Good morning,
"O come all ye faithful, joyful, and triumphant". The Lord blessed us with a very full weekend of celebration, worship, fellowship, and witness through our Saturday noon dinner, Saturday evening worship, and Sunday morning worship services. We participate in Operation Christmas Child, blessing the children around the world, and we also participate in blessing the children among us by giving them gifts and partying with them. It was great day to give gifts to the children and share the wonderful food with them.
This coming week will be a glorious week. We will gather for our mid-week service on Wednesday. We will make our annual pilgrimage to the glorious performance of Handel's Messiah, to be performed with full choir and orchestra at the Forum this Friday 8 PM. Saturday noon we will be preparing and serving a Christmas Meal in Downtown Endicott. On Saturday evening we will presenting a Living Nativity from 4 to 6 PM at the corner of McKinley and Monroe Streets in Endicott. The Lord has blessed us with a full cast of animals and a full Nativity Cast. It will be brilliant. We are praying it will be a great blessing to those who come. We are for the first time presenting the Living Nativity at the City Center. We will gather for our weekly Saturday Evening worship at the First United Methodist Church a 6:30 PM. Rev. Earle Cowden will be preaching. Laureen Naik will be leading in worship. We will meet for a very Special Christmas banquet Sunday, December 18 at 5.30 PM at the Union Center UMC, followed by Carols and lessons.
The theme for the third Sunday in advent is Joy. The old Testament reading for yesterday was taken from Isaiah 61. Joy—true joy—is a recognition that the goodness of God and the salvation He brings will get us through even the worst of circumstances. The prophet Habakkuk expressed it this way: “Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold and there is no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation”. (Habakkuk 3:17-18) In other words, I will rejoice even if I lose EVERYTHING! David wrote, “Restore unto me the JOY of thy salvation.” Paul said, “REJOICE in the Lord always, and again I say, REJOICE!” Nehemiah said, “The JOY of the Lord shall be your strength.”
Oskar Schindler, immortalized in Steven Spielberg's 1993 prize-winning film, Schindler's List, was a man who rescued the oppressed and endangered, and brought them new life. He was born on April 28, 1908, in Moravia, Austria-Hungary, which is located in what is now the Czech Republic. Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us, who came down to rescue the oppressed, the broken hearted, and the bound and to give them new life.
The passage in Isaiah 61 begins with an announcement of divine presence and action. it is clear that the power and the commission are from the LORD. The present needs that draw divine attention, as glimpsed through the commission, are daunting. God's anointed is sent to the oppressed, to the ones whose hearts are crushed, to the captives, the imprisoned and to all who mourn. Moreover, the divine mandate is to reverse their circumstances and effect a transformation in their identity and activity. The anointed is to deliver good news to the oppressed, to wrap for healing the broken hearts, and to declare liberty for the captives, opening doors and chains so the imprisoned may find release.
The commission to "proclaim liberty" is language from the instructions for observing the Jubilee. During the year of Jubilee property and people held as payment for debt were returned to the families to which they originally belonged (Leviticus 25:10). The use of the Levitical language in Isaiah 61 is a clear indication that the liberty proclaimed is intended to be made permanent in new social and economic relationships within the community. Though Jubilee was a rare event to be observed only every fiftieth year -- God's anointed is sent to announce that liberation now. God's anointed is also "to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God." This is assurance that God has chosen to act with abundant "favor" and mercy towards Israel and to judge and defeat those who would harm her (cf. Isaiah 49:8).
God instructed the anointed to pay particular attention to "those who mourn in Zion." The comfort which God's anointed is instructed to provide to the despairing in Jerusalem would, however, change the way the people see themselves, the way they are regarded by others and the ways they act. Instead of ashes on their heads -- a sign of humiliation and grief (e.g., 2 Samuel 13:19; Esther 4:1) -- they are given a festive headdress (NRSV "garland;" also in 61:10). They are treated as honored guests and anointed with "the oil of gladness" (cf. Psalm 45:7). To replace their dull spirits they are given mantles of praise. They would accomplish what is needed and what has been too difficult: rebuilding Jerusalem as a city where righteousness and justice flourish.
The urgency and enormity of the building task are underscored in the description of what the comforted mourners will raise up and repair: "the former devastations...the devastations of many generations." A new future became possible because God promised to be in "everlasting covenant with them" (verse 8) and because God provided the appropriate work clothes: garments of salvation and robes of righteousness (verses 9-10). The city where hopelessness had taken root will, by God's spirit and by God's blessing, sprout righteousness and praise.
The commission to "proclaim liberty" is language from the instructions for observing the Jubilee. During the year of Jubilee property and people held as payment for debt were returned to the families to which they originally belonged (Leviticus 25:10). The use of the Levitical language in Isaiah 61 is a clear indication that the liberty proclaimed is intended to be made permanent in new social and economic relationships within the community. Though Jubilee was a rare event to be observed only every fiftieth year -- God's anointed is sent to announce that liberation now. God's anointed is also "to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God." This is assurance that God has chosen to act with abundant "favor" and mercy towards Israel and to judge and defeat those who would harm her (cf. Isaiah 49:8).
God instructed the anointed to pay particular attention to "those who mourn in Zion." The comfort which God's anointed is instructed to provide to the despairing in Jerusalem would, however, change the way the people see themselves, the way they are regarded by others and the ways they act. Instead of ashes on their heads -- a sign of humiliation and grief (e.g., 2 Samuel 13:19; Esther 4:1) -- they are given a festive headdress (NRSV "garland;" also in 61:10). They are treated as honored guests and anointed with "the oil of gladness" (cf. Psalm 45:7). To replace their dull spirits they are given mantles of praise. They would accomplish what is needed and what has been too difficult: rebuilding Jerusalem as a city where righteousness and justice flourish.
The urgency and enormity of the building task are underscored in the description of what the comforted mourners will raise up and repair: "the former devastations...the devastations of many generations." A new future became possible because God promised to be in "everlasting covenant with them" (verse 8) and because God provided the appropriate work clothes: garments of salvation and robes of righteousness (verses 9-10). The city where hopelessness had taken root will, by God's spirit and by God's blessing, sprout righteousness and praise.
In Christ,
Brown
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Living Nativity;Full Cast of Animals and Full Nativity Cast
4-6PM
In Front of The First United Methodist Church.
53 McKinley Ave , Endicott
Praise and Worship Service
First United Methodist Church, Endicott
Sponsored by Union Center UMC
6 PM Gathering - Coffee - Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship
Music: Laureen Naik
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