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Opening Announcement: Sunday Worship today, the fourth Sunday in Advent, comes from Methodist College in Belfast and is led by the听 Rev Emily Hyland, the College Chaplain.

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MUSIC听 O little one sweet (JS Bach)

Rev Emily Hyland 听Welcome and Introduction

Good morning from Methodist College in Belfast. The school was founded over 150 years ago by the Irish Methodist Church and now there are over 2,000 pupils from a wide range of backgrounds and religious affiliations.

At the centre of the campus is the Chapel of Unity although to meet social distancing requirements the Chapel Choir has recorded the music in a larger venue. Our preacher today the Chairperson of the College Board of Governors Rev Dr Janet Unsworth who is听 Director of the Ministries Team of the Irish Methodist Church. will preach.

We worship God.

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.

MUSIC听听听听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 The Sussex Carol听 (English Traditional arr. Ledger)

Rev Emily Hyland 听Prayer

Lord God, you are worthy of worship and praise.
You have made all things and you have guided and supported your people in every age.
In your grace, you drew near to us in a helpless child
born for us and for our salvation.
We bless you for his life of compassion and love
for his death on the Cross and his rising again.
And that through him our sins are forgiven and we are restored.

Lord we confess that we sinned against you and our fellow women and men,

through ignorance, through weakness, through our own deliberate fault.
We have belittled your love and betrayed your trust.
We have often taken your forgiveness for granted,
sometimes thinking that it is your business to forgive us
and forgetting the cost of that forgiveness.
We are often unmoved by the wonder of your grace.

We confess too that we have not forgiven others as you have forgiven us.
Our hearts can be hard and graceless,
nursing grudges and carrying on pointless petty feuds for years,
totally neglecting the example of our Saviour Jesus Christ
who prayed for forgiveness for his tormentors.

We are sorry for our faults and failures and repent of them.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ who died for us, forgive us all that is past
and lead us from darkness to walk as children of light.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.听 Amen

MUSIC听听 In an ox鈥檚 stall听 (Thomas Hewitt Jones)

Rev Emily Hyland 听In this the last of our Advent Sunday worships we鈥檙e thinking about Forgiveness and the first reading from Psalm 103 reminds us of God鈥檚 mercy and compassion.

Reader The听Lord听is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9听He will not always accuse,
听听听听nor will he keep his anger forever.
10听He does not deal with us according to our sins,
听听听听nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11听For as the heavens are high above the earth,
听听听听so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12听as far as the east is from the west,
听听听听so far he removes our transgressions from us.
13听As a father has compassion for his children,
听听听听so the听Lord听has compassion for those who fear him.
14听For he knows how we were made;
听听听听he remembers that we are dust.

MUSIC听听 Lullaby (Dan Forrest)

Rev Emily Hyland 听In our second reading from St Matthew Chapter 18, Jesus tells a parable in answer to a question.

Reader Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, 鈥淟ord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me?听Up to seven times?鈥滼esus answered,听鈥淚 tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
听鈥淭herefore, the kingdom of heaven is like听a king who wanted to settle accounts听with his servants.听As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold听was brought to him.听听Since he was not able to pay,听the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold听to repay the debt.
听鈥淎t this the servant fell on his knees before him.听鈥楤e patient with me,鈥� he begged, 鈥榓nd I will pay back everything.鈥櫶�听The servant鈥檚 master took pity on him, cancelled the debt and let him go.
听鈥淏ut when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.听He grabbed him and began to choke him. 鈥楶ay back what you owe me!鈥� he demanded.听鈥淗is fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 鈥楤e patient with me, and I will pay it back.鈥�听鈥淏ut he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.听听When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.听鈥淭hen the master called the servant in. 鈥榊ou wicked servant,鈥� he said, 鈥業 cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.听Shouldn鈥檛 you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?鈥櫶齀n anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.听鈥淭his is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.鈥�

Rev Emily Hyland 听After our next Carol, the Rev Dr Janet Unsworth, Director of the Ministries Team of the Irish Methodist Church will preach.

MUSIC In the bleak midwinter听 (Philip Stopford)

Rev Dr Janet Unsworth Sermon

Over the last couple of months, our family has become familiar with the term 鈥� 鈥渕aking good.鈥�

Our house is being rewired. The electricians have finished their part 鈥� tracking the walls, encasing new wiring, fitting new plugs.

Now it is the turn of the plasterer to cover up those tracks and then for the painter to come in.

All with the promise that it will be made good 鈥揟he promise that very soon, those tracks in the wall obvious to us now, will all have been dealt with.The walls will be put right - 鈥渕ade good鈥�.

On this day - 19th December 1843 鈥� Charles Dickens鈥� novel 鈥淎 Christmas Carol鈥� was first published. From the beginning of the novel, the main character 鈥� Ebenezer Scrooge 鈥� is portrayed as both mean and greedy. He underpays his clerk, Bob Cratchit. He rebuffs the efforts of his nephew, Fred, and says 鈥淗umbug!鈥� to the Christmas festivities that bring joy to everyone around him.

The character鈥檚 name has become synonymous with someone who looks out for their own interests. You hear it said 鈥� 鈥渙h they are a bit of a scrooge鈥�! And yet 鈥� that analysis isn鈥檛 completely fair to the story that Dickens tells.

Dickens may well have written the novel to draw attention to the poverty and injustices of 19th century London, and their effect on children in particular. And sure enough, we see how poorly Scrooge treats others. But that is not the whole story.For the ending of 鈥淎 Christmas Carol鈥� is not the one shown to the terrified Scrooge by the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.

Instead, Scrooge realises that he will die alone and unloved if he carries on treating people in the way he does, and he tries to make amends. In doing so Scrooge experiences forgiveness, generosity and tolerance from his nephew Fred, and the Cratchit family 鈥� and Tiny Tim's life is saved.

What a transformation 鈥� A transformation that comes when forgiveness is experienced, when past actions are forgiven and forgotten, and relationships are put right 鈥� made good.

In the reading we heard from Matthew鈥檚 Gospel, Jesus is having a conversation with the disciples about the challenges of dealing with sin in a community where relationships should be characterised by forgiveness and mercy. And then Peter asks the question 鈥淗ow many times should I forgive?鈥� 鈥� before quickly offering his own answer 鈥� seven times.

Peter鈥檚 limit of seven times was generous by contemporary standards. The traditional rabbinical answer was three for the forgiveness of the same sin and there were harsher views which allowed no opportunity for repentance. The offer of seven times shows that Peter wants to take the initiative in making a difficult relationship good by offering forgiveness, even if he sets a limit on it.

Jesus鈥� answer is a brief one, 鈥渘ot 7 times, but 70x7鈥�.But it is an answer that stands in complete contradiction to the views of the day where forgiveness is seen as only God鈥檚 prerogative. Jesus uses two perfect numbers 7 and 10 鈥� whether he adds or multiplies them is unclear from the text 鈥� but the result is the same.

For in that answer, it isn鈥檛 the literal mathematical sum of the numbers that is important. It is the unbelievable calculation that forgiveness should be so vast that it is immeasurable.

We aren鈥檛 told how the listeners reacted, but the three scenes in the story which Jesus tells next gives us some insight into forgiveness itself. The story provides a demonstration of how it is possible to forgive 鈥� a remarkable, even ridiculous example of a King who holds the power, and yet shows mercy by offering forgiveness, rather than extracting justice.

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But it also gives us an example of how someone forgiven does not show forgiveness 鈥� Despite the clear echoes of the forgiven servant's own plea for mercy in the words of his fellow-servant, the actions he takes are in sharp contrast to the mercy of the King.

And then we see how onlookers take action when they have witnessed the unjust actions of one who has been 鈥渇orgiven鈥� and treated with mercy; and of a King who can鈥檛 lose face and so casts the unjust servant into prison, for a debt that could never be repaid.

