Lighting the Christ Candle
God of the journey we thank you that we have come at last to Bethlehem.
We thank you for the gift of the infant Jesus, for the person he became, and for the
light and love he brought into our world.
As we arrive at the manger, we give you thanks for the Light which shines through the
darkness of the world and which is not overcome. (Christ candle is lit)
HYMN: #6 VU “A Candle is Burning” (v.5)
Call to Worship
Tonight we gather in the presence of the Divine, remembering when angels filled the
night with song and shepherds came to kneel before a manger.
O come, all ye faithful.
We come to hear the Christmas story.
O come, all ye faithful.
We come once more to Bethlehem that we, too might kneel at the manger and fill the
night with song.
HYMN: #60 VU O Come, All Ye Faithful
Opening Prayer
What do we want for Christmas?
We want to kneel in Bethlehem, the air thick with alleluias, the angels singing that
Divinity is born among us.
By the light of the star, we want to see them come, the wise ones and the humble.
We want to see them come, bearing whatever they treasure to lay at the feet of the
one who gives Life.
What do we want for Christmas?
To see in that stable the whole world kneeling in thanks for a promise kept: new life.
For in this nativity we find our own.
Journey to Bethlehem
Joseph and Mary’s journey
Luke 2:1-5 In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world
should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was
governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from
the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because
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he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with
Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.
Hymn: # 48 Hark! The herald angels sing
Story: Mary & Joseph’ journey by Roy Borotlotto
“What a time to call a census!” thought Joseph as he packed the donkey with provisions
for the ninety mile journey to his ancestral hometown, Bethlehem. This wasn’t the first
unusual circumstance to come into his life over the past months. But what it all meant left
him wondering just what God was asking him to do.
Joseph was a quiet, faithful and hard-working man who worked with stone and wood.
Many homes in Nazareth had been either built or furnished with his skillful hands. He
hoped to make a suitable place to live for his beloved fiancée, Mary, and for the family
they would one day raise together. It had been a shock and a surprise when she told him
that she was already expecting a baby! Not to mention the rest of what she said, “An
angel from God appeared to me and said that our baby boy would be named Jesus and
called Emmanuel, God-with-us! He would be the long-awaited Messiah come to save our
people. I believed the angel’s message. Joseph, do you believe?”
It was clear that Mary believed, though Joseph wondered at her strange tale. If only he
could accept her story! If only he could believe!
Then, that very night, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, and reassured him that he
should believe. He shouldn’t be afraid to take Mary as his wife. Together he and Mary
would raise this child who would one day do God’s work.
On awaking, Joseph found that believed the messenger in the dream. He knew that Mary
had spoken only truth. The story was so fantastic. He was a common laborer. Mary was
just an ordinary village girl. How was it that they could be worthy? And how could they
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hope to fulfill this responsibility that had been laid upon them? He doubted his ability to
provide the kind of environment this child would need.
Then, late in Mary’s pregnancy, word came of this census. They would have to make a
journey to Bethlehem. Resigned, yet fearful, Joseph prepared for the trip. He wondered
how God could allow such a thing to happen. He worried about how Mary would
manage.
The journey proved difficult and tiring for her. Joining many others moving south-west
toward Jerusalem, there was both company and loneliness. As they journeyed in the
midst of a crowd, they both realized that what was happening with them was different
than everyone else. Would they be able to raise this child in the way God needed him
raised? Would their faith be strong through the challenges ahead?
When the journey ended on a dark night in Bethlehem, all they found was an animal
shelter beneath the home of a relative. There amid the animals and the hay, Mary would
give birth.
How many times have we been faced with unusual or unbelievable events? Backed by a
life of belief and trust in God’s working with us, have we been able to respond as Mary
and Joseph did, as willing and faithful doers of what God asked of us? Even if it meant
difficulty or hardship, putting these challenges into God’s care may have meant the
difference between holding back in fear or going forward in hope. Not that Mary or
Joseph didn’t have doubts, but these were answered by the conviction that God had a
great purpose for them, as indeed God has for everyone. Not that we won’t have
questions and concerns, but God will answer them in the best way at the right time. We
need to be ready to receive them, as were Mary and Joseph, who brought into the world a
child who would be Christ, the Lord–born in the humblest of places on a dark night far
from home.
