Virtual Worship - 20 December 2020

Service Sheet (pdf)

Call to worship:

Today is the Sunday before Christmas! Five more sleeps. The times might be strange and the limitations hard to bear, but I hope and pray that you still have a sense of anticipation as we approach the Feast and Holy-Day of Christmas. With the Psalmist (Ps. 89:1-2) we proclaim:

I will sing of your steadfast love, O LORD, for ever;
with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
I declare that your steadfast love is established for ever;
your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.

Let us pray: Faithful God, your steadfast love is the constant in these changing days. As we prepare to welcome your Son as the Light of the World, open our hearts once more to the deep reality of your presence, God who is with us always. Amen.

Carol

You might like to sing, or reflect on the words of the Basque Carol at Hymn StF 187/H&P 87, paraphrased by Sabine Baring-Gould, The Angel Gabriel from heaven came. 

Reading

The hymn leads us into our Gospel reading for today, namely Luke 1:26-38 (NRSV) The Birth of Jesus Foretold

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’ 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ 34 Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ 35 The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.’ 38 Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.

Carol

Reflection

Roots Magazine, reflecting on today’s material, uses the title “God’s ridiculous plan”, and this passage is at the heart of that plan. Something of the ridiculous is found in the various translations of v28, as the angel first makes contact with the girl. ‘Greetings, favoured one!’ has the NRSV, while the GNB says, “Peace be with you!”. The NKJB gives us, “Rejoice, highly favoured one’, and the Living Bible, “Congratulations, favoured lady!” The Message Bible puts the prosaic together with the poetic and says, “Good morning! You’re beautiful with God’s beauty, beautiful inside and out!” Not only are the bible translators struggling with the technical translation of the Greek text, they are trying to imagine a unique first encounter. How would an angel interrupt a girl’s life with news that is at the same time wonderful and terrifying, with consequences of both deep blessing and utter heartbreak? Greetings, Peace, Rejoice, Congratulations – none of these seem to get it, so maybe Good morning isn’t as ridiculous as it first sounds? And we can’t hear tone of voice in printed text. Perhaps Peace and Favour are words trying to capture a reassuring tone, that the gravity of the message might be cushioned by the empathy of the messenger?

We will have been in situations where we have had to share or receive difficult news. The policeman’s knock, the boss avoiding eye contact, the nurse or doctor pausing, the loved one lowering their voice, the hesitation on the phone. No angel perhaps, but telling or hearing life-changing news.

Prayer

Let’s take a moment to remember and reflect on those moments, to pray whatever prayers are appropriate, and to hold in our thoughts and prayers those who are facing such moments today, telling or hearing life-changing news.

Let us pray: Angel-sending God, be with us as we remember and reflect, and infect us with your peace. Bless those we bring to mind, and inhabit their speaking and hearing with love. Amen.

Song

We use as a prayerful reflection, StF 611, Brother, sister, let me serve you.

Reflection

At the heart of today’s gospel, and God’s ridiculous plan, is a young girl’s ‘Yes’. The differing translations tell it in slightly different ways, but the key is Yes, let it be.

Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’

Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”

Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.”

And Mary said, Yes, I see it all now: I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say.

The story captures Mary’s giving of consent. The encounter between angel and girl, with its bearing of news and promise, of prophesy fulfilled and a never-ending kingdom, is not one way traffic. However startling, terrifying, mind-blowing the Gabriel experience, Mary is not a silent, mute recipient. ‘How?’, she asks the angel, ‘How will this be, how can this be…?’ And as the explanation is given, and wonderful news of Elizabeth’s pregnancy is shared, Mary considers her response.

Dramatic pause.

It might have been, ‘Why is this happening to me?’ ‘My family, my fiancé, will not understand.’ ‘I am not capable of doing this.’ ‘I cannot bear this responsibility.’ ‘I don’t believe you.’

It is, ‘Yes, I see it all now: I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say.’

With Mary’s Yes the pages turn and the journey to Bethlehem begins. With Mary’s Let it be the angels tune their harps and rehearse their choir. With Mary’s consent, and only with Mary’s consent, God’s ridiculous plan to move into the neighbourhood in Jesus, and light up the world with his love comes to action. Because she says Yes, Let it be, her son will grow into a king who goes to a cross where God will say Yes to eternal life with arms open wide to all creation.

