What is Blessed - Matthew 5 - Epiphany 4A

Do you feel blessed?

Tony E Dillon Hansen

Sermon based upon Matthew 5:1-12. Micah 6: 1-8, Psalm 15

Opening prayer

What gems we have in this week’s lectionary from Matthew and Micah! Micah 6:8 is prominently engraved in the halls of Chicago Theological Seminary. I wanted to ask why.  When we pair this with Matthew’s sermon on the mount, we can see how this text is a question and a statement at the same time. 

I will get to this in a moment. First, let’s look at Matthew. 

This is a well known scripture from Matthew and among my favorite pieces of scripture. We begin to hear how Jesus will turn everything upside down. For the parts of the Gospel that are difficult, this text is nice and has good vibes to it. This is one you put in your back pocket and lean into during difficult times. 

Yet today, I am reading something different this time.

Jesus leans heavily on blessings. The question then for us today is, What does it mean to be blessed?

In our everyday, people like to think of blessing as being somehow fortunate or gifted something. For those, we should pause and be thankful for those gifts. We should also be reminded as well to follow up these gifts with what are we doing with them…

For I am glad to have good health until I don’t, whether I get sick or injured. For youth, and especially for athletes, we have health, but it can be fleeting to think we will always be in good health. Watching Patrick Mahomes limp around the football field with sprained ankle is a reminder to all of us that bad things do happen to good people at inopportune times.  

Even when we have something bad happen or fall sick, we are reminded that we can be blessed at the same time. Be thankful for the gifts because things happen. We are only a random shot, a health bill, a car accident, a layoff away from disaster. I bet, in those moments, many of don’t feel very “blessed.”

Why do people, who are poor in spirit, are those who get a slice of heaven doled out, (as Jesus says)?

What does Jesus mean "blessed are those who mourn?"  What part of mourning is a blessing when we are trying to make our way through emotion after emotion.

Think for moment. If blessing is supposed to be some sort of “comfort of heart,” how does mourning bring us comfort. This is where a verse can help during difficult times. Listening to commentators talk about this reminded me; I wish I would have landed on this for my own mourning of my dad. 

When we are swimming in oceans of emotion or walk through a desert of feeling because we attempt not to feel, blessings will comfort us. It is in the trials that we learn to persevere and learn to find divine love within us - That we are not alone.

That we, the meek, have as much claim to love and the good of life as the boastful.  Think about that the next time you see someone on the corner holding up a sign for food. That I and my family are cozy in a warm car while winter blows all around us and those who have no heat or home. How blessed/comforted do they feel? 

Maybe the question is: How can we be a blessing to them? (Hold onto that.)

When someone reviles you, how can you feel blessed? 

Personally, I might feel angry or bewildered asking “why?” Yet, there are people in the world that want to pick a fight  and pick on my queerness, my privilege, or someone’s skin color, someone’s religion or culture. Pick something, anything and there’s excuses.  How justified! Still, people honor traditions by wearing face coverings and that makes some angry. Why?  It does nothing to them personally, but still, they lean into anger instead of understanding.

That, Beloved, moves us away from God rather than closer. I think that is a point of these blessings because Jesus tells us to start from nothing to gain something. Jesus gives to those who have none and gives whatever is missing, to find purpose, to find a path, to find God.

We could ignore the homeless, we could find another excuse, we could enjoy the privilege of status, but God wants something else from us. God wants us to find the kingdom of heaven, the realm of divine love, here on earth. 

That begs, what does that realm look like and who belongs there? 

At UBFM, we ask the question to volunteers where and how we might see “God moments” when out in the routes. I flipped the question back to the group because we were forgetting something when asking the question, that we could see an answer right with us.

God’s kingdom (realm) looks like people doing God’s work here on earth.  It looks like volunteers who meet every week to make food and deliver to homeless with radical hospitality. It looks like people who visit the elderly In the nursing homes or the children in the hospitals waiting for treatment.  It is the neighbor who lifts up the vet  and the police to thank them and to listen to their stories. It is us who march to seek justice. 

