The Christmas Promise

Christmas Eve Isaiah 9:2-7 Year C Opening Song Welcome Home Lighting of the Advent and Christ candle Opening Prayer O wondrous God of the stars, we come tonight with breathless wonder to see the babe who will change our lives. We hear the names “Wonderful Counselor,” “Mighty God,” “Prince of Peace,” and we are in awe. You have touched the earth this night with your unconditional love. Touch us— touch our hearts and minds and souls. May we never tire of this story. May we never take it for granted. Make this night magical again. Amen. Song Hark the Herald Angels Sing UMH 240 Invitation to the Offering Come now and kneel before the Christ child. Bring all that you are and all that you have. Offer your gifts in wonder and surprise and awe. Offer your gifts in joy and delight. Prayer of Thanksgiving So bring him incense, gold, and myrrh, come, peasant, king, to own Him. The King of Kings salvation brings. Let loving hearts enthrone Him. This, this is Christ the King whom shepherds guard and angels sing. Haste, haste to bring him laud the Babe, the Son of Mary. Dear Lord, accept our gifts to your mission on earth. Amen. TELLING THE STORY (Please use leader and people instead of presider and assembly) Presider: The Light of Christ is born anew this night as your heart. Assembly: And also yours. Presider: In the beginning, Light shines in the darkness – Loving, Beautiful, Good – giving birth to all creation, the center, the heart, of unfolding life. The Light graces all creation as God’s presence. Assembly: The Light is Christ. Presider: The Light is the child of Mary and Joseph. Assembly: The Light is Love. Presider: The Light is a Jewish mystic, sage, and prophet. Assembly: The Light is Beautiful. Presider: The Light is life in the midst of death. Assembly: The Light is Good. Presider: May Christ, the Light, reveal to all who would see the wisdom and wonder of God’s boundless love. All: Amen. We sit. Scripture Isaiah 9:2-7 [a] The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in a pitch-dark land, light has dawned. 3 You have made the nation great; you have increased its joy. They rejoiced before you as with joy at the harvest, as those who divide plunder rejoice. 4 As on the day of Midian, you’ve shattered the yoke that burdened them, the staff on their shoulders, and the rod of their oppressor. 5 Because every boot of the thundering warriors, and every garment rolled in blood will be burned, fuel for the fire. 6 A child is born to us, a son is given to us, and authority will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 There will be vast authority and endless peace for David’s throne and for his kingdom, establishing and sustaining it with justice and righteousness now and forever. The zeal of the LORD of heavenly forces will do this. Song Away in the Manger UMH 217 (verses 1, 3) Christmas Message Living By the Light Jesus Christ is the promise of Christmas. Steve Thomason is a Lutheran Pastor who tells the story of a promise that his older brother made to him as a child. He was a third grader and his brother was a junior in high school – you can predict how this promise will go. One year his mother was making his favorite cookies, thumbprint cookies. He loved the jelly inside of the thumbprint. So his brother promised him cookies if he went upstairs and cleaned his brother’s room and did all of his chores. Young Steve went upstairs and did the best that he could to make his brother happy. After he finished, he ran downstairs, his brother met him at the bottom of the steps with his hands behind his back. Steve waited in anticipation – and when his brother revealed his hand – sure enough there were thumbprint cookies. His brother laughed when he revealed that that the cookies had no jelly in them. Steve grew up and never forgot the so called promise that his brother made. Life is full of promises. The bible is full of promises. Christianity is full of promises Christmas is full of promises. Our scripture in Isaiah is a promise. Isaiah promises that the people who walk in darkness have seen a great light. People who were living in oppression and frustration will see freedom, as a leader is born who will lead them into a better life. This fortells the birth of Jesus. Christmas is full of promises. Christmas promises peace, joy, love and hope. Beautiful words that we hear every Christmas – but do you ever wonder if they will be fulfilled? Christmas eve in worship is perfect. But as soon as you watch the next newscast, we will be reminded that Christmas is not full of peace, joy, hope and love. Just last night I watched in horror as a shooting in Oakbrook mall occurred. All I could think of was being a parent sending my child Christmas shopping alone for the first time, only to hear that the mall was in lock down. I think that with all that is happening in our lives today – we can wonder if the Christmas promise even matters any more. And every year at Christmas we are reminded of the promises of Isaiah. It was a promise to the people of the time, but it was also a promise to the world. – that the current suffering would end. That promise manifested itself again thousands of years later when a baby was born in the manger. The promise manifest itself today – when we continue to have faith, even in the midst of a pandemic. We continue to hope that things will get better. Isaiah says that a son will be born and his name will be Immanuel – God is with us. he shall be called wonderful counselor, mighty god, eternal father, prince of peace. He shall be a savior. His name is Jesus. Does the Christmas promise still matter today – I think that is up to each of us. His Name at the Top _ missionary A Payne I had the nicest Christmas list, The longest one in town, Till Daddy looked at it and said, "You'll have to cut it down." I knew that what he said was true Beyond the faintest doubt, But was amazed to hear him say, "You've left your best friend out." And so I scanned my list again, And said, "Oh, that's not true!" But Daddy said, "His name's not there, That Friend who died for you." And then I clearly understood, 'Twas Jesus that he meant; For Him who should come first of all I hadn't planned a cent! I'd made a Christmas birthday list, And left the Saviour out! But, oh, it didn't take me long To change the list about. And though I've had to drop some names of folks I like a lot, My Lord must have the most---because His name is at the top! As long as we remember to keep Christ name at the top of our list, then God’s promises will come true. Is Christmas just a day in our life, or is our life contained in this day? Christ has to come first in all that we do, in