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The First Sunday In Christmastide
December 26, 2021
A Liturgy For Worship and Meditation
Use As Much Or As Little As You Choose
CENTERING IN PREPARATION
As Mary pondered all that she had seen and heard within her heart, let us search our hearts to ponder the meaning of Christmas in our lives. And, there let us welcome the Holy-Incarnate-One who is with us.
OPENING WORDS
The songs of angels,
the words of shepherds,
and the cries of the Holy Child
still echo in this place and in our hearts and minds.
Let us return to manger side
and worship the God who does such marvelous things.
For the manger of Bethlehem cradles our Redeemer.
OPENING PRAYER
God of our salvation, who calls us into the one body of Christ: may the word of Christ dwell in us richly; may the peace of Christ rule in our hearts; may the love of Christ clothe us and bind us together in perfect harmony, that our worship might render all thanks and glory to you!
—Slemmons, Timothy Matthew. The Joyful Feast: Liturgical Elements for Reformed Worship, Year C.
GLORIA—(Click Here For Music)
PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Almighty God, Christ your Word became flesh and dwelt among us, born in Bethlehem. May we receive Christ into our lives and become, through him, your blessed children who walk in the light you have sent into our world; trough the Christ Child we pray. Amen.
—Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year C, Volume 1: Advent through Pentecost.
THE TRISAGION
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One:
You bring Christmas to us as a gift of your love.
Help us to receive this blessing in all it fullness,
That we may in each day be your Christmas people.
Life-Giving-One, have mercy on us.
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
Glorious God, in Jesus your grace appears, bringing salvation to all. Help us to ponder your words of love by the light of your Spirit, that we may proclaim glad tidings of peace and welcome Christ in our world. Amen.
—Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year C, Volume 1: Advent through Pentecost.
FIRST READING
Isaiah 52:7-10
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns."
Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices, together they sing for joy; for in plain sight they see the return of God to Zion.
Break forth together into singing, you ruins of Jerusalem; for God has comforted the people, God has redeemed Jerusalem.
God has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
PSALMODY
Psalm 148
Praise God! Praise God from the heavens; praise God in the heights!
Praise God, all his angels; praise God, all God's host!
Praise God, sun and moon; praise God, all you shining stars!
Praise God, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!
Let them praise the name of God, for God commanded and they were created.
God established them forever and ever; God fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.
Praise God from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps,
fire and hail, snow and frost, stormy wind fulfilling his command!
Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars!
Wild animals and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds!
Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and women alike, old and young together!
Let them praise the name of God, for God's name alone is exalted; God's glory is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for the people, praise for all God's faithful, for the people of Israel who are close to God. Praise God!
SECOND READING
Titus 2:11-14
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all,
training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly,
while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.
AND
Titus 3:4-7
But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,
he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
THIRD READING
John 1:1-14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The Word was in the beginning with God.
All things came into being through the WORD, and without the WORD not one thing came into being. What has come into being
in the WORD was life, and the life was the light of all people.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.
He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
The Light was in the world, and the world came into being through the Light; yet the world did not know the Light.
He came to what was God's own, and God's own people did not accept the Light.
But to all who received the Light, who believed in the name above all names, the Light gave power to become children of God,
who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of humankind, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen God's glory, the glory as of a parent's only child, full of grace and truth.
INVITATION TO HEALING AND WOLENESS
As we celebrate the birth of Christ our Savior, let us acknowledge our failure to receive him fully into our world, trusting in the mercy of God
—Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year C, Volume 1: Advent through Pentecost.
PRAYER OF BROKENNESS
Almighty God, we confess that our hearts have not been open to all that you have revealed to us in the Nativity of your Son. You sent Christ to be born as a helpless Child, and yet we have not attended to suffering of children. You chose humble Mary to be mother of Jesus, and yet we have not attended to the struggles of women. The holy family could find no room in Bethlehem but a stable, and yet we have not attended to the cry of the homeless. You announced your birth to lowly shepherds, yet we ignore those who tend our farms and fields. Forgive our lack of attention, and free us for joyful compassion, that we may know Christ in serving others. Through Jesus the Christ we pray. Amen.
—Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year C, Volume 1: Advent through Pentecost.
WORDS OF PROMISE AND ASSURANCE
The Christ Child became the bearer of good news: God came into the world to heal, reconcile, and make all things whole. In that promise of wellness trust that you are being transformed in love.
PRAYER OF INTERCESSION
Amazing God, you love us so much that you came to us as an infant.
Born in a stable because there was no room at the inn.
You call us to love the world as we have been loved by you.
Wrapped in swaddling clothes, you slept in a manger because there was no crib.
You command us to love our neighbors as ourselves Shepherds welcomed you.
You call us to create an inclusive church in which everyone is welcomed and loved.
No one was turned away from the stable door.
You keep calling to us to open our doors, to welcome the outcasts, house the homeless, feed the hungry, and turn over the tables in the temple.
Lambs and cows, chickens and donkeys, men, women, children . . . angels of all kinds surrounded you.
Help us create a world and a church in which all of your children are safe and loved, affirmed, welcomed, and fully accepted, where we all have a community of angels surrounding us.
One star brighter that the rest led the world to your door.
May our love and work in the world be a beacon of hope to the hopeless, a ministry of welcome for lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, transgender, questioning, same-gender-loving, and heterosexual people.
May our churches be warm stables for all who have been hurt by homophobia and places of peace and healing for all who have been wounded by violence.
May we always seek to make the powerful uncomfortable and accountable, especially when they are us.
Dear Child of Bethlehem, as we remember the stable and the manger, the dusty roads you walked and the cross on which you died, give us the faith and courage to tell your truth and make it our own.
May your story guide us and help us claim the sacredness in our own lives and stories.
Help us follow you with all of our hearts and minds and souls and strength, for you are our hope and redeemer. Amen.
—Frances A. Bogle, Tirabassi, Maren C.; Tirabassi, Maria I.. Before the Amen.
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING AND DEDICATION
On this glad new day for all the earth we are grateful for giving hearts made joyful in the gift of your Beloved and Only-Begotten-One. For you, O God, are generosity itself. Bless our lives in service of sharing your love in the world; through your Christ we pray. Amen.
—Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year C, Volume 1: Advent through Pentecost.
THE PRAYER OF JESUS
Our God, who to us is like a Mother and a Father, in heaven you reign.
Most holy is your name above all other names.
Bring your realm that your will would be done, here on earth as it is in heaven.
Provide for us in each day that all may have enough.
Forgive us our wrong-doings and we forgive those who wrong us.
Tsst not our trust and love of you, but free us from all evil.
For yours is the Kin-Dom, the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
SENDING FORTH
Go to declare that to us a Child has been born,
to us an Heir is given,
all that peace and justice may be the way we live.
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace
and goodwill to all.
DISMISSAL WITH BLESSING
In God we have been blessed, receiving even the life that we live.
Therefore, let the love of God dwell richly in our hearts and
be extravagantly shared with all.
And the blessing of God rest upon us and
remain with us forevermore. Amen.
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