Advent Hymn
1. On Jordan’s bank, the Baptist’s cry
Announces that the Lord is nigh;
Awake, and hearken, for he brings
Glad tidings of the King of kings!
2. Then cleansed be every breast from sin;
Make straight the way for God within;
Prepare we in our hearts a home
Where such a mighty Guest may come.
3. For Thou art our Salvation, Lord,
Our Refuge, and our great Reward.
Without Thy grace we waste away,
Like flowers that wither and decay.
4. To heal the sick stretch out Thine hand,
And bid the fallen sinner stand;
Shine forth, and let Thy light restore
Earth's own true lovliness once more.
5. Stretch forth thine hand, to heal our sore,
And make us rise to fall no more;
Once more upon thy people shine,
And fill the world with love divine.
6. All praise, eternal Son, to Thee
Whose advent sets Thy people free,
Whom, with the Father, we adore,
And Holy Ghost, forevermore.
The Collect for Advent Sunday (The First Sunday in Advent)
(Used with all Collects during the Season of Advent, until Christmas Eve)
Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which Your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when He shall come again in His Glorious Majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to Life Immortal, through Him who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.
The Collect for the Fourth Sunday in Advent
O Lord, raise up, we pray You, Your power, and come among us, and with great might protect us, that because, through our sins and wickedness, we are greatly hindered in running the race that is set before us, Your bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and deliver us; through the satisfaction of Your Son our Lord, to Whom with You and the Holy Spirit be honour and glory, world without end. Amen.
The Epistle - Philippians 4:4-7
“4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
The Holy Gospel of St John 1:19-28
19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’
24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Bishop Ian’s Thoughts
Today’s Epistle Reading is taken from St Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians Chapter 4, Verses 4-7.
This portion of St Paul’s Epistle opens with a joyous command:
“4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near."
In the opening verse St Paul exhorts the Philippian Christians to be joyous and rejoice in the Salvation that belief in, and acceptance of, the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ brings.
Faith in the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus then brings about Perfect Peace, such as the world cannot give.
St Paul’s words to the Philippians are a reminder to us also, that a faithful, and joyous relationship with the Lord Jesus will bring peace of mind, such as that which has been shown forth by the gentleness in the character and manner of all believers whose sins have been cleansed by the Holy Gospel.
St Paul then calls upon the Philippians to trust in the Power, Love, and Mercy of God Who rules over, and controls, all things:
“6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
By accepting the Holy Gospel we become clothed in the Perfect Righteousness of the Lord Jesus, and delivered from God’s Judgement and Condemnation on the Great Day of Judgment, at the end of the ages, when the Lord Jesus returns to this world to gather His chosen people, and inaugurate God’s Everlasting Kingdom.
Until the Lord Jesus returns, St Paul tells the Philippians “Do not be anxious” about anything.” If our faith is anchored in the Eternal Son of God, who has created all things and rules over all things, there is nothing that we need fear, not even death.
The Lord Jesus has conquered sin and death and has solemnly pledged to raise all believers, from the grave, to Eternal Life in His Great and Everlasting Kingdom.
Death has no more power over Him and consequently no power over us, who are clothed in His Perfect Holy Righteousness.
St Paul concludes this short portion of his Epistle by telling the Philippians to talk to their Heavenly Father and give Him Praise and Thanksgiving for the Gift of the Holy Gospel and to “present their requests to God.”
In return our Heavenly Father will give us the “peace that transcends (passes) all understanding.”
God’s Peace will “guard your hearts and your minds” in the Power and Holy Righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ.
May God give His Peace that passes understanding, today, and every day of our lives until we stand before Him and are welcomed into His Everlasting Kingdom as His adopted Sons and Daughters, through faith the Holy Gospel of His Beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Today’s Holy Gospel Reading is taken from the Holy Gospel of St John Chapter 1, Verses 19-28.
In this portion of his Holy Gospel, St John records the visit of the priestly deputation from the Jewish Leaders’ of Jerusalem, to question John the Baptist as to who he claimed to be.
Was he the Messiah?
If John the Baptist did not claim to be the Messiah then what was his identity:?
“19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
In the Old Testament, Second Book of the Kings Chapter 2 ,Verses 9-12, we learn that the great Prophet Elijah was taken up to Heaven by God:
“9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?”
“Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.
10 “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.”
“11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more.”
In the popular Jewish expectation of the Lord Jesus’ time, it was thought that the Prophet Elijah would return from Heaven to precede and announce the arrival of the Messiah.
When John denied that he was the Messiah, or Elijah, the Jewish deputation asked him if he is “The Prophet.”
This question relates to God’s Old Testament promise, to Moses, that He would raise up a Mighty Prophet in the days leading up to the coming of the Messiah. This promise is recorded in the Old Testament Book of Deuteronomy 18:17-18:
“17 The Lord said to me: “What they (the Jewish people) say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. 19 I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.”
John denies that he is "The Prophet."
Having exhausted all possibilities of learning, and verifying, John’s identity from his ministry and activity, the Jewish deputation finally asks him plainly, who he was:
“22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
John finally identifies himself by drawing on the words of the great Old Testament Prophet Isaiah:
"23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord."
The actual quote John used is recorded in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah 40:3-5:
“3 A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the Lord;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
The deputation further questioned John and demanded to know why if he was not the Messiah, Elijah, or The Prophet, why was he conducting ritual Baptisms (a symbolic washing away of a person’s sins):
“24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
John answers the deputation with a blunt and forceful statement of what God would shortly accomplish in the world:
“26 I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
“28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.”
I believe that John the Baptist did not realize the full significance of his ministry as he baptised believers in the Jordan River, as a sign of the washing away of their sins.
John was in fact the mysterious prophet who was to immediately precede the coming of the Holy Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He also came in the power and spirit of Elijah, thus combining two aspects of Old Testament Prophecy.
The Lord Jesus revealed John’s identity in His words to the two Disciples following His transfiguration as stated in the Holy Gospel of St Matthew Chapter 17, Verses 10-13:
10 The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”
11 Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.”
John declared to them that the Messiah was already among them but because of their stubborn pride and ignorance, and their failure to correctly interpret, and understand the Word of God, they failed to recognize Him.
That failure would, in a short time, sweep them aside as the Lord Jesus Christ revealed Himself to the common men and women of the Jewish nation, and to the Gentiles, so that He might gather His chosen people, from the four corners of the Earth, to share with Him, Life Everlasting in God’s Great Heavenly Kingdom.
May God give us Grace, through the Holy Spirit, to always humbly listen to the voice of the Lord Jesus as He speaks to us through his Holy Word, the Holy Bible, and may He grant us the strength to ever hold fast to His Holy Gospel, until that day we see Him appear in all His Power and Great Glory. Amen.
Bishop Ian