In this story, this parable, Jesus offers us contrasting imagery 鈥� how enacting forgiveness could make the relationship good and how a lack of forgiveness can destroy relationships. And although the parable is dealing with an economic situation, the word used for debt is the same word used for sin in other contexts, and the word used for the cancelling of the debt is used elsewhere to mean the act of forgiving.

Often interpretation of this parable focuses in on trying to identify the different characters and work out meaning from that. 听But there is a danger - for when we try to analyse parables, we can lose what Jesus as the storyteller meant and how it was heard by his audience.

And in that context, Jesus鈥� teaching is as ridiculous and exaggerated as the first actions of the King in the story Jesus told. For Jesus is asking his disciples to reflect God鈥檚 activity rather than engage in retribution. Jesus鈥� message is that they should forgive and forgive and forgive again, and again and again. And he sets in front of them an example in which we see both how forgiveness can be limited and how it can stretch far beyond our wildest imagination.

It isn鈥檛 an easy message for us to hear; we can all think of people and situations where forgiveness doesn鈥檛 seem to be the just way to act; where the horror enacted by others, means that we cannot begin to see how a relationship could be made good. Yet Jesus鈥� final words in that passage reinforce the theme 鈥� only those who forgive with sincerity can experience the freedom of forgiveness themselves.

But isn鈥檛 that the story of Christmas? We love because God first loved us 鈥� a love, undiscriminating, undeserved and vulnerable. In the baby born in Bethlehem, God establishes a new form of relationship: a relationship characterised by love and mercy.

And in that moment God鈥檚 forgiveness is offered to humanity without being earned - a forgiveness that is unlimited and free, a forgiveness that is received through faith and is to be shared with all. And in that forgiveness, God鈥檚 Kingdom is realised on earth 鈥� God鈥檚 Kingdom - a sign that all can and will be made good.

MUSIC听听听 Away in a manger (Kirkpatrick arr Willcocks)

Rev Emily Hyland 听听and Readers Prayers

Let us pray

We pray for Christian people everywhere
that they may always have hearts open to your grace and truth
and to show these by word and example.
That they may be ever ready to display to others
the forgiveness they receive from you
Help them to live in the light of your coming,
and to be always obedient to your will,

We pray for your world
and especially places where violence always threatens
and oppression is rife
for those countries facing enormous difficulties
as they try to cope with coronavirus
Guide with your wisdom all leaders and rulers of nations
that they may always seek peace and the welfare or people.

Lord, we pray for those for whom this time of year is difficult:
Refugees and those far from families,
Those who have recently lost a loved one
or for whom this season of the year brings mainly sad memories
People who are lonely or isolated or suffering from severe illness
May they be conscious of your drawing near to them

We pray for those caught up in situations
which are marked by animosity and lasting grudges
by bitterness and misunderstanding
Send your healing grace to them
that forgiveness may be offered and experienced.

And these and all our prayers in the name and for the sake of Jesus Christ.
Our Father who art in heaven, hallow'd be thy name.
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil
for Thine is the kingdom the power and the glory for ever and ever.听 Amen

MUSIC 听O little town of Bethlehem (English Traditional arr. Vaughan William; descant: Thomas Armstrong)

Rev Emily Hyland 听And the blessing of God, Father, Son and holy Spirit be upon you all this day and for evermore. AMEN

Closing Announcement: JG Walther鈥檚*Prelude on Wachet* Auf ends today鈥檚 Sunday Worship from Methodist College Belfast which was led by the Rev Emily Hyland.听 The preacher was the Reverend Doctor Janet Unsworth. The Chapel Choir was directed by Ruth McCartney and the organist was Dr Joe McKee. The producer was Bert Tosh.

There is a wealth of worship over Christmas for every taste. On Christmas Eve you can join the Choir and congregation live in the candlelit chapel of King鈥檚 College for the annual Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, and then at eleven thirty pm as Christmas day dawns radio four goes direct to Salford Cathedral in Greater Manchester for the First Mass of Christmas where the Celebrant and Preacher will be Bishop John Arnold.