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The Innkeeper’s journey
Luke 2:6-7 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. and she
gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a
manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
Hymn: # 69 Away in a manger
Story: The Innkeeper’s Journey by Elizabeth Goodson
First of all let me set the record straight. It wasn’t an inn. Bethlehem was too small to
have an inn. It was my house – or rather the upper room, the kataluma or living space of
my house - in which there was no room. Eight of us live in that room: my spouse and I,
our five children, my mother-in-law. At night, once eight pallets are spread out on the
floor there is no room in the kataluma. And the poor woman was in labor. Even if there
had been room, would she want so many around her in her pain and distress?
Truth to tell I was not so sure I wanted to be around her in her pain and distress. I need
my sleep. Bad enough when it was my own woman keeping me up all night, screaming
with the birth pangs. Why should I have to endure a sleepless night for the sake of a
stranger?
But they were relatives. Distant relatives, true, but relatives, nonetheless. And they had
nowhere else to go. My wife reminded me of that. When they came to the door, looking
for lodging, and I told them there was no room she touched my elbow. gently. “Joachim,”
she murmured. “Hospitality! Even if they weren’t your kin we would have an obligation!
Would you turn a woman out to bear her child in the streets? Shame, Joachim. Remember
when our children were born?”
Of course I remembered! I remembered a sleepless night, gritting my teeth against the
moans and cries, then against screams. That was exactly the point. I remembered and I
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did not want to endure that again. I didn’t want my children kept awake, possibly
terrified. I started to say all this but my wife silenced me with a look. “Hospitality,
Joachim. Kindness. Mercy. What would the Good God expect us to do?’
Well, she had me there. I knew my duty to God. We are to care for the helpless. We are
to shelter those who have no place to go. We are to feed the hungry. It is all right there in
the Torah. I groaned a little and turned back to the door. The couple had already turned
away. They were slowly walking from the house, the woman bent over a little and
holding her stomach. I heaved a sigh and called to them, “There is no space in upper
room, our living space, but there is always the stable, under the house. Come, let me
show you. It is not so bad.
Normally from inside the house we descend to the stable by ladder. But this woman was
in no condition to climb down a ladder. Turning back into the house I grabbed an extra
oil lamp. Quickly my wife filled it with oil, trimmed the wick and lit it. Holding it aloft, I
led the couple around the house and down the hill. In back the house has two levels. The
bottom level, the stable, is built right into the hill. I opened the door into the undercroft
stable. It is not a huge door. It doesn’t have to be. We have a couple of goats and some
chickens. That’s all. Not likely those wealthy Romans with their ox and even horses! No
need for a great wide door nor for a huge stable. Still, its sturdy enough. Keeps the
weather out. Worse places to be on a winter evening.
By the time we reached the door, my wife and eldest son had already climbed down the
ladder. The door had been unbarred from the inside. My wife was working with a broom,
clearing a section of the floor. To one side were piled a couple of pallets, some blankets.
My wife finished her task and set the broom aside. “Joachim,” I looked at her, “Go fetch
some water. Warm it on the hearth then bring it here. “ I grunted and went to obey. When
I returned with the hot water the pallets were made up and the strangers were tucking into
some bread and a bit of lentil stew left from supper. They looked so young. I remembered
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when Anna and I were that young. I remembered when our first was born. How sacred
we’d been. Thank goodness Anna’s mother had been there to help. I wondered how this
young woman would manage without her own mother there. I glanced at my wife. She
reads my mind, you know. After all these years she always knows what I am thinking.
She smiled and gave a nod. Ýou go ahead up, Joachim. I’m going to keep Mary and
joseph company for a while. The baby may be arriving soon and I will help him into the
world.” She spoke calmly, firmly, with a smile for the young woman who crouched on
the floor of the stable, scooping up lentils with her flatbread and eating with quick bites.
The young woman, Mary, shot a look of gratitude at my Anna. I grunted again, gave a
nod and climbed up the ladder into to the upper room.
That night I lay awake, listening to low moans and cries, to the gentle, encouraging voice
of my wife and occasionally a murmured word or two from Joseph. Then just as the
moon rose high enough to beam its light in through the cracks round the shutters and door
I heard the cry of a baby. He sounded a healthy, lusty wee thing. I smiled, remembering
the first cry of my first born and how welcome it had been to my ears. I fell asleep with
that memory. After a while I roused a bit, hearing my wife climbed the ladder, and lay
down on her own pallet beside me. I reached out and took her hand. “Hospitality,” I
murmured. “How are mother and baby?”
