Carol: On
Christmas night all Christians sing (R&S 153)
(A fully-scripted, themed Lessons & Carols Service)
written by Revd. Phil Nevard.
Lighting of Advent Candles
Canticle:
| The grace of God has dawned upon the world with healing for all. The people who walked in darkness have seen I a great light:
light has I dawned upon us,
God is love;
We know how generous our Lord Jesus Christ has been:
God has spoken to us in the Son (Rejoice & Sing No. 741) |
Carol: On
Christmas night all Christians sing (R&S 153)
| Eye witnesses are vital for our understanding of any event. Eye witnesses are those who were there. They heard the words, they felt the emotions, they saw the story unfold before them. Some events draw a crowd and there are many witnesses. Other events seem insignificant at the time and only later does their importance become obvious. For these events there are few witnesses, Such an event was the birth of Jesus. Bethlehem was busy and crowded with people, though few saw what happened in that dark and dusty stable. But there were some who watched. Their voices are usually silent but they will speak to us today. What is really important is that you let the baby who is at the heart of the story speak in your heart today and every day. So let us hear from the witnesses who heard the words, felt the emotions, ate the straw. |
Anthem: Hail to the Christ! (J.E.Woolacott)
(or a carol)
Reading: Luke 1:26-38
| I’m always up and about early in the morning. They say that the early
bird catches the worm and all that. I feel it is my duty to crow to the world
in praise of our creator God - though some don’t appreciate my dawn singing!
I remember that morning though as if it were yesterday. You see there’s usually
nobody about when I get up. That morning there was, a young girl, Mary her
name was. She was out walking. It looked as though she had something on her
mind. She was so absorbed she walked straight past me without so much as
a fleeting glance.
I decided to follow. As I strutted along beside her, I realised she was not alone. At first I thought she was talking to herself, but then I noticed a kind of glowing presence at her side. Now I know that it was an angel. The angel told Mary she would bear a son for God, and that she wasn’t to be afraid. Mary seemed troubled and a little confused, but the angel reassured her. The angel seemed to be waiting for Mary to decide and after a pause that lasted a second but seemed like a thousand years, Mary said YES! The rest of the town slept on, but it seemed to me as if that moment was the dawning of a new age. In years to come another cockerel crowed at what seemed to be the closing of that new age - when Peter said NO! But as for me, I was filled with joy and hope and I shall lustily crow in that hope-filled new age all the days of my life. |
Carol: The angel Gabriel from heaven came
Reading: Luke 2:1-5
| It seemed to me as if they had packed everything, including the kitchen
sink! How much longer would my worn out knees keep me going as a useful donkey?
The bags creaked and groaned as did my weary bones. The lumps and bumps of
Mary and Joseph’s hasty packing dug into my side. I resented the heaviness
of my burden. For much of the journey Mary added to my load. She could not
walk far, her baby would soon be born.
I think Mary felt her burden too. Not just the discomfort of travelling so close to her time - the backache, the sickness, the sleepless nights - but also an emotional burden. Some of this she shared with Joseph. They had a rough time, riding the taunts and smutty innuendoes of the other townsfolk. Many were surprised they stuck it out together but Joseph was a rock, a tower of strength. But Mary seemed to have a much deeper burden, a burden of knowledge, as if she knew her baby would be special, but that he would cause her great pain. I was relieved when we reached the stable, though I was a little surprised when Mary and Joseph stayed too! It was good to have the burden of the bags lifted from me and to have fresh water to drink and straw to eat. Mary was still struggling with her burden. I had carried her and her baby some of the way, another donkey would bear him towards the end of his journey. |
Carol: O little town of Bethlehem
Reading: Luke 2:6-7
| They were odd guests those two, or should I say three? The innkeeper
and his wife showed them in with their donkey. The donkey told us they had
travelled all the way from Nazareth, that’s about 80 miles away - no wonder
they were tired and dusty. They had come for the same reason as everyone
else - for the census. The town was crammed with people, it was noisy and
chaotic.
