We will serve Holy Communion today
Story: Daniel 3:1, 8-30 (p. 807-8, Pew Bible)
Theme: A Word of Warning
Title: Advent Contrasts
Reflection: Daniel – Hope
“While the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego is a departure from the usual Advent message of light breaking into darkness and the typical themes of the Sundays of Advent – hope, peace, joy, and love – we will likely know by now that the Advent season in the church often surprises us for what it is not, nor can ever be. Should Advent solely be about the joy of impending Christmas celebrations and a concentration on the happy themes of how blessed we are? The very fact that these traditional Advent themes feel so appropriate and needed in our life and world – past or present – is because they contrast with the direct opposite. Light is not so big a deal if we have no experience of darkness; hope is life-giving and transforming because it replaces despair; peace is what we long for when the experience of warfare, terror or personal struggle drains life of what it is meant to contain; joy feels so good because we know how much of a struggle it is when it is not present or when other things in life make it elusive; and the experience of love feels so good and right because when it is absent it feels like a huge hole exists in our very being. Advent is a season of promise because of the contrast unveiled between one existence and another, between one outlook and another.” (Spill the Beans, Volume 25)
Let us enter this Advent season together.
Music We Will Sing:
*HYMN (verse 1, Insert) “Advent Song” (LIGHT THE ADVENT CANDLE)
*HYMN #88 (vs. 1-4) “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (VENI EMMANUEL)
*HYMN #516 “For the Bread Which You Have Broken” (KINGDOM)
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