Shattering Christmas To Find Christmas
Worship
I Spy Christmas
Shattering Christmas to Find Christmas: Christmas Eve Service of Candles and Carols
Object:
Introduction
"Shattering Christmas To Find Christmas" features a unique look at Christmas. Sometimes the things we do to celebrate Christmas are the very things that may prevent us from finding its true meaning. This Christmas Eve service helps us look at Christmas through different eyes.
The service features scripture readings, meditations, and the lighting of the Advent candles as well as congregational prayers and the singing of Christmas carols. The number of people involved in the service is at your discretion as the scripture readings and meditations provide opportunities to include a variety of people. If your congregation is blessed with musical talent, some of the Christmas carols may be featured as special music instead of being sung by the congregation.
Members of the congregation will receive small, unlighted candles with protectors on them for safety. Ushers or other designated people will need to assist in the lighting of the individual candles. The more help you have in this area, the faster the lighting of the candles will be. Remind the congregation to hold their lighted candles upright and dip each unlighted candle into the flame of a lighted candle.
The service concludes with the singing of "Silent Night" as a darkened sanctuary comes alive with the candles. Following the benediction, the sanctuary lights are brought up and large baskets are placed by the exits for the collection of the individual candles.
Order Of Service
Gathering Music
Singing Of Christmas Carols
Welcome And Greeting
Call To Worship
L: The prophets had foretold the coming of the Messiah.
C: But who would believe that this was the time?
L: Through Isaiah God declared, "A virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son."
C: But expectations were shattered; "Mary's the one?"
L: God shattered expectations by coming to us as Immanuel.
C: This is indeed the time of Christ, the Son of God, being born.
Christmas Carol
"It Came Upon The Midnight Clear"
Are You Ready For Christmas?
Scripture Reading
Micah 5:2-5a
Meditation
Shattering Christmas Expectations"
Lighting Of Advent Candle
Candle Of Expectation
Come, thou long-expected Jesus. It's a prayer of longing filled with hope and expectation. On the surface it seems that there are all kinds of things to do. But at the heart of the matter there is one thing to do: wait. Hurrying through our lists won't expedite his coming; not getting through the lists won't delay it.
The candle of expectation reminds us of the spiritual gift of waiting. In the Old Testament David waited fifteen years to become king, Abraham waited 25 years for God's promise of a son, and Moses waited forty years in the wilderness before God called. Waiting ... Mary waited for months before her pregnancy was full term. Even from the shortest of these waits, our waiting for Christmas doesn't seem so long.
Waiting on God is invitational. In its dependence upon and confidence in God, waiting gives the future the chance to emerge. Waiting sets the stage to encounter the ultimate Christmas presence; that of Immanuel, God with us.
Christmas Prayer
We have been so busy getting ready for Christmas, O Lord, that we haven't taken the time to get ready, spiritually ready. Forgive us for our lack of waiting. When we wade through the lists, the presents, the decorations, and the demands, what we really want is you. Come, thou long-expected Jesus; come to our hearts, for we wait with confident expectation. Amen.
Christmas Carol
"Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus"
Ornaments And Beyond
Scripture Reading
Luke 1:46-55
Meditation
"Shattering Christmas Decorations"
Lighting Of Advent Candle
Candle Of Hope
Pulling out the Christmas decorations stirs all kinds of hope; for this present or that gift, to get the one thing that is wanted more than anything else. The shattering of Christmas decorations draws our attention away from the commercialism of Christmas to the religious observance of Christmas.
The hope symbolized in the second candle is not a fleeting hope or a hope against hope. Rather, it is a hope rooted in the very character of God where hope is a confident expectation that God will indeed act. The meditative moment where an ornament speaks to the imagination, stirs the heart, and appeals to the will is indeed a gift. A gift that begins with a prayer for the desire and the grace to approach Christmas in this way.
The hope candle reminds us that God didn't send us an image or a symbol. He sent us his Son who, as the "I Am," is not bound by time. Our hope is that we will have a genuine encounter with Christ this Christmas.
Christmas Prayer
Lord, it's so easy for us to go with the flow when it comes to Christmas. Who would have ever given a thought to how images enable us to relate to our world? Or their power to help focus the will? We didn't give much thought to the ornaments; as long as they make it onto the tree, we are content.
Forgive us for being shortsighted. Help us to take some quiet moments to hear the ornaments' stories. Give us the grace to encounter the miracle of Christmas as we discover "God with us" through the symbols depicting his birth; in the name of the Christ. Amen.
Christmas Carol
"What Child Is This?"
I'll Be Home For Christmas
Scripture Reading
Luke 2:1-7
Meditation
"Shattering Christmas Geography"
Lighting Of Advent Candle
Candle Of Love
The candle of love glows with the welcoming warmth of home; that place pictured in the geography of the imagination as faith speaks to our hearts. The long weeks and days of waiting are behind us like so many miles that have been traveled. It's the wondering while drawing a deep breath before getting out of the car: How will we be received?
Will we be welcomed even though our love has been less than patient and at times unkind? Will we be embraced even though our love has a history of being easily provoked and tenaciously clings to each wrong suffered? Will we be received with open arms even though our love bears little, believes less, hopes for the best, and endures until the first wrong thing is said? It's then that we wonder: "Why was it so important to be home for Christmas?"
The door flings open before the doorbell is even rung. The embrace is held long and tight. It's good to be home. The candle of love reminds us that this is more than a Norman Rockwell painting. Through God's gift of the Christ, the reality of being welcomed home will far exceed even our wildest expectations.
