The Holly and the Ivy,
Are dancing in a ring,
Round the berry-bright red candles,
and the white and shining King.
And One is for God's people,
In every age and day.
We are watching for His coming.
We believe and we obey
And Two is for the Prophets,
And for the light they bring ,
They are candles in the darkness.
All alight for Christ the king .
Prophets
Psalm 97 The Message Translation
God
rules: there’s something to shout over!
On the double,
mainlands and islands—celebrate!
2 Bright
clouds and storm clouds circle ’round him;
Right and justice
anchor his rule.
3 Fire
blazes out before him,
Flaming high up the craggy mountains.
4 His
lightnings light up the world;
Earth, wide-eyed, trembles in
fear.
5 The
mountains take one look at God
And
melt, melt like wax before earth’s Lord.
6 The
heavens announce that he’ll set everything right,
And everyone
will see it happen—glorious!
7-8 All
who serve handcrafted gods will be sorry—
And they were so
proud of their ragamuffin gods!
On your
knees, all you gods—worship him!
And Zion, you listen and take
heart!
Daughters of
Zion, sing your hearts out:
God
has done it all, has set everything right.
9 You,
God, are High God of
the cosmos,
Far, far higher than any of the gods.
10 God
loves all who hate evil,
And those who love him he keeps
safe,
Snatches them from the grip of the wicked.
11 Light-seeds
are planted in the souls of God’s people,
Joy-seeds are
planted in good heart-soil.
12 So, God’s people,
shout praise to God,
Give
thanks to our Holy God!
Song: God has spoken
God Has Spoken by His Prophets (Tune: Hyfrydol - 3vv) [with lyrics for congregations] - YouTube
Prayer:
God,
with us,
As we enter this season of longing and waiting,
bear
with us a little longer; be patient with our impatience.
You
have journeyed alongside us from the beginning of time,
yet
still we miss the signs of your presence.
When
we are blinded by the brashness of this season:
Open our eyes to
the glimpses of your glory.
When
we want simple answers:
Open our minds to the hints of
incarnation.
When
we are deafened by our own shouting:
Open our ears to the
whispers of your grace.
May
we share with you in longing for restoration and renewal
and may
we be watchful for the light that breaks through
the darkness of
our world.
In Christ’s name. Amen
God
says ‘Be patient, watch and wait,
for the time is close at
hand.’
Know that you are loved, forgiven and healed.
Amen.
Thanks be to God.
Song: O come, O come Immanuel
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Tune: Veni Immanuel - 5vv) [with lyrics for congregations] - YouTube
Micah 5: 2-4
Micah 4: 1-8
Song: The race that long in darkness pined
The race that long in darkness pined - YouTube
Matthew 2: 1-8
Song: Hark the glad sound
Hark the glad sound! The Saviour comes (Tune: Bristol) - YouTube
Prophets.
In the Harry Potter films a prophecy is made, about which one should survive.
- "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...."
- — Sybill Trelawney's prophecy made to Albus Dumbledore
- Sybill was the Divination Teacher., played by Emma Thompson.
- A prophecy is a prediction made by a Seer— someone with the ability to see into the future. They can take many different forms, but are often rendered in cryptic language that does not allow easy or direct interpretation.
According to a dictionary, a person who speaks for God, or by divine inspiration.
However, there are other definitions which are relevant.
Prophecy:
the foretelling or prediction of what is to come.
something that is declared by a prophet, especially a divinely inspired prediction, instruction, or exhortation.
a divinely inspired utterance or revelation:
the action, function, or faculty of a prophet.
To prophesy:
to foretell or predict.
to indicate beforehand.
to declare or foretell by or as if by divine inspiration.
to utter in prophecy or as a prophet.
to make predictions.
to make inspired declarations of what is to come.
to speak as a mediator between God and humankind or in God's stead.
Archaic. to teach religious subjects.
Clearly, there is much more to this than those who predict the future. More than making utterances which are difficult to understand.
Many passages in the Old Testament can be seen as predictions of the future. There are those which predict the birth of Jesus. The son born to a young woman. The "Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
There are many more predicting the times when the Kingdom of God will flourish. When swords will be beaten into ploughshares, when there will be no more pain.
But other passages use the word "Prophet" or "prophesy" differently.. In Ezekiel Chapter37: Ezekiel is told to prophesy to the dry bones, these acquire flesh, and eventually acquire breath. Clearly this cannot mean "Predict the future".
You may know the song.
Hear the word of the Lord!
The prophets are those who proclaimed the word of the Lord, Those who told the people what the future would/could/should be . Those who set standards, who were pointing people towards God.
Those who were setting up a plumbline against their nation, like Amos. Those who were telling the people the type of person that the anointed one (Christ/Messiah) would be, like Isaiah.
There were those who had visions of God's splendour like Jeremiah and Isaiah.
But all these people were human, with limitations, insecurities and failings.
Just like us
Many of them must have seemed like real dreamers. Imagine telling people that a time would come when their security would come from their gardens, not from their weapons!
Remember the CND? A group who campaign for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Seen as hopeless idealists by some, as the solution to many problems by others.
This is how many of the prophets would have been seen. And are still seen.
The prophetic voice is not always a popular message. It will often disturb the status quo and seem to be disruptive
We remember today, and give thanks for those of every age who spoke, and speak with a prophetic voice, those who point people to God, those who show and tell people what life with God can be like, Those who look forward to the "time that shall surely, be. When the earth shall be filled with the glory of God, as the waters cover the sea." (Arthur Campbell Aigner, after Habakkuk 2:14)
Many of these people would not presume to call themselves prophets, and might be offended if others gave them this title, but they speak with a prophetic voice. We rejoice in their ministry today.
Most people would probably not regard Noddy Holder as a prophet? But his song, “Merry Christmas Everybody.” from 1973 contains a prophetic line:
So here it is, Merry Christmas, Everybody’s having fun. Look to the future, its only just begun.
There is nothing wrong with celebrating Christmas; nothing wrong with having a good time and enjoying ourselves; but we must remember that we are going to live in the future, not the past.
Song: Jesus shall reign
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