Skipping Christmas
Prelude Welcome *The Call to Celebration based on John 1:5 and Eph. 3:21
Leader: Christ has come! Christ was dead! Christ has risen! Christ will come again!
People: This is the faith of the Church of Jesus Christ!
Leader: When we look at the world around us, we see the darkness of war, captivity, greed, and broken relationships.
People: We long for Christ to come again and bring light to our world.
Leader: The Word of the Gospel is that Jesus Christ lives among us, bringing truth and light as a present reality.
People: We worship as those who have a glimpse of that reality, and we long for its fullness. We are those who labor to make Christ's light more visible on earth.
All: Let us praise God, that the light of Christ shines on in the darkness, which has never overcome it. To God be the glory in Jesus Christ and in the church forever and ever. Amen.
*Hymn of Praise # 405 Seek Ye First Invocation and Lord’s Prayer O God, you have caused this world to shine with the illumination of the true Light. You have given us your only-begotten Son to take our nature upon Him to reveal to us your glory and grace. As you have given this gift in love, may we receive it with joy. Grant that we, being regenerate and made your children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit. Grant us, we pray, that as we have known the mystery of that Light upon earth, so may we also reflect that light to a darkened world; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And, forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever. AMEN.
*Hymn of Prayer # 177 He Is Lord Pastoral Prayer Our Father, we long for the simple beauty of Christmas – for all the old familiar melodies, words, and symbols that remind us of that great miracle when He who had made all things came one night as a babe, to lie in the crook of a woman’s arm. But in that longing, let us even more yearn for your renewed presence among us even as we celebrate and expect the Coming of your Son.
Before such mystery we kneel, as we follow the shepherds and Wise Men to bring You the gift of our love – a love we confess has not always been as warm or sincere or real as it should have been. Now, as we enter into this Advent Season, we pray that love would find its Beloved, and from You receive the grace to make it pure again, warm and real.
We bring You our gratitude for every token of Your love, for all the ways You have heaped blessings upon us during the years that have gone. And we do pray, Lord Jesus, that as we begin this four-week journey of expectation and hope, we may do it in a manner well pleasing to You. May all we do and say, every tribute of our hearts, bring honor to Your name, that we, Your people, may remember Your birth and feel Your presence among us even yet.
pray for access to comprehensive care, support and treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS and those caring for them;
pray to alleviate conditions of hunger, poverty and gender inequities that spread HIV/AIDS in Africa and around the world.
May the loving kindness of this Advent Season and the true Spirit of Christmas not only creep into our hearts this season, but stay there, so that not even the return to earthly cares and responsibilities, not all the festivities of our own devising may cause it to creep away weeping. May the joy and spirit of Christmas remain with us now and forever. In the name of Jesus, who came to save His people from their sins, even in that lovely name we pray. Amen. [Adapted from a prayer for Christmas by Peter Marshall]
Our Offering to God You know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ. That though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. 2 cor 8:9
Doxology Prayer of Dedication Lord, May we follow the example of the Master. Who gave, withholding nothing, That we might live to share everything through His name. AMEN.
Hanging of the Greens:
Lessons of Christmas (Reader #1) Judy
Let us, through the great traditions of our Faith, join with the shepherds of Bethlehem, the wise men from the east, and the seekers throughout the ages, to welcome the One who came at Christmas. Let us at Christmastide bring our gifts to Him, and may the message of our songs be "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, Peace and goodwill to peoples everywhere".
The Sanctuary Evergreens (Reader #2) Wanda/Lindsey
The most striking and the most universal feature of Christmas is the use of evergreens in churches and homes. Among ancient Romans evergreens were an emblem of peace, joy, and victory. The early Christians placed them in their windows to indicate that Christ had entered the home. Holly and ivy, along with pine, and fir are called evergreens because they never change color. They are ever - green, ever - alive, even in the midst of winter. They symbolize the unchanging nature of our God, and they remind us of the everlasting life that is ours through Christ Jesus.
