In Harmony

Good Morning and Welcome to Worship! Worship is often the first place that new people come into contact with this growing community of faith. And so, if you are joining us for the first time, I say to you what is said every Sunday: You are welcome here. Here is a place where all are welcome. For such is the love of God for God’s Very Good Creation. Advent Week 5: Key of David — Lois Dimos As our nights grow longer and our days grow short, we look on these earthly signs — light and green branches — and remember God’s promise to our world: Christ, our Light and our Hope, has come.

Candle Reader — Sandy Cardot Listen to the words of Isaiah, the prophet: “I will commit your authority to his hand, and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and no one shall shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open.” – Isaiah 22:21b-23

O come, thou Key of David, come, and open wide our heavenly home; make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path to misery. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

Candle Lighter — Steve Martinez

Candle Prayer — Rev. Johan Dodge Let us pray: Christ, the One who was, and is, and is to come, welcomes you to this place. As one body, with one voice, we honor and glorify the giver of wisdom, counsel, knowledge, and joy. So be it. Amen.

— Rev. Johan Dodge

We come to you this day, O God, with a deepening appreciation of your birth among us. We thank you for the gift of your love,

We pray for the Christ that binds us together throughout the world, and for all of the ways we are following the way of Jesus to build up the body of Christ, may our varied lives serve to your glory.

We pray for all in need; for the sick, the destitute, and the dying; for those fleeing persecution; for the invisible ones; for the elderly and children; for parents and grandparents; for those who are living alone and those who live lonely in the midst of family.

We remember with mercy those who sleep without shelter, cold and vulnerable, lacking enough food; those who are overworked and those who have no work. Stir up in us the capacity to see ourselves in their struggles and to act so that they may have life abundant.

We pray for this community, for our neighbors and friends, and for those with whom we study and work. Guide and strengthen all people in our common life to know the gifts of your grace and love.

For what else do we pray for this day? [A time of silence is offered.]

May all that we have lifted up and all that you will yet place upon our hearts be done as we are able and empowered by your Holy Spirit this day and in the days to come. Amen.

By your Holy Spirit open our ears and our hearts to hear the mysteries of your ancient love; in the name of Jesus who showed us your Way. Amen.

⁴ For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. ⁵ May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, ⁶ so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁷ Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. ⁸ For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the ancestors ⁹ and that the gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will confess you among the gentiles and sing praises to your name”; ¹⁰ and again he says, “Rejoice, O gentiles, with his people”; ¹¹ and again, “Praise the Lord, all you gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him”; ¹² and again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the gentiles; in him the gentiles shall hope.” ¹³ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

¹ In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ² “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” ³ This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’ ” ⁴ Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan were going out to him, ⁶ and they were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins. ⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for hisbaptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Therefore, bear fruit worthy of repentance, ⁹ and do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. ¹⁰ Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. ¹¹ “I baptize you withwater for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you withthe Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

To find harmony is to adjust. Whether that is by changing pitch or changing notes when singing or holding space for someone else’s ideas and world view. Where do you see harmony in your relationships, in the community, the city, the nation, and the world? Where is there dissonance? Even within yourself, where has harmony been forged between previously warring factions?

We offer both white and red grape juice. If you are afraid of spilling red grape juice, a limited number of cups with white grape juice are provided.

Here at Community Church, we celebrate “Open Communion.” Anyone who wishes to commune may come to God’s Table. You do not have to be sinless; God forgives you. You do not have to be perfect; God encourages you to grow. You need not belong to any church; God invites all people to this meal. It is enough to love and follow God with all your heart. This is what God asks us to do. Come to God’s Table in faith this day. Go from this place to live, and never be the same again. Let us commune as siblings in Christ.

God be with you. And also with you.

Lift up your hearts. We lift them up to our God.

Let us give thanks to the Source of Love.

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Great God of the Coming Dawn, in each new day you surprise the earth with splendor. Your Spirit moves across the face of the waters and brings forth life. At the dawn of all things in a garden you worked the earth, elbow deep in mud you fashioned us, gifted us, and gave us work to do.

Made from the earth, made by your hand, we forgot who we were. We forgot who you were and we tried to remake ourselves. We rejected your love and fell into selfishness. Yet even in our darkness, you continued to speak your vision of light and life. When we were slaves in a foreign land, you brought us out of our oppression, led us through the waters, and washed us up on the shores of a new life as a chosen people. And you spoke of a day to come when you would come once more to save. And so, we who live on the edge of this land look across the waters to the horizon. We come to live on the edge of your new and promised day, and we raise our voices with all the saints as we proclaim …

Blessed are you, and blessed in your Son Jesus the Christ, whose coming was announced by wilderness prophets. In Jesus you not only took our name but our flesh. He announced the new day and the acceptable year when blind folks would see, and poor folks would rejoice — when captives would be set free, and the oppressed would once more walk upright in liberty. In stories, he spoke of waiting bridesmaids and prodigal sons. With tears and compassion, he brought a dead man to life and gave a woman at a well the living water she sought. With anger he overturned tables and challenged the powerful. On the cross he revealed the power of weakness, and in the emptiness of the tomb he gave us a glimpse of your tomorrow that does not end in death.

On the night when he was betrayed, he sat at a table with his friends. He took bread, blessed it, broke it, gave it to his followers and said: “Do this in remembrance of me.”

In the same way he took the cup, blessed it, served it to his followers, and said, “Drink from this every one of you. This is my blood poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sin. Do this to remember me.” And so we remember. And so we offer our praise and thanks, and our very lives as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ’s offering for us, as we proclaim the mystery of faith:

So we call on you to send your Holy Spirit on us once more, and on these gifts of bread and fruit of the vine. Let them be for us once more a reminder that we are Christ’s body resurrected and alive in the world today. Make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world, until Christ comes again and we feast at his table.

With all the saints who share your name and our flesh, we raise this song, until we hear in fullness the harmony of heaven:

God of the Dawn, Christ of the new Day Coming, Spirit who is Ever Present, we recommit ourselves to your way this day. Amen.

Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.

The bread which we have eaten is a sharing in the bread of Christ. The cup over which we give thanks is the sharing in the cup of Christ.

Eternal God, we give you thanks for this holy mystery in which you have given yourself to us. Grant that we may go into the world in the strength of your Spirit, to give ourselves for others, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

When we give our tithes and offerings, we reveal to ourselves and the world that we have learned the way of Jesus and are willing to go beyond our selves in selfless giving for the wellbdeing of the body around us. Amen.

We give you thanks, Holy One, for all good things: for this universe and for earth itself, for creatures and plants, for water and food, for light and darkness; for Jesus, our brother, who enlarged our vision, setting himself before us as the bread and wine of abundant life; and for the Holy Spirit, who comes to us in baptism and moves in our midst with the power to lead us to you. Turn our offerings to your good will, and turn us always to you in gratitude. Amen.

May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace so that as you act in the way of Jesus you may abound in hope and share God’s divine hope for all of creation through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.