The woman was very frightened and seemed to be in a lot of pain. It was quite dark, I suppose she could hear the sounds of the animals around her and make out the rough shapes as we moved about in the gloom. She was probably nervous of being trampled - us oxen are not famed for our poise and our lightness of step. The man shielded her as best he could, but her screaming and fear did make us nervous and edgy. But suddenly there was a new sound, the sound of a baby crying and it was as if we had been transported to a different place. The whole atmosphere changed. The darkness seemed lighter, fear gave way to hope, the noise and chaos were replaced by moments of peace and tranquillity - as if time stood still for a while. And I glimpsed Mary’s face in the half light. It was not wracked with pain and tiredness but glowing with joy. I marvelled at such profound change brought about by the birth of one so fragile, and I wondered how long it would last. |
Carol: See! in yonder manger low (R&S 157)
Reading: Luke 2:8-20
| They were off! All of them! Running and tripping over the fields back
towards the lights of our town, leaving us on the hills to fend for ourselves
Not that we minded that. The shepherds seemed to think that we were stupid
by definition. They spent all their time herding us here and there - prodding
us, poking us, putting blobs of dye on us. I suppose they took out their
frustrations on us. They were all social misfits really. They would have
looked out of place in the town, they certainly weren’t welcome at religious
festivals. I suppose its ironic that they were deemed fit to provide the
people with the sheep and the lambs for all the sacrifices - I for one could
do without all of that - but they were thought of as unclean themselves.
Its only because they were out all hours tending us that they couldn’t fulfil
all their religious duties. Still its not for us apparently stupid sheep
to understand the wisdom of man.
Anyway, we were left on our own while they ran off to town to search for a baby. We came to no harm and a few hours later they returned. They were strangely quiet. Usually by this time of the night they were half drunk, swearing and cursing. Not on that night. It seems that they had found this baby, and now they were changed in some way. It took us a few days to work out just what it was. It was this: they seemed to have more dignity, a higher sense of self worth. It was as if someone or something had overturned all those years of being told they were worthless and unclean. It was as if someone had told them they were special, that they were every bit as much a part of God’s creation as all those religious people. It really did change them. I can’t imagine it had anything to do with finding that baby, did it? |
Carol: While shepherds watched their flocks by night (R&S
155)
Reading: Matthew 2:1-12
| The wisdom of my master was legendary. Kings and nobleman from all over
the East would come to seek his council He consulted the stars and the movements
of the planets to find answers to the great questions of life. When I heard
he was preparing with Caspar and Melchior for a long expedition, I actually
got quite excited.
When I heard what it was all about I couldn’t believe my ears - I really got the hump! I mean, to want to visit an obscure religious sect miles and miles away on the off chance that a special baby would be born. By all reports they wouldn’t be guaranteed warm welcome either The Jews are quite an insular religion. They don’t really welcome outsiders - gentiles they call them. Surely it would be an important occasion, all the Jewish religious leaders would be there, dignitaries and all the top brass. I doubted that three wandering gentiles would be allowed within ten miles of the place - it would probably be guarded by soldiers to keep the baby safe from harm. Still, my masters word is law, and off we went. We went a bit wrong at first, but a very friendly king set us back in the right direction But I was sure we’d got it wrong when our journey ended at the door of a shabby looking stable. My master insisted that this was the place and even urged us all to go inside. I mean - can you imagine it - the indignity of it all a camel sharing lodgings with oxen and all sorts of other common and dirty creatures. But he was right, there was a baby there. There were no religious leaders or town officials, just a group of star struck shepherds. But my master insists to this day, that in that baby lay the answer to his whole lifetime of star-gazing. He said he had found one greater than the stars, he had found the one who made the stars. But more importantly he had found a God who was real enough, loving enough and humble enough to be born into our world. A God who welcomes those who search for him. Our search had ended, but my master reckoned that the search was just beginning for people the whole world over. They can search with confidence because he is a God who welcomes and accepts all who come. |
Carol: Wise me seeking Jesus (R&S 185)
Prayers
Anthem: Mater Ora Filium (Charles Wood)
Offertory & Prayer of Dedication
Carol: Unto us a boy is born! (R&S 169)
Blessing
Decoration of the tree (this year using paper chains to help us remember Jubilee 2000)