Christmas Prayer
O God who created the east and the west, the north and the south, we long to be home for Christmas. We know that is more than a matter of geography; it's also a matter of the heart. We find ways to sabotage the very thing we desire, whether it be through our words, our attitudes, or our actions. Forgive us, we ask, and give us the grace we need that we may truly be home this Christmas. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen.
Christmas Carol
"O Little Town Of Bethlehem"
Picturing Christmas
Scripture Reading
Luke 2:8-12
Meditation
"Shattering Christmas Icons"
Lighting Of Advent Candle
Candle Of Joy
The image of the expected Messiah was shattered by the birth of the Christ: born not in royal splendor, born not in the corridors of wealth and power, but born in the humblest of places. Who would expect that God would step into history as a baby born in Bethlehem's stable?
Time and time again, the image of the Messiah was shattered by Jesus as he drew others unto himself: not by promises of political position, not by playing to the images of ridding the land of Rome, but by incarnating the very love of God with its deep wellsprings of joy.
If we are to experience the joy of Christ, then we must not settle for the icons of Christmas. Instead, let us seek as earnestly as the shepherds: "Let us see this thing that has happened that the Lord has made known to us." If they hadn't acted, it would have been just a story. But by acting upon their faith, there was tremendous joy as they encountered the Messiah.
Christmas Prayer
Can you believe, O Lord, how we use Christmas icons to decorate, to celebrate, to keep you at a distance? Icons don't pose the risk that you do. They're safe and when the celebration is over, we carefully pack them up thinking it's time to get back to the "real" world.
Forgive us, O God, for not seeing the greater reality to which the Christmas icons point. Enable us to experience the reality of the Christ and the joy he brings to the world. Amen.
Christmas Carol
"Joy To The World"
Sharing Christmas
Receiving Of Christmas Offering
Offertory
Beyond Our Control
Scripture Reading
Luke 2:13-20
Meditation
"Shattering Christmas"
Lighting Of Advent Candle
Christ Candle
The Christ represented by this candle stepped into our world because a story just wouldn't do. He stepped into our time because while a fairy tale might paint an imaginary world that allows us to escape for a while, it doesn't change reality. But Jesus Christ does.
Everything we have, we have in Christ. Our salvation is in Christ. Our assurance that we are reconciled with God is in Christ. Our holiness, our inheritance, and our very access to God is all in Christ. Indeed, our longings, hope, love, and joy find their ultimate fulfillment in Christ.
These realities take us well beyond the shattering of Christmas. For in Christ we discover the one who makes Christmas a living reality throughout the whole year. Thank God for his gift of the Christ.
Christmas Prayer
O giver of the greatest of gifts: We bow in prayerful praise, humbled and awed by the indescribable gift you have given. Forgive us, O Lord, where we have tried to build our own world our own way, where we have relegated you to an outside observer with neither voice nor vote.
Give us the grace to see that Christmas is so much more than we typically make it; through Christmas, the king steps into our world to transform the world. In receiving the king may we discover a reality that transcends our own; through Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Christmas Carol
"Angels From The Realms Of Glory"
A Christmas To Celebrate
Scripture Reading
Luke 2:25-32, 36-38
Meditation
"Finding Christmas"
Lighting Of Candles
Congregational Candles
On the one hand, the light of Christ shatters Christmas as it moves us beyond materialistic expectations, decorations, and the geography of being home. It enables us to see beyond the icons and the desire to be in control. On the other hand, the light of Christ enables us to find Christmas on its deepest levels as we encounter the Messiah.
May the light from the Christ candle shatter Christmas that you, and those who look to you, may find Christmas. After all the candles are lit, we will sing the first verse of "Silent Night" and then listen in silence as the piano and organ play the third verse.
Christmas Carol
"Silent Night"
Benediction
O giver of the greatest of gifts, we bow in prayerful praise, giving you thanks for the indescribable gift. Touch our hearts and transform our lives that we may share the wonder and mystery of this silent night, this holy night.
Give us the grace to "find" Christmas, even if that means shattering it first. May we return home glorifying and praising you for all that we have seen and heard by being in your presence this Christmas. We ask it in the name of the Christ of Christmas. Amen.
Sending Music
Shattering Christmas Expectations
The children come bounding down the steps, "Mom, do you know that there's only 79 days left until Christmas? We heard it on the radio. Isn't that sweet?" So, the countdown, with NASA efficiency, begins. As it draws near, the pace accelerates with the ever-present question: "Are you ready for Christmas?"
What exactly does that question mean? Which Christmas is being talked about: Christmas ... the mid-winter celebration of inserts, advertisements, and credit card balances or Christmas the religious observance of the birth of Immanuel? While the two may intersect, they are not one and the same. Indeed, how we "get ready" has a profound affect upon expectations.
Can't get it all done? As the countdown continues, the onslaught of ads increases. One promises Christmas candies like grandma used to make while another paints the picture of an old-fashioned Christmas just by purchasing their product. Having problems finding the perfect gift? Santa@gifts.net could be just the place for you.
All the hustle and bustle, all the scurry and hurry is shattered by one biblical word: wait. This is not the agitated looking at the watch as the credit card of the person in front of you is rejected. This is not the impatient waiting of counting down the days with its ever-present temptation to peek at the presents.
Wait ... it goes against our grain of being in charge, of conquering the list, of having everything done just the way we want it. But the spiritual discipline of waiting is one with a focus. It's not waiting for waiting's sake. It's waiting on the God who comes.
