Full Liturgy, 1-9-2022

Full Liturgy, 1-9-2022

Land Acknowledgement – YouTube

Bell and Candle – YouTube

Prelude – YouTube

Welcome – Worship Leader

Call to Worship – YouTube

We gather

To journey, looking for the Christ child, looking for the light, looking for hope.

We gather

To journey, finding the face of the Christ Child in each other’s faces.

To journey, finding the light in each other’s stories.

To journey, finding hope in questions too big for easy answers.

We gather

To marvel at the Christ child as he/they are found in all of creation.

To marvel at the light as it shines on every member of the family of creation

To marvel at a hope that can truly be for all, and for all the family of creation.

We gather

To give the good gift of Christ within us.

To give the good gift of gentle light playing with shadows.

To give the good gift of honest hope on a troubled road.

We gather to journey.

Amen.

Opening Prayer – Worship Leader

Readings – Worship Leader

Poem:

For Those Who Have Far to Travel
A Blessing for Epiphany by Jan Richardson

If you could see
the journey whole,
you might never
undertake it,
might never dare
the first step
that propels you
from the place
you have known
toward the place
you know not.
Call it
one of the mercies
of the road:
that we see it
only by stages
as it opens
before us,
as it comes into
our keeping,
step by
single step.
There is nothing
for it
but to go,
and by our going
take the vows
the pilgrim takes:
to be faithful to
the next step;
to rely on more
than the map;
to heed the signposts
of intuition and dream;
to follow the star
that only you
will recognize;
to keep an open eye
for the wonders that
attend the path;
to press on
beyond distractions,
beyond fatigue,
beyond what would
tempt you
from the way.
There are vows
that only you
will know:
the secret promises
for your particular path
and the new ones
you will need to make
when the road
is revealed
by turns
you could not
have foreseen.
Keep them, break them,
make them again;
each promise becomes
part of the path,
each choice creates
the road
that will take you
to the place
where at last
you will kneel
to offer the gift
most needed—
the gift that only you
can give—
before turning to go
home by
another way.
—Jan Richardson

Scripture: Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14

Give those who rule your justice, Eternal One, and your righteousness to your anointed child.
Teach them to govern the people rightly, to share justice with those experiencing poverty, and equity with the oppressed.
May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills bring justice.
May the anointed one live in solidarity with the poor, empower the liberation of the oppressed, and smash systems of oppression.
May the life and legacy of God’s anointed endure as long as the sun, as long as the moon, through all generations.
May They be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth.
In Their days may righteousness flourish and peace abound, until the moon is no more.
May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles bow before your anointed, may the royalty of Sheba and Seba bring gifts.
May all those in power fall down before the one anointed by the Eternal One, and all nations serve Them.
For they bring liberation when the oppressed call. They bring liberation to the poor and those who have no helper.
Your anointed one has pity on those who are marginalized and oppressed, and saves the lives of those in need.
From oppression and violence the anointed one redeems their life; and precious are the lives of the vulnerable in their sight.

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.”

When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.'”

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.”

When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

 

May Holy Wisdom enter through our ears
And may She find a home in our hearts

Sermon, Pastor Rebecca: “By A Different Road” – YouTube

Click here for text version

Prayers of the People – Pastor Rebecca – Live

Lord’s Prayer, Maori version, also known as the New Zealand Version – YouTube

Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be,
Father, Mother, [Parent beyond gender] of us all,
Loving God, in whom is heaven:
The hallowing of your name echo through the universe;
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world;
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings;
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom
sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From trial too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love,
now and forever. Amen.

Offering Prayer – YouTube

Loving God,
We offer you our gold:
The morning on the wing
The glow on the faces of children at play
The shining moments that brighten our lives.
We offer you our frankincense:
The quiet reassurance of familiar things
The grace of care and friendship
The blessing of bread and our heart’s yearning in prayer.
We offer you our myrrh:
The ashes of our dreams
The bitter taste of our failures
The shadows through which we stumble.
Transform our inadequate gifts,
that they may be an acceptable sacrifice of praise,
and transform our lives
to reflect more deeply your justice and joy
In the life of the world.

~ posted on the Monthly Prayers page of the Christian Aid website.

Elder’s Meditation: Marsha Wilson – Live

Communion – Live

Communion Hymn – YouTube

Benediction: The Work of Christmas – YouTube

Candle – Live

Postlude: I Am Sending You Light – YouTube