Morning Service for Christmas 1 2023
HYMN – Infant holy, infant lowly BCS23 – Wzlobie Lezy
1 Infant holy, infant lowly,
for his bed a cattle stall;
oxen lowing, little knowing
Christ the babe is Lord of all.
Swift are winging angels singing,
nowells ringing, tidings bringing:
Christ the babe is Lord of all,
Christ the babe is Lord of all.
2 Flocks were sleeping, shepherds keeping
vigil till the morning new;
saw the glory, heard the story,
tidings of a gospel true.
Thus rejoicing, free from sorrow,
praises voicing, greet the morrow:
Christ the babe was born for you,
Christ the babe was born for you.
PRAYER OF PREPARATION
Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden:
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen
PRAYERS OF PENITENCE
Christ the light of the world has come to dispel the darkness of our hearts. In his light let us examine ourselves and confess our sins.
Lord of grace and truth, we confess our unworthiness
to stand in your presence as your children.
We have sinned:
Forgive and heal us.
The Virgin Mary accepted your call to be the mother of Jesus.
Forgive our disobedience to your will.
We have sinned:
Forgive and heal us.
Your Son our Saviour was born in poverty in a manger.
Forgive our greed and rejection of your ways.
We have sinned:
Forgive and heal us.
The shepherds left their flocks to go to Bethlehem.
Forgive our self-interest and lack of vision.
We have sinned:
Forgive and heal us.
The wise men followed the star to find Jesus the King.
Forgive our reluctance to seek you.
We have sinned:
Forgive and heal us.
May the God of love and power
forgive you and free you from your sins,
heal and strengthen you by his Spirit
and raise you to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen
THE COLLECT
Almighty God,
who wonderfully created us in your own image
and yet more wonderfully restored us
through your Son Jesus Christ:
grant that, as he came to share in our humanity,
so we may share the life of his divinity;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen
FIRST READING – Isaiah 61.10 – 62.3
I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; I will be overjoyed because of my God. For he clothes me in garments of deliverance; he puts on me a robe symbolising vindication. I look like a bridegroom when he wears a turban as a priest would; I look like a bride when she puts on her jewellery. For just as the ground produces its crops and a garden yields its produce, so the sovereign LORD will cause deliverance to grow, and give his people reason to praise him in the sight of all the nations.
“For the sake of Zion I will not be silent; for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be quiet, until her vindication shines brightly and her deliverance burns like a torch.” Nations will see your vindication, and all kings your splendour. You will be called by a new name that the LORD himself will give you. You will be a majestic crown in the hand of the LORD, a royal turban in the hand of your God.
HYMN – Of the Father’s love begotten BCS17 – Divinum Mysterium
1 Of the Father’s love begotten,
ere the worlds began to be,
he is Alpha and Omega;
he the source, the ending he,
of the things that are, that have been,
and that future years shall see,
evermore and evermore.
2 O that birth for ever blessèd
when the Virgin, full of grace,
by the Holy Ghost conceiving,
bare the Saviour of our race,
and the babe, the world’s Redeemer,
first revealed his sacred face,
evermore and evermore.
3 O ye heights of heav’n, adore him;
angel hosts, his praises sing;
pow’rs, dominions, bow before him,
and extol our God and King:
let no tongue on earth be silent,
ev’ry voice in concert ring,
evermore and evermore
GOSPEL – Luke 2.15-21
When the angels left them and went back to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, that the Lord has made known to us.” So they hurried off and located Mary and Joseph, and found the baby lying in a manger. When they saw him, they related what they had been told about this child, and all who heard it were astonished at what the shepherds said. But Mary treasured up all these words, pondering in her heart what they might mean. So the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen; everything was just as they had been told.
At the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
SERMON – Keith Atton
There will be some men here who like me are labelled colour blind. (It really is a misnomer -more like atypical colour vision) Many, many years ago, I said to a colleague, who asked where someone was, he is over there by the green curtains which covered the whole length and height of the large hall – only they were not green but red – making for some confusion.
If we had the right sort of lighting here and it was dark, we could make the crib scene appear to change, even though we know it had not changed at all. We accept what we see in films and on TV even though we know that what we see is an illusion that has been created by the film makers using lighting, camera angles and other special effects. I find it interesting that the same storey in different newspapers appears to be not the same at all. Sometimes this is because of conscious propaganda, but at other times it may be due to different world views of the different authors. Historians paint different word pictures of the same person.
As a historical accounts of the birth of Jesus the stories in Matthew and Luke do not hang together well. Matthew has no census, shepherds, or presentation in the temple, and implies that Joseph and Mary are living in Bethlehem at the time of the birth, while Luke has no magi, flight into Egypt or massacre of the infants, and states that Joseph lives in Nazareth. Nor can they we squared with what we know for certain, for example, Luke uses the census to get Jesus’ birth to occur in Bethlehem rather than Nazareth, where he was brought up, but there is no evidence of a census at the time Augustus was emperor and even if there had been one, it would not have included the territory of Herod, a client king. Even if it had happened, the end of the reign of Herod and the beginning of time when Quirinius was governor of Syria were ten years apart.