Because when we do these things, we open space for God to fill our hearts through God’s community, and God will meet every want with what truly can fill us.  

Who belongs in this realm? Funny - you should ask because the answer is You (and everyone around you who believes that blessings are not just for those with privilege and social status.) 

God’s love and peace belongs to anyone who is truly seeking, wanting to learn and truly wanting to be with God. For those who seek comfort will find some in the manifestation of God’s love through Jesus. Blessings are not just for those who speak the perfect words and wear perfect dress, but those who search from the heart and soul. The blessing is for those who leave spaces for God to fill rather than clutter all the nooks and crannies of our souls with our egos. 

Thus, being merciful and having hunger for God’s everlasting and welcoming love can fill you this day in many ways

The question “what is blessed?” can be answered, I am more than “me,” the ego and own wants. We leave space for God to work. We demonstrate God’s work here on earth. Then we can plead our case to God.

In Micah 6, we plead our case to God, and we question. We question how we might please God. Look at that question find the answer is also given. God tells to remember what God has already said and promised. The blessings we seek are manifest in our own hearts when we look deep enough and when we let God lift us and be with us.

That, Beloved, is… 

Thanks be to God.

Bad News Motivation - Matthew 4 - Epiphany 3A

Bad News Motivation

Tony E Dillon Hansen

Reflection based upon Matthew 4:12-23, Psalm 27, Isaiah 9

Opening prayer.

Happy Lunar New (Rabbit) Year!

There are a few themes that can be lifted out of Mathew’s text as it references Isaiah, Jesus calls upon disciples to follow and the arrest of John. In the midst of all that, Jesus does something very human.  Following bad news about John, Jesus withdraws.

Why does Jesus do this? Anxiety, fear, sadness, or reflection? Could be all of this, but this gives us a notion of Jesus as human in a real sense because withdrawing at news like this is a perfectly human response. Am I next? What about my family and friends? What happens now?

In this moment, Jesus calls upon the words of Isaiah, “for those who sat in darkness have seen a great light.” We often read this during Advent and Christmas times, but read it with new eyes in the season of Epiphany.  

Through this text, Jesus observes the world around and finds motivation. It is time to do something.  Woe it is to have a good friend arrested and jailed. Woe is it to have modern saints (like MLK, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, or great volunteers of UBFM) face adversity.

Speaking of MLK, we just celebrated the late doctor’s birthday and it is fitting perhaps that we read this lesson today.  People, like MLK, were thrown in prison for doing nothing more than speaking truth to power. Yes “Now is the time” for it still happens today. Shame on you oppressive manipulators (Putin).

Yet, with God we have life and we have voice. This life however is not always bright sunshine and easy paths, but this life pushes people to see beyond their misery. To see beyond the terrible and to see what is possible instead. This can be frightening, but even more, ever so exciting! 

Yes that is the crux of Isaiah’s message because we need to see, we need to observe that life with God is more than fanciful speeches and colorful robes - but life with truth, with love, with the peace and light of Christ. 

People may disagree on the ways we see God and how we come to God, but there is truth in God and there is possible. That life is real and ready for us to observe as well and for us to find sorely needed motivation.

Beloved, this is the lesson that those great people (who we mentioned moments ago) learned and taught. It can be too easy for us turn away from the truth and light - to discount all that could be -because we get complacent in our living, in our complaints, and comfortable in our misery.

Experiencing bad things like watching a friend, colleague, a real life person get CPR on the field makes us think. Suddenly, we realize that life is precious and living it needs something more than complacency. That experience motivated people all over the country to give generously to charity and to pray for the well-being of Damar Hamlin. Even though the Bills are not my favorite team, I am however a fan of good people and good works.

Still this begs the question: Why is it that we have to see or hear bad things before we are motivated ?  Why not provide sandwiches and burritos for homeless folks every week with us at UBFM?  We don’t need to wait for the next protest over injustice or wrongful deaths. We do not need to wait for an excuse to help people or to participate in  non-violent protest of those injustices. For people can always find another lame excuse to do nothing. 

