Blue Christmas Service 9pm, 12/24/20

Love Song in Absence
I sighed for a world left desolate without you,
All certainty, passion and peace withdrawn;
men like furious ants without the ant's humility,
Their automatic days led by mechanical dawn.
 
Voices all round me witnessed your unknown absence.
The stars clicked through their uncaring motions
Because they imagined nothing. An unchecked cruelty
Was born of winter fear.
 
Surgical lesions hardened round hearts from which you
   have been removed.
Only Museums remained. All difference was equated.
Columns of numbers and coins marched through the living flesh.
Relationship died away till all was separated.
 
You are gone, I said, and since through you I lived
I begin to die. Instruments have no song
Except the living breath. You moved in the artery
That withers without blood. You are gone too long.
 
But as I sighed, I knew: incomprehensible energy
Creates us and destroys, all words are made
In the long shadow of eternity.
Their meanings alter even as the thing is said.
And so, "Return," I cried, and at the word
Was silent, wondering what voice I heard.
                                                     Judith Wright, "Collected Poems" 1942-1985

OPENING SENTENCES
 
Priest:    The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
People:   those who lived in a land of deep darkness - on them a light has shined.
 
IN THE BLEAK MID WINTER  (Hymnal 1982) - Hymn 112 
 
Priest: This candle we light to remember those whom we have loved and lost.
            We remember their name, their face, their voice, the memory that binds them
            to us in this season. We ask you, God, to hold them in eternal love.
 
People:
O Lord, hear my prayer. O Lord, hear my prayer. When I call answer me.
O Lord, hear my prayer. O Lord, hear my prayer. Come and listen to me.
 
Priest: This candle we light for ourselves and our grief: the disbelief, the anger,
            the sorrow, the poignancy of memory and bittersweet reminiscence. We give
            you thanks for those who support us, God, and love us into the dawn of hope.
 
People:
O Lord, hear my prayer. O Lord, hear my prayer. When I call answer me.
O Lord, hear my prayer. O Lord, hear my prayer. Come and listen to me.
 
Priest:  This candle we light to recall the pains of the past and the pain of loss: the loss
             of relationships, the loss of jobs, the loss of health. We offer our pain to you,
             God, asking that you refresh, restore, and renew us.
 
People:
O Lord, hear my prayer. O Lord, hear my prayer. When I call answer me.
O Lord, hear my prayer. O Lord, hear my prayer. Come and listen to me.
 
Priest: This candle is lit in thanksgiving for the gift of hope and love. We thank
            You God, for sharing our life, showing us the Way, bringing Truth, and bearing
             Light.
 
People:
O Lord, hear my prayer. O Lord, hear my prayer. When I call answer me.
O Lord, hear my prayer. O Lord, hear my prayer. Come and listen to me.
 
THE LESSONS
 
Lector: A Reading from Isaiah 61: 1-4, 8
People:
 
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,  and release to the prisoners;  to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;  to provide for those who mourn in Zion— to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.  They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. For I the Lord love justice, I hate robbery and wrongdoing; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
 
Lector: The Word of the Lord
People: Thanks be to God
 
Lector:  Psalm 62: 1- 8
 
Men:       For God alone my soul waits in silence;
               from him comes my salvation.

Women:  He alone is my rock and my salvation,
               my fortress; I shall never be shaken.
 
All:          How long will you assail a person,
               will you batter your victim, all of you,
               as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
               Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence.
               They take pleasure in falsehood;
                they bless with their mouths,
                but inwardly they curse.
 
Women:  For God alone my soul waits in silence,
                for my hope is from him.

Men:        He alone is my rock and my salvation,
                my fortress; I shall not be shaken.

All:           On God rests my deliverance and my honor;
                my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.
                Trust in him at all times, O people;
                 pour out your heart before him;
                 God is a refuge for us.
 
Lector:  The Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew
People: Glory to you, Lord Christ
 
John 1: 1 - 4, 14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life,  and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.  And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

ORGAN MEDITATION
After the meditation, there will be a period of silence.
You are invited to come forward and light a candle if you would like.
 
Love Came Down At Christmas  - Hymn 84
 
LITANY OF AFFIRMATION
(Adapted from "First Coming by Madeleine L'Engle)
 
Priest:  God did not wait until the world was ready, till the nations were at peace.
 
People: God came when the heavens were unsteady and prisoners
                       cried for release
 
Priest:  God did not wait for the perfect time
 
People: God came when the need was deep and great. God dined with sinners in
                          all their grime

Priest:   God did not wait until the hearts were pure
 
People:  In joy, God came to a tarnished world of sin and doubt. To a world of
                   anguish and shame. God came in joy, and his light never goes out
 
Priest:   God came to a world which did not mesh; to heal its ill, and shield its scorn
 
People:  In the mystery of the Word made flesh, the maker of the stars was born
 
Priest:    We cannot wait until the world is whole, to raise our songs with joyful voice,
                    to share our grief, to touch our pain
 
All:         God came in grace, with love. Rejoice! Rejoice!
 
O Little Town of Bethlehem - Hymn 79
 
Benediction - Jude 24-25                                 
 
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.                   
​Amen.
 
Dismissal: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen