Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts

Prayer Reflection: The Word

Here’s a thoughtful prayer reflection from Roddy Hamilton.

Advent Word

it is ancient
as old as the first word
for it is the first word ever
spoken by a God
who was feeling the divine voice
for the first time

its sound has taken many forms through
the ages, but it speaks
still, the single
truth it always has

some hear it beating swords into ploughshares
others hear it hammering spears into pruning hooks
and still others hear the
original word
that shaped these others
the first word:
the word,
love

~ written by Roddy Hamilton, and posted on Mucky Paws. http://www.nkchurch.org.uk/index.php/mucky-paws

Prayer for Others: Into These Dark Places

Here’s a prayer of intercession from Julie Rennick, a Church of Scotland minister serving in the village of Earlston. The prayer comes from RevGalBlogPals.

Prayer for Others

Precious Holy One
A brief look at the news shouts out that there are many dark places in our world.
Darkness through mindless violence
Darkness through frustration and horror
Darkness through grief and distress
Darkness through pain and disease
Darkness deep in the souls of those we love…

Holy One
into these dark places
into those unnamed dark places
into the darkness of fear and loneliness
pour out your radiance
shower down your light
break through pure brilliance
until the darkness is disspelled
and our hearts find peace
and the light of hope
can shine forth again
fresh and new with this new day

hear our prayers we pray,
Amen

~ written by Julie Rennick and posted on RevGalBlogPals. https://revgalblogpals.org/2018/03/05/monday-prayer-175/

Christmas Call to Worship

Here’s a Christmas call to worship from Christine Jerrett’s blog.

Call to Worship for Christmas

God is telling a story in our lives.

It’s quite a story-

full of the promises God makes

and our struggles to trust;

full of mystery and angels

with surprising news;

full of hard endings

and unexpected new beginnings.

Come, hear the story

pay attention to the angels’ message

in your heart

in this place and time.

Then join all creation

in worshipping the God

who tells it

full of grace and truth;

who comes in Jesus,

the Word made flesh,

and makes our story holy.

~ posted on Christine Jerrett. https://christinejerrett.wordpress.com/

Christmas: Opening Prayer

Here’s an opening prayer of invocation for Christmas from Rev. Eliza Buchakjian-Tweedy, Pastor at First Church Congregational in Rochester, NH.

Prayer of Invocation

We have waited for a long time

for your hope, your joy, your love

to shine in the darkness of this world, Almighty God.

Even now, in our gathering here, we await you.

In our hearts, we still hope that your light will blaze forth,

banishing the shadows of this world

and guiding all the people back to you.

Yet you did not come into this world

in a show of power and glory.

You did not shine forth for all of creation to behold.

A tiny spark –

a newborn baby,

visible to parents and curious animals.

A host of angels –

away from the populated areas,

singing to migrant workers.

A sparkling star –

guiding foreigners to see what neighbors could not.

Open our hearts, merciful God,

to the sparks of your presence still in this world.

Open our eyes,

that we might behold your presence in the least likely of places,

and among the least likely of people.

God with us,

kindle your spark within us,

that together we may shine forth your light,

we might banish the shadows of this world,

we might be the continuation of the Christmas miracle:

Emmanuel is in this world,

God is with us, now and evermore.

Illumine our hearts, gracious God,

that we might speak anew the words your Son will teach us...

~ written by Rev. Eliza Buchakjian-Tweedy, Pastor at First Church Congregational in Rochester, NH.

Christmas Call to Worship: Imagine a Savior

Here’s a call to worship for Christmas from Tim Graves’s LiturgyBits blog.

Call to Worship for Christmas

We waited.
And imagined a savior.

We imagined power.
One like the world but stronger and on our side.

We imagined a king on a white horse wielding a sword.
We got a baby born in a stable among the livestock.

We imagined the work done for us

through the destruction of our enemies.
We receive a baby who will teach us our calling

to seek reconciliation and to love expansively.

Praise be to God for the unexpected babe of Bethlehem.
Praise to the wisdom of love. Amen!

~ written by Tim Graves, and posted on his blog LiturgyBits: Little bits for worship. https://liturgybits.wordpress.com/

Opening Prayer for the Christmas Season

Here’s an opening prayer for the Christmas season from Grace Church in Ealing, London.

Opening Prayer

Almighty God,

It’s dark outside

and the nights are long.

We watch and wait with mounting expectation

for the coming of your son into the world.

We ease our waiting with the

blandishments of tinsel and tree.

We delight in their beauty,

but Lord, in our eagerness

guard our hearts from celebrating

the things we have made

instead of the gift you will give.

Amen.

~ from the website of Grace Church in Ealing, London. http://www.freshworship.org/

Christmas Prayer

Here’s a Christmas prayer from Anne Fraley, rector of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in South Windsor, CT. It was posted on RevGalBlogPals.

Prayer of Adoration and Intercession

for the Christmas Season

We come to adore you, little one.

On bended knee,

with hopeful heart,

and eyes stretched wide with wonder and awe.

