We Celebrate
Elaine Poproski Download: Audio
Sermon Notes:
Near the end of the sermon, there is a quote from Carla Works, “Commentary on Philippians 4:4-7.” Working Preacher. (accessed Dec. 12, 2021).
At the end of the sermon, we were invited to sing or listen to O Come, O Come Emmanuel. There are a lot of great renditions of this ancient Advent hymn available. We listened to David Archuleta’s version, which you can listen to here.
Scripture
Zephaniah 3:14-20
Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! Read more…
Isaiah 12:2-6
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the Lord God is my strength and my might; He has become my salvation. Read more…
Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice! Read more…
Looking to Sunday
by Elaine Poproski
I don’t know about you, but I am so very sick of COVID. I’m sick of masks and physical distancing and proofs of vaccination. I’m sick of people fighting over conspiracy theories and unknowns. I’m sick of second-guessing my invitation to sing in church (even though we do it quietly and from behind masks) on the Sundays we meet in the building. I’m sick of people suffering and dying from this disease. I’m sick of the global inequalities that mean some countries continue to be devastated by this virus and all its mutations while other countries, like ours, slowly open back up.
And then I read Paul’s words to the Philippians, written from prison, unsure whether or not he’d ever be released from prison: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice… Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Phil. 4:4, 6)
I’ve been praying about COVID since March 2020. I’ve been praying about all the parts of it that I’m sick of. I’ve lamented; I’ve begged; I’ve interceded. But have I prayed with thanksgiving?
Carla Works, a professor of New Testament studies in Washington, D.C., wrote this about these words of Paul’s in Philippians 4: “Joy, for Paul, is not a feeling that is dependent upon circumstances. It is a theological act. It is choosing to reflect on God’s actions.”
Lament is important. Supplication (begging) and intercession are important. But without thanksgiving, there can be no peace and thus there can be no joy. This is a truth with which Paul was intimately familiar. His life was not easy. He’d endured torture and the threat of execution on multiple occasions. If anyone had the right to sink into hopelessness it was Paul. When Paul was arrested in Philippi, we’re told he was stripped, beaten with rods, put in the innermost cell (no light and stale air), and his feet were put in stocks. And then we’re told that in the middle of the night, Paul and his friend Silas, who was in prison with Paul, “were praying and singing hymns to God.” (You can read the whole story in Acts 16:16-40). I think they were able to do this because they prayed with thanksgiving. I think they were able to pray with thanksgiving because they chose to focus and reflect on God’s acts through history, and they chose to believe that the God who had acted in the past would continue to act in the present and the future.
As you prepare for Sunday, perhaps spend some time reflecting on your prayer life. Do you pray with thanksgiving? I don’t mean just when there are obvious things for which to be thankful, but when you’re praying for the hard things, the challenging things, the lamentable things. As you prepare for Sunday, perhaps consider one particularly difficult thing to pray about. Maybe it’s COVID-related, maybe it’s something else. What does it mean to pray for or about this thing – this thing which has not yet been resolved, and for which there is no guaranteed positive outcome – with thanksgiving?