December 2011

Sunday, Dec. 4, Second Sunday of Advent

 

John called people to repent, to clear the decks, to completely reorder their lives so that nothing would get in the way of the Lord’s coming. The reading from Isaiah gives the context for this radical call: the assurance of forgiveness that encourages us to repent; the promise that the coming one will be gentle with the little ones. Isaiah calls us all to be heralds with John, to lift up our voices fearlessly and say, “See, your God is coming!” We say it to one another in worship, in order to say it with our lives in a world in need of justice and peace. 

 

The readings are Isaiah 40:1-11, Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13, 2 Peter 3:8-15a and Mark 1:1-8. The hymn of the day is ELW 264, “Prepare the Royal Highway.” Throughout Advent the gathering song is “Maranatha: Advent Processional,” led by Asphalt & Stained Glass, and the sending song is ELW 247, “Come Now, O Prince of Peace.” At 8:45 a.m. the Kisasa Choristers will be joined by the Joyful Noise to sing “Keep Your Lamps,” by Andrea Thomas, with Brian Joy playing congas. The communion music will be “Agnus Dei” from Caribbean Mass, by Glenn McClure, sung at 8:45 a.m. by Cantorei and at 11 a.m. by Cathedral Choir.

 

Sunday, Dec. 11, Third Sunday of Advent

 

“Rejoice always,” begins the reading from First Thessalonians. Isaiah and the psalmist make clear that God is turning our mourning into laughter and shouts of joy. “All God’s children got a robe,” go the words of a spiritual. It is not so much a stately, formal, pressed outfit as it is a set of party clothes – clothes that make us feel happy just to wear. We receive that robe in baptism, and we gather in worship for a foretaste of God’s party. 

 

The readings are Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11, Psalm 126, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 and John 1:6-8, 19-28. The hymn of the day is ELW 261, “As the Dark Awaits the Dawn.” At 8:45 a.m. the offering music will be a duet from Bach Cantata No. 140, “Thy Love is Mine, and I am Thine,” sung by soprano Susan Stageberg and baritone Mark Garner, with Sue Odem taking the oboe obbligato. At 11 a.m. Cathedral Choir will sing “There’s a Voice in the Wilderness Crying,” by Michael Larkin. Communion music at both services will be ELW 715, “Christ, Be Our Light,” with choir on the verses and the assembly on the refrain. 

 

Sunday, Dec. 18, Fourth Sunday of Advent

 

God keeps the promise made to David, to give him an everlasting throne. The angel tells Mary that God will give David’s throne to her son, Jesus. She is perplexed by Gabriel’s greeting and by the news of her coming pregnancy, but she is able still to say, “Count me in.” We, who know that Jesus is called king only as he is executed, still find it a mystery hard to fathom, but with Mary today we hear the news of what God is up to and say, “Count us in.”

 

The readings are 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16, Luke 1:46b-55, Mary’s “Magnificat,” Romans 16:25-27 and Luke 1:26-38. The hymn of the day will be ELW 258, “Unexpected and Mysterious.” Offering music will be “A Dove Flew Down from Heaven,” by Johannes Brahms, sung by Cantorei at 8:45 a.m. and Cathedral Choir at 11 a.m.