Beloved, we do not need to wait for the next event to help people because being a part of God’s community, God’s church, we should be out there helping people find God through us and through our work. There are plenty of ways we can do this.

Loving God and following God may not be easy, but there is so much good that we get from it. That Beloved, needs no excuses because God gives us so much, and God is there - even when we turn away. 

Don’t just go home and close the scriptures until next week.  Don’t just leave God in the pews.  Take God and the light of Christ with you. Get up off the couch and let us together witness and live with God in this world! Find friends to help along side you, just like Jesus did with James and John -because friends can help keep you honest.

Let’s get to living in God’s kingdom here on Earth today! 

Offer the sandwich, the blanket, the coat. Walk with the widow, the parent, the brother; those who lost someone because we know what it is to lose someone too. Help and be with the child recovering from sickness or suffering adversity. Help the injured vet find purpose. Be with your neighbor in whatever way is needed. It can start with a smile because that can go a long way. Be the good that God knows you can be. 

Leave fear aside for a moment and go with confidence of God’s guidance before you.

What is your witness; how does God motivate you? Share with us so that we might learn.

God reveals to us, in these seasons, a path and light through darkness. God came to be with us so that we might be motivated to (as we say) “do church.” These are just a few of the many ways, and you know of even more.  

Let God reveal to you and move your heart this day, this hour. Like the Psalmist says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is my stronghold…” 

and that Beloved is…

Thanks Be to God.

What is your path - Matthew 2 - Epiphany A

What is your path?

Tony E Dillon Hansen

Reflection based upon Matthew 2:1-12, Isaiah 42: 1-9, Isaiah 60:1-6

Opening prayer

Why is it that people in power are the ones that get frightened by good news?

Why is it that people feel so insecure about what they have and what they can do, especially when someone new shows up? (or perhaps someone that we may have forgotten)? 

Doesn’t it seem like that with God?  Out of the blue, God shows up. God interrupts - no matter what we are doing or where we are. God shows up!

Today, we mark the beginning of the season of Epiphany.- This is the divine manifestation - the revelation - of Jesus to (not only Heard and wise astrologists of old), but to the world.  

God shows up and reveals life and light even amidst corrupt social systems and corrupt politicians. God reveals the true wisdom that is worthy of gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to pay homage, but maybe we could ask, what gifts do you bring? 

They bring these gifts to the infant by following a star - a light in the heavens that points to life on earth, hope on earth, and more. They follow a divine path revealed to them to witness the divine presence. 

They followed a path that led them to this child - the manifestation of God in our lives, in our world.  Maybe the question for us is, what is our path? Are we listening to God revealing to us our path or something else? 

We can turn to fear or we could turn to adoration and witness of God’s love. How do you witness God’s revelations in your life?  

When you do,  when you truly witness God in your life, what is our response to God’s spirit in our life? Do you walk away and dismiss what you witness, or do you turn to the light that God has revealed to you.

What is your path?

(If you were to be in the audience with the wise people, what homage would you  bring? Remember our gifts don’t have to be material things, but what do we bring to honor and pay homage to all that has been given to us.) 

This piece of Matthew is a bit of interfaith cultures coming together to witness the love of God in a child - a child that causes some to quiver in fear and anxiety due to the “good news” that he didn’t want to hear. They bring gifts to pay homage while a certain politician connives and makes sinister plans. 

Still we have a true interfaith meeting where people of different cultures, different perspectives, and different traditions come together to witness. They somehow figure out that there is someone here that is worth a long voyage, that is worth faith, while people in the same country reject this prophecy.

Beloved, that is because this is true power that can be trusted, and worthy of that faith. That, Beloved, is because this is not the corrupt and fallible politicians like Herod because trust in God should be our response rather than fear and trepidation. 

That should be your path - the one that God lays out for you.!

Thankfully, the wise peoples trust God; they listen to spirit  and opt to take another path home - a different path.  For us the question is thus begged, Is it time for us consider our path, our journey in this life? Is God asking of us to take a path and are we listening?

