Presence

DOWNLOAD Advent, Year C Small Groups Resources (PDF)

Fellowship – Snacks or a Meal (10 minutes with snacks; longer, obviously, if there is a meal).

Gathering Time (5-10 minutes).

Not many may know that the third Sunday of Advent is also known as Gaudete Sunday in Western Christianity, though most may recognize the interruption of “pink” for “joy” in the order of Advent candles. Over a decade ago, Marie Kondo became an international cultural icon with her “KonMari Method” of tidying and her trademark advice, “Choose what sparks joy!” Invite participants to share the ways in which they might have tried out some version of that method in their own personal or professional lives—including ways in which the effort may have “flopped” for them.

Group Dialogue (Approximately 30 minutes). Read Zephaniah 3:14-20; Luke 3:7-18.

• What does “joy” mean for you? [For example, good health; family and friends; inner confidence and peace; gratitude for all that we have; anything that helps us to look forward to the future]
  • In what aspects of our personal and professional lives is “joy” a key criterion for determining what we will choose to hang on or let go? [e.g., in committed relationships; in professional interactions; in where we choose to live and work]

• A successful CEO suggests that it is a mistake to assume that “joy” or “happiness” is the condition for achieving professional success; in his view, there is a difference between “doing what you love” and “doing what makes you happy.” What do you think?

• Isaiah 12:3 is a beautiful verse, “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation” (NRSV). The CEB translates it as “springs of salvation.” It is luscious imagery that invites us to consider how “salvation” harmonizes humans with the earthly elements around us. What does this imagery evoke for you regarding the experience of “joy”? When have you experienced that kind of “joy” in your life? [For example, deep joy is more than momentary happiness; joy springs from within one’s inner resiliency, whereas happiness may be contingent upon external conditions. Like a wellspring, joy can be a rush of soothing, nourishing waters. We often spend more time on momentary happiness rather than looking into replenishing the deeper sources of our joy.]

• The Preaching Notes draw our attention to the daunting beginning of our Gospel reading for this week—John’s famous exclamation, “You brood of vipers!” (Lk. 3:7) As it turns out, this impassioned preaching convicts the crowds, and they ask, “What then should we do?” (v. 10). Luke’s account indicates that John has responses to three different groups: the crowd (v. 11), the tax collectors (v. 13), and the soldiers (v. 14). What do you make of John’s exhortations? [New Testament commentaries remind us that “coats” in verse 11 refer to “tunics” worn close to the body; John is directing people toward acts of deep communal sharing. As for the tax collectors and soldiers, the imperative is that they do not misuse their power and exploit the people for their own advantage. Essentially, they are challenged to act against the very socio-political systems that are set up to serve the interests of the few at the expense of the people. As the Discipleship Study Bible notes suggest, acts of faith and repentance are deeply interpersonal, social, and public. “Salvation” is a collective endeavor and a communal experience. It is more radical than doing things that give us personal, private joy.]

• What might John the Baptist’s exhortation be to you today? What acts of repentance are required of us, so that all may experience the refreshing springs of salvation? [Note how we are sometimes quicker to assume that other people need repentance, not us.]

Prayer (10 minutes). Share prayer requests and respond appropriately.

Sending Forth (2 minutes). End with the following prayer, a similar prayer, or the Lord’s Prayer. (You may consider substituting the plural pronouns “we” and “us.”)

I lift up my eyes.
What do I see?
The great divide…
bond and free.
Exploited and exploiting,
displaced and established,
the powerful and the powerless,
entangled and fragile!

Let my spirit be lifted Lord,
let my soul behold your beauty,
the bounty of your resources,
the over-flowing of your unfailing love.
Let me know they are mine too,
Lord, let me hope.

Source:

“Crossroads and Constant Spring,” 299. In Liturgies from Below: Praying with People at the Ends of the World, edited by Cláudio Carvalhaes, 299. Nashville: Abingdon, 2020.

Mai-Anh Le Tran is associate professor of religious education and practical theology at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. An ordained elder of the California-Nevada Annual Conference, she regularly contributes to the ministries of local churches, districts, conferences, and denominational agencies. She is the author of Reset the Heart: Unlearning Violence, Relearning Hope (Abingdon, 2017).