, acceptance,
and love go before us.

Live with God’s promised comfort
in the name of the Father,
of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit,
amen.

Go in peace, and live the church.
Find comfort in our home with God.
(Lauryn Williams)

[Photo by mgulb]