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This Advent, Just Say It
- Date: Fri, Nov 20, 2009
- Author: Linda Roddis
Just say what you do Sunday morning. Admit it, find the courage and say, “On Sundays, I go to church.” Don’t worry, it is not evangelizing, it is simply telling the truth about your life. The responses you will receive are amazing. For example, the other day I ran over to a stationery store in the Bravern because the Prior family needed a guest book. The sales clerk and I started talking; I told her about the memorial taking place at our church which is right across the parking lot. She asked, “What church?” After I explained our location, she said, “I had no idea there was a church so close to my work.”
A week ago, while I was sitting in a doctor’s office waiting for my appointment, a conversation ensued among the coughs and sneezes. We started talking about our weekends. When it was my turn, I said, “I go to church on Sunday.” The person next to me quietly asked, “Is there a liberal church in this town?” I was happy to answer, “Yes.”
When asked about your holiday traditions, include that you attend church on Christmas Eve. The people you talk to may be looking for a loving community, a liberal church, a place of welcome. If you don’t tell them about our community, they will not know that such a church exists. Honestly, I am not suggesting that we change people; I am blessed with friends from many faiths and love them for who they are. Yet, 30 years in the ministry have taught me that during the Christmas Season there are people who are searching for a church to attend, a church where they will be accepted, “wherever they are in life’s journey.” Tell your story and share the joy.
These are the scripture readings in the Revised Common Lectionary for the forthcoming Sunday:
2 Samuel 23:1-7
The Last Words of David
23:1 Now these are the last words of David:
The oracle of David, the son of Jesse,
the oracle of the man who was raised on high,
the anointed of the God of Jacob,
the sweet psalmist of Israel:
2 “The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me;
his word is on my tongue.
3 The God of Israel has spoken;
the Rock of Israel has said to me:
When one rules justly over men,
ruling in the fear of God,
4 he dawns on them like the morning light,
like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning,
like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.
5 “For does not my house stand so with God?
For he has made with me an everlasting covenant,
ordered in all things and secure.
For will he not cause to prosper
all my help and my desire?
6 But worthless men are all like thorns that are thrown away,
for they cannot be taken with the hand;
7 but the man who touches them
arms himself with iron and the shaft of a spear,
and they are utterly consumed with fire.”
Psalm 32
Blessed Are the Forgiven
A Maskil of David.
32:1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
5 I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
6 Therefore let everyone who is godly
offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;
surely in the rush of great waters,
they shall not reach him.
7 You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
which must be curbed with bit and bridle,
or it will not stay near you.
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.
11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
Revelation 1:4-8
Greeting to the Seven Churches
4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
John 18:33-37
My Kingdom Is Not of This World
33 So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” 35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” 37 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