The story that Luke tells links Jesus’ birth to Israel’s line of prophets, whose mission he will go on to fulfil. What Luke goes on to describe in his gospel is foreshadowed in this introduction, which makes clear that Jesus is the one promised in the Old Testament, making use of scriptural references to Psalms, Kings, Judges, and Isaiah. After God’s promises to send a saviour, now God has reached out directly to his people. In His ministry Jesus reaches out to those of no great account in His world; for Luke, Jesus’ birth is ignored by all but a few outcastes, like the shepherds, who were on the margins of society, in contrast to Matthew who has wise men come to visit Jesus, clearly people of some considerable importance because King Herod was happy to consult and use them.
What matters is surely not the details of Jesus’ birth, since neither the gospels of Mark nor John have anything to say about it, suggesting, even if known, it was not important to these writers. Paul’s much earlier reference to Jesus’ birth found in Galatians 4.4 merely states that Jesus was “born of a woman” i.e., a human being. It is surely His resurrection which is of overwhelming importance.
When Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection, it was as if the curtain had suddenly changed colour, as if the lighting had changed and had made the crib scene appear to be transformed; his disciples saw what they had experienced in Jesus company with new eyes, as we might express it. What they saw with their new eyes was Jesus whole ministry transformed and therefore a new view of who Jesus was. They could only describe Jesus now, after the resurrection as, the Christ, the promised Messiah, the Lord, the Son of God.
It is sad that Christmas is seen by many as the most important Christian festival with its jolly Father Christmas, turkey and presents etc., when it only makes sense in the light of Easter. The end of Jesus earthly mission returned to the beginning, changed what it meant, as seen by Luke, by the sources he used and, no doubt, by us today too.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
Let us declare our faith in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Christ died for our sins
in accordance with the scriptures; he was buried;
he was raised to life on the third day
in accordance with the scriptures;
afterwards he appeared to his followers,
and to all the apostles: this we have received,
and this we believe. Amen. 1 Corinthians 15.3-7
HYMN – Good King Wenceslas BCS 29 – Tempus Adest
1 Good King Wenceslas looked out
on the feast of Stephen,
when the snow lay round about,
deep, and crisp, and even;
brightly shone the moon that night,
though the frost was cruel,
when a poor man came in sight,
gath’ring winter fuel.
2 ‘Hither, page, and stand by me,
if thou know’st it, telling:
yonder peasant, who is he,
where and what his dwelling?’
‘Sire, he lives a good league hence,
underneath the mountain,
right against the forest fence,
by St. Agnes’ fountain.’
3 ‘Bring me flesh and bring me wine,
bring me pine logs hither;
thou and I will see him dine,
when we bear them thither.’
Page and monarch, forth they went,
forth they went together;
through the rude wind’s wild lament,
and the bitter weather.
4 ‘Sire, the night is darker now,
and the wind blows stronger;
fails my heart, I know not how;
I can go no longer.’
‘Mark my footsteps, my good page;
tread thou in them boldly:
thou shalt find the winter’s rage
freeze your blood less coldly.’
5 In his master’s steps he trod,
where the snow lay dinted;
heat was in the very sod
which the Saint had printed.
Therefore, Christians all, be sure,
wealth or rank possessing,
ye who now will bless the poor,
shall yourselves find blessing
INTERCESSIONS – Sheila Forbes
As the Wise Men make their way following the star to the child Jesus may we who have celebrated his birth find our journey through the coming year to be lit by what we have witnessed, a witnessing which has filled our hearts and minds with joy and strength.
Waiting for the arrival of the wisemen, we pray most earnestly for their wisdom, their courage and their faith to be brought to all tables where the leaders of nations gather. May the horror of wars bred from hatred of cultural differences, bred from anger at the suffering inflicted by another faith be seen for what it is: the profitless destruction of fellow creatures, each created by God to have such potential.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
The old year dies tonight and a new arrives but the lack of food and shelter does not vanish for the families struggling to live with dignity and security. We pray that practical help and good cheer are found and peace of mind for the worried.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
The new year looms for this benefice as we face some uncertainty in our leadership. Some of us feel the years, our age, but not the heirs to take over. We pray for a continuation of all that our three churches have offered over the centuries and a path into the future which places us at the heart of the community and our schools.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for those for whom this day may seem long and hard, for those who are unwell, for those in hospital or ill at home waiting for surgery, those struggling with despair or depression. We ask that they stretch out a hand to find your hand lord and thus find comfort in your healing presence and trust that all shall be well, whatever the outcome.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We remember with deep gratitude those who have left their mark on our lives by giving us love and laughter. We hold them in our hearts, knowing that, you Lord, hold them in yours.
Merciful Father,
accept these prayers, for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
As our Saviour taught us, so we pray:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen.
BLESSING
May the eagerness of the shepherds, the joy of the angels,
the perseverance of the wise men, the obedience of Joseph and Mary,
and the peace of the Christ-child be yours this Christmastide,
and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be upon you and remain with you always. Amen
HYMN – Joy to the world BCS 16 – Antioch
1 Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let ev’ry heart prepare Him room,
And Heav’n and nature sing,
And Heav’n and nature sing,
And Heav’n, and Heav’n and nature sing.
2 Joy to the earth! The Saviour reigns;
Let us our songs employ,
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, & plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.
3 He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, and wonders of His love
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord – In the name of Christ. Amen