November 29, 2020 Sermon in English

Worship Order November 29th 2020 German Church Atlanta

Wir sagen Euch an den lieben Advent Advent is a burning candle Welcome Leise rieselt der Schnee Wir sagen Euch an Matthew 21: 1-11 Wie soll ich Dich empfangen Psalm 24 Macht hoch die Tßr Sermon The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; 2 for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.

3 Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?

Who may stand in his holy place?

4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol 1

or swear by a false god.

5 They will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God their Savior.

6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, God of Jacob.

7 Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.

8 Who is this King of glory?

The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.

9 Lift up your heads, you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.

10 Who is he, this King of glory?

The Lord Almighty— he is the King of glory.

"That two persons meet ?" Dear church, I wish you an Advent calendar this year– and I wish you such, that always two or more meet.

I wish you an advent calendar, not for one person alone, but for all of us. An advent calendar filled with encounters.

I want us to take the time to tell each other about the most improbable and beautiful encounters —encounters with God and other people.

For that is the goal of Advent, "Arrival", that at the end one arrives at the other and that two meet each other.

I want to lead by example and tell you about such an encounter. It took place in a dementia community. I was supposed to hold a devotional at a couple's golden wedding. He had suffered several strokes and barely spoke. She had dementia, but remembered a lot. She was very proud 2

of the fact that they now had a golden wedding. The employees of the senior facility had a coffee table prepared, whose guests they had to be themselves. There were no children, and the neighbor, who had initially visited, had not come for more than a year. An accordion player was hired and played waltz melodies and folk music for coffee after my devotion.

Suddenly he paused and said, "Look at you - I know you. Are you not Peter and Lieselotte?" – "Yes!" said the woman, and these were actually their first names. "And who are you?" "I'm Ruediger! We know each other from North Italy in Tirol, where you have always been on holiday!"

Suddenly, the pseudo-guests of the coffee table had become unimportant.

There was a real guest. Lieselotte and Milan talked about old times and mutual acquaintances. For one afternoon she had arrived in real life.

She felt comfortable – and the musician was just happy. A regular music gig had become something completely different. He himself was no longer a better CD player, responsible for the background music. No, he was now in demand as a person and really present.

I experience such an encounter as an Advent that finds its fulfillment.

Everything it takes to have this encounter has been around for a long time. The people, the time. And yet it didn't come together for years. And suddenly it does. A real encounter! " The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas 3

and established it on the waters." we have prayed.

Everything has been around for a long time. Even before us. We live on this earth, breathe its air, eat and drink what it produces, we walk on and shape what this earth is offering us.

Do we come together with creation, really perceive it, live in relation to it?

And, do we come together with its cause, its creator - with God? I am convinced that the earth is full of God, of His Spirit, and of the love of Jesus Christ. But that alone does not ensure that an encounter takes place.

Although everything and everyone is there, the encounter is precious as a miracle. The light of God in our hearts, the moments when the sentences of the Christian creed become real trust, when something arrives with us and we encounter God – these moments are precious.

Because we have experienced them and want to experience them again, that is why we are here, I dare to claim.

We reserve places and times for this encounter. We invite the miracle, we invite God Himself.

And we work against our tendency to live in distraction and in fearful worries.

We listen to stories, we say prayers, sometimes full of longing to experience God, sometimes with a longing for such longing.

Come on, God! Meet us! Make our lives whole and holy!

We tell stories of special places and mourn their destruction.

God can meet us everywhere. Is everywhere.

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The special places — sacred mountains, pilgrimage routes, churches and chapels — are like a tattoo of God on earth.

"God is here!" is tattooed on the earth's skin. "God is here! God can meet you!"

But God is here also when I am sitting on my couch, in my garden, in the silence of my apartment, God comes close to me.

The meeting may be easier to happen when I prepare myself.

This is what all religious people hope for, and experience-and then they establish certain religious rules, which are supposed to help with finding contact with the Divine.

Our Psalm also speaks of such rules: "Who is allowed to walk on The Lord's Mountain? And who is allowed to stand in his holy place? " “They who have innocent hands and are pure of heart, whoever are not full of lies and deceit, and who do not swear false oaths, they shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of their salvation."

It may be, these guidelines help. Many report that they help.

Seeking God honestly. Asking for God. Not dealing with half- heartedness and with lies.

But I think the most important spiritual exercise is not to be too concerned with oneself. Can I let go of my anxious circling thoughts and open myself for the silent wisdom that lies within me?

Do I allow enough space in me for God to meet me, or do I always only listen to my narrow, repetitive thoughts?

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It is like every encounter: those who are only concerned with themselves will experience little of the other.

There are certainly also unfortunate stories, non-encounter stories.

"I was so busy with my profession that I basically didn't see my children grow up. And now I can't find any right connection," one man told me.

I wish him the miracle that contact between him and his children will reestablish itself.

Even pious individuals and communities, can get lost in starting to circle infinitely around themselves.

Even when there is still no talk of lies and deceit and false oaths, the circling around with worry and negative predictions costs a lot of strength.

We have currently many religious communities that seem to circle around themselves in these times of crisis: "Will we have enough money at the end of the year?" "Will people continue to watch our zoom services?"

"Will our community survive the pandemic?"

And sometimes the hope that God will be encountered and felt in this world becomes smaller and smaller in such times as this one.

That is why the Psalm and also the Advent song we sang together call us: " Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.

Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty—he is the King of glory.�

Make the gates wide and open the doors in the world, that the king of honor may enter!

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Who is the King of Honor? It is the Lord of Creation; he is the king of honor."

We have four weeks left in Advent.

Four Weeks when there will be far too much going on—you don't have to be a prophet to make that prediction.

We may not be able to open the gates of our perception as far as we do during a vacation time when everything comes to rest and we unexpectedly feel that the earth is God’s, and that it is good to live on it.

And yet, what if we incorporated such moments of silence, of listening, of presence into our Advent season?

What if God can meet us anew in these weeks?

What if we consciously decide to stop circling around ourselves, and instead open ourselves to real encounters – with God and with people in person or over zoom?

Today, on the first Sunday in Advent, we open the gates wide with our singing. And then beginning tomorrow we will continue with opening the doors in the advent calendar.

Will the Advent event that I wish you and me come about this year?

Every day a story of meaningful encounters told from your, from my life?

For when we meet each other, Jesus Christ is always there. The miracles of healing and the real meaningful encounters here on earth always remind us of the many healing moments and encounters that were revealed in Jesus Christ’s life..

The Advent season invites us these next 26 days: 7

26 times, every day, set aside a time, prepare a place that says, "I'm ready.” „ I'm quiet. I'm letting go of anxiously circling around myself. Come to me, Healer. Into my apartment, into my house, into my heart. Into our community. " Amen.

Intercessory Prayer Geh unter der Gnade Let the season shine – Judy Bailey

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