Sunday, December 18 was the fourth Sunday in Advent and the last Sunday in this pre-Christmas season. All four candles on the Advent wreath were lit and our altar colors were back to royal blue.
Bishop and Mrs. Hartley were at St. Joseph’s in Branson for the parish meeting there so we did not have our usual communion service in the absence of a priest. Instead, our lay leader, Tom Berthold, led the morning prayer service; Brian Connell read the Old Testament lesson and Laura Berthold read the New Testament lesson. Tom delivered a sermon prepared by Fr. Glen based on the Old Testament reading, Jeremiah 33:7-16, in which the prophet tells the people what God is going to do for them; he promises to restore, cleanse, and fogive them. The rest of the lesson is made up of examples of the power of God. He promises that He will “cause a righteous branch to spring forth from David.” For Christians this is Jesus. It is God’s power to provide the means of salvation that we look forward to in Advent: the birth of Christ.
We will have a special Christmas Eve service on Saturday, December 24 at 7:00 p.m. to which all are invited. Visit our website at stfrancisavamo.org.
