St ANDREW’S  CHRISTMAS  EVE
 
DECEMBER 24, 2022
 
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Traditionally  we  have an open offering  plate  in the greeting area on Christmas Eve if you  wish to leave a donation.   This year  we will donate offerings  to the weekly lunch program held by the Crossroads Methodist Church ( Shuswap Street ) for street folks
 
ADVENT READING
We are Christmas people.: We have heard the good news that a child has been born, a Son has been given to us, and he is named Wonderful Counsellor, Almighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
 
We have seen God kindle hope, peace, joy and love in our lives and in our world.
The center candle in our Advent wreath is the Christ candle. From this light, all good gifts come. We light this candle remembering the One who is the Light of the world. (Light the Christ candle)
Let us pray:
 
Holy One, you sent your son as a baby born in Bethlehem. Give us a strong sense of his birth among us, so that our lives reflect the warmth and wonder of this Christmas flame. Make your church a place that shines with the wonder of your love. Amen
 
HYMN      122  O come, O come , Emmanuel

 
PRAYER OF ADORATION
God of mystery and wonder, Creator, Christ and Spirit, On this holy night, the angels sing your praises with great joy. The shepherds welcome your saving love, Born in a manger, Mary and Joseph ponder your promise, cradled in their arms.  Glory to you, O God, for such gifts entrusted to us in Christ Jesus! We come to praise you, singing with the angels, amazed like the shepherds, cradling the Christ Child in our hearts once again. Glory to you, O God, Source of Light and Love for all people.  help us as we listen to the story of Jesus’ birth. Remind us that Jesus is what is most important about Christmas. Help us to make room for him in our lives Hear us as we confess together …
 
UNISON PRAYER OF CON FESSION
God of grace and mercy, you have given us the greatest gift of all, your Son Jesus, but we confess the pressure to give the perfect gift distracts us. Jesus was born in human flesh, but we fail to see the dignity in the human lives around us. Forgive us, O God, and help us cherish the true meaning of all you offer us each and every day in the child in the manger
 
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
The angel of the Lord assured Joseph he should take Mary as his wife, because her son, to be called Jesus, would save God’s people from their sins. This night, receive the gift of God’s forgiveness, offered in Christ Jesus. Know this gift is for you and share it with others in Jesus’ name. May the peace of Christ be with you
HYMN               129  Prepare the way, O Zion

 
SCRIPTURE     Isaiah I 9:2-7
 
HYMN      114  Emmanuel , Emmanuel

 
SCRIPTURE     Matthew  1:  16 – 24
 
MEDITATION
Throughout the  Old Testament,  predictions of God sending  a Saviour to counteract the evil and sins of His chosen people are voiced through  several prophets . Micah 5: 2   But you Bethlehem Ephrathah, though  you are small among the clans of Juda, out of you will come for me, one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times  
In the era of the last four decades of the eighth century BC , the prophet Isiah (7: 14) declares  Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin  will be with child and will give birth to a Son and will call him  Immanuel. Isiah in chapter 11:1  states “ there shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse.
When Israel’s first King, Saul’s reign tragically ends because of his disobedience to God, the prophet Samuel chooses a young shepherd –- David – the youngest son of a Bethlehem farmer- Jesse- to be anointed  King.
The gospel of Matthew names the 28 generations born between the reign of King David to the birth of Joseph, the man chosen by God to be the earthly Father  of Jesus . No where could I find a direct biblical reference to  Joseph prophetically being named beforehand
Interestingly – this man is a huge influence in the life of Jesus  Yet  we  know very little about him  Joseph is a carpenter from Nazareth, a Jewish descendent of King David. Of his early life we know nothing .He is a good man who loves and cares very much about Mary, the young  girl to whom  is engaged.  When he finds out Mary is pregnant, he wonderes what he should do. He is told by an angel in a dream that the baby Mary is carrying comes from God and that he should marry Mary and look after her and the child.
In yet another  dream Joseph wastes no time in protecting  this precious son when king Herod the Great  threatens to  kill all the infant boys in the area  to  protect  hos own reign in Judea. Joseph flees to safety in Egypt with Mary and Jesus
Joseph is obedient to  God  It is recorded  he  paid  great and faithful attention to  the  instructions  given  by God’s angels There are many legends surrounding Joseph as very little is recorded about him in scripture. No age is ever given. He has no mention of being around during Jesus ministry so it is assumed Joseph had died by then. Yet we can be certain this man was a very central part of Jesus childhood, and   teenage years which is when he would learn both life and  carpentry skills from this loving father. We give thanks and praise for this wonderful man who was central to the life of Jesus.
 
