simple white fading png image
notre dame montreal

Worship, prayers and bible study resources

Third Sunday of Advent

Liturgical Colour - Purple

Opening Verse

advent candle three

 
 
 
 

Advent 3

People of God:
Be glad!
Your God delights in you.
He will give you joy for sadness
and turn the dark to light.
Be strong in hope therefore;
for your God comes to save.
You are God’s children
Lord make us one in the love of Christ
today and for ever. Amen.

Collect Prayer
First Reading:
Second Reading:
Gospel Reading
Post Communion Sentence
Commentary:
Meditation:
Hymns
Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead:
Intercessions from our Sunday worship
Sermon

John the BaptistIntroduction

John the Baptist is a most extraordinary individual. He is clearly not an ambitious man, he had no designs on one of the top jobs back in Jerusalem. Instead he spoke his mind freely without fear or desire for favour. He spoke the words he believed that God wanted the people to hear and the people flocked out to hear him, no doubt attracted by his honesty and integrity. It must have been refreshing for those who travelled out of the city into the desert. Yet he never chose comfortable words, rather he challenged the people in a way that they had not been challenged before. He called people back to their core beliefs and reminded them of the days when they lived in the desert. This Advent we are called also back to fundamentals, to prepare ourselves for the coming of our Lord. 

Opening Verses of Scripture 1 Thessalonians 5:16

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.


Collect Prayer for the Day — Before we read we pray

O Lord Jesus Christ, who at your first coming sent your messenger to prepare your way before you: grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready your way by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, that at your second coming to judge the world we may be found an acceptable people in your sight; for you are alive and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. CW

God for whom we watch and wait, you sent John the Baptist to prepare the way of your Son: give us courage to speak the truth, to hunger for justice, and to suffer for the cause of right, with Jesus Christ our Lord. CW


First Bible Reading  Isaiah Chapter 61:1-4, 8-11

The servant of the Lord said: The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favour, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to provide for those who mourn in Zion – to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, to display his glory. They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. For I the LORD love justice, I hate robbery and wrongdoing; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the LORD has blessed. I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations. NRSW

Second Reading 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

My brothers and sisters, Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil. May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this. NRSW

Gospel Reading John 1:6-8, 19-28

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, ‘I am not the Messiah.’ And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’ Then they said to him, ‘Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’ He said,
‘I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord”’, as the prophet Isaiah said. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, ‘Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?’ ohn answered them, ‘I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.’ This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing. NRSW

Post Communion Sentence

We give you thanks, O Lord, for these heavenly gifts; kindle in us the fire of your Spirit that when your Christ comes again we may shine as lights before his face; who is alive and reigns now and for ever. CW

 

Commentary

The third Sunday in Advent is sometimes known as Gaudete Sunday.  This comes from the Latin word Gaudete, which means rejoice and is the first word of the introit to the mass used on this day.  ‘Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice’.  It’s a phrase which is take from Phil 4 v 4 – 6 but is also reflected in today’s epistle.  Similar to Lent, Advent is something of a penitential season as we wait for the coming of Christ at the feast of Christmas and in His second coming again in glory.  But in the middle of the Advent season, we have Gaudete Sunday when the joy and gladness of the coming Christ is remembered.  The theme of joy and gladness run through our readings today.  Happiness is temporary and external.  Joy is eternal and internal.  There is a big difference and we sometimes mix up the two…

In Isaiah the Jews are returning to Jerusalem after their years in exile.  It’s a time of rejoicing and new beginnings.  Israel are to be a light to the entire world, to every nation, not just inward looking but outward facing so that all the world will come to know the love of God and His care for all His creation.  Some people would say that politics and religion don’t mix, although other might disagree!  But to understand the passage from Isaiah you have to mix politics and religion.  The passage from Isaiah dates from around 538 BC from a time when the Persian King called Cyrus had defeated the Babylonians, who had taken Israel into captivity some 50 years earlier.  In line with Cyrus’ general policy over conquered nations, he issued a decree, called the Edict of Restoration, whereby the Israelites, rather than be enslaved, would return to their own land.  In the reading today, Isaiah interprets this return to the Promised Land, precipitated by a political decision, in religious and theological terms.  This is the doing of the Sovereign Lord, Yahweh.  The Israelites are to be the planting of the Lord, Oaks of Righteousness, rebuilders of generations, and, through the blessing of Israel, all the earth will be blessed.  This is more than they could have ever hoped for in exile.  Grief turns to joy, tears turn to gladness, and the rest, as they say, is history.  God’s people will be liberated and set free and His blessing would be upon them.  They would be returned to their rightful place and restored into the Kingdom, which was their birthright and to which they belonged, however long they may have been in exile.