For all the good that we have seen and heard on our current path, are we listening to the spirit in our lives? What is that spirit telling you? Are you on the correct path or maybe there is a new direction for you in this new year, new season - this season of revelation and manifestation? 

Yes! God has done and is doing marvelous things for us. God is speaking to us as we say in this church, but what is our response? Fear and trepidation, or homage and thanks?

So lean into what God is saying to you this new year and new season. Listen to what god has revealed to you and is revealing to you now. 

Each year we come to this time after Christmas time and in our part of the world, it is winter, and cold January. It is a time to refocus, and to turn away from what we have held onto that we don’t need and instead turn to God and follow the path that God has set before us. 

Yes, this time of the year where we hear about light piercing darkness, yet the question for us is how does one arise and shine in that light - in the light of God? Ask God. 

Take amount and listen to what god is saying to you right now in this space and time.  What is God revealing to you?

Beloved, let God shine upon your heart and soul.  

When you do that , when you let God shine upon you and reveal to you, find your heart tickled and soul lifted. Find the possibilities and the true power and wisdom is inside your heart waiting for you. 

In that moment, In this moment, let go of fear, insecurities, and social status and let God show you all that is possible for you!

Beloved, listen to the words of Isaiah, “arise, shine, for your light has come!”

And we all say…

Thanks Be to God.

Reflections for Lessons and Carols 2022 (Year A)

Reflection for Lessons and Carols 2022

Tony E Dillon Hansen

Reflection for Genesis – Creation and Covenant

Our first gift: Creation: beginnings. These stories from Genesis remind us that all were created by our Creator and given bountiful gifts in a beautiful garden we call Earth.  God gives us the task of stewardship over this creation – these gifts. Remember that you are a child of our Creator and have been given so much. 

Another of our gifts is the covenant with the Holy One.  Covenants mean relationships, and relationships means sharing. Covenants, especially with God, help us to understand our purpose; that we are meant to be here in this place and in this time. 

God is there all the time. That covenant remains even when we fail.  So when you are looking for answers or solace, find God ready to help.  As well, part of our covenant means to be there for others around us – to share. So what do you do with your gifts?  How do you share your gifts? 

Reflection for Micah and Psalm 103 - God of Peace and Justice.

Peace, justice, compassion and forgiveness - gifts from God.  Yet for us,  in order to understand peace and justice, we must practice compassion and forgiveness. When we do, we might grow to be what we are meant to be. Thus, when we ask God to forgive our debts let us also be willing to forgive our debtors. Else we are weighed down by our broken misery and angers. 

From a broken world searching for meaning, God’s mission for us is not one of wealth and power but peace and loving kindness for all people: friends, neighbor, or foe. Why because God loves us so much. 

Beloved, we are God’s children and the gifts of compassion, forgiveness, peace and justice are ready for you. When you practice compassion and forgiveness, you will find peace and justice flourish around you.  When you realize this, then you receive wisdom, another gift of God.

Reflection for Birth – Matthew 1: 18-25 

Birth is beautiful and messy. Even when adopting, the first day, the first moment, We come into being. This is full of excitement and realization. There is also a change for those witnessing the birth - chance for renewal themselves.

Whether an animal or person, there is a parent and youth; there is a family with many possibilities and worries. This is a beginning for some, and yes, for some, this is renewal. God gives a chance for newness in birth. For we were created in darkness, and through Christ, we are born into new life with so much possibility. 

Each moment, we begin something new together, (and we cannot go back to the past.)  Each moment is a chance for rebirth as we consider where we are, where we have been and where we go from here.  That is anxious, scary, breathtaking, and full of exhilarating joyfulness all the same.  How can we renew and embrace the joy of birth – the gift of life!?

Reflection for Luke 2:8-16 and Matthew 2:1-11 - Shepherds and Foreigners.

Beloved, Fear not for good news is with you! Angels appear to the shepherds (those who tend flocks) and are given a sign that they follow – in order to witness -To witness Christ born into our world.