What exactly does that mean? This waiting is not a countdown of days but an attitude of heart that intentionally quiets itself. It's being still and stopping our minds from going over to-do lists. Instead, it provides God an opportunity to speak to us as one trusts in the Lord, feeds upon his faithfulness, and hopes in his word.
Waiting comes with a promise: None of those who wait upon the Lord shall be ashamed. It is because of the promise that the psalmist says, "wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage" (Psalm 27:14 NASB). It is in this kind of waiting that our strength is renewed, our faith is augmented, and our walk is put back in step with the master's as we observe kindness and do justice.
"My soul, wait silently for God alone," writes the psalmist, "for my expectation is from him" (Psalm 62:5 NKJV). Waiting on God enlarges a person's perspective beyond the present moment, opens the eyes to the deeper significance, and allows the spiritual meaning of Christmas a chance to emerge. In that sense, it shatters the cultural expectation of Christmas. Are you ready for Christmas?
Shattering Christmas Decorations
Back in the day, Christmas decorations came out of the box carefully stored away in the crawl space. It was just the basics: lights, tinsel, and ornaments for the tree. The nativity set fit into a box the size of a shoebox. Decorating the house for Christmas just didn't take long.
Times have changed and so have the decorations. The October ornament catalogues are filled with a dazzling display of ornaments with pages filled with sports, movie characters, and pets as well as ornaments of different kinds of jobs. These ornaments which were once the exception are now the rule. If one looks long enough, you'll come across a few pages that are geared to the religious side of Christmas.
Is there any significance to this change of having Yoda or Barbie or the Grinch replacing ornaments that were focused on God's gift of Immanuel? Before you answer, consider this. The importance of images rests in how they enable us to relate to our world. Images help us see the world in different ways. They help us imagine or picture the possibilities.
The popularization of ornaments that have nothing to do with the religious side of Christmas raises a question: What kind of message do we want to convey? While these other ornaments may be "cute," they exclude the deeper meaning. Instead of God being at the center of Christmas, he's pushed to the periphery. The images of commercialism rule where the Christmas story once reigned.
Ornaments can tell a story of when they were received, who gave them, or when they were purchased. Ornaments that are centered around the religious meaning of Christmas do something more as they prompt us to reflect upon something greater than ourselves. Contrast the latest movie ornament with one featuring the nativity, for example.
The movie ornament brings to mind the story of the movie. While it might have been entertaining, it lacks the power to change the human heart. The nativity ornament invites quiet moments that allow questions from deep within to surface: What was the first Christmas like? Was it an easy birth? Did the birth certificate read "delivered by Joseph"? Why would God take such a risk, coming as a baby?
If we take the time to be still, to wait, the iconic nature of the Christmas ornaments may just shatter the superficial aspects of a commercial Christmas. It is then that we discover that God shatters the images through his presence. Why? Maybe so that we are more intrigued with the God who comes than with the images themselves.
Shattering Christmas Geography
It's one of the great songs of Christmas pulling at the heartstrings even as it appeals to the imagination with the sights, sounds, and smells of nostalgic memories. In one sense, it's a song about geography stirring within the listener a specific desire: It tells us where we want to be, but in a much deeper sense, it appeals to the geography of the imagination.
"I'll Be Home For Christmas" taps into the heart's longing for a homecoming. Yes, that does involve geography whether one gets "home" by plane, train, or automobile. There's just something special about being in that place called "home"; especially at Christmas.
The longing for a Christmas homecoming runs much deeper than geography suggests. The geography of the imagination says this is the way home to Christmas past. It's a longing to recapture the mystery and wonder of what Christmas once was. Maybe, just maybe, by being home, the awe of Christmas can be captured once again.
The geography of the imagination, if we allow it, takes us on a journey to Christmas. Oh, we want the safe, predictable journey; not a journey into the unknown pregnant with life. We aren't so sure about a Mary and Joseph type faith journey that involves us in such intimate and profound ways. It's so much easier just to trace their journey on a map and call it good.
The real Christmas homecoming is risky business as the world-forming Spirit of God shatters our old way of being in the world. That is, Christmas is not just a celebration of the historical birth of the Son of God at a specific geographical location. It's also about us -- you and me -- being participants in the unfolding drama of this year's Christmas.
Christmas is an observance, an act of remembering, a liturgical tradition. It is more as it offers us the opportunity to participate in a world that is in the process of becoming! The homecoming is not just about the physical geography of being home. It's also about the geography of the heart that is reconciled or comes to be in right relationship with God, and then with others. It is there that we rediscover the awe and wonder of Christmas.
That is the appeal of the little town of Bethlehem with its prayer of "O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us we pray; cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today."
The prayer shatters Christmas geography with its maps and boundaries. Instead, it offers us the gift of a Christmas homecoming where God says, "I've been waiting for you. Welcome home!"
Shattering Christmas Icons
Can you see Santa Claus with his bag at his feet taking a bite of a cookie and a big gulp of milk? Or hear the Christmas carols as snow dusts the merry carolers gathered under a lamppost with its misty glow? Or feel the shepherds' fear as the angelic host bursts upon their otherwise silent night? There are many other traditional images, to be sure, but each, in its own way, has become an icon of Christmas.
The icons of Christmas? The icons of Christmas are the images that appeal to our imaginations helping us see things in a different light. Have you ever wondered why A Dickens' Christmas remains a perennial favorite, pulling at our heartstrings? It provides an alternative way of seeing the world while allowing us to see ourselves as it draws us into the story. Through most of the story the last character we want to be is ol' Scrooge.