“Both fine,” Anna assured me. “He’s a fine healthy boy. They are both asleep now. WE
swaddled him and put him in the manger. Joseph is watching to make sure the goats and
hens steer clear.”
“Ah. That’s good.” My eyes were starting to close again.
“You should go see him,” Anna said.
“I will, in the morning.”
“You should go now.”
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“Now?”
“Now.”
I sighed. But I knew better than to argue with that tone. So I got to my feet and picked my
way around sleeping children till I got to the ladder. The oil lamp was still shining below
so I was able to find the rungs easily. I climbed down. Joseph smiled and nodded to me.
Then he nodded towards the stone manger and I tiptoed over to peek at the new born. He
was sleeping like a baby. No surprise there. ‘Very handsome,” I whispered. I figured I
ought to say something.
Joseph’s smile deepened. “Thank you.” He paused, before he was even conceived Mary
had a vision. An angel told her we would have a son who would be called Emmanuel.”
I started in surprise. “Emmanuel? God with us?”
Joseph nodded. I will be a good father. I will teach him the law and the prophets. I will
teach him of the God of our people. And some day he will be a great rabbi, teaching
others of the love of our God and of the dream of our people.”
“Dream?” I asked.
Joseph nodded, “That God’s kingdom of justice will one day come into being on earth.
On that day their shall be peace throughout the earth.”
“And goodwill among all people,” I added.
“Amen, may it be so,” replied the new father.
“And you think your boy will be a part of all this?” I asked.
“We will hope and pray it may be so. We will teach him all we know and all we believe
about the Good God. Perhaps he will be a part of bringing the kingdom to earth.”
“Perhaps so,” I responded slowly, then as conviction grew within my heart I repeated the
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words he had said earlier, “Amen, may it be so.”
I turned and walked back to the ladder. I began climbing but paused half way and turned
back to him. “You are most welcome here. There is plenty of room.”
The Shepherds’ journey
Luke 2: 8-17 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over
their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the
Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be
afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is
born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah,£ the Lord. This will be a
sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And
suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host,£ praising God and
saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he
favors!” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one
another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the
Lord has made known to us.” So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and
the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told
them about this child;
Hymn: #38 Angels We Have Heard on High v. 1-3
Story: The Shepherds’ journey by Barbara Wilkins
On the hillside the shepherds were bedding down for the night, pulling their camel hair
cloaks around them against the cold night air. A small bramble fire was their only source
of heat and light. Rocks, sparse grass and barren olive trees surrounded them as they
looked towards the village of Bethlehem, not far away. It was important that one person
stay awake at all times, on the lookout for predators that could suddenly disturb their
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flock. Sheep are nervous animals and need the comforting presence of their shepherd who
they know will supply them with all their needs and protect them from danger. Tonight it
was Josiah’s turn. He made sure his slingshot, rod and staff were close at hand.
Suddenly a dazzling light appeared in the sky, growing brighter until a figure could be
seen in it. Josiah and the others leapt to their feet, then fell to their knees, trembling
before the angelic person that spoke in a kind and gentle way. He told them not be afraid,
that he was the messenger of good news. A baby had been born in the village of
Bethlehem, the promised Messiah who would be savior of all people.
All people? Even them? Shepherds were the lowest members of Jewish society, the
poorest of the poor. Their testimony was dismissed in court. They couldn’t even enter the
Temple grounds. They owned nothing, and often didn’t have a home or family. Why
would a messenger from God be telling them this news? Why not tell the rulers of the
country? The temple priests, the religious leaders, the rabbis? Even the Roman officers?
It made no sense. And wouldn’t the Messiah be born in better circumstances than what
the angel described – a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger?
Soon thousands of angels joined in a glorious song of praise to God, “and peace on earth
to all whom God favors.” It was unbelievable that simple shepherds would not only be
among those “whom God favors”, but would be the first to hear about the promised one
who had just been born.
The angels vanished into the night sky as quickly as they’d appeared. The shepherds lost
no time in running into the village to see for themselves what the angel had told them.
