GATHERING AND GREETING
Welcome & Announcements
Because we haven’t been lighting the Advent candles for the past few weeks and Christmas is just around the corner, this service combines the Christmas story with the season of Advent.
This land acknowledgement was written by one of my fellow students at St. Andrew’s College in Saskatoon. Mitchell Anderson is a gay Cree/Metis minister now serving St. Paul’s United Church in Saskatoon. I adapted his acknowledgement to our particular territory.
Advent Land Acknowledgement (By Mitchell Anderson)
Long ago, all of this land was covered by ice
Clothed in a winter without end
But God our Creator brought back the warmth
Pulling back the ice and revealing this land
Plants and animals returned to the land
And it was good
Then God gave to the land many peoples
And many peoples to the land
To care for one another
To live together
And in this time, we celebrate the gifts of the traditional and unceded territory of the K’omoks and Coast Salish peoples.
We celebrate all who make this place a home today
We celebrate together with the God of justice
As a people called to love and serve others
Called to seek justice
We eagerly await the day where the heavens are glad and the earth rejoices
Where all will share our abundance together
We work and wait for that day, when all will live together
in hope, peace, joy and love. Amen.
Lighting the Advent Candles: The Gifts of the Four Directions (By Jeanne Manning Stright, www.united-church.ca)
Introduction
The Medicine Wheel is very important to many First Nations people although not the people who live here on the West Coast. The Medicine Wheel has four parts and they stand for the four directions, or the four seasons, or the four stages of life. The circle is a symbol of balance, and wholeness and healing. It’s not just a flat symbol either! First Nations people imagine it in a big round sphere, with the Creator above and Mother Earth supporting the wheel.
Different First Nations use different colours for the four seasons on the Medicine Wheel, but here are the colours used in our United Church crest, and in our Advent candle lighting liturgy.
East-yellow, spring, awareness, new beginnings, baby
South –red, summer, growth, peace, adolescent
West- black, fall, introspection, change, adult
North – white, winter, wisdom, age
In this image, you can see lots of other meanings for the four directions.
The nature of a circle is that it has no beginning or end, but traditionally we enter the wheel facing East. In this litany, because the Advent season ends with the birth of Jesus, we face East at the end rather than the beginning. At one and the same time, it is the end of one story and the beginning of another.
And so we begin in the South:
South (summer, growth, peace)
Reading: Micah 5:2-5a
As for you, Bethlehem of Ephrathah,
though you are the least significant of Judah’s forces,
one who is to be a ruler in Israel on my behalf will come out from you.
His origin is from remote times, from ancient days.
3 Therefore, he will give them up
until the time when she who is in labor gives birth.
The rest of his kin will return to the people of Israel.
4 He will stand and shepherd his flock[a] in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
They will dwell secure,
because he will surely become great throughout the earth;
5 he will become one of peace.[b]
We light this candle in the direction of the south, signifying summer, the time of warm breezes and growth in our lives.
We look to the south, toward Bethlehem, and the promise that from Bethlehem shall come a ruler who shall rule in gentleness and peace.
Creator God, as we await your promised reign of peace, help us to be peacemakers. May your face shine upon us, that we may grow in gentleness and learn the ways of peace. Amen.
Light the South candle as we sing:
HYMN: MV#158, verse 1 “Dream a Dream”
West (fall, introspection, change)
Reading: Mark 1:1-5
1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus Christ, God’s Son, 2 happened just as it was written about in the prophecy of Isaiah:
Look, I am sending my messenger before you.
He will prepare your way,
3 a voice shouting in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way for the Lord;
make his paths straight.”[a]
4 John the Baptist was in the wilderness calling for people to be baptized to show that they were changing their hearts and lives and wanted God to forgive their sins. 5 Everyone in Judea and all the people of Jerusalem went out to the Jordan River and were being baptized by John…
We light this candle in the direction of the west, the place where the sun sets, the place of introspection.
We look to the west, toward the Jordan valley, remembering John the Baptist, who came to prepare the way of the Lord, calling people to repent.
Creator, as we prepare your way in our world, give us the courage to look within ourselves to see what needs to be changed. Help us to turn from all that separates us from you and from each other; to turn toward you and walk in the light of your love. Amen.
Light the West candle as we sing:
HYMN: MV#158, verse 2 “Dream a Dream”
North (winter, age, wisdom)
Reading: Luke 2:1-4
2 In those days Caesar Augustus declared that everyone throughout the empire should be enrolled in the tax lists. 2 This first enrollment occurred when Quirinius governed Syria. 3 Everyone went to their own cities to be enrolled. 4 Since Joseph belonged to David’s house and family line, he went up from the city of Nazareth in Galilee to David’s city, called Bethlehem, in Judea.
We light this candle in the direction of the north, reminding us of white snow and winter winds, and the wisdom that comes with age.
We look to the north, toward Nazareth, remembering Joseph and Mary, who made a difficult journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem in the final stages of Mary’s pregnancy.
Creator, as you spoke to Joseph and Mary in their dreams and through your messengers, speak to us. Give us the wisdom to discern what you are calling us to do and how we can serve you in the world. Amen.