How we picture Christmas is iconic in nature as we have representations of the nativity, carols that take us to another time and place, or pictures of an old-fashioned Christmas. The trouble with the icons of Christmas is that we are tempted to settle for the icons themselves instead of the greater thing to which they point.
Typically, we view Christmas icons as if we are in charge. We collect, decorate, and display them, but do we allow them to have an affect upon us? Do we ever question what God might be seeking to say? An interesting feature of some icons is the way they draw a viewer in by changing the perspective. Take a scene where the farther you look into the picture, the larger the buildings become. It inverts what we expect where the smaller buildings would be farther back.
Christmas icons can be windows into the life-changing mystery of Christmas. Do we allow ourselves to be drawn into the Christmas story as we set up the nativity? When Mary is carefully put in place, do we question the scandal of Christmas? Of how Mary, whose heart was at home in the scriptures, handled the adversity? Do we inquire of the struggle to keep the faith when virtually no one wanted to believe that "God did this"? Do we wonder about Joseph's seemingly illogical decision to take Mary as his wife or do we dismiss the presence of the angel by saying, "that was then, this is now."
Our ideas of Christmas icons have to be shattered from time to time by none other than God himself! Why? Because we are prone to focus more on the icon than on the larger principal reality to which they point. In that sense, we are like the child who is excited beyond belief as a present is opened. Once the paper is ripped away, they know what's inside the box by the picture on the outside. Instead of being captivated with what's in the box, they are excited to play with the box!
Oftentimes, that is what we do with Christmas icons. God doesn't want us settling for the box when the box points to something so much greater. On the one hand, the heart of God aches when we celebrate Christmas in such superficial fashions that do not take it seriously, that leave us in control. On the other hand, the heart of God rejoices when we are receptive to the shattering presence of the coming of the Messiah: the one who brings joy even as he transforms our world.
Shattering Christmas
The shattering of Christmas, the very words cause a shiver. The shattering prompts us to gather around the biblical text; warming ourselves as if gathering around the fireplace. It's a vivid reminder that we are not in control of this Christmas anymore than Mary and Joseph or the shepherds or the angels were in charge that first Christmas.
In standing before the text -- listening to the Christmas story -- we discover that the text unfolds before us. God's presence is made known to us through the humanity of Jesus as well as the witness of the scriptures. The shattering of Christmas calls us to be still; to wait as the God hidden in the text steps into our time and space. The eternal one, Immanuel, is mysteriously, suddenly present.
It's what bothers us about Christmas, isn't it? That we are not in control. That there is no remote to make God reveal himself on cue. Waiting before the scriptures, pondering, meditating, allowing the imagination to orient us and to find a new way of being in the world is more than we bargained for. But isn't that Christmas? When we really stop to think about it, isn't Christmas a way of entering an alternate reality? A new way of being in the world?
Christmas is not just a story about back then; it's a story that invades our present and affects the future as semantic fields collide: Darkness now has to contend with the "light" of the world; sin is confronted by the presence of the holy one who comes to seek and to save that which is lost; death no longer has the last word as the grave could not hold the one who is life!
The shattering of Christmas enables us to make room in the inn of our hearts for the God who comes. The gift of hospitality is extended as we join together in praise. This praise goes well beyond the singing of Christmas carols; for God seeks to re-describe our reality through praise where true understanding involves a responsive and obedient participation in the kingdom that comes through the birth of the Christ.
May your Christmas be shattered so that you may find Christmas: The gift given by God who so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Finding Christmas
The lyrics of one of the Christmas songs states that "Christmas is for children, just for children, grownups say." Oh, it's a nostalgic sentiment that focuses on Santa, the reindeer, and the sleigh. There's the excitement of gifts under the tree that are carefully examined: Who is it for? How big is the box? Does it rattle? What could it be?
The lyrics keep us in that realm and then ask: "Aren't we all children Christmas Day?" It's an intriguing question: On the one hand, it refers to the wonder and joy of the mythology and presents of Christmas. On the other hand, it asks a more profound question than it ever intended to ask: A question that reveals the very heart of the senior citizens in the Christmas story.
The years of life cast a long shadow. Simeon knew there wasn't much time left, but there was reason to embrace life even as life began to fade. God had revealed to him that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. The name Simeon means "hears and obeys." The disciplines of his devout life were not a religion onto themselves; rather, they were an avenue to the heart of God. Simeon heard, and being filled by the Holy Spirit, he came to the temple. With a childlike faith, Simeon dared to believe that the child of Mary was indeed the Christ!
What Simeon believed would later be put into words when Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3 NASB). Simeon found Christmas because he dared to believe what he heard. Then he acted upon it!
Anna was one of those people who could make you uncomfortably comfortable. That is, Anna owned her age as it is revealed to us. She also owned her stage in life, what God was calling her to do. People who are that comfortable with themselves can make others feel uncomfortable. This is particularly true when Anna prayed.
There was a familiarity with God; one just knew by the way she prayed that you were in the presence of the almighty. Life's most profound problems found their way into her prayers as she prayed the scriptures into life. There was a humbleness of heart, a quietness of spirit, a keenness of mind. There was no doubt Anna was talking to a friend, an intimate friend that she trusted deeply.
When she came before God, Anna, whose name means grace, humbled herself as a child. Oh, the wonder and joy of finding Christmas! For she, too, beheld the Christ! Her response? Anna began giving thanks to God for this awesome gift! She spoke of it to all who were receptive of heart.
