This is one of the liturgy pages for the Methodist Church's Hush the Noise Advent and Christmas campaign 2024. A full list of the services can be found here. A PDF containing all the services can be downloaded here.
Advent 3: Babel Sounds
15 December 2024
Bible readings
Zephaniah 3:14-20
Sing aloud, O daughter Zion;
shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;
he has turned away your enemies.
The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
you shall fear disaster no more.
On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Do not fear, O Zion;
do not let your hands grow weak.
The Lord, your God, is in your midst,
a warrior who gives victory;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will renew you in his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing
as on a day of festival.”
I will remove disaster from you,
so that you will not bear reproach for it.
I will deal with all your oppressors
at that time.
And I will save the lame
and gather the outcast,
and I will change their shame into praise
and renown in all the earth.
At that time I will bring you home,
at the time when I gather you;
for I will make you renowned and praised
among all the peoples of the earth,
when I restore your fortunes
before your eyes, says the Lord.
Luke 3:7-18
John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore, bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
And the crowds asked him, “What, then, should we do?” In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”
As the people were filled with expectation and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
So with many other exhortations he proclaimed the good news to the people.
Songs and hymns
Day of judgment! Day of wonder! (StF 732)
God, how can we forgive (StF 613)
Into the darkness of this world (StF 173)
Let love be real, in giving and receiving (StF 615)
Make me a channel of your peace (StF 707)
Praise to the God who clears the way (StF 183)
Summoned by the God who made us (StF 689)
The kingdom of God is justice and joy (StF 255)
Ubi caritas (StF 783)
Also see: Resource Hub Worship Calendar suggestions for 15 December 2024
Opening liturgy
Presents get wrapped with tape and glue,
Tidy parcels neatly wrapped,
Names on labels with “love from”,
O hush the noise,
Let’s hear the angels sing.
We’ve sorted gifts and who needs what,
What will they like, what will be good?
But are there more we need to include?
O hush the noise,
Let’s hear the angels sing.
What of those alone, adrift, forgotten and neglected?
What of those whose life’s been hard?
What gift of help needs wrapping too?
O hush the noise,
Let’s hear the angels sing.
Background notes
The carol was written in America in 1849 as a response to geopolitical unrest, and as a protest about the horrors of slavery.(1) It describes a “weary world” filled with “Babel sounds”, “sin and strife” and war. Sadly, 175 years later the carol is just as relevant. We long for harmony, justice and restoration.
It might be helpful to explain that ‘Babel sounds’ is a reference to Genesis 11, the ancient story of people being divided into tribes with different languages so they cannot communicate with each other
This week’s symbol is glue or sellotape. How can we mend things that are broken, be like glue in the community to reduce disconnection and disintegration?
Sing aloud, O daughter Zion... he will exult over you with loud singing... I will bring you home
The prophet Zephaniah wrote in the time of King Josiah, before the exile to Babylon. The book is full of cataclysmic visions of destruction but ends with this beautiful vision of God singing over people, who have been scattered, as they are brought home.(2) The people are called to join in the song.
“What, then, should we do?”
Luke uses this phrase several times, in the mouths of tax collectors, soldiers, lawyers, rulers and jailors. An encounter with the redemptive grace of God demands a response.(3) The carol has the same broad message: hush the noise, hear the song, and then repeat it back. The Methodist calling has a similar shape: grace impels us to live differently. A Methodist Way of Life is one way of answering the question of the crowd in this passage, with its twelve types of worship and mission.
“Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise.”
John gives to the crowd an ethical rather than a religious answer.(4) In MWOL language, his advice would sit in the open, care and serve actions. Greater equality is the goal.(5)
“Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you... Do not extort money from anyone...”
The tax-collectors and soldiers are impelled to act more justly, with a hidden implication that corruption was the norm. They are asked to challenge injustice.
Methodist Way of Life: Challenge (and Open, Care, and Serve)
Questions for discussion
- What does it feel like to share your resources with someone?
- Are there any deep wounds in your life or your community that seem too hard to address and acknowledge? How might you do something about these?
- When have you been able to suspend judgement about a person/group/idea in order to seek a different kind of less-oppositional relationship?
Hands-on activities
- Inspired by The Repair Shop and Sewing Bee TV shows, set a challenge to repurpose broken or torn items. Invite people to share what skills and talents they have: might they be able to fix something or transform it into something new and useful? You could spend the season of Advent upcycling a few items that can either be returned to their original owner or given to a charity shop.
- Using glue and sellotape, along with other junk modelling items and art supplies, make a colourful and inviting ‘Hush the Noise’ banner for your worship space. How can it reflect who you are as a community and be welcoming for other people?
- Organise a ‘wrapping’ exchange: invite people to bring their leftover gift bags, wrapping paper, ribbons and bows to swap with other people.
- This could be a chance to wrap some presents too that will be gifted to others in need in your community.
Prayer ideas
Make a large treble clef and invite the group to imagine words of praise and adoration. Hang the treble clef on the tree to represent these silent prayers of praise. Often we sing or shout words of praise. Today we hush the noise and say them in our minds. God hears our loud and our quiet prayers and delights in them.
If your group contributes to a scheme to donate presents to those in need in the community, this would be a good week to bring and place these under the tree and pray for those who will receive them.
Sing ‘Be still and know that I am God’ as part of the prayers this week. You could start loudly and repeat getting quieter and quieter until a period of silence. You could come out of the silence by reversing and singing from quiet to loud.
Invite the group to pause and consider one small act they might make this week to contribute to rebalancing an injustice. Invite them to make a note on their phone, write in their diary, tie a knot in their handkerchief, or write on their hand. In pairs, share what you plan to do and pray for each other.
Pray for all people who will be lonely this Christmas. Make or write cards and send or take these to Methodist Homes for giving to older people who may not receive any Christmas greetings this year.
The good news to get across
We need to work to end division, selfish ambition, disconnection and fragmentation.
Ways people can respond
Take a couple of minutes now to hush the noise. Consider how God is calling you to share what you have with others, and where you might bring connection and harmony.
Prayer of blessing
The angels are still singing.
Prophets are still speaking.
Hush the noise, hear them sing,
repeat the song, bring harmony.
And the blessing of God,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
be yours/ours, now and always. Amen.
References
(1) methodist.org.uk/for-churches/resources/hymns/it-came-upon-the-midnight-clear-StF-205/
(2) Bruce C. Birch, Walter Brueggemann, Terence E. Fretheim, David L. Petersen, A Theological Introduction to the Old Testament (1999) Abingson, Nashville, pp. 316-317.
(3) Joel B. Green, The Gospel of Luke (1997) Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, p. 177.
(4) Joseph A. Fitzmeyer, The Gospel According to Luke (1981) Doubleday, New York, p. 469.
(5) C. F. Evans, Saint Luke (1990) SCM, London, p. 240