Light the North candle as we sing:
HYMN: MV#158, verse 3 “Dream a Dream”
East (spring, awareness, new beginnings)
Reading: Matthew 2:1-6
2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the territory of Judea during the rule of King Herod, magi came from the east to Jerusalem. 2 They asked, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We’ve seen his star in the east, and we’ve come to honor him.”
3 When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, and everyone in Jerusalem was troubled with him. 4 He gathered all the chief priests and the legal experts and asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They said, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what the prophet wrote:
6 You, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
by no means are you least among the rulers of Judah,
because from you will come one who governs,
who will shepherd my people Israel.”[a]
We light this candle in the direction of the east, the place where the sun rises. and we awaken to a new day.
We look to the east, remembering the Magi, who saw a bright new star rising and followed it to find a child, born to make a new beginning.
Creator, in the birth of your son, you make all things new. May your saving power rise on us like the sun, bringing healing like the sun’s rays, that together we may heal the earth and heal each other. Amen.
Light the East candle as we sing:
HYMN: MV#158, verse 4 “Dream a Dream”
Opening Prayer
Like the long-ago shepherds, we are unlikely receivers of God’s good news. Yet, here we are, hearing it again as if for the first time. Summon us to your crib-side in the fragrant barn, surrounded by your creatures great and small. Open our hearts to the full impact of the news that your gifts of yourself and Creation come to us without conditions attached. Open our mouths and our lives to speak and live out your good news in the days and months to come. Amen.
HEARING AND RESPONDING
Luke 1:39-45
39 Mary got up and hurried to a city in the Judean highlands. 40 She entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 With a loud voice she blurted out, “God has blessed you above all women, and he has blessed the child you carry. 43 Why do I have this honor, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. 45 Happy is she who believed that the Lord would fulfill the promises he made to her.”
And Mary sang and praised God:
HYMN: MV#120, “My Soul Cries Out”
Luke 2: 5-14
5 Joseph went to be enrolled together with Mary, who was promised to him in marriage and who was pregnant. 6 While they were there, the time came for Mary to have her baby. 7 She gave birth to her firstborn child, a son, wrapped him snugly, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the guestroom.
8 Nearby shepherds were living in the fields, guarding their sheep at night. 9 The Lord’s angel stood before them, the Lord’s glory shone around them, and they were terrified.
10 The angel said, “Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you—wonderful, joyous news for all people. 11 Your savior is born today in David’s city. He is Christ the Lord. 12 This is a sign for you: you will find a newborn baby wrapped snugly and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great assembly of the heavenly forces was with the angel praising God. They said, 14 “Glory to God in heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.”
Reader: Holy Wisdom, Holy Word. Thanks be to God!
Reflection: “Shepherd’s Tales”
Today’s reflection is really just two stories about shepherds. One is from two thousand years ago, the night that God chose to tell some shepherds living in the fields the Good News of God’s arrival on earth.
The other one is from almost as long ago when I was a teenager, in a small town in the southern Alberta foothills. It was a windy town of uneasy contrasts, surrounded by prosperous farmland giving way to wilder, rolling country as you approached the mountains. There were established businesses and tidy houses on one side of the railway tracks and on the other side, some small manufacturing industries and the much more modest homes of the labourers who worked there. On the streets and in the cafes and bars, farmers, business people, ranchers and First nations people from two large nearby reserves all rubbed shoulders, not always peacefully.
My Dad was the United Church minister there, and my story is about one special lady who was a member of our congregation. Her name was Maisy, and in addition to attending our church she also came to help my Mom with her housework once a week. Every week she would knock briefly on the door, then open it and call out, “It’s only me, it’s only Maisy!”
Maisy’s appearance was unique, to say the least. She cut her own hair and pinned it severely back from her face, she dressed from the thrift stores and wore a signature pair of well-worn army boots. She was a familiar sight to everyone in town, stomping along the sidewalk or driving her tiny little Fiat car, sometimes also on the sidewalk. Her very visible motto was, “Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
Maisy was born on a hard-scrabble farm in southern Saskatchewan. She was brought up to work very hard on the farm as well as going out to help in other homes when the women were ill or had new babies. As a young woman, she moved to Alberta to be caregiver to a family where the husband was confined to a wheelchair. After she had been a part of their family for many years, her own father needed her. They bought a house together and she moved in to care for him. Until he died, she put his needs before her own while also working hard in other busy households like ours. We all thought that would continue to be Maisy’s lot in life.
A couple of years after I left for university, my parents shared the most amazing news: Maisy was married! And in case you were wondering when I would get to the shepherds, her new husband was a shepherd!
If you’re from the prairies, you’re familiar with the agricultural newspaper The Western Producer. Maisy met Walter through a personal ad in that paper, and they married after a whirlwind courtship. Our church rose to the occasion, and Maisy had a beautiful formal wedding in a traditional white gown. Walter moved into Maisy’s little house but every summer, when the sheep went out to pasture in the hills, they both went with them. They lived in Walter’s truck camper and spent their days moving the sheep to fresh grass and their nights guarding them from predators. It was a very happy time for them both.