Finding Christmas -- is to encounter the Christ on this silent night, this holy night. Then, let the light of the encounter shine so others may find the Christ of Christmas.
"Shattering Christmas To Find Christmas" features a unique look at Christmas. Sometimes the things we do to celebrate Christmas are the very things that may prevent us from finding its true meaning. This Christmas Eve service helps us look at Christmas through different eyes.
The service features scripture readings, meditations, and the lighting of the Advent candles as well as congregational prayers and the singing of Christmas carols. The number of people involved in the service is at your discretion as the scripture readings and meditations provide opportunities to include a variety of people. If your congregation is blessed with musical talent, some of the Christmas carols may be featured as special music instead of being sung by the congregation.
Members of the congregation will receive small, unlighted candles with protectors on them for safety. Ushers or other designated people will need to assist in the lighting of the individual candles. The more help you have in this area, the faster the lighting of the candles will be. Remind the congregation to hold their lighted candles upright and dip each unlighted candle into the flame of a lighted candle.
The service concludes with the singing of "Silent Night" as a darkened sanctuary comes alive with the candles. Following the benediction, the sanctuary lights are brought up and large baskets are placed by the exits for the collection of the individual candles.
Order Of Service
Gathering Music
Singing Of Christmas Carols
Welcome And Greeting
Call To Worship
L: The prophets had foretold the coming of the Messiah.
C: But who would believe that this was the time?
L: Through Isaiah God declared, "A virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son."
C: But expectations were shattered; "Mary's the one?"
L: God shattered expectations by coming to us as Immanuel.
C: This is indeed the time of Christ, the Son of God, being born.
Christmas Carol
"It Came Upon The Midnight Clear"
Are You Ready For Christmas?
Scripture Reading
Micah 5:2-5a
Meditation
Shattering Christmas Expectations"
Lighting Of Advent Candle
Candle Of Expectation
Come, thou long-expected Jesus. It's a prayer of longing filled with hope and expectation. On the surface it seems that there are all kinds of things to do. But at the heart of the matter there is one thing to do: wait. Hurrying through our lists won't expedite his coming; not getting through the lists won't delay it.
The candle of expectation reminds us of the spiritual gift of waiting. In the Old Testament David waited fifteen years to become king, Abraham waited 25 years for God's promise of a son, and Moses waited forty years in the wilderness before God called. Waiting ... Mary waited for months before her pregnancy was full term. Even from the shortest of these waits, our waiting for Christmas doesn't seem so long.
Waiting on God is invitational. In its dependence upon and confidence in God, waiting gives the future the chance to emerge. Waiting sets the stage to encounter the ultimate Christmas presence; that of Immanuel, God with us.
Christmas Prayer
We have been so busy getting ready for Christmas, O Lord, that we haven't taken the time to get ready, spiritually ready. Forgive us for our lack of waiting. When we wade through the lists, the presents, the decorations, and the demands, what we really want is you. Come, thou long-expected Jesus; come to our hearts, for we wait with confident expectation. Amen.
Christmas Carol
"Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus"
Ornaments And Beyond
Scripture Reading
Luke 1:46-55
Meditation
"Shattering Christmas Decorations"
Lighting Of Advent Candle
Candle Of Hope
Pulling out the Christmas decorations stirs all kinds of hope; for this present or that gift, to get the one thing that is wanted more than anything else. The shattering of Christmas decorations draws our attention away from the commercialism of Christmas to the religious observance of Christmas.
The hope symbolized in the second candle is not a fleeting hope or a hope against hope. Rather, it is a hope rooted in the very character of God where hope is a confident expectation that God will indeed act. The meditative moment where an ornament speaks to the imagination, stirs the heart, and appeals to the will is indeed a gift. A gift that begins with a prayer for the desire and the grace to approach Christmas in this way.
The hope candle reminds us that God didn't send us an image or a symbol. He sent us his Son who, as the "I Am," is not bound by time. Our hope is that we will have a genuine encounter with Christ this Christmas.
Christmas Prayer
Lord, it's so easy for us to go with the flow when it comes to Christmas. Who would have ever given a thought to how images enable us to relate to our world? Or their power to help focus the will? We didn't give much thought to the ornaments; as long as they make it onto the tree, we are content.
Forgive us for being shortsighted. Help us to take some quiet moments to hear the ornaments' stories. Give us the grace to encounter the miracle of Christmas as we discover "God with us" through the symbols depicting his birth; in the name of the Christ. Amen.
Christmas Carol
"What Child Is This?"
I'll Be Home For Christmas
Scripture Reading
Luke 2:1-7
Meditation
"Shattering Christmas Geography"
Lighting Of Advent Candle
Candle Of Love
The candle of love glows with the welcoming warmth of home; that place pictured in the geography of the imagination as faith speaks to our hearts. The long weeks and days of waiting are behind us like so many miles that have been traveled. It's the wondering while drawing a deep breath before getting out of the car: How will we be received?
Will we be welcomed even though our love has been less than patient and at times unkind? Will we be embraced even though our love has a history of being easily provoked and tenaciously clings to each wrong suffered? Will we be received with open arms even though our love bears little, believes less, hopes for the best, and endures until the first wrong thing is said? It's then that we wonder: "Why was it so important to be home for Christmas?"
The door flings open before the doorbell is even rung. The embrace is held long and tight. It's good to be home. The candle of love reminds us that this is more than a Norman Rockwell painting. Through God's gift of the Christ, the reality of being welcomed home will far exceed even our wildest expectations.