Past the Roman guards and down the street, the shepherds searched until they found the
stable – a snug, warm place that smelled of hay and donkeys and cows. To the young
couple, hovering protectively over the baby lying in a trough of soft straw, they repeated
the words of the angels. The man Joseph listened hard, trying to grasp each word; Mary
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just smiled, the words sinking deep into her soul where they’d be treasured for years to
come.
There are many of us who know we’re not part of the ruling elite, or feel influential in
community or society. Certainly the shepherds understood both. But that didn’t stop God
from turning the tables on accepted human logic and throwing in a surprise – the birth of
the Holy Child in the lowest of circumstances. No matter who we are or how unimportant
we might be, God is so excited by our willingness to believe and trust that we might be
the first to receive some very special opportunities to help in bringing the Good News to
others. It might be an open door to visit someone who really needs a listening ear or a
helping hand. It might be witnessing the birth of faith in someone who is troubled and
needs help to find the God of comfort, guidance and love.
The shepherd’s journey to Bethlehem came about by the sudden breaking into their quiet
nighttime world of God’s dramatic power, drawing them into the holy purpose of
witnessing the arrival of Jesus, the Christ, come to open the way to God’s grace for all
humanity. Let’s do as they did, when God breaks into our lives with a holy purpose made
just for us.
Our journey
Luke 2:18 And all who heard what the shepherds told them were amazed. And all who
hear what the angels promise are filled with awe and wonder.
Hymn: #59 VU Joy to the World (v.1, 2, 4)
Poem: “In Search of Our Kneeling Places” (from Kneeling in Bethlehem by Ann Weems)
In each heart lies a Bethlehem, an inn where we must ultimately answer whether there is
room or not. When we are Bethlehem bound we experience our own advent in his. When
we are Bethlehem bound we can no longer look the other way conveniently not seeing
the stars nor hearing angel voices. We can no longer excuse ourselves by busily tending
our sheep or our kingdoms.
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This year let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that the Lord has made known to us.
Beside the tree, in the midst of unwrapping, let’s ponder in our hearts the Gift of Gifts.
Through the tinsel let’s look for the gold of the Christmas star. In the excitement and
confusion, in the merry chaos, let’s listen for the brush of angels wings. This year, let’s
go to Bethlehem and find our kneeling places.
Offering is Received
Offering is dedicated in song: What can I give him? VU 55 v.4
Prayer
God of infinite love, you come to us so powerfully and yet so quietly and unobtrusively
in the stillness of this night. Out of your great love and grace, you gift this world with the
Light that shines in our darkness.
Tonight, we journey once again to a stable in Bethlehem, As we kneel at the manger, as
our eyes behold once more the infant, let us see Emmanuel, God-with-us. And then may
our eyes be truly opened as we recognize, in the face of the Child, our own faces, as we
realize that the child that is born this night is born within us. Tonight the Christ is born
again, in you and in me. We are the Beloved Children of God.
May this realization transform our lives and our living. May the hope, peace, joy, and
love of Advent fill our hearts to overflowing. And may the light of the Christ shine in our
lives this day and every day. Amen.
Passing of the Peace and Lighting of the Candles
The light shines in the darkness and the darkness can never extinguish it…. Lighting a
taper from the Christ candle, passing this flame among us, we share more than just a bit
of fire. We are passing from hand to hand a reminder that the light of that can never be
extinguished is here, in our midst this night. As we pass the flame from one candle to the
next let us wish one another not a merry Christmas, but a blessed one.
(passing the flame)
You hold in your hand a reminder of Christ’s Presence in our midst. The light of Christ
also shines within you. You bear within you a spark of this Light, which shines in the
dark and which darkness can never extinguish. For just a moment focus your attention
inward and become aware of the presence of this sacred flame within you.
(silence)
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Hymn: Silent Night VU 67
This is a night of hoping, a night of wishing. Think of a hope that you have for the year
ahead.
Hymn: Blessed Christmas to you. Blessed Christmas to you. May Christ’s peace be with
you. Blessed Christmas to you.
Making a wish: Holding your hope for the coming year in your heart and offering it as
prayer, blow out your candle.
Commissioning: Christ is born! In your life and in mine, Christ is born once more into
the world this night. When you go forth from this place may the light of the Christ shine
through you, bringing blessings to the world. Go forth in hope, peace, joy and love
declaring the good news: Christ is born!
Sung Benediction: Go tell it on the mountain (chorus only) VU 43 X2
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