It’s a similar picture with John the Baptist.  At the heart of John’s message is the concept of returning people to their rightful place, into a Kingdom which is their birthright.  John had begun testifying about ‘The One Who Was To Come’, the Messiah.  This is beginning to cause the authorities some concern.  Concerned enough that the Jewish authorities sent some officials round to check him out.  Who was it that was saying these things?   Not surprisingly then they ask, ‘Who are you?’.  John the Baptist’s answers were very interesting, as he, just like Isaiah before him, begins to mix politics (in this case religions politics) and theology together.  John’s gospel is a rich gospel but perhaps remembered most for the ‘I am’ sayings of Jesus and His miraculous signs often associated with these pronouncements.  But all John the Baptist repeatedly replies when asked about his identity, is ‘I am not’.  I am not the Christ, I am not Elijah, I am not the Prophet.  We might expect John the Baptist to claim some kind of authority by proximity and association with the Messiah.  Surely that would help him communicate his message and give it some power and authority. 

In his own right, John the Baptist’s probably had his own status stemming from the fact that his father, Zechariah, was a devout rural priest.  But by his actions, dress and diet, John the Baptist distances himself from this status and his rural priestly heritage.  He appears far more like a prophet, a person who declares the will of God for the here and now.  Hence the question from the priests and Levites about John being Elijah.  But all he does is say who he is not, and merely says he is here to point the way to the one who is to come. 
In today’s status conscious society where we are often defined by what we do and who are known to be, our position and status, John’s answer is an enigma.  I am not.  What kind of an answer is that?  It’s the kind of answer from a person totally focused on God.

Stephen Verney, who was a Bishop in the 1970’s, recounts a story in his book, ‘Into the New Age’, of when he met a Greek Monastery Prior and they discussed what happens when the Prior used the Jesus prayer, a form of which is simply ‘Jesus, have mercy’.  The Prior answered, ‘First it is me and Him, then it becomes Him and me.  Then it is only Him’.  John is saying, ‘It’s not about me; it’s about the one who is to come’.  The one whose sandal I am not even worthy to untie.  Advent is about looking to the coming of Christ, it’s not about us; it’s about Him.  How easy it is to lose the focus.  Just as Isaiah spoke about restoring a people to their birthright, so John points to the one who will restore all people to their birthright, a relationship with God through the one who is the ‘I am’, the one to which He was pointing.  First me and Him, then it becomes Him and me.  Then it is only Him

Sometimes we become so full of our own importance, or our own priorities and rights that we forget about Him.  During Advent in the preparations for Christmas it’s easy to forget the Him and focus on the ‘me’ and ‘us’.  If that’s the case then perhaps if we start with a simple prayer, such as the Jesus prayer, we may find that our focus changes to God.  We are all in the same role as John the Baptist, to point others to the Christ, the one who brings hope, so that individuals and communities, societies and nations can have their hopelessness turned into hope.  A message that’s particularly relevant in our current times.  A hope that is not just based on earthly things, but on the things above, the lasting treasures of life as we all are invited to take hold of the promise of God, new lift in Christ, our birthright. Sam Cappleman. 

 

Meditation


There is a rabbinic saying, “Every service which a slave performs for his master shall a disciple do for his master, except the loosing of a sandal thong”.  Disciples often performed jobs or services for their teachers, but never the menial or dirty tasks, such as tying or untying sandals.  John uses the example of ‘loosing of a sandal thong’ that the rabbinic saying states is too menial for any disciple to undertake, and then declares he is not worthy to perform even this task for the Messiah, the one who is to follow him.  His humility and his desire to point to only to Christ challenge us in a world that constantly fosters self-aggrandisement and often points only to self.  We too are called to point the way and be part of God’s intervention in the world, not through power or self-promotion but through our own compassionate actions of binding up the broken hearted, comforting those who mourn, providing for those who have nothing and playing our part in revealing freedom to those who are trapped and seemingly without hope.

Hymns

  1. O come O come Emmanuel
  2. Jesus put this song into our hearts
  3. Thou who wast rich beyond all splendour
  4. On Jordan's bank the Baptist's cry

Hymn Sheets

Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead

Prayer is a plant, the seed of which is sown in the heart of every Christian, if it is well cultivated and nourished it will produce fruit, but if it is neglected, it will wither and die.