Christmas Prayer
O God who created the east and the west, the north and the south, we long to be home for Christmas. We know that is more than a matter of geography; it's also a matter of the heart. We find ways to sabotage the very thing we desire, whether it be through our words, our attitudes, or our actions. Forgive us, we ask, and give us the grace we need that we may truly be home this Christmas. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen.
Christmas Carol
"O Little Town Of Bethlehem"
Picturing Christmas
Scripture Reading
Luke 2:8-12
Meditation
"Shattering Christmas Icons"
Lighting Of Advent Candle
Candle Of Joy
The image of the expected Messiah was shattered by the birth of the Christ: born not in royal splendor, born not in the corridors of wealth and power, but born in the humblest of places. Who would expect that God would step into history as a baby born in Bethlehem's stable?
Time and time again, the image of the Messiah was shattered by Jesus as he drew others unto himself: not by promises of political position, not by playing to the images of ridding the land of Rome, but by incarnating the very love of God with its deep wellsprings of joy.
If we are to experience the joy of Christ, then we must not settle for the icons of Christmas. Instead, let us seek as earnestly as the shepherds: "Let us see this thing that has happened that the Lord has made known to us." If they hadn't acted, it would have been just a story. But by acting upon their faith, there was tremendous joy as they encountered the Messiah.
Christmas Prayer
Can you believe, O Lord, how we use Christmas icons to decorate, to celebrate, to keep you at a distance? Icons don't pose the risk that you do. They're safe and when the celebration is over, we carefully pack them up thinking it's time to get back to the "real" world.
Forgive us, O God, for not seeing the greater reality to which the Christmas icons point. Enable us to experience the reality of the Christ and the joy he brings to the world. Amen.
Christmas Carol
"Joy To The World"
Sharing Christmas
Receiving Of Christmas Offering
Offertory
Beyond Our Control
Scripture Reading
Luke 2:13-20
Meditation
"Shattering Christmas"
Lighting Of Advent Candle
Christ Candle
The Christ represented by this candle stepped into our world because a story just wouldn't do. He stepped into our time because while a fairy tale might paint an imaginary world that allows us to escape for a while, it doesn't change reality. But Jesus Christ does.
Everything we have, we have in Christ. Our salvation is in Christ. Our assurance that we are reconciled with God is in Christ. Our holiness, our inheritance, and our very access to God is all in Christ. Indeed, our longings, hope, love, and joy find their ultimate fulfillment in Christ.
These realities take us well beyond the shattering of Christmas. For in Christ we discover the one who makes Christmas a living reality throughout the whole year. Thank God for his gift of the Christ.
Christmas Prayer
O giver of the greatest of gifts: We bow in prayerful praise, humbled and awed by the indescribable gift you have given. Forgive us, O Lord, where we have tried to build our own world our own way, where we have relegated you to an outside observer with neither voice nor vote.
Give us the grace to see that Christmas is so much more than we typically make it; through Christmas, the king steps into our world to transform the world. In receiving the king may we discover a reality that transcends our own; through Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Christmas Carol
"Angels From The Realms Of Glory"
A Christmas To Celebrate
Scripture Reading
Luke 2:25-32, 36-38
Meditation
"Finding Christmas"
Lighting Of Candles
Congregational Candles
On the one hand, the light of Christ shatters Christmas as it moves us beyond materialistic expectations, decorations, and the geography of being home. It enables us to see beyond the icons and the desire to be in control. On the other hand, the light of Christ enables us to find Christmas on its deepest levels as we encounter the Messiah.
May the light from the Christ candle shatter Christmas that you, and those who look to you, may find Christmas. After all the candles are lit, we will sing the first verse of "Silent Night" and then listen in silence as the piano and organ play the third verse.
Christmas Carol
"Silent Night"
Benediction
O giver of the greatest of gifts, we bow in prayerful praise, giving you thanks for the indescribable gift. Touch our hearts and transform our lives that we may share the wonder and mystery of this silent night, this holy night.
Give us the grace to "find" Christmas, even if that means shattering it first. May we return home glorifying and praising you for all that we have seen and heard by being in your presence this Christmas. We ask it in the name of the Christ of Christmas. Amen.
Sending Music
Shattering Christmas Expectations
The children come bounding down the steps, "Mom, do you know that there's only 79 days left until Christmas? We heard it on the radio. Isn't that sweet?" So, the countdown, with NASA efficiency, begins. As it draws near, the pace accelerates with the ever-present question: "Are you ready for Christmas?"
What exactly does that question mean? Which Christmas is being talked about: Christmas ... the mid-winter celebration of inserts, advertisements, and credit card balances or Christmas the religious observance of the birth of Immanuel? While the two may intersect, they are not one and the same. Indeed, how we "get ready" has a profound affect upon expectations.
Can't get it all done? As the countdown continues, the onslaught of ads increases. One promises Christmas candies like grandma used to make while another paints the picture of an old-fashioned Christmas just by purchasing their product. Having problems finding the perfect gift? Santa@gifts.net could be just the place for you.
All the hustle and bustle, all the scurry and hurry is shattered by one biblical word: wait. This is not the agitated looking at the watch as the credit card of the person in front of you is rejected. This is not the impatient waiting of counting down the days with its ever-present temptation to peek at the presents.
Wait ... it goes against our grain of being in charge, of conquering the list, of having everything done just the way we want it. But the spiritual discipline of waiting is one with a focus. It's not waiting for waiting's sake. It's waiting on the God who comes.