And as we rejoice with the angels that the Christmas, Christian story can begin, we glimpse a startling truth in Mary, a truth always true. God requires consent. We see it too in Zechariah and Elizabeth, in Joseph, in shepherds and wise men. In time we’ll notice it with fishermen and tax collectors. When Mary’s son says, ‘Follow me’, it’s an invitation rather than an instruction, a possibility offered rather than a command imposed.

God requires consent. Faith is a gift offered gently, not thrust or forced into our hands. Christian hope is held out to us, a lens through which we can view the world in new ways, but God will not make us look. Peace is promised to us, poured like water in which we can wash ourselves clean, know ourselves forgiven, but such peace will never be imposed. God may be Almighty, but in Christ God has emptied himself of all but love, and love requires consent or it is not love.

Soon, thank God, we will be able to consent to a vaccine protecting against the Covid 19 Corona Virus. We do not have to, but if we do not consent we put ourselves, and all those around us, at risk. If we choose to receive the vaccination, consent to it, we make worthwhile the work and courage of researchers and medical trialists, who have made such sacrifices that it might be available to us.

As we approach Bethlehem this year, the travellers on the road will be 2 metres apart, the inn will be closed, and the shepherds will visit in groups of six. But Mary has said Yes and the Christ-child will be born.

My prayer is that I too find the courage to say Yes, to the One who comes, and to the gifts that are both offered to, and required of, me with his coming. It’s up to me.

My prayer is that you are able to consent, to say Yes, to the things of God in this Christmas season, and that in doing so you experience something of the faith, hope, peace that is always part of God’s love for you. It’s up to you.

And my prayer is that we, as church, as community, as people together, say Yes to one another in a season of goodwill, in the ways we care for neighbours near and far, cherish the planet that sustains us all, and respect and value each human being to whom, and through whom, an angel just might sidle up and say ‘Good morning!’

It’s up to us. Because God is Love. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Carol

You might like to sing, or reflect on the words of Geoffrey Ainger’s carol (StF 193/ H&P 95), Born in the night, Mary’s child. (interestingly recorded, not at Christmas, but on Good Friday).

Praying for others, and ourselves.

The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighbourhood.

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. (John 1:14 The Message Bible)

Generous God, emptying yourself of all but love that you might move into our neighbourhood, we praise you for who you are.

All that is of value in our lives is down to you and your generosity, for you are love.

Help us to recognise your gifts, and open ourselves to receive. We want to say Yes to you, to consent to your love shaping our life and character. Grant us faith that we might trust in you and rely on your strength. Gift us hope, that we might see the world anew through its lens. And pour out peace, that we might be cleansed of unhealthy fear and have confidence in your grace.

And so equip us to serve and be served, free us to both give and receive graciously, enable us to love as we are loved.

As we bring our prayers to you now, consenting ‘Your kingdom come, your will be done’, show us how through word and action we can join you in answering our prayers.

We pray particularly for:

expectant mothers, especially those on the refugee road;

struggling parents, especially those for whom Christmas is more challenge than celebration;

those who are closest to us, whether able to be within two metres or not this year;

those who are suffering in these covid 19 tier three days, directly or indirectly – through illness, separation, anxiety, bereavement, loss of livelihood and employment;

those working hard to care, protect and provide for others, in paid and voluntary capacities, formal and informal, including NHS and Social Care staff, teachers and childcare providers, transport, distribution and retail workers, and those caring for loved ones at home;

those with responsibility for public policy at every level;

one another – those we would be alongside at church, those who share with us in this service, both on paper and screen, those for whom we have some pastoral responsibility, those who have some pastoral responsibility for us;

any for whom it is particularly important to say Yes to God in this season, whether because of their need, or the need of those around them, whether because something is being offered to them, or asked of them.

As we bring our prayers, Generous God, and prepare to move on from this service, keep us open to your Spirit and conscious of your love, that we might know you in our neighbourhood and meet you in our flesh-and-blood and on-screen neighbours. May we too be generous inside and out as we choose to follow you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

We bring our prayers together, as we pray, with all God’s people, the Lord’s Prayer.

Carol

We close with Charles Wesley’s Carol, (StF 202) Hark the herald angels sing.

Blessing

We go in peace, in the power of the Spirit, to live and work to God’s praise and glory. Amen.

We bless one another, and all those we have brought to mind this day, as we share the Grace:

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all, now and always. Amen.

(CCLI 79951. Service prepared by Rev’d Nick Blundell)