 


O good Jesus, radiant in your glory and tender in your compassion, cherish me, I pray, as one of your family; embrace me as your lover; rule me as your subject and welcome me as your friend, now and for ever. Amen Hildegard of Bingen, 1098-1179

O God of all hope, we thank you for your promises which find their fulfilment in your Son. We rejoice in His coming in the flesh and look for His coming in glory. By your word, sacraments and Holy Spirit make us ready to receive Christ as our Lord and Saviour, and with thankfulness praise Him, now and for ever.

O God of all hope, we thank you for your promises which find their fulfilment in your Son.  We rejoice in His coming in the flesh and look for His coming in glory.  By your word, sacraments and Holy Spirit make us ready to receive Christ as our Lord and Saviour, and with thankfulness praise Him, now and for ever.   Amen

Lord Jesus, redeemer and judge of all people, who came that we might have life eternal, you have taught us that you will come again in great glory to take account of your servants and reward their faithful service; help us to live as people who wait for their master, prepared, engaged in service, and ready for action; that we might not be ashamed before you at your coming so that we might enter into your eternal joy.  Amen

Grant, O God, that as we rejoice in the hope of the coming of our Saviour, we too may seek to prepare the way of His coming by demonstrating His love as we care for others.  Amen

Christ the Son of Righteousness shine upon you and scatter the darkness from before your path; and the blessing of God Almighty, the  Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be among you and remain with you always.  Amen

Lord Jesus, redeemer and judge of all people, who came that we might have life eternal, you have taught us that you will come again in great glory to take account of your servants and reward their faithful service; help us to live as people who wait for their master, prepared, engaged in service, and ready for action; that we might not be ashamed before you at your coming so that we might enter into your eternal joy. Amen

Additional Material

Commentary

Matthew, Mark and Luke all record that the gospel, the good news, starts with John The Baptist. The readers would know that John was beheaded by Herod for his preaching. He called for a way to be prepared and this was no cheap road. The Christian community knew that the way of the Lord was the ‘via dolorosa’, a way of the cross. Many of the Christians who read this Gospel would also be executed for their message and mission.

John is the first to proclaim God's kingdom. He announces it not in the Temple but in the desert the place where the faith of so many before had been tested and a place where people like Moses had encountered God. The Jewish people had built a Temple but they were called back to the desert across which they had come into the promised land. 

The average person can only go a couple of day in the wilderness without water. In the prophets the desert is used as a metaphor for estrangement from God, it is frightening, lonely and dangerous, yet it is to here that John calls the people for renewal. Perhaps that is where God still wants to meet us, in the place where we are stripped of distractions and ready and anxious to listen. In the desert all our facades are removed.

John calls other people out into the desert and asks them to be baptised as a sign of a change of attitude. But the sign of baptism is not an independent formal and external ritual, it must be accompanied by them showing tangible proof of their change 'bear fruit worthy of repentance' Matt 3:8. 

The actions of our lives are important, so important that John can speak of acceptance or rejection based on our deeds. The axe is laid at the root of the tree that does not bear fruit. There is wheat or chaff, no middle path 3:12. John calls for repentance, for us to change what is crooked, to seek justice and to prepare for an encounter with the Lord. 

Advent is the time to prepare for the time of the Lord's nativity, it is time to prepare for our encounter with the Lord Jesus. Hence it is a time for all of us to determine what needs straightening, what needs levelling. John is saying that it is necessary to change the root of human behaviour, it is a substantial change and not something superficial. The whole panorama would be changed by Christ, the valleys would be lifted up and the mountains laid low. Charles Royden

Commentary Salvation for all

In today’s gospel reading we have John the Baptist proclaiming that the time has come to ‘Make straight the way for the Lord!’ echoing the words of Isaiah. Jesus Himself seems to have been profoundly influenced by the words from Isaiah in His own ministry and life. Paul too in his epistle encourages the Thessalonians to
‘Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances’.

The message from today’s readings is clear: the salvation we await with joy will liberate both the individual and the community, and its special focus appears to be the poor and lowly, not necessarily the rich and powerful. Jesus comes so that as individuals and as community we may be free from the poverty which afflicts the spiritual lives of all of us and for some in our world, their temporal lives too, that we might be transformed and preserved whole and entire, spirit, soul, and body. The gospel writer John is giving us an insight into what will follow in his gospel in this passage telling the story of John the Baptist.