What exactly does that mean? This waiting is not a countdown of days but an attitude of heart that intentionally quiets itself. It's being still and stopping our minds from going over to-do lists. Instead, it provides God an opportunity to speak to us as one trusts in the Lord, feeds upon his faithfulness, and hopes in his word.
Waiting comes with a promise: None of those who wait upon the Lord shall be ashamed. It is because of the promise that the psalmist says, "wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage" (Psalm 27:14 NASB). It is in this kind of waiting that our strength is renewed, our faith is augmented, and our walk is put back in step with the master's as we observe kindness and do justice.
"My soul, wait silently for God alone," writes the psalmist, "for my expectation is from him" (Psalm 62:5 NKJV). Waiting on God enlarges a person's perspective beyond the present moment, opens the eyes to the deeper significance, and allows the spiritual meaning of Christmas a chance to emerge. In that sense, it shatters the cultural expectation of Christmas. Are you ready for Christmas?
Shattering Christmas Decorations
Back in the day, Christmas decorations came out of the box carefully stored away in the crawl space. It was just the basics: lights, tinsel, and ornaments for the tree. The nativity set fit into a box the size of a shoebox. Decorating the house for Christmas just didn't take long.
Times have changed and so have the decorations. The October ornament catalogues are filled with a dazzling display of ornaments with pages filled with sports, movie characters, and pets as well as ornaments of different kinds of jobs. These ornaments which were once the exception are now the rule. If one looks long enough, you'll come across a few pages that are geared to the religious side of Christmas.
Is there any significance to this change of having Yoda or Barbie or the Grinch replacing ornaments that were focused on God's gift of Immanuel? Before you answer, consider this. The importance of images rests in how they enable us to relate to our world. Images help us see the world in different ways. They help us imagine or picture the possibilities.
The popularization of ornaments that have nothing to do with the religious side of Christmas raises a question: What kind of message do we want to convey? While these other ornaments may be "cute," they exclude the deeper meaning. Instead of God being at the center of Christmas, he's pushed to the periphery. The images of commercialism rule where the Christmas story once reigned.
Ornaments can tell a story of when they were received, who gave them, or when they were purchased. Ornaments that are centered around the religious meaning of Christmas do something more as they prompt us to reflect upon something greater than ourselves. Contrast the latest movie ornament with one featuring the nativity, for example.
The movie ornament brings to mind the story of the movie. While it might have been entertaining, it lacks the power to change the human heart. The nativity ornament invites quiet moments that allow questions from deep within to surface: What was the first Christmas like? Was it an easy birth? Did the birth certificate read "delivered by Joseph"? Why would God take such a risk, coming as a baby?
If we take the time to be still, to wait, the iconic nature of the Christmas ornaments may just shatter the superficial aspects of a commercial Christmas. It is then that we discover that God shatters the images through his presence. Why? Maybe so that we are more intrigued with the God who comes than with the images themselves.
Shattering Christmas Geography
It's one of the great songs of Christmas pulling at the heartstrings even as it appeals to the imagination with the sights, sounds, and smells of nostalgic memories. In one sense, it's a song about geography stirring within the listener a specific desire: It tells us where we want to be, but in a much deeper sense, it appeals to the geography of the imagination.
"I'll Be Home For Christmas" taps into the heart's longing for a homecoming. Yes, that does involve geography whether one gets "home" by plane, train, or automobile. There's just something special about being in that place called "home"; especially at Christmas.
The longing for a Christmas homecoming runs much deeper than geography suggests. The geography of the imagination says this is the way home to Christmas past. It's a longing to recapture the mystery and wonder of what Christmas once was. Maybe, just maybe, by being home, the awe of Christmas can be captured once again.
The geography of the imagination, if we allow it, takes us on a journey to Christmas. Oh, we want the safe, predictable journey; not a journey into the unknown pregnant with life. We aren't so sure about a Mary and Joseph type faith journey that involves us in such intimate and profound ways. It's so much easier just to trace their journey on a map and call it good.
The real Christmas homecoming is risky business as the world-forming Spirit of God shatters our old way of being in the world. That is, Christmas is not just a celebration of the historical birth of the Son of God at a specific geographical location. It's also about us -- you and me -- being participants in the unfolding drama of this year's Christmas.
Christmas is an observance, an act of remembering, a liturgical tradition. It is more as it offers us the opportunity to participate in a world that is in the process of becoming! The homecoming is not just about the physical geography of being home. It's also about the geography of the heart that is reconciled or comes to be in right relationship with God, and then with others. It is there that we rediscover the awe and wonder of Christmas.
That is the appeal of the little town of Bethlehem with its prayer of "O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us we pray; cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today."
The prayer shatters Christmas geography with its maps and boundaries. Instead, it offers us the gift of a Christmas homecoming where God says, "I've been waiting for you. Welcome home!"
Shattering Christmas Icons
Can you see Santa Claus with his bag at his feet taking a bite of a cookie and a big gulp of milk? Or hear the Christmas carols as snow dusts the merry carolers gathered under a lamppost with its misty glow? Or feel the shepherds' fear as the angelic host bursts upon their otherwise silent night? There are many other traditional images, to be sure, but each, in its own way, has become an icon of Christmas.
The icons of Christmas? The icons of Christmas are the images that appeal to our imaginations helping us see things in a different light. Have you ever wondered why A Dickens' Christmas remains a perennial favorite, pulling at our heartstrings? It provides an alternative way of seeing the world while allowing us to see ourselves as it draws us into the story. Through most of the story the last character we want to be is ol' Scrooge.
