My favorite moment was when one of our elder parishioners sang “Silent Night” with the children in our caroling group. He knew the words.

 

 

 

 

2 Samuel 7.1-11, 16

1 Now when the king was settled in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 the king said to the prophet Nathan, “See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent.” 3 Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that you have in mind; for the Lord is with you.” 4 But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: 5 Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? 6 I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. 7 Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” 8 Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; 9 and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. 16 Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.

 

Luke 1.26-38

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

 

Spoken words for “What made this Advent special?” by Rev KellyAnn Donahue

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O God, our strength and our redeemer. Here we are on the fourth Sunday of Advent. Our first reading from the second book of Samuel relays a conversation God was having with the prophet Nathan. He was prophet to King David. The king was thinking of building a house for the ark of God. Things were settled and peaceful for David and the Israelites at this time. He wonders about God’s presence being in the ark, which was in a tent, while David was now in a house of cedar wood. David discussed this with his prophet Nathan, who at first said, yes, go ahead with your plans. Then God spoke to Nathan that night. God said he had been with David when he was a shepherd, and took him from shepherd to king. He will make a house of David and his descendants. In verse 16 God said, “Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.” This established kingdom, this throne, is more important than a physical house for God.

 

It is this same throne that the angel Gabriel spoke of when he appeared to Mary, as told by Luke in our second reading. The promise God made to David was fulfilled through Mary. We hear Gabriel in verses 31 through 33, “And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said yes to this astounding invitation. She said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

 

And Mary settled in to wait for the baby. She visited her cousin Elizabeth, who was six months pregnant with John the Baptist, when the angel visited Mary. Elizabeth’s pregnancy came about with God’s help; she was considered too old to have children. The pregnancies of Mary and Elizabeth were as miraculous as the one of Sarah, the wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac. After visiting Elizabeth, Mary and her husband-to-be, Joseph, journey to Bethlehem, as they wait for Jesus to be born. Mary started alone on that journey to be the mother of Jesus. The angel came and left. Who stayed? Joseph, the man who became her husband, who somehow believed in what the angel said about Mary’s baby.

 

For Mary the waiting was just getting started. For us, it is nearly over as we celebrate Christmas later today. This year, the last Sunday of Advent and Christmas Eve are on the same day. We know the birth story of Mary’s baby, Jesus, and how it ends. Yet the church tells a story of waiting for the four weeks before Christmas. We wait in joyful hope for Jesus to return. We wait for peace. And on this last Sunday of Advent, with a candle for love, we wait a little bit more. In a few hours we will celebrate the birth of Jesus with lessons of scripture, carols we know and love, and with candles that transform our church and light our faces.

 

And we wait for other celebrations, with presents in stockings and under a tree. We wait for gatherings and meals with family and friends. This year the weather canceled some of our celebrations, and may cancel a few more tomorrow. We wait to add something to our treasure chest of Christmas stories and memories. We wait for the memories of Christmas past, some happy, some sad. And we wait for a renewed spirit, a spirit that keeps us company during any dark days that may come.

 

What made this Advent season special? I am asking about things that happened to you, or that you observed in this waiting season. My favorite moment was when one of our elder parishioners sang “Silent Night” with the children in our caroling group. He knew the words. He had such a clear voice. That hymn brought to his door gave him such joy. He thanked me for bringing the carolers by in the daytime, when I visited him this week.

 

This year our church participated in an extra Advent service on the evening of December 3, at the Christ Community Alliance church in Orange. We were there with the Topsham and Waits River churches. There was a fiddle used for the carols, and I loved it. Not many people where there, but the ones who attended were spirit-filled and enthusiastic.

 

I liked the Nativity Set Show and Tell we had on the Second Sunday of Advent. It is a joy to hear people speak about things are special to them. We heard from five people, who told us about their Nativity Sets. That is why we have four Nativity Sets up in our church this year. I think we can keep up them until January 7^th, which is when we will celebrate Epiphany, the day the Wise Men visited Jesus.

 

So what made this Advent special for you? The candles have the same names of hope, peace, joy and love. The possible Scripture readings run in a three-year cycle. The words from last year did not include this part about Mary and Gabriel. The Pageant story does not change. Yet we may see something different, something that moves us, in spite of knowing the words by heart.

 

What goes in your diary? What will Facebook pull up for you in 3 years about this Advent of 2017? By thinking of what made this Advent special, we are taking a moment to reflect on what has happened, what we have seen, and more importantly, what we have felt. Days go by and the details of each one may be recalled or lost. What is important is to slow down enough to think and feel. If we take this kind of time every week or even every day, we may find that our overall sense of time is happier and more peaceful. Even for just a moment. The more we do this active thinking and feeling, the more the positive moments will pile up, I think. I need to do this, as deadlines for bulletins and sermons approach. If I pause to think and feel, and not just to fret about the sermon not being ready, I am calmer and the words I need do come to me. That feeling of calm, that feeling of peace, is also joyful, and hopeful. When I feel peaceful, joyful and hopeful, I am more likely to respond to the needs of others with love. I am more likely to respond with kindness and generosity. That sounds a lot like what we call the Christmas Spirit. May this season of Advent be remembered with some peace, joy, hope and love. And may all those good things be yours throughout the New Year.

Copyright © Rev KellyAnn Donahue