John the Baptist’s own status came from the fact that his father, Zechariah, was a devout rural priest. But John the Baptist is not behaving like a priest. Instead, he looks very much like a member of the numerous groups of alienated priests that emerged as early as the sixth century BC. These groups found themselves increasingly separated from the aristocratic priesthood in Jerusalem. By his dress and diet, John the Baptist distances himself from this luxury and his rural priestly heritage, and appears far more like a prophet, a person who declares the will of God for the here and now. Hence the question from the priests and Levites about John being Elijah. They also have a second question. If John is not a priest, Elijah or a prophet, why is he baptising people? John explains his baptism is a symbolic action, not a priestly function. An act and baptism symbolising repentance for the forgiveness of sins, a purification and cleansing, a return to God. Hence, when John the Baptist is asked if he is Elijah he replies, ‘I am not’. But he points to one who will follow, whose sandals he is not worthy to untie.

Powerful words, especially when we realise that throughout the fourth gospel there are many occasions when Jesus declares ‘I am’. The gospel begins with John the Baptist attesting ‘I am not’ and ends with Peter using those same words when questioned about whether or not he was one of Jesus’ disciples as Christ is arrested and taken to His death. In between we have a Jesus, who comes to us incarnate at Christmas, and who will come again in glory as we celebrate at Advent, who is the true ‘I am’. Jesus is, quite simply, the centre of all that has been, all that is, and all that is to come. The ‘I am’, the centre of transformation and new life.

Without Christ at the centre of our lives, helping us focus on God, life can seem a desolate wilderness, a dark and hopeless place where we are trapped by our own humanity, our own ‘I am not’-ness. As we open ourselves to Jesus, the true ‘I am’, He releases us into new life and restores those places in our lives that have been marred, or even devastated by the effects of the darkness of the world. As Advent passes into Christmas we look to the light of Christ, who will return in a great blaze of glory to complete that work of restoration, but who first came as a small pinprick of light in a stable in Bethlehem.

For some, all they ever see is the pinprick of light at Christmas and for the rest of the year the Christian faith means little to them. For others, the light in the stable at Christmas is the dawning of the realisation of Christ as the great ‘I am’ in their lives, lives which continue to be changed, transformed and restored by His incarnation. We too, as was John the Baptist, are called to point to that light, and reflect its transformation and glory in our lives. Sam Cappleman

Meditation

I said I love you and that's forever,
And this I promise from the heart.
I could not love you any better,
I love you just the way you are.
Billy Joel


Billy Joel might not having been trying to make a great theological point when he wrote these lines, but they do make an extremely good point. The song encourages us not to try to be something which we are not. It is true that if we learn to get along with ourselves then we will be much better placed to be able to get along with others.
The readings from Isaiah and from Paul to the Thessalonians encourage us to rejoice. This is appropriate at a time of year when we sing about joyfulness and truthfully most people desperately seek the fulfilment which results in the ability to live a joyful life.
So how do we arrive at a position whereby we can be joyful? The secret is surely to learn to be content within ourselves. I am not a great fan of so many of the television programmes these days which seek to reward the winner with great fame and recognition. Not because there is anything wrong with wanting to sing, just that so many people are led to believe that money, fame, success are avenues to happiness. When we look at the drug filled, lonely lives of pop stars it is transparently obvious that stardom, being regarded as an idol is no road to happiness.
Happy people are able to enjoy what they are, they are not always trying to be something or somebody else. One television programme has a catch phrase ‘tonight I am going to be.’ At which the performer goes off to make themselves look and sound like their pop look alike. At one level it is all a bit of fun, but at a more sinister level it is quite dreadful. Many people spend their lives trying to be somebody else, chasing an allusive dream, on the misapprehension that they would be happy if only they could…..
To be happy we must not want to be somebody else, not long for the moment when we can attain fame or fortune. We are best able to rejoice when we are content with being ourselves. We are to be encouraged to like ourselves more, not desire to be like another person but to have self-esteem.
Perhaps that is what John the Baptist was like. He was a rugged and wild character, poor and living a frugal life. He was completely free of pretence and more than content to point away from himself to another. He must have been very secure within himself and confident to be able to do this. John is modest, free from pretension and desires no great status or privilege.
Society is full of people who are having difficulty and we proclaim that they need to ‘find themselves.’ It is no wonder that so many relationships are on the rocks, how can we get on with others when we have so much trouble getting along with ourselves? With John there was no ambiguity, no longing to be different, just a willingness to serve God where he was.
Perhaps the most important journey which any of us make is that one inside ourselves. The ability to look deep within and ask questions knowing that there is no point lying to ourselves, that we have to see ourselves as we really are and learn to be pleased about it. It is not that we see our faults and think them to be good things, that we need no correction. Rather it is learning to accept ourselves, without pretension, no need to be artificial or put on a show. We all need to be less ashamed and more free to take a pride in our individuality, God would not have made us all so different if he wanted us to conform.
The good news is that this is how God sees us. God knows us better than we know ourselves and yet still he loves and accepts us. He doesn’t need us to look like Kylie or sing like Robin Williams, we have his approval just as we are.

