"There's Something About Mary"

Scone Worship 21.12.14

[1] BEGINNING

We gather to worship this fourth Sunday of Advent

Waiting, we prepare for the Advent of Jesus Christ

This can be a time of wonder, a time of questions and a time to stop and refocus

It can also be a time of reflection, memory and sadness

Let your worship be a celebration, a commitment and a hope,

That we can be the people God calls us to be in this time and place,

Let’s worship God.

[2] SONG

“The North Wind Plus” TiS 322

I've written an extra verse about the context and servanthood rather than monarchy

[3] CANDLE for ADVENT 4

Locally prepared focus on four weeks

[4] OPENING PRAYER

Creator God,

God of expectation and hope

As we gather today, we are mindful of a year filled with global conflict

Events of sadness, tragedy and loss

We recall moments of joy and times of wonder

How do we reconcile what life brings, how do we make connections

How do we not stay distant from a world of problems

How do we not feel alone in our own struggles

Our prayers are for peace, for justice, for community

Our prayers are for compassion and love

Our prayers remind us we are called to follow

Amen

[5] WELCOME   

Remind there are Chinese and Korean copies of Reflection 

[6] BIBLE READING Luke 1: 26-38

[7]  SONG

“Let Earth and Heaven Combine” TiS 305

[8] VIDEO CLIP

Jon Birch's ‘Alt.Advent 4’ from series for sale on Proost UK 2mins

[9] REFLECTION

xxxxx

[10] SONG + OFFERING

“Mary Did You Know” Pentatonix CLIP

[11] ANNOUNCEMENTS/CONCERNS

[12] PRAYERS FOR THE WORLD

[13] SONG

“Hark the Herald Angels Sing” TiS 303

[14] WORD OF MISSION SENDING OUT

 xxxxx

[15] BLESSING SONG

“Father Bless Us as We Go”

 SUMMARY KEY IDEAS REFLECTION SCONE 21.12.14

[1] "THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY?"

When you hear the story of Mary, what do you hear?

If you were asked to share it with someone who’d never heard of her,

What story would you tell? Like last week with recap as all places are doing the same series...

Here IN LUKE’S GOSPEL from verse 26,

the narrative paints an amazing picture of a heavenly angel visiting a young woman.

BUT what is said invites us in our focus on Christmas, to celebrate, not a baby…

BUT the person of Jesus Christ!!

31And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.

32He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High,

and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.

33He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

[2] The story fits the purpose and times of Luke’s gospel,

By placing it’s happenings firmly in the time of Roman occupation and oppression.

The people of God cry out for liberation, for freedom, for Yahweh!!

In Isaiah 7:14,

‘A young woman shall conceive and bear a son and you shall call his name Emmanuel, God with us’, Isaiah in his day offered a sign of deliverance for Judah from the threatening alliance of its northern compatriots of Israel with the Syrians…

In everything Jesus lived, spoke about, taught and exampled,

It is possible to over spiritualise his message… compassion & liberation from struggle

[3] BUT any of these reflections can quickly help us lose sight of Mary!!

MARY IS A REMINDER TO US OF FINDING HOPE IN UNEXPECTED PLACES

She speaks [and her song tells us] her message is for her & for Israel, for all people…

[switch to PAINTING]

Used a conversation about what we saw in the image.... the feather, flowers and pot!!

It’s one of those times when God surprises and speaks from the very edges of the community,

AND it would be harder to imagine someone less marginalised in that community,

than a dirt poor, unmarried, adolescent woman… 

the invitation to follow, beginning with a young pregnant woman...

[4] This is the story I would tell about Mary, young vulnerable, marginalised

- Mary who taught Jesus and kept the story in front of him

- He didn’t just wake up one day and understand everything he needed to learn

[funny line about adolescents today inserted here...]

- Nurtured he grew up and became Jesus crucified, dead & resurrected

A sure sign that God seeks a relationship with you and I in all our struggles and hopes

BUT will often speak and remind us of that from unexpected places & surprising voices...

Talked on a bit....

And Mary says in v 38 Here I am Lord, let it be according to your word”…

Wound up later talking about the yawning gap in this reflection as our response...

space for faith, for questions, for significance, for working out how we as a community find JC's identity among us, through us, in us... or not...