Christmas Eve Service of Lesson and Carols - 2016

A Christmas Eve Service of Lessons, Carols & Readings:

A Vesper Service

Christmas Brass – Trumpet, Horn and Trombone

Carol ~ O Come, All Ye Faithful      
 

Opening Words / Welcome

Tonight we celebrate the birth of the Jesus - how God becomes vulnerable to us as an infant, a babe, needing our tender care and nurture and comfort. Tonight as we read Luke's account, we have interspersed readings and carols - sharing some of the ways that this event has inspired others. Tonight as we read and sing these words of inspiration, may our hearts be inspired to look for the Spirit of Love, Love’s Holy Light, in one another and the world at large. May we leave with a renewed sense of what is important in the world, a renewed sense at how God is at work, calling us forth to join in with our own hands.

Lighting the Christ Candle:  

     ~ Tonight, Everyone is Displaced ~ Rev. Tom Schade

Tonight, everyone is displaced and homeless.
Tonight, everyone searches for Bethlehem.
On this night, when the darkness comes so close,
We listen, in the stillness, for the songs of angels.
Like shepherds, we aren't too sure of what is happening.
We don't know why we are so expectant.
We don't know why we long so deeply for miracles.
Tonight we pray that we might know the one we are seeking.
Tonight may we kneel like kings,
before that which is greater than any kingdom on earth.
Tonight, may we see the holy family that we are a part of.
And may we hear the music that reminds us of our truest home.

Carol ~ Joy to the World       

Reading ~ Luke: 1:26-35, 38

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! the Lord is with you." But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called the Son of God. ..." Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

    

 ~ This Is No Time for a Child to be Born ~ Madeleine L'Engle

This is no time for a child to be born,
With the Earth betrayed by war and hate
And a comet slashing the sky to warn
That time runs out and the sun burns late. 

That was no time for a child to be born
In a land in the crushing grip of Rome
Honor and truth were trampled by scorn --
Yet here did the Saviour make his home. 

When is the time of love to be born?
The inn is full on planet earth,
And by a comet the sky is torn ---
Yet Love still takes the risk of birth.

Carol ~ Angels We Have Heard on High      

 Reading ~ Luke 2:1-7

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be taxed. This was the first taxation and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

     ~ The Eve of Christmas ~ James Kirkup

It was the evening before the night

That Jesus turned from dark to light.

Joseph was walking round and round

And yet he moved not on the ground.

He looked into the heavens, and saw

The pole stood silent, star on star.

He looked into the forest: there

The leaves hung dead upon the air.

He looked into the sea, and found

It frozen, and the lively fishes bound.

And in the sky, the birds that sang

Not in feathered clouds did hang.

Said Joseph: ‘What is this silence all?’

An angel spoke: ‘It is no thrall,

But is a sign of great delight:

The Prince of Love is born this night.’

And Joseph said: ‘Where may I find

This wonder?’ – ‘He is all mankind,

Look, he is both farthest, nearest,

Highest and lowest, of all mean the dearest.’

Then Joseph moved, and found the stars

Moved with him, and the evergreen airs,

The birds went flying, and the main

Flowed with its fishes once again.

And everywhere they went, they cried:

‘Love lives, when all has died!’

In Excelsis Gloria!

Christmas Brass – Trumpet, Horn and Trombone

 
Reading ~ Luke 2: 8-12

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were sore afraid. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for see - I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger."

     ~ Night Has Fallen ~ Rev. Tom Schade

Night has fallen.
Stars beckon in an indigo and velvet sky
Somewhere a baby is being born.
Tonight, the world lazes in a love of goodness
while glories stream from heaven afar
God is meeting us, tonight, where we are.
So be not afraid, and be of good cheer,
We wish you, each and all, Very Merry Christmas -
The hopes and fears of all the years have been met,
so Rest beside the winding road
and Hear the Angels Sing.

Carol ~ It Came Upon a Midnight Clear     

Reading ~ Luke 2:13-14

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom God favors!"

     ~ Snow in Bethlehem ~ Maya Angelou

Thunder rumbles in the mountain passes
And lightning rattles the eaves of our houses.
Flood waters await us in our avenues. 

Snow falls upon snow, falls upon snow to avalanche
Over unprotected villages.
The sky slips low and grey and threatening.

We question ourselves.
What have we done to so affront nature?
We worry God.
Are you there? Are you there really?
Does the covenant you made with us still hold?

Into this climate of fear and apprehension, Christmas enters, …

Hope is born again in the faces of children
It rides on the shoulders of our aged as they walk into their sunsets.
hope spreads around the earth. Brightening all things,
Even hate which crouches breeding in dark corridors. 

In our joy, we think we hear a whisper.
At first it is too soft. They only half heard.
We listen carefully as it gathers strength.
We hear a sweetness.
The word is Peace. …

We shout with glorious tongues the coming of hope.
All the earth's tribes loosen their voices to celebrate the promise of
Peace.

We, Angels and Mortals, Believers and Nonbelievers,
Look heavenward and speak the word aloud.
Peace.

We look at each other, then into ourselves,
And we say without shyness or apology or hesitation:

Peace, My brother.
Peace, My sister.
Peace, My soul.

Carol ~ The First Nowell      

Reading ~ Luke 2:15-20

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

     ~ The Moment of Magic ~ Victoria E. Safford

Now is the moment of magic,
when the whole, round earth turns again toward the sun,

and here's a blessing:
the days will be longer and brighter now,
even before the winter settles in to chill us.

Now is the moment of magic,
when people beaten down and broken,
with nothing left but misery and candles and their own clear voices,
kindle tiny lights and whisper secret music,

and here's a blessing:
the dark universe is suddenly illuminated by the lights of the menorah,
suddenly ablaze with the lights of the kinara,
and the whole world is glad and loud with winter singing.

Now is the moment of magic,
when an eastern star beckons the ignorant toward an unknown goal,

and here's a blessing:
they find nothing in the end but an ordinary baby,
born at midnight, born in poverty, and the baby's cry, like bells ringing,
makes people wonder as they wander through their lives,
what human love might really look like,
sound like,
feel like.

Now is the moment of magic,

and here's a blessing:
we already possess all the gifts we need;
we've already received our presents:
ears to hear music,
eyes to behold lights,
hands to build true peace on earth
and to hold each other tight in love.

Carol ~ O Little Town of Bethlehem            

Closing Reading ~ The Work of Christmas ~ Howard Thurman

When the songs of angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
     to find the lost,
     to heal the broken,
     to feed the hungry,
     to release the prisoner,
     to rebuild the nations,
     to bring peace among the brothers and sisters,
     to make music in the heart.

Carol ~ Silent Night              

Depart in Silence