SCRIPTURE   Luke 2 : 1-14
MEDITATION
Every  Christmas I have  sung  “Silent Night , Holy Night “ from when  I first learned to  sing as a toddler. I  was  in my teens at a Gurl Guide camp in Smithers  before I ever  saw (and smelled)  a stable . When my  first child was born, it was in a sterile hospital  room with  plenty medical  staff present. That Christmas-  it hit  me –  the  words I had been singing fro  years didn’t  reflect my slow processes of understanding. I thought the person who wrote  this song  has his heart in the right place –  but  no concept  of reality.
I suspect we always get caught up in the romantic telling of a very complicated situation.  Scripturally actual details are missing.  What- we  might ask, are the details of importance which  might enhance our understanding . Just what might possibly have been missed in the following  centuries.
Luke’s infancy narrative feels intimately familiar. Nevertheless, it is a story that through its re-telling has come to accrue several additions that are absent in the text itself. Legend becomes  intwined  with scripture over the years. A scene in which a laboring Mary is going door to door with Joseph seeking out lodging is absent here. Our picturing  that Bethlehem  is a overcrowded  noisy town full of non residents and that
a dirty smelly stable is the place of birthing  hardly claims peace.
Surely there must have been  a midwife in the town  who  could  be summoned to help this very  young  girl through her  first birthing   But scripture  leaves out all those down-to-life details
The shepherds are, perhaps, among the most important characters of this story because of their role as witnesses who can confirm the truth of what has transpired. The shepherds are tasked with looking for what might not be immediately evident: cosmic significance within the mundane.
The task of reading this familiar story with an eye to the details that are not there is a good practice to encourage us to take a careful ,critical look at something that can feel so familiar that it may seem that nothing new can be discovered. Yet by attending to what is not in this text and looking for who is not in the picture  we might be equipped to hear these words again as good news for all.
While births are, undoubtedly, occasions for celebration, they are not clearly “signs” (2:12) that might otherwise be used as a marker of something of celestial significance. This birth, however, is very different. Indeed, the angelic host that appears on the scene heralds the far-reaching impact of this baby’s birth as an occasion for praising the divine (2:13-14)
Yes indeed! this is a Holy Night  !  But this is a human baby – I cannot, for the life of me,  fathom  “no crying he makes “ Babies  cry ! Even Jesus  would cry from birth onward ! While the  lack of details in the long run are secondary, the important fact of this  birth  is the beginning  of a very changed  world . From the moment this baby draws a breath , he is seen as a threat by those holding power.  We know the story of   his adult years – his life, ministry death and resurrection  His incredible role as out Lord and Saviour
 
This is not just good news for a few privileged recipients of an elite message. This is good news for all, even those who might be marginalized, oppressed, or otherwise absent from the spaces where good news is often proclaimed.
Christmas Eve is not often a time when God as the Creator is praised. Yet, the wonder of creation and this Holy Night is on full display: and we again sing  “Silent  night  Holy Night “ Tonight the carols we sing  proclaim the same story which  the angels proclaimed — this baby is not ordinary, but is indeed King and Creator of All.”  AMEN
Musical Presentation  ; I heard the Bells on Christmas

 
HYMN  137  Born in the night

 
Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession
O God in whom we live and move and have our being, In this season of Christmas, we give you thanks that your love took flesh in the Christ child and that his story still fills us with wonder.
With all the to-ing and fro-ing between family and friends this season, we remember Mary and Joseph and their journey in the midst of another busy time. Watch over all who want or need to travel in this severe  weather, for happy reasons or in the face of difficulties. May they find your peace in the midst of their journeys.
As we remember the innkeeper who found space for Mary and Joseph, we are grateful for the spaces we call home, whether simple or sophisticated. We pray for all those who are homeless, and those who seek a welcome in strange places. May they find an open door and kindness within.  We lift to you  those in our own community  who  have been deprived  of  safe  warm lodging due to lack of facility  and volunteers –
As we remember the shepherds watching over their flocks, we give you thanks for those who watch over us this night. We pray for all those who must work on holidays, tending the well-being of others. May they know a blessing in the services they provide and our gratitude for their efforts.
As we remember the angels and their message of peace and goodwill, we are grateful for peace and order in our communities. We pray for all those who work to establish and maintain peace in troubled places and troubled lives, knowing trouble rarely takes a vacation. Sometimes  we  feel  the whole world is in chaos – with war and political disfunction  Yet we know with certainty  you O God are  the sovereign  of  your world
Generous God, your gift to us in Christ Jesus still draws us to manger and opens our hearts with wonder. As we remember the Magi and the gifts they brought to honour the Christ Child ,we thank you for the generosity that overflows at this time of year. May it touch the lives that need it most. Bless our gifts in his name, so that they may draw others to your love and the blessing we have found in the Holy One, born for us this night  May each of us find ways to offer you what we value most in the year ahead.
Surprise us with new insights and refresh us with deep wisdom. Enfold us in the light of your Holy Spirit as we attend to the baby in the manger.
Hear these prayers and all the silent prayers of our hearts, O God, and cradle them and us in your holy wisdom, as we offer the prayer Jesus taught his friends and followers:
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father, who art in heaven hallowed be thy name,  thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.  Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
 
 HYMN   148  It came upon a midnight clear

 
CLOSING PRAYER
Blessing God, we thank you this holy night that you chose to be with us. Thank you for Mary and Joseph. Thank you for loving us and sending Jesus to be the saviour of all the Earth. May the grace of God, the Love of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit  be with you always  Amen.
 
HYMN   154  Silent night  Holy Night