Today is Friday,
December 25th,
2020,
Christmas Day.
Oh Lord,
Let my soul rise up to meet you as the day rises to meet the sun.
Glory to God,
The three-in-one,
Creator,
Redeemer,
And sustainer,
As it was in the beginning,
Is now and will be forever.
Amen.
Oh come,
Let us sing together.
Let us worship and adore Christ the Lord.
Remind yourself that you are in God's presence.
Notice how God may be speaking to you today.
Let yourself dwell on a word or phrase that catches your attention,
And let your heart respond to God in prayer.
Please repeat these words.
The Lord's glory will appear,
And all humanity will see it together.
Luke 2,
Verses 1 through 7.
In those days,
Caesar Augustus published a decree ordering a census of the whole Roman world.
This first census took place while Quinarius was governor of Syria.
All the people were instructed to go back to the towns of their birth to register.
And so Joseph went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to the city of David,
Bethlehem,
In Judea,
Because Joseph was of the house and lineage of David.
He went to register with Mary,
His espoused wife,
Who was pregnant.
While they were there,
The time came for her delivery.
She gave birth to her firstborn,
A son.
She put him in a simple cloth wrapped like a receiving blanket,
And laid him in a feeding trough for cattle,
Because there was no room for them at the inn.
Please repeat these words.
The glory of the Lord will appear,
And all humanity will see it together.
I invite you now to hold someone before the Lord in prayer as we ponder the mystery with these words,
O Lord,
You were born,
Written by Anne Weems.
Each year I try to be sophisticated and pretend I understand the bored expressions relating to the Christmas spirit.
I nod when they say,
Put the Christ back in Christmas.
I say yes,
Yes,
When they shout commercial and hectic,
Hectic,
Hectic.
After all,
I'm getting older,
And I've heard it said Christmas is for children.
But somehow a fa la la keeps creeping out.
So I'll say it.
I love Christmas tencel and angel voices that come from beds upstairs.
And I say three cheers for Santa Claus and the Salvation Army bucket and all the wrappings and festivities and special warm feelings.
I say it is good,
Giving,
Praising,
Celebrating.
So hooray for Christmas trees and candlelight and the good old church pageant.
Hooray for shepherd boys who forget their lines and wise men whose beards fall off and a merry who giggles.
O Lord,
You were born.
O Lord,
You were born,
And that breaks in upon my ordered life like bugles blaring.
And I sing hark,
The herald angels in the most unlikely places.
You were born and I will celebrate.
I rejoice for the carnival of Christmas.
I clap for the pajama-clad cherubs and the Christmas cards jammed in the mail slot.
I oooh for the turkey and aww for the Christmas pudding.
And I thank God for the hallelujahs I see in the faces of people I don't know well and yet know very well.
O Lord,
There aren't enough choir boys to sing what I feel.
There aren't enough trumpets to blow.
O Lord,
I want bells to peal.
I want to dance in the streets of Bethlehem.
I want to sing with the heavenly host.
For unto us a child was given and he is called God with us.
For those of us who believe,
The whole world is decorated with love.
We pray today in the name of Jesus who taught us to pray.
Our Father which art in heaven,
Eternal God,
Earth-maker,
Pain-bearer,
Life-giver,
Source of all that is and all that shall be,
Not only Father but Mother of us all.
May the hallowing of your name echo through the universe.
May the way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world.
May your heavenly will be done by all created beings.
May your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today,
Feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another,
Forgive us.
In times of temptation and test,
Strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure,
Spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil,
Free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love,
Now and forever.
Amen.
My friends,
Let us go from this place proclaiming that we have seen the glory of the Lord.
Believing that there is a light that shines in the darkest shadows,
A brightness that will never be overcome.
And may the love of the Creator,
The joy of the Spirit,
And the peace of the Christ child be with you this Christmas and forevermore.
Amen.
Merry Christmas my friends,
Go in peace.