order for the Christmas promise to make a difference for us all. If Christ is present in our hearts – then the promise will be fulfilled in the world. I leave you with the words of this poem May the Christmas GIFTS remind us of God’s greatest gift, His only Son. * May the Christmas CANDLES remind us of Him who is the “Light of the world.” * May the Christmas TREES remind us of another tree upon which he died. * May the Christmas CHEER remind us of Him who said, “Be of good cheer.” * May the Christmas FEAST remind us of Him who is “the Bread of Life.” * May the Christmas BELLS remind us of the glorious proclamation of His birth. * May the Christmas CAROLS remind us of the son the angels sang, “Glory to God in the Highest!” * May the Christmas SEASON remind us in every way of Jesus Christ our King! Let us celebrate the fact that the Christmas promise still lives today. Pastoral Prayer God of bright and shining stars, we come this evening with the reminiscences of the old, old story in our hearts. For many here, the story has been heard numerous times, flooding their lives with warmth and love; For others the story is new, surprising, causing wonder and surprise. All around us are symbols and reminders of the miraculous Birth. We see the greens which remind us of your eternal presence and love for us. The candles shed their glowing light helping us to remember the many ways in which you have brightened our lives and offered light to our journey. The colors, the music, and aromas, the people, invite us again into your wonderful presence in the world in the birth of your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. In this world in which your holy land is in such turmoil, shed your light anew, that your healing Love may bring Peace and Hope to people in conflict. We ask that you protect all those who are in harm’s way; all those who live lives of anguish, poverty, oppression. We ask your loving presence to be with those who refuse to believe in you; who see your word through the church as a tradition, but see very little impact in their daily lives. Let the Light of Jesus Christ penetrate that darkness of alienation and bring Hope and Peace to all your people. May the light of the stars which sparkled in those dark skies, again illuminate our lives, guiding, healing, leading us to you, Blessed God.. As we gather in this time and place, hearing the story of the birth, remind us again that you are born continually in our lives. In gratitude we offer our praise and our love to you. AMEN. Invitation to Communion This is a magical night. God-with-us has come to touch our world, our lives. God-with-us has come to bring us out of darkness into a glorious light. God-with-us invites us now to come to the table, believing in the promises of God fulfilled tonight. Here we hear angels, and see shepherds, and are transformed by a baby. Here love is offered, and love is found, in the sharing of bread and cup. Here we find our journey’s end and its beginning. Communion – page 13 PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION We are filled with joy for we have heard good news of great joy. We are filled with love for we have tasted the sign of God's great love. We are filled with hope for the angels still sing in our world and there is a Light for us to follow. Passing of the Light Silent Night – UMH 239 Benediction May the light that began at creation, continued through the witness of the prophets, and has come to fullness at the Birth of Jesus Christ , be in your hearts and minds this evening. As you go from this place may your spirits be filled with joy and hope; for God’s precious Light has been given for you. Go in Peace and know that God’s peace always goes with you. AMEN. Additional illustrations Slow Down and Welcome Christmas “The Christmas spirit comes on me more slowly than it used to,” writes Joan Mills, a mother of three children, in her book Christmas Coming. “But it comes, it comes. Middle-aged (most of the time) and jaded (some of the time), I complain of plastic sentiment, days too brief, bones too weary. Scrooge stands at my elbow muttering, “Bah!” and “Humbug!” as I total the bills. But when I acknowledge the child I once was (and still am, somewhere within), the spirit of Christmas irresistibly descends.” “For Christmas is truly for children those we have, and those we have been ourselves. It is the keeping-place for memories of our age in lovely ritual and simplicities. “I’m tired,” I say fretfully. “There’s just too much to do! Must we make so much of Christmas?” “Yes!” they say flatly. “But bayberry, pine and cinnamon scent the shadowed room. Snow lies in quiet beauty outside. I hear someone downstairs turning on the tree lights while another admires. I lie very still in the dark. From the church in the village on the far side of the woods, carillon notes fall faint and sweet on winter clear air. “Silent night,” my heart repeats softly. Holy night. All is calm All is bright. “As I take the stairs lightly going down, no bones weary now, my whole self is thankful; once again, I am flooded with the certainty (call it faith) that there’s goodness in the world, and love endures.” Leonard Sweet, adapting Joan Mills, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com Pick Up the Baby Sam Levenson tells a wonderful story about the birth of his first child. The first night home the baby would not stop crying. His wife frantically flipped through the pages of Dr. Spock to find out why babies cry and what to do about it. Since Spock’s book is rather long, the baby cried a long time. Grandma was in the house, but since she had not read the books on childrearing, she was not consulted. The baby continued to cry. Finally, Grandma could be silent no longer. “Put down the book,” she told her children, “and pick up the baby.” Good advice. Put down the book and pick up the baby. Spend time with your children. Particularly at Christmastime. We have the mistaken notion that good parents give their children lots of things. Wrong. In a survey done of fifteen thousand schoolchildren the question was asked, “What do you think makes a happy family?” When the kids answered, they didn’t list a big house, fancy cars, or new video games as the source of happiness. The most frequently given answer was “doing things together.” Notice the joy with which Mary and Elizabeth greeted the news of their pregnancy. King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com After unwrapping all of his presents, a little boy was asked, “Did you get everything you wanted for Christmas?” He thought a moment and said, “No, but then, it’s not my birthday.” Source: The Speaker’s Quote Book, Roy B. Zuck