 
I said I love you and that's forever,
And this I promise from the heart.
I could not love you any better,
I love you just the way you are.
 Billy Joel
 

There is a rabbinic saying, "Every service which a slave performs for his master shall a disciple do for his master, except the loosing of a sandal thong". Disciples often performed jobs or services for their teachers, but never the menial or dirty tasks, such as tying or untying sandals. John uses the service that the rabbinic saying states is too menial for any disciple to undertake and declares he is not worthy to perform even this task for the Messiah, the one who is to follow him. His humility and his desire to point to only to Christ challenge us in a world that constantly fosters self aggrandisement and often points only to self.

Hymns

  1. We have come into his house

  2. Make Way, Make Way

  3. Song from Big Blue Planet: Come Lord Jesus Come

  4. When Jesus came to Jordan

  5. Christingle song

  6. Love came down at Christmas  

Hark the glad sound! the saviour comes.     Bristol                            
The advent of our King.       Franconia  
T ell out my soul.        Woodlands                  
Thou who wast rich beyond all splendour.  Fragrance    
Christ is surely coming.    Dam Busters’ March      


1          Hark the glad sound! the Saviour comes,
The Saviour promised long;
Let every heart prepare a throne,
And every voice a song.

2          He comes the prisoners to release,
In Satan's bondage held;
The gates of brass before him burst,
The iron fetters yield.

3          He comes to clear the darkened mind,
To drive the night away,
And on the eyeballs of the blind
To pour celestial day.

4          He comes the broken heart to bind,
The bleeding soul to cure,
And with the treasures of his grace
To enrich the humble poor.

5          Our glad hosannas, prince of peace,
Thy welcome shall proclaim,
And heaven's eternal arches ring
With thy belovèd name.


 

1          The advent of our King
Our prayers must now employ,
And we must hymns of welcome sing
In strains of holy joy.

2          The everlasting Son
Incarnate deigns to be;
Himself a servant's form puts on,
To set his servants free.

3          Daughter of Sion, rise
To meet thy lowly King;
Nor let thy faithless heart despise
The peace he comes to bring.

4          As Judge, on clouds of light,
He soon will come again,
And his true members all unite
With him in heaven to reign.

5          All glory to the Son
Who comes to set us free,
With Father, Spirit, ever One,
Through all eternity.


 

1          Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord!
Unnumbered blessings, give my spirit voice;
tender to me the promise of his word;
in God my Saviour shall my heart rejoice.

2          Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his Name!
Make known his might, the deeds his arm has done;
his mercy sure, from age to age the same;
his holy Name, the Lord, the Mighty One.

3          Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his might!
Powers and dominions lay their glory by.
Proud hearts and stubborn wills are put to flight,
the hungry fed, the humble lifted high.

4          Tell out, my soul, the glories of his word!
Firm is his promise, and his mercy sure.
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord
to children's children and for evermore!


 

1          Thou who wast rich beyond all splendour,
all for love's sake becamest poor;
thrones for a manger didst surrender,
sapphire-paved courts for stable floor.
Thou who wast rich beyond all splendour,
all for love's sake becamest poor.

2          Thou who art God beyond all praising,
all for love's sake becamest man;
stooping so low, but sinners raising
heavenwards by thine eternal plan.
Thou who art God beyond all praising,
all for love's sake becamest man.

3          Thou who art love beyond all telling,
Saviour and King, we worship thee.
Emmanuel, within us dwelling,
make us what thou wouldst have us be.
Thou who art love, beyond all telling,
Saviour and King, we worship thee.


 

1          Christ is surely coming bringing his reward,
Alpha and Omega, First and Last and Lord:
Root and stem of David, brilliant Morning Star:
meet your Judge and Saviour, nations near and far;
meet your Judge and Saviour, nations near and far!

2          See the holy city! There they enter in,
All by Christ made holy, washed from every sin:
thirsty ones, desiring all he loves to give,
come for living water, freely drink, and live;
come for living water, freely drink, and live!

3          Grace be with God's people! Praise his holy name!
Father, Son, and Spirit, evermore the same.
Hear the certain promise from the eternal home:
'Surely I come quickly!'-Come, Lord Jesus, come;
'Surely I come quickly!'-Come, Lord Jesus, come!