LITURGY

1st Sunday of Advent Year C

WORD OF GOD
And then they will see the Son of Man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
(Luke 21:27)

WORD FOR TODAY
The beginning of the Church’s year is a reminder that as time passes by we are all on the way to salvation. Life does not stand still and one day we will meet Christ face to face. For the Christian this is a cause not for fear but for elation. We hold our heads high as we say, Come Lord Jesus!

WORDS FOR WORSHIP
Lord Jesus, you came as a baby in Bethlehem:
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Christ Jesus, you come to us daily in your word and your sacraments:
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Lord Jesus, you will come again to judge the living and the dead:
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins and lead us to everlasting life.
Amen.

FAITH IN FOCUS: SEVERE FLOOD WARNING
It only takes one bout of severe weather, like a few days of torrential rain, to make us realise that despite our air of sophistication we are really still at the mercy of the elements. We amble along quite happily until floods are upon us and then we start talking about the major issues of global warming, lack of investment in flood defences and the damage to the ozone layer caused by fuel emissions.
Of course, once the wind dies down and the water level recedes, we return to our old ways. We forget the lessons that seemed so obvious when the storms were beating down on us. We put away the buckets that caught the drips and we consign the sandbags to the back of the garden. It’s time to relax again.
Advent is our call to stay awake, day in and day out and be ready for the coming of the Son of Man. Jesus tells us that no one knows the day or the hour when the Son of Man will demand a reckoning from us of how we have remained true to our principles. He warns us to be on the watch. Make sure that you don’t get so bogged down with the trivia of life, he says, that you neglect the really important things.
It’s quite likely that most of us will die before the second coming of the Son of Man. The temptation for us is to live for the day and give no thought to our future judgement. While there appears to be no religious flood warning we carry on regardless. When things go bad for us, when death takes our loved ones, when illness strikes us or troubles mount on all sides, we turn to God and remember that the Lord has promised to set us free from all that might threaten us. But it usually takes the prospect of disaster or discomfort to focus our minds on what is really important.

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