Under Christian thought and sentiment, holly became widely used in church celebrations. Holly was considered as the burning bush, or a symbol of Mary whose being glows with the Holy Spirit. The red berries represented the blood drops from the cruel thorns in the crown of Jesus.
In Isaiah 60:13 we find these words: "The Glory of Lebanon shall come unto you, the fir tree, the pine tree and the box together, to beautify the place of your sanctuary."
Our forefathers called the procuring of these evergreens, "Bringing home Christmas!"
Solo or Group Special Music: "Go, Tell It On The Mountains"
Action: While the song is being sung, the evergreens on the side walls and front are hung, and any other evergreens are put in place.
The Christmas Tree (Reader # 3) Wanda/Lindsey
Today, the Christmas tree is the center of our festivities. Glittering with lights and ornaments, it is a part of the beauty and meaning of Christmas. There are several legends and stories about the Christmas tree.
The first use of the Christmas tree was in the medieval German Paradise Plays, held outdoors and portraying the creation of humankind. The Tree of Life was a fir tree decorated with apples. Later other ornaments were hung upon them, such as paper flowers and gilded nuts. In England branches or whole trees were forced into bloom indoors for Christmas. From these beginnings the use of a tree at Christmas was established. Martin Luther was perhaps the first to use a lighted tree.
The story is told that on one Christmas Eve Martin Luther wandered outdoors and became enraptured with the beauty of the starry sky. Its brilliance and loveliness led him to reflect on the glory of the first Christmas Eve as seen in Bethlehem's radiant skies. Wishing to share with his wife and children the enchantment he had felt, he cut from the forest an evergreen, glistening with snow, and took it home. He placed upon it candles to represent the glorious heavens he had seen. The use of a candle-lighted tree spread to all Europe, then America came to regard it as the central ornament of Christmas.
Special Music: "O Christmas Tree"
Action: The tree lights are turned on.
The Christmas Poinsettia (Reader # 4) Dan
Most Christmas greenery reflects European traditions. But one colorful plant, which looks like a flaming star, the poinsettia, is a native to the American continent. It was named after Dr. Joel Robert Poinset, an ambassador to Mexico who first introduced it to the United States in 1828. The people of Mexico and Central America call the brilliant tropical plant the "Flower of the Holy Night." The Poinsettia is a many-pointed star that has become a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem.
Special Music: "I Wonder As I Wander"
Action: As the song is sung the flowers are put into place at the front of the church.
The Advent Candle (Reader # 5)Sue or Emma
Advent is a time of expectation, and this is symbolized, not only by the four-week period of preparation, but also by the lighting of an Advent Candle on each Sunday of the season. The flame of each new candle reminds us, the worshipers, that something is happening, and something more is still to come.
The candles are arranged in a circle to remind us of the continuous power of God, which knows neither beginning nor ending. There is also symbolism in the colors of the candles. The three blue candles symbolize the coming of Christ from the royal line of David. He is coming as the King of Kings as well as the Prince of Peace. The pink candle is to be lighted on the third Sunday of the Advent season. This candle represents joy. The large white candle in the center is known as the Christ candle, and points to Jesus as the Christ, the Light of the world.
A progression is noted in the lighting of the candles of the Advent wreath each Sunday. Each candle symbolizes various aspects of our waiting experience. For us this year we are focusing on Hope, Love, Joy, Peace. The culmination of the season comes as we light the Christ Candle on Christmas Eve. We join in rejoicing that the promise of long ago has been fulfilled.
The Advent wreath helps us recollect the miracle of God's becoming human for our sake.
The first candle reminds us of the prophets' hope for God's salvation to come, as Isaiah prophesied: "The Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel!" (Isaiah 7:14).
Action: light one of the blue candles.
The Nativity (Reader # 6) Sue or Emma
One of the most heart-warming expressions of Christmas is the Nativity. The Nativity speaks of the mystery of God's wisdom. Why God chose to send his son into our world as a baby of humble birth, born in common surroundings, we do not know. What we do know is that God reached out to all people including the poor and wealthy, the simple and the wise, the powerless and the powerful. All who found him knelt in humility before him. Knowing God is possible because he came to us, at our level. Whenever we see a Nativity we find ourselves with Mary and Joseph; with the Shepherds, and with the Wise Men; bowing before the manger, overwhelmed by God's expression of love in coming to us.
