This bulletin includes the order of service for the First Sunday After Christmas. The items in bold italics are the congregation’s response.
Opening Hymn
In the name of God: Creator, Redeemer, and Giver of life. Amen.
Call to Worship and Confession of Sin
Wherever you are, God invites you to hear Her Word of liberation and to celebrate Her feast of communion. Bring your dreams and your musings, your fears and your anger, your trauma and your despair. Come from your sofas, your desks, your porches, your kitchen tables, so that your individual places become God’s beloved community, the living, breathing Body of Christ.
Jesus welcomes everyone to God’s table. Are you ready to meet God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit?
We’re ready! Loving God, you bring order out of chaos in the world and in our lives. Meet with us in Christ today, change us and send us out to fill your world with love and light and laughter, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
We were walking in cold and darkness. Now we dwell in the warmth of your light.
Jesus, you are the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation:
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, you are God’s true child, born of Mary: Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Jesus, you are Word made flesh, full of grace and truth: Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Silence
Radiant God, you send your light into dark and shackled lives; shine in our hearts and set us free to praise you, now and for ever. Amen.
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.
Collect of the Day
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.
Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The Ministry of the Word
Old Testament
A reading from Isaiah 61:10-62:3
0-11 I will sing for joy in God,
explode in praise from deep in my soul!
He dressed me up in a suit of salvation,
he outfitted me in a robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom who puts on a tuxedo
and a bride a jeweled tiara.
For as the earth bursts with spring wildflowers,
and as a garden cascades with blossoms,
So the Master, God, brings righteousness into full bloom
and puts praise on display before the nations.
Look, Your Savior Comes!
62 1-5 Regarding Zion, I can’t keep my mouth shut,
regarding Jerusalem, I can’t hold my tongue,
Until her righteousness blazes down like the sun
and her salvation flames up like a torch.
Foreign countries will see your righteousness,
and world leaders your glory.
You’ll get a brand-new name
straight from the mouth of God.
You’ll be a stunning crown in the palm of God’s hand,
a jeweled gold cup held high in the hand of your God.
No more will anyone call you Rejected,
and your country will no more be called Ruined.
You’ll be called Hephzibah (My Delight),
and your land Beulah (Married),
Because God delights in you
and your land will be like a wedding celebration.
For as a young man marries his virgin bride,
so your builder marries you,
And as a bridegroom is happy in his bride,
so your God is happy with you.
The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Psalm
We follow the responsive recitation method for the Psalm, where the leader alternates verses with the congregation. The items in bold italics are intended for audience response.
Psalm 147
147 Hallelujah!
It’s a good thing to sing praise to our God;
praise is beautiful, praise is fitting.
2-6 God’s the one who rebuilds Jerusalem,
who regathers Israel’s scattered exiles.
He heals the heartbroken
and bandages their wounds.
He counts the stars
and assigns each a name.
Our Lord is great, with limitless strength;
we’ll never comprehend what he knows and does.
God puts the fallen on their feet again
and pushes the wicked into the ditch.
7-11 Sing to God a thanksgiving hymn,
play music on your instruments to God,
Who fills the sky with clouds,
preparing rain for the earth,
Then turning the mountains green with grass,
feeding both cattle and crows.
He’s not impressed with horsepower;
the size of our muscles means little to him.
Those who fear God get God’s attention;
they can depend on his strength.
12-18 Jerusalem, worship God!
Zion, praise your God!
He made your city secure,
he blessed your children among you.
He keeps the peace at your borders,
he puts the best bread on your tables.
He launches his promises earthward—
how swift and sure they come!
He spreads snow like a white fleece,
he scatters frost like ashes,
He broadcasts hail like birdseed—
who can survive his winter?
Then he gives the command and it all melts;
he breathes on winter—suddenly it’s spring!
19-20 He speaks the same way to Jacob,
speaks words that work to Israel.
He never did this to the other nations;
they never heard such commands.
Hallelujah!