How we picture Christmas is iconic in nature as we have representations of the nativity, carols that take us to another time and place, or pictures of an old-fashioned Christmas. The trouble with the icons of Christmas is that we are tempted to settle for the icons themselves instead of the greater thing to which they point.
Typically, we view Christmas icons as if we are in charge. We collect, decorate, and display them, but do we allow them to have an affect upon us? Do we ever question what God might be seeking to say? An interesting feature of some icons is the way they draw a viewer in by changing the perspective. Take a scene where the farther you look into the picture, the larger the buildings become. It inverts what we expect where the smaller buildings would be farther back.
Christmas icons can be windows into the life-changing mystery of Christmas. Do we allow ourselves to be drawn into the Christmas story as we set up the nativity? When Mary is carefully put in place, do we question the scandal of Christmas? Of how Mary, whose heart was at home in the scriptures, handled the adversity? Do we inquire of the struggle to keep the faith when virtually no one wanted to believe that "God did this"? Do we wonder about Joseph's seemingly illogical decision to take Mary as his wife or do we dismiss the presence of the angel by saying, "that was then, this is now."
Our ideas of Christmas icons have to be shattered from time to time by none other than God himself! Why? Because we are prone to focus more on the icon than on the larger principal reality to which they point. In that sense, we are like the child who is excited beyond belief as a present is opened. Once the paper is ripped away, they know what's inside the box by the picture on the outside. Instead of being captivated with what's in the box, they are excited to play with the box!
Oftentimes, that is what we do with Christmas icons. God doesn't want us settling for the box when the box points to something so much greater. On the one hand, the heart of God aches when we celebrate Christmas in such superficial fashions that do not take it seriously, that leave us in control. On the other hand, the heart of God rejoices when we are receptive to the shattering presence of the coming of the Messiah: the one who brings joy even as he transforms our world.
Shattering Christmas
The shattering of Christmas, the very words cause a shiver. The shattering prompts us to gather around the biblical text; warming ourselves as if gathering around the fireplace. It's a vivid reminder that we are not in control of this Christmas anymore than Mary and Joseph or the shepherds or the angels were in charge that first Christmas.
In standing before the text -- listening to the Christmas story -- we discover that the text unfolds before us. God's presence is made known to us through the humanity of Jesus as well as the witness of the scriptures. The shattering of Christmas calls us to be still; to wait as the God hidden in the text steps into our time and space. The eternal one, Immanuel, is mysteriously, suddenly present.
It's what bothers us about Christmas, isn't it? That we are not in control. That there is no remote to make God reveal himself on cue. Waiting before the scriptures, pondering, meditating, allowing the imagination to orient us and to find a new way of being in the world is more than we bargained for. But isn't that Christmas? When we really stop to think about it, isn't Christmas a way of entering an alternate reality? A new way of being in the world?
Christmas is not just a story about back then; it's a story that invades our present and affects the future as semantic fields collide: Darkness now has to contend with the "light" of the world; sin is confronted by the presence of the holy one who comes to seek and to save that which is lost; death no longer has the last word as the grave could not hold the one who is life!
The shattering of Christmas enables us to make room in the inn of our hearts for the God who comes. The gift of hospitality is extended as we join together in praise. This praise goes well beyond the singing of Christmas carols; for God seeks to re-describe our reality through praise where true understanding involves a responsive and obedient participation in the kingdom that comes through the birth of the Christ.
May your Christmas be shattered so that you may find Christmas: The gift given by God who so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Finding Christmas
The lyrics of one of the Christmas songs states that "Christmas is for children, just for children, grownups say." Oh, it's a nostalgic sentiment that focuses on Santa, the reindeer, and the sleigh. There's the excitement of gifts under the tree that are carefully examined: Who is it for? How big is the box? Does it rattle? What could it be?
The lyrics keep us in that realm and then ask: "Aren't we all children Christmas Day?" It's an intriguing question: On the one hand, it refers to the wonder and joy of the mythology and presents of Christmas. On the other hand, it asks a more profound question than it ever intended to ask: A question that reveals the very heart of the senior citizens in the Christmas story.
The years of life cast a long shadow. Simeon knew there wasn't much time left, but there was reason to embrace life even as life began to fade. God had revealed to him that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. The name Simeon means "hears and obeys." The disciplines of his devout life were not a religion onto themselves; rather, they were an avenue to the heart of God. Simeon heard, and being filled by the Holy Spirit, he came to the temple. With a childlike faith, Simeon dared to believe that the child of Mary was indeed the Christ!
What Simeon believed would later be put into words when Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3 NASB). Simeon found Christmas because he dared to believe what he heard. Then he acted upon it!
Anna was one of those people who could make you uncomfortably comfortable. That is, Anna owned her age as it is revealed to us. She also owned her stage in life, what God was calling her to do. People who are that comfortable with themselves can make others feel uncomfortable. This is particularly true when Anna prayed.
There was a familiarity with God; one just knew by the way she prayed that you were in the presence of the almighty. Life's most profound problems found their way into her prayers as she prayed the scriptures into life. There was a humbleness of heart, a quietness of spirit, a keenness of mind. There was no doubt Anna was talking to a friend, an intimate friend that she trusted deeply.
When she came before God, Anna, whose name means grace, humbled herself as a child. Oh, the wonder and joy of finding Christmas! For she, too, beheld the Christ! Her response? Anna began giving thanks to God for this awesome gift! She spoke of it to all who were receptive of heart.
Finding Christmas -- is to encounter the Christ on this silent night, this holy night. Then, let the light of the encounter shine so others may find the Christ of Christmas.