The Gifts of Christmas (Reader # 7) Vinny
From the beginning of Christmas celebrations, gift giving has been a part of the season. The Wise Men gave out of their treasures, and the Shepherds gave of themselves. Both express the Gift of God in giving Christ as the Savior of the World.
(Men’s Trio): "We Three Kings"
Action: While the song is sung, children bring gifts wrapped, and place them under the tree.
Christmas Caroling (Reader # 8)
The actual origin of caroling as a part of the Christmas celebration is really unknown. Several countries have claimed to be the birthplace of the custom. From the first, music of some kind was a part of the church festivals in honor of the birth of Jesus. We know that caroling existed in Germany in the 15th century because Martin Luther wrote that when Christmas was celebrated, he went with others from house to house and village to village singing popular Christmas carols. We could safely assume that caroling was first done by the Choir of Angels who sang, "Glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace and good will to all people."
Congregational Song led by Caroling Group: "Angels We Have Heard on High"
Action: A group of carolers walks around the church greeting people as they lead the song.
Scripture Reading Jeremiah 23:1-6 Message Skipping Christmas
Crowded malls, out-of-control office parties, tipsy Christmas trees, stretched-to-the-limit credit cards — there are some signs of the season we would gladly do without. But don’t ignore Christ the King, the righteous Branch.
Skipping the holidays. It’s kinda tempting, don’t you think? Disappear this Wednesday, the first day of December, and reappear on Sunday, January 2, 2005. Avoid the holiday hoopla in its entirety. No crowded malls, no out-of-control office parties, no stale Christmas letter, no anxiety about finding the perfect gifts, no stretched-to-the-limit credit cards, no fruitcakes.
By leaping over this stressful season, you actually have a shot at experiencing peace on earth, good will to all and maybe even a Silent Night.
But alas ... no technology for this kind of seasonal time travel currently exists. About the best we can do is buy a ticket to the cinema and escape into the movie Christmas with the Kranks, originally called Skipping Christmas and based on a book by John Grisham. It opened last week, starring Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis and Dan Aykroyd.
Tim Allen plays Luther Krank, a man who is incensed that his family spent over $6,000 on the previous Christmas, and now they have nothing to show for it. With his daughter in the Peace Corps, he convinces his wife to skip Christmas for a year, and to put the money into a Caribbean cruise. They decide to forego parties, Christmas tree, lights, Christmas Eve bash and any participation in the neighborhood decorating contest - one in which all the neighbors put an identical Frosty the Snowman on their roofs. The plotline is about how the neighbors react, in particular the Dan Aykroyd character - a man who organizes the street’s Christmas lights, and who gets mad at the Kranks for not participating.
But is it easy - or even possible - to skip Christmas? The Kranks discover that their decision unleashes enormous consequences. One of the biggest involves the surprise arrival of their daughter, who expects them to be celebrating the holidays as usual. / The movie raises the question of what really matters during the holiday season. Like it or not, most of us are going to do the mall thing - to-ing and fro-ing from shop to shop, and the Christmas tree thing, the present thing and the decorations thing - but in the midst of all this frantic activity, there’s a strong chance we’re going to be skipping Christmas after all!
Are we going to miss what this holiday is really all about?
In the prophetic text before us, God laments the loss of good shepherds to watch over his people Israel. He is especially disappointed in King Jehoiakim, a monarch who lived 600 years before the time of Christ.
Jehoiakim abused his people through misrule, unrighteousness, injustice, economic oppression and creative accounting. When the powerful Pharaoh of Egypt demanded that his nation pay 100 talents of silver and one talent of gold, Jehoiakim raised this money by levying a tax on the whole land (2 Kings 23:35). Worse still, he kept some of this money to upgrade his personal penthouse. /// He was a bad, bad shepherd.