Epistle
A reading from Galatians 3:23-25;4:4-7
23-24 Until the time when we were mature enough to respond freely in faith to the living God, we were carefully surrounded and protected by the Mosaic law. The law was like those Greek tutors, with which you are familiar, who escort children to school and protect them from danger or distraction, making sure the children will really get to the place they set out for.
25-27 But now you have arrived at your destination: By faith in Christ you are in direct relationship with God. Your baptism in Christ was not just washing you up for a fresh start. It also involved dressing you in an adult faith wardrobe—Christ’s life, the fulfillment of God’s original promise.
4-7 But when the time arrived that was set by God the Father, God sent his Son, born among us of a woman, born under the conditions of the law so that he might redeem those of us who have been kidnapped by the law. Thus we have been set free to experience our rightful heritage. You can tell for sure that you are now fully adopted as his own children because God sent the Spirit of his Son into our lives crying out, “Papa! Father!” Doesn’t that privilege of intimate conversation with God make it plain that you are not a slave, but a child? And if you are a child, you’re also an heir, with complete access to the inheritance.
The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
The Gospel
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
Glory to you, Lord Christ.
John 1:1-18
1-2 The Word was first,
the Word present to God,
God present to the Word.
The Word was God,
in readiness for God from day one.
3-5 Everything was created through him;
nothing—not one thing!—
came into being without him.
What came into existence was Life,
and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
the darkness couldn’t put it out.
6-8 There once was a man, his name John, sent by God to point out the way to the Life-Light. He came to show everyone where to look, who to believe in. John was not himself the Light; he was there to show the way to the Light.
9-13 The Life-Light was the real thing:
Every person entering Life
he brings into Light.
He was in the world,
the world was there through him,
and yet the world didn’t even notice.
He came to his own people,
but they didn’t want him.
But whoever did want him,
who believed he was who he claimed
and would do what he said,
He made to be their true selves,
their child-of-God selves.
These are the God-begotten,
not blood-begotten,
not flesh-begotten,
not sex-begotten.
14 The Word became flesh and blood,
and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes,
the one-of-a-kind glory,
like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out,
true from start to finish.
15 John pointed him out and called, “This is the One! The One I told you was coming after me but in fact was ahead of me. He has always been ahead of me, has always had the first word.”
16-18 We all live off his generous abundance,
gift after gift after gift.
We got the basics from Moses,
and then this exuberant giving and receiving,
This endless knowing and understanding—
all this came through Jesus, the Messiah.
No one has ever seen God,
not so much as a glimpse.
This one-of-a-kind God-Expression,
who exists at the very heart of the Father,
has made him plain as day.
Sermon – The Rev. Fletcher Harper
The Prayers
A Celtic Creed
We believe in God above us, maker and sustainer of all life, of sun and moon, of water and earth, of male and female.
We believe in God beside us, Jesus Christ, the word made flesh, born of a woman, servant of the poor, tortured and nailed to a tree. A man of sorrows, he died forsaken. He descended into the earth to the place of death.
On the third day he rose from the tomb. He ascended into heaven, to be everywhere present, unleashing a universal realm of love that will come on earth.
We believe in God within us, the Holy Spirit of fire, life-giving breath of the Church, Spirit of healing and forgiveness, source of resurrection and of eternal life. Amen.
Prayers of the People
God of darkness and silence, you have pierced the quiet of this night by the utterance of your Word in our flesh. May your word of compassion and reconciliation resound in us and through us. God of love,
Grant our prayer.
In this holy night angels proclaimed the peace of your unconquered Sun of righteousness. Strengthen all who work for peace and justice. God of love,
Grant our prayer.
On this holy night you came to us as a child cradled in a borrowed bed of straw as there was no room in the inn. Open our hearts to the needs of the homeless and the hungry. God of love,
Grant our prayer.
In this holy night shepherds and outcasts heard your good news. Give us grace to spread your gospel of joy and liberation. God of love,
Grant our prayer.
In this holy night we rejoice at the coming of this time of re-creation. Be with those who travel, enrich our rejoicing, and strengthen the bonds between us. God of love,
Grant our prayer.
On this holy night Christians throughout the world are celebrating Christ’s birth. Unite us in one family that we may shine with the one light that scatters all our darkness. God of love,
Grant our prayer.
