THE PROPHETIC LESSON Malachi 3:1-4
THE GOSPEL LESSON Luke 3:1-6
SERMON "Peace: Preparation as Announcement"
Worship Notes
Welcome to worship at Westminster on this, the Second Sunday of Advent. Advent means "coming." The liturgical color for Advent is blue and that color appears not only in the paraments on the communion table and lectern, but also in the choir stoles and in three of the four candles in the Advent wreath.
The season of Advent is a time of anticipation, expectation, and preparation. By observing a season of Advent, we have the opportunity to reflect on just how much our world waits with eager longing for the coming of the Messiah. During Advent, our worship cultivates a sense of mystery as we wait in anticipation of the coming Light. The season of Advent is always measured by the four Sundays proceeding Christmas Day. Each week represents the passage of 1,000 years to total the 4,000 years believed to have elapsed between the time of Adam and Eve and the birth of the Savior. We use an Advent wreath as a symbol of our progression through this season as we prepare to move from a world of darkness into a world of light.
God's word expressed in worship today is focused on peace. The hymns and service music through which we worship today reflects a joyful spirit peace in a world filled with "rough places" that will be made smooth by the coming of Christ. Like many Christmas carols, several of the musical pieces through which we worship today are actually derived from early baroque folk tunes, which were often set to dances.
During Advent, our worship will begin with the choir singing one of the O Antiphons, which have been incorporated as a lyrical paraphrase into the familiar Advent Carol, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." The prophetic text of the antiphons has been used by Christians to prepare for the Christmas observance since the first century.