“It is you who have scattered my flock,” charges the Lord, “and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:2). God promises to gather the remnant of his flock, and to put his people under the care of a new generation of kings — kings who will be good shepherds, and will watch over their people, protect them, and keep them from getting lost.
Better yet, God will “raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land” (23:5). This righteous Branch is none other than Jesus the Christ, the one born as King of Kings and Lord of lords. Jesus comes to reign with justice and righteousness, and to provide safety for all of God’s people. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The LORD is our righteousness” (23:6).
The Lord is our righteousness. It’s an odd name ... an unexpected name. It’s not as well known as the other names we encounter during the holidays, not as likely to appear in Christmas cards and carols and decorations. But if we miss it, we might end up skipping the true meaning of Christmas.
For starters, let’s get clear about names. Jesus is not a Frosty the Snowman. Sure, you could argue that he is something like the fairy-tale snowman in that he surprises us by showing up one day, but he doesn’t do this as a “jolly, happy soul / With a corncob pipe and a button nose / And two eyes made out of coal.” Jesus is not a person who runs and laughs and plays, but then melts away at the first blast of heat or adversity.
Jesus is steadfast ... not temperature-sensitive. He is with us when things get really hot.
At the same time, Jesus Christ is not Santa Claus. He’s not a ho-ho-ho-ing, gift-giving, “right jolly old elf.” He doesn’t come down our chimneys to shower us with expensive toys and treasures, nor does he do his duty by doling out good stuff to good people and lumps of coal to naughty people. If we believe that piles of presents are a sign of Christ’s favor, then we have missed a key component of the character of our king.
Jesus is a Shepherd, not a Santa. He gives more attention to lost sheep than to lambs that are safely at home in the flock. His joy comes not from seeing 99 people exchanging gag gifts, but from watching one solitary sinner repent.
Take away Frosty and Santa Claus, and you are left with the name that has been given by Jeremiah: “The Lord is our righteousness.” There’s nothing cute or cheerful about it, and it may not fit our fantasies about what goes into generating “the Christmas spirit.” But if we ignore the role of righteousness in who Jesus was — and is — then we run a huge risk of missing the true meaning of Christmas.
Jesus the Christ is all about righteousness. He came to earth to make a connection between people and God, and to help people see that their righteousness comes from God.
This Lord-righteousness is the exact opposite of the self-righteousness that so dominates our society today, so different from the self-centered smugness that leads us to believe that we somehow deserve our good fortune, along with piles of presents under our Christmas trees. The problem with so many of us today is that we make the assumption that doing well is synonymous with doing good. We are born on third base, and we go through life believing we’ve hit a triple.
In the face of this self-delusion, Jesus reminds us that our righteousness comes from God alone. It is God who makes us righteous, and he does this through Jesus. Being just, honorable and free from guilt is not a human achievement, but instead it comes to us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Only the Lord is our righteousness ... not our nationality, our political party, our social class, our race, our denomination or our alumni association. This iron-clad connection between righteousness and Jesus is at the very heart of the meaning of Christmas.
It’s simply too good to skip.
So let’s look ahead to Christmas, and open our hearts to what Jesus brings us. He comes to us as a sign of God’s great love for each and every one of us, and he offers us the gifts of forgiveness, new life and new righteousness. He comes to earth to put us back into a right relationship with God — a right relationship that contains all the elements of a righteous life.
The coming of Jesus is not about religion — us finding God. Instead, his coming is about relationship — God finding us.
The message of the season is this: Righteous living is a relationship with God. Nothing more, nothing less. It means:
• living in harmony with the Lord and our neighbors
• enjoying the world that God has created, while taking care of its resources
• finding ways to resolve conflict without rushing immediately to violence
• caring for the poor and the powerless, following the example of Jesus
• obeying the commandments of God, because they are the keys to inner harmony.
To experience the righteousness of Christmas is to be drawn deeper and deeper into a close and personal relationship with God. It is to discover that social justice and personal peace are parts of a godly way of life, one that is made visible to us in the life of Jesus Christ.