The gentleness of your gaze

draws us into the mystery of all that lies beyond,

and in that place of falling into joy

we yield all that we are to you.

And we pray.

For those who are broken,

Those who seek,

The trembling and the rumbling tummies,

The haggard spirits and the ragged lives.

For those who cling to the last best thing,

and those whose hearts pine for love.

Bless us, O Lord, whom we adore,

and turn our faces ever toward you.

For peace,

for mercy,

for the sake of all that is holy.

We come to adore you, O Christ.

~ written by Anne Fraley, rector of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in South Windsor, CT. Posted on RevGalBlogPals. https://revgalblogpals.org/

Call to Worship: Isaiah 9

Here’s a call to worship for the Christmas or Epiphany seasons. It was written by Rev. Eliza Buchakjian-Tweedy, Pastor at First Church Congregational in Rochester, NH.

Call to Worship

(inspired by Isaiah 9)

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.

Those who lived in a land of deep darkness –

on them light has shined.

We long for a light to guide us.

You have multiplied the nation,

you have increased its joy.

We long for God's joy in our lives.

For the yoke of their burden,

and the bar across their shoulders,

the rod of their oppressor,

you have broken as on the day of Midian.

We long to be relieved of all that we carry.

For a child has been born for us,

a son given to us;

he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

He is named Emmanuel:

God with us.

In this tiny baby, this vulnerable child,

we find our light, our joy, our comfort.

Joy to the World! The Lord is come!

~ written by Rev. Eliza Buchakjian-Tweedy, Pastor at First Church Congregational in Rochester, NH.

Christmas Reflection: The Hands of Joseph

Here’s a thoughtful reflection on the role of Joseph in the Christmas story. It was written by Catherine Alder and posted on Journey with Jesus.

The Hands of Joseph

(inspired by Matthew 1:18-22)

I see the hands of Joseph.
Back and forth along bare wood they move.
There is worry in those working hands,
sorting out confusing thoughts with every stroke.
“How can this be, my beautiful Mary now with child?”
Rough with deep splinters, these hands,
small, painful splinters like tiny crosses
embedded deeply in this choice to stay with her.
He could have closed his hands to her,
said, “No” and let her go to stoning.

But, dear Joseph opened both his heart and hands
to this mother and her child.
Preparing in these days before
with working hands
and wood pressed tight between them.
It is these rough hands that will open
and be the first to hold the Child.

I see the hands of John,
worn from desert raging storms
and plucking locusts from sand ripped rocks
beneath the remnant of a Bethlehem star.
A howling wind like some lost wolf
cries out beneath the moon,
or was that John?
This loneliness,
enough to make a grown man mad.
He’s waiting for this, God’s whisper.
“Go now. He is coming.
You have prepared your hands enough.
Go. He needs your servant hands,
your cupping hands to lift the water,
and place his feet upon the path to service and to death.
Go now, John, and open your hands to him.
It is time.”

I see a fist held tight and fingers blanched to white.
Prying is no easy task.
These fingers find a way of pulling back to old positions,
protecting all that was and is.
Blanched to white. No openness. All fright.

But then the Spirit comes.
A holy Christmas dance begins
and blows between the twisted paths.

This fist opens
slowly,
gently,
beautifully,
the twisted fingers letting go.
Their rock-solid place in line has eased.
And one by one the fingers lift
True color is returned
And through the deepest of mysteries,
The holiest of holies,
O longing of longings

Beyond all human imagining
this fist,
as if awakened from Lazarus’ cold stone dream
reaches out to hold the tiny newborn hand of God.

~ written by Catherine Alder. Posted on Journey with Jesus. http://www.journeywithjesus.net/

Opening Prayer: Seeking Light

Here’s a responsive opening act of worship for the Advent season. It comes from Grace Church in Ealing, London.

Opening Call to Worship and Prayer:

Seeking Light

In this season of waiting, of longing,

of looking for you to come into our world

We are seeking light

[Light candles]

In our own lives

We are seeking light

In our neighbourhoods

We are seeking light

In our families

We are seeking light

In our work

We are seeking light

In Grace

We are seeking light

In our nation

We are seeking light

In our world

We are seeking light

In… [add your own longings]

We are seeking light

Seek and you shall find

Knock and the door will be opened

Ask and it will be given to you

Jesus Christ you are the light of the world

May we have eyes to see you

And ears to hear you

Come into our world today

Amen

~ from the website of Grace Church in Ealing, London. http://www.freshworship.org/

Poem: An Open Door

Here’s a poem for Advent or Christmas from Pamela Cranston (2011). It was posted on the Journey with Jesus website.

Poem: An Open Door
(On A Theme by Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

Look how long
the weary world waited,
locked in its lonely cell,
guilty as a prisoner.

As you can imagine,
it sang and whistled in the dark.
It hoped. It paced and puttered about,
tidying its little piles of inconsequence.

It wept from the weight of ennui,
draped like shackles on its wrists.
It raged and wailed against the walls
of its own plight.