In this holy night your living Word leaped down, shedding light on all who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death. Give strength and peace to all who suffer in body, mind, or spirit. God of love,
Grant our prayer.
In this holy night heaven and earth embrace and in your true child you give us power to be your children. Fulfill in your love all who have gone before us in the faith. May we, like them, remain faithful to the mystery of the Word made flesh and live in your eternal light. God of love,
Grant our prayer.
Hear these prayers we bring to you and fulfill your purposes in us in the name of Jesus, your incarnate Word. Amen.
The Peace
Announcements
Hymn
The Holy Communion
Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:2
Doxology
(Words: Isaac Watts (1674-1748), para. of Psalm 117; Music: Old 100th, melody from Pseaumes octante trois de David, 1551, alt.; harm. after Louis Bourgeois (1510?-1561?); Licensed for Use: CCLI Copyright License 20716203; CCLI Streaming License 20716210
Representatives of the congregation bring the people’s offerings of bread and wine, and money or other gifts, to the deacon or celebrant. The people stand while the offerings are presented and placed on the Altar.
The Great Thanksgiving
The Lord is here.
God’s Spirit is with us.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to offer thanks and praise.
It is right indeed that we should praise you, God of love, our source and our fulfillment, for you create all things, and in you we live and move and have our being. Your wonder is manifest in land and sea and sky.
When the times had at last grown full and the earth had ripened in abundance, you made us in your image for yourself.
And even though we turn from you, again and again you call us to yourself, and in every age, promise liberation.
As a mother tenderly gathers her children, you embraced a people as your own to rear them in your way of compassionate love. From your own being you sent Jesus among us, incarnate of the Holy Spirit and born of Mary our sister.
Jesus revealed your care for all you have made, and showed us your way of reconciliation. Looking forward to the joy of new life Jesus suffered the pangs of the cross and in rising again became the first-born of a renewed humanity.
You sent your Holy Spirit and gave birth to us, your church. Your Spirit stays to nurture and to guide us.
Now we join hands around your table, and with all creation we hymn your praise for your unending love, as we sing,
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
To you indeed be glory, almighty God, because on the night before he died, your Son, Jesus Christ, took bread; when he had given you thanks, he broke it, gave it to his disciples, and said:
Take, eat, this is my body which is given for you; do this to remember me.
After supper he took the cup; when he had given you thanks, he gave it to them and said:
This cup is the new covenant in my blood poured out for you; do this as often as you drink it to remember me.
And so in this great sacrament we celebrate and proclaim the mystery of our faith.
Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come in glory.
Therefore, loving God, recalling now Christ’s death and resurrection, we ask you to accept this our sacrifice of praise.
Send your Holy Spirit upon us and our celebration, that we may be fed with the body and blood of your Son and be filled with your life and goodness. Strengthen us to do your work, and to be your body in the world.
Unite us in Christ and give us your peace. Through your Holy Spirit, burning as a flame, gentle as a dove, may we who receive these gifts live lives of justice, love, and prayer, and be a voice for those who are not heard. In union with your whole church we worship you, O God, in songs of everlasting praise.
Blessing, honor and glory be yours, here and everywhere, now and forever. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
And now, in the words that Jesus taught us, we pray:
Our Father, who art in heaven.
hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kindgom come.
Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation, and deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.
Breaking of the Bread
Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.
Therefore let us keep the feast.
These are the gifts of God for you, the people of God.
The congregation receives communion.
(AT THE COMMUNION: We encounter the Real Presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in this Sacrament of Holy Communion. All who desire a closer relationship with God are encouraged to come forward: for a Blessing or, if you are baptized, for the Bread and Wine. )
(Please form a distanced line in the aisle & come forward to receive from the priest.)
Prayer after Communion
Gracious God, you are the author and giver of all good things. We give you thanks for the gift of life, for the meal we shared, and for reconnecting us as your people. Keep us nourished by this meal and this community. Keep us grounded in the ways in which you feed us, and in the ways we are all hungry. We pray these things through Jesus Christ. Amen.