Jeremiah knew that you couldn’t be a good shepherd and abuse the sheep, and that you couldn’t be a righteous ruler and misuse your power. Jesus felt the very same. This is why they both invited us into a right relationship with God, one that took seriously the need to look beyond self-interest and “execute justice and righteousness in the land” (v. 5).
So, go ahead: Put your Frosty on the roof, and clear a path for Santa. But don’t miss this opportunity to focus your attention on the coming of Jesus, the One who shows us that the Lord is our righteousness.
If you miss it, you’ll be skipping Christmas.
*Hymn of Response # 154 All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name!
*Sending forth
*Postlude
In 2003 the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) designated the last Sunday of November "as a day dedicated to fasting and prayer for the rapid end of HIV and AIDS-related stigma, discrimination, denial, inaction and misaction."
AACC and Church World Service, the relief and development agency and partner of American Baptist Churches USA, has extended an invitation to Christians everywhere to join in this observance.
Every day HIV/AIDS claims the lives of 8,000 men, women and children around the world. Of the 4.8 million people newly infected with HIV in 2003, 630,000 were children under the age of 15. Worldwide nearly 40 million people are infected with HIV/AIDS, and 70% of all HIV-positive people live in Africa. Tragically, less than 2% of medically eligible people in Africa have access to life-saving treatment.
On Nov. 28 Christians are being asked to:
reflect on the resilience, courage, strength and faith of people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa and around the world;
Animating Illustrations “A lot of us are re-evaluating, rethinking, re-imagining our values, our responsibility,” writes Bob Kaylor of Park City Community United Methodist Church in Park City, Utah. “Skipping Christmas — well, at least skipping the ‘holly-jolly-jinglebell-rock-Rudolph-and-Frosty-and-shop-’til-you-drop’ kind of Christmas, seems to be on everyone’s mind whether they admit it or not. Maybe, if only for a moment, we are beginning to realize that a real Christmas has nothing to do with purchasing power. Instead, in an uncertain and dangerous world, the most valuable currency we can save and spend ... is hope.
“God so loved the world that he didn’t give up on us. He loved us so much that he came himself to show us another way, to reveal what we have been missing, to offer us a new opportunity to make it right, to enjoy his presence, his love, to once again be formed ‘in his image.’
“There is no barrier, no terror, no body and no thing that can keep us from God’s love. To me, that is an awesome reason for hope.”
One of the ways that clergy get a new job in the Church of England is for them to go down to London to see the clergy appointments adviser.
The Rev. Gilly Myers went to visit this man, before being appointed to Durham Cathedral. The adviser asked some very searching questions. Myers reports:
“One of the questions he asked me provoked some speedy thinking. He said this: ‘Of all the liturgical seasons in the year, which is most important to you, theologically speaking?’”
“I thought my way through a few ... Christmas ... incarnation, God becoming human ... Passiontide ... Christ’s entering into the suffering of the world ... Good Friday ... redemption, forgiveness of sin ... Easter ... resurrection, death destroyed, new life, hope ... Pentecost ... the empowering of the people of God for mission and service ... and so on.”
Myers came to the conclusion that it is only in celebrating the whole liturgical year that we maintain a balance. You cannot skip a thing.
“It seems that every year the ‘Christmas warning signs’ are out even earlier than the year before.” “It also seems that we are so bombarded with Christmas music, gift ideas, sales and the like, that, by the time Christmas finally comes around, most people are ‘Christmassed out!’”
Makes you want to consider skipping Christmas.
How many parties, concerts, festivals or banquets must we attend? How many lights and decorations do we need? Streamlining wish lists, gift-giving and holiday hoopla frees precious time to experience Immanuel, God with us.
One way to eliminate seasonal anxiety is to list all the activities and traditions in which the family participates, have everyone pick their two favorites and eliminate the rest. (You may be surprised at how many cookies you don’t need to bake — or eat!)
—Jane Rubietta, “Come and behold him,” Physician Magazine, November-December 1999, Family.org