But there was nothing
the world could do
to find its own freedom.
The door was shut tight.

It could only be opened
from the outside.

Who could believe the latch
would be turned by a pink flower —
the tiny hand
of a newborn baby?

Prayer of Invocation: Advent Antiphons

From Mary's sweet silence,
Come, Word mutely spoken!

Pledge of our real life,
Come, Bread yet unbroken!

Seed of the Golden Wheat,
In us be sown.

Fullness of true Light,
Through us be known.

Secret held tenderly,
Guarded with Love,

Cradled in purity,
Child of the Dove,

Come!

~ written by Sr. M. Charlita, I.H.M. Posted on Journey with Jesus. http://www.journeywithjesus.net/

Call to Worship: O come let us worship

Here’s a call to worship with allusions to Psalm 95:6, Psalm 24:1 and Isaiah 9:2. It was written by Leonard Sweet and posted on Preach the Story.

Call to Worship

(referencing Psalm 95:6, Psalm 24:1 and Isaiah 9:2)

O come let us worship and lift our hearts . . .

Not because the world is good and last week was awesome,

but because the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it,

the God of the whole Earth.

O come let us worship and raise our hands . . .

Not because our lives are all sweetness and light,

But because even those who walk in darkness

can see a great light,

the Bright and Morning Star

O come let us worship and bow down . . .

Not because God gives us what we want,

But because God gives us what we need –

the holy child Jesus, God’s Unspeakable Gift.

~ written by Leonard Sweet, posted on Preach the Story. https://preachthestory.com/

Prayer for Epiphany

Beloved Jesus,
may I have the faith and insight of the Wise Men,
who, when faced with an ancient hope of a foreign people
and the appearance of a remarkable star,
grasped the connection, and went and followed that star.

I stand now at the border of a new year,
which is to me like an unknown country.
I don’t know what I will experience as I traverse it;
I don’t know what obstacles will lie across my path.

Lead me, like the Wise Men, on a quest
of faithfulness and worship,
of hopefulness and giving,
and always unto Yourself. Amen.

~ written by Jeanie Gushee (1962–), in Yours Is the Day, Lord, Yours Is the Night: A Morning and Evening Prayer Book Posted on Prayers & Creeds

Epiphany Blessings

May this holy season be for each of us
a time of moving beyond what is “reasonable”
and toward the star of wonder;

moving beyond grasping tight to what we have
to unclenching our hands and letting go,
following the Light where it leads;

moving beyond competition toward cooperation,
seeing that all humans are sisters and brothers;

moving beyond the anxiety of small concerns
towards the joys of justice and peace.

May the transforming acceptance of Mary and Joseph,
   the imagination of the shepherds,
      and the persistence of the wise men
guide us as we seek the Truth,
   always moving toward the Divine promise.
   always aware God can be hidden in the frailest among us,
   always open to the unexpected flash of Grace,
      to the showing forth of that Love that embraces us all.

~ from Education for Justice - www.educationforjustice.org. Adapted by J.M. Deren from "Blessings and Benedictions," by W.L. Wallace in Shine On, Star of Bethlehem, CAFOD, 2004. Posted on Marianist Social Justice Collaborative website. http://www.msjc.net/

Christmas Call to Worship

Here is a responsive call to worship for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. It comes from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship website.

Call to Worship for Christmas

Let us go, in heart and mind,

to see what has come to pass.

Let us go with the shepherds:
Let us go to find the Savior!
Let us go with the wise ones:
Let us go to find God's promise, born for us!
Let us go with the poor and humble:
Let us go to find our King, born in a lowly manger.
Let us go with all the world,

with all the peoples of the nations.

Come, let us worship;

come, let us adore him:
Christ the Lord!

~ from “The Gift of Joy: Isaiah 12” posted on the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship website. http://worship.calvin.edu/resources/resource-library/the-gift-of-joy-isaiah-12/

Christmas Eve Call to Worship

Here’s a call to worship for Christmas Eve from Roddy Hamilton and the New Kilpatrick Parish Church website.

Call to Worship for Christmas Eve

when all has gone quiet
and the world begins to sleep
cooried in and snug
beneath a blanket of frost

when the universe holds its breath
and angels begin to stretch their wings
and stars begin to slide
into constellations of hope

when music seems to hang in the air
and creation hums its own carol
about the longing for light
and birth again from wintertime

then the waiting ones gather
to listen to these rumours
and whisper about the birth
of a child made all of light

and together pass the word
that soon and very soon
advent will slip into sign
and waiting into birth

so let us gather with ever beating hearts
staying with Mary and Joseph
wondering, labouring, longing, expecting
the promise to break through the night

~ written by Roddy Hamilton, and posted on the New Kilpatrick Parish Church website. https://www.nkchurch.org.uk/original-liturgy

Christmas Affirmation: Let Love Dwell Within Us

Here’s a statement of petition and commitment for Christmas from the Christian Aid website. (You could also substitute "you" for "us" and make it a closing benediction/blessing.)

Christmas Affirmation

Let the love that shaped earth and heaven