After Walter’s death, Maisy moved into the senior’s lodge and kept herself busy knitting afghans and baby clothes for everyone she knew. She died in 2010 at the age of 92. I imagine her arriving in heaven, knocking briefly and heading in, calling out “It’s only me, it’s only Maisy!” and being welcomed with open arms.
So when I think of the shepherds living in the fields with their sheep, I think of Maisy. I think of how God has always used the most unlikely people to tell the Good News, not the rich or important people but the unassuming and the poor. I think of Maisy, often the brunt of unkind jokes, who spent most of her life with almost nothing to call her own, taking care of other people’s babies and houses, caring for the sheep in the hills. But in her life of humble service, in her willingness to always put other’s needs ahead of her own, in her faithful church attendance, she heard and told God’s story with her whole life. Her obituary read, “Her hands were quick to serve others, quick to comfort, a joy to hold.” Maisy was a messenger from God, sharing the good news of God’s abundant love like so many other unlikely messengers from God, like the shepherds in the fields the night that Jesus was born. Let’s hear their story now.
The Shepherd’s Story (from “Advent Unwrapped” www.united-church.ca)
A shepherd protects, feeds, and cares for the sheep. This is important work, right? But out here on the Palestinian hills, this isn’t how it’s viewed by most people. For example, the Pharisees say we don’t follow religion. But think about it! We cannot leave our sheep and we are constantly looking for fresh new pastures. This schedule doesn’t quite fit with Jewish faith practice—or any other religion’s rhythm of worship. So they call us Gentiles, which really implies we are outsiders.
Living out here on the hills we have developed our own culture. We have no possessions and subsist on the barest necessities. We can be a bit rough around the edges. Protecting sheep from poachers makes us distrustful of strangers, so we tend to see the worst in people. Conversely, society doesn’t have a very high view of us, so we are pushed aside, forgotten, and judged as inferior.
So imagine our surprise that night when we heard the sound of angel voices. Angels! Many of us didn’t even believe in angels! Yet, here they were on the hillside telling us they had a message from God! Some town folks were scandalized that we were the first to hear the news. Why wasn’t the news brought to kings or Pharisees? Why was the news brought to the very people whom kings and Pharisees despised?
After telling us the great news, the angels urged us to go to Bethlehem to find the child. Seriously? We tend sheep not children. We protect our stuff, our flocks, and now these angels expected us to risk our sheep being stolen while we went to find a baby. What was God thinking?
But what was really mind blowing was the fact that we went! It was just as the angels said. The child was ordinary and extraordinary all at once. There was such peace and joy in the air around the manger where the baby lay.
I spoke to the boy’s father, Joseph. He was a gracious host and treated us well. We didn’t feel like lowly shepherds that night. When we told him about the angels, he believed us. He made us feel like we were the right people to receive the message from God. Joseph encouraged us to share our story, his story, and the baby Jesus’ story.
So as we returned to the hills, we told anyone who would listen. And we never stopped sharing the news. Everywhere we went, we told the story of a miraculous birth and how God had chosen us—those who were once so lowly—to tell the story.
Questions for reflection:
How does Mary’s song of praise, “My Soul Cries Out”, resonate with the shepherds’ story?
Is God offering you an opportunity in these stories?
How can you, like the shepherds, get the attention of others and share the Good News?
WE RESPOND IN PRAYER AND ACTION
A Shared Time for Reflection, Prayer and Offering
You are invited to reflect in silence, to light a candle or place a stone or shell as an expression of your intention or prayer, and/or to place an offering in the basket. If you get up to move about, please maintain safe physical distancing.
Offertory Chorus: VU#55, verse 4:
What can I give him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb.
If I were a wise man, I would do my part.
Yet what can I give him? Give my heart.
Offertory Prayer: Loving and gracious Creator, you have given the world the most precious gift – yourself in Jesus Christ. May our gifts and our lives be a reflection of that gift. Amen.
WE CARRY THE LIGHT INTO THE WORLD
Luke 2:15-20
15 When the angels returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go right now to Bethlehem and see what’s happened. Let’s confirm what the Lord has revealed to us.” 16 They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they reported what they had been told about this child. 18 Everyone who heard it was amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 Mary committed these things to memory and considered them carefully. 20 The shepherds returned home, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. Everything happened just as they had been told.
Lighting the Christ Candle
Creator God of light and of love revealed in Jesus, bathe us in your Spirited light, which brings us to wholeness. Within that light may we know Christ, that in word and in deed we may also become light and life – loving self-giving through humble service. Like shepherds we return to the fields of our lives. Send us forth to carry your light and love throughout Creation. Amen.
HYMN: VU#67, “Silent Night”: Light our candles from the Christ Candle as we sing.
Blessing
Go in peace, go in hope, go in faith.
Peace for your hearts, hope for the world, faith that in the promise of Jesus’ birth is a new beginning.
May God bless you all this day and in all the days to come.
Merry Christmas and Amen!
Response: AMEN!
Unless otherwise indicated, prayers are used with permission from Gathering Advent/Christmas/Epiphany 2015 and 2016.