November 29, 2020
Below, you’ll find the song lyrics and scripture readings for the live stream on November 29th (in the order they are needed).
O Come, O Come
o come, o come Emmanuel
and ransom captive Israel
who mourns in lonely exile here
until the son of God appears
rejoice, rejoice Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O israel
o come now dayspring, come and cheer
our spirit by thine advent here
disperse the gloomy clouds of night
and death’s dark shadow put to flight
rejoice, rejoice Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O israel
o come desire of nations, bind
in one the hearts of all humankind
bid thou our sad divisions cease
and be thyself our king of peace
rejoice, rejoice Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel
Call to Worship
we have gathered to worship
the Eternal One
the One whose presence is like fire to boiling water,
whose heart bears the weight of all
that should be otherwise
to enter the story of God
and find our own stories reimagined
that the Spirit of God might transform our lives
weaving hope into our longing
sketching the Kingdom of God in our imagination
and drawing us into the work of God in the world
Amen
There Will Come A Light
a day is coming soon
when the seeker will find wonder
a day is coming soon
when the meek will find their joy
a day is coming soon
when the wounded will find healing
a day is coming soon
when there will come a light
into this darkness
a pillar of fire in the night, leading us home
and the evil that’s at our heels will find itself haunted
by insufferable sleepless nights and newborn cries
a day is coming soon
when this damage will find mending
a day is coming soon
when the weak will find their voice
a day is coming soon
when our hope will have a heartbeat
a day is coming soon
when there will come a light
into this darkness
a pillar of fire in the night, leading us home
and the evil that’s at our heels will find itself haunted
by insufferable sleepless nights and newborn cries
there will come a light, there will come a light
there will come a light, not long from now
you sang out hope into the dead of night
and it echoed off the edge of time
singing, “there will come a light, not long from now”
there will come a light not long from now
Mother
is there a hair on my head
you haven’t numbered yet, you haven’t numbered yet?
in the night, crying in the cold,
is there a pain of mine you haven’t called your own?
O, Mother Comfort, Mother Known
though our minds so well ignore your grace
you bring it just the same, you bring it just the same
we reside in your self-giving love
and you’ve somehow found enough
for all the space that we take up
O, Mother Wisdom, Mother Love
Mother Comfort, Mother Enough
through life and death, that cradled set
beginning and the end, Beginning and the End
you are a shield, a beacon of defense
and our weaknesses align as you gather us in
O, Mother Warrior, Mother Age to Age
Mother Wisdom, Mother Grace, Mother Comfort,
Mother Love-That-Can’t-Be-Bought
Mother Faithful
Mother God
Old Testament Reading
Today’s Old Testament reading, and Josh’s sermon text, is Genesis 38:
It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and settled near a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah. There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua; he married her and went in to her. She conceived and bore a son; and he named him Er. Again she conceived and bore a son whom she named Onan. Yet again she bore a son, and she named him Shelah. She was in Chezib when she bore him. Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn; her name was Tamar. But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death. Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her; raise up offspring for your brother.” But since Onan knew that the offspring would not be his, he spilled his semen on the ground whenever he went in to his brother’s wife, so that he would not give offspring to his brother. What he did was displeasing in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also. Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Remain a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up”—for he feared that he too would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went to live in her father’s house.
In course of time the wife of Judah, Shua’s daughter, died; when Judah’s time of mourning was over, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,” she put off her widow’s garments, put on a veil, wrapped herself up, and sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. She saw that Shelah was grown up, yet she had not been given to him in marriage. When Judah saw her, he thought her to be a prostitute, for she had covered her face. He went over to her at the roadside, and said, “Come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” He answered, “I will send you a kid from the flock.” And she said, “Only if you give me a pledge, until you send it.” He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” She replied, “Your signet and your cord, and the staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him. Then she got up and went away, and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood.
When Judah sent the kid by his friend the Adullamite, to recover the pledge from the woman, he could not find her. He asked the townspeople, “Where is the temple prostitute who was at Enaim by the wayside?” But they said, “No prostitute has been here.” So he returned to Judah, and said, “I have not found her; moreover the townspeople said, ‘No prostitute has been here.’” Judah replied, “Let her keep the things as her own, otherwise we will be laughed at; you see, I sent this kid, and you could not find her.”
About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has played the whore; moreover she is pregnant as a result of whoredom.” And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.” As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “It was the owner of these who made me pregnant.” And she said, “Take note, please, whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff.” Then Judah acknowledged them and said, “She is more in the right than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not lie with her again.
When the time of her delivery came, there were twins in her womb. While she was in labor, one put out a hand; and the midwife took and bound on his hand a crimson thread, saying, “This one came out first.” But just then he drew back his hand, and out came his brother; and she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore he was named Perez. Afterward his brother came out with the crimson thread on his hand; and he was named Zerah.
New Testament Reading
Today’s New Testament reading is Matthew 1:1-3:
An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram…
Giving
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Where God Has Always Been
praise be the Lord of all with their backs against the wall
hands above their heads, and eyes lifted up
to that impossible line where the hill meets the sky
who wonder if the distance is at trick
of the earth, or a trick of the mind
and if help will arrive
before they slip away
praise be the Lord of all who wrestle until dawn
who wear their scars like names
yet find heaven and earth strangely aligned
like water in the sour wine:
hidden in plain sight
for God is now where God has always been:
bunkered down with those in the ditch
raising fountains from the cracking dirt
and raising a feast for the hollow, unheard
while the powerful who reign dissolve into the grave
the Eternal one will shade the ones they cast away
’til the coming of the day when all this is remade
so praise be the Lord of all who’ve nowhere to belong
for the Kingdom is drawing near
Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise him all creatures here below
Praise him above, ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
Amen
Benediction
As we approach this week
May we love God
Embrace Beauty
and Live Life to the fullest
Amen