Foreigners come to the land with hopeful hearts following the Christmas star to witness. Like my own foreign exchange student, they teach us about our land and gifts we have when we first welcome. So observe all the beauty around us and most importantly, welcome with God’s love in your hearts.

Shepherds and foreigners were drawn together because our Shepherd, Jesus, was born this day to teach us and to lead us. These are gifts to remind us that our witness begins with welcome.

Reflection for Hebrews 1 and John 1 – God’s Promise Made Flesh.

The Gospel of John opens with a mystical spell that echoes Genesis’s beginnings. John leans into the notion of divine presence being everywhere and in everything. Thus, if you look into your heart, realize that you too were brought into this world through the breath and love of God. Find that presence manifest all around and in you. 

For It is God’s word that gives life and is a promise for us. 

In Genesis, we read about God’s promises for us, and through Jesus, the promise is revealed to us. That God lives among us and is with us. God is speaking to us even when we don’t hear and even in darkness. 

God’s promise is life. Our covenant and for our ancestors then is to honor that gift and that promise.

With that promise of divine love and life, we can look into the future, the new year, the new day with hope, peace and joy of Christmas each day because we express and breathe our part of that promise in us. 

St Paul tells us in Romans that nothing can separate us from that divine love. Why because we grow together when we welcome and let God work with us. That love is our bond. Of all of the gifts, we can trust God, and we can trust in these gifts, unlike many other material gifts we may get in our lives.  

Still, we are want to trust God only when our bank accounts are doing ok, people are healthy, or there is calm in the air.  Yet, when bills are difficult, pandemics are ugly, when you feel your back is up against the wall (trying to figure things out), take heart that nothing can separate us from the love and promises from God.  

We may fail and we may falter, but God will be with us always and always forgiving.

Renew and witness birth – newness before God’s abundant grace and God’s promise for you.

That is the Christmas promise: that hope is real and God is here. Renew yourself in the love of God as we share in the light of Christ.

Taking Responsibility - Matthew 1 - Advent 4A

Taking Responsibility

Tony E Dillon Hansen

Reflection based upon Matthew 1:18-25, Isaiah 7: 10-16, and Psalm 80

Opening prayer

There are moments in our lives when we are at forks in the road - decisions to be made.  What do we do ?  How do we proceed? What do we use to help us make that decision? 

This could be something simple as voting. It could be “do I go McDonalds or go on the diet?” “Do I drink another glass of whatever or be sober?” 

Like me a couple years ago, I looked at the road ahead with a lot of uncertainty and wondering if sticking around ministering, preaching and leading was the right decision or should I think “this isn’t my responsibility” And leave “well enough alone.”

Something happened, something I didn’t anticipate or expect. God happened. I got a call. 

I questioned if I had authority, proper education, or even the right perspective. I prayed and listened to the spirit speaking - not sure what the result was going to be, and for me, to be sure my ego was not interfering so that I, ultimately, do what God wants. 

I listened for the spirit’s guidance, regardless of broken human institutions, failed processes, and flawed traditions that hurt me, to take responsibility with this intervention: God’s intervention in my life (in our lives.) This was God’s call.

I leaned into faith and a result revealed a path before us: God gave me and gave the people around me so much. Thus, God called to us. God put me with people to move them to the Spirit, and the result was that we grew together. Yes, we had our challenges, but through our challenges and a hard pandemic, we grew as we witnessed the spirit working. 

Friends and family saw the spirit working and leaned into what was happening as well. They, with all of us, witnessed what failed processes didn’t.

We didn’t have the gift of foresight or a book telling how to do this. With faith and the spirit working with us, taking responsibility was the right decision. It was the right decision each day thereafter because taking responsibility is not “just a one and done” thing but a daily and hourly challenge; that despite all odds, isolation, broken systems or failing hierarchies, we walk with faith in the responsibility that God has given us. 

I think that is bit of what is happening here.  

Matthew’s account of the birth is different than the Luke version because Matthew attempts to expose the broken traditions and social pressures that Jesus comes into this world though Mary and Joseph.  

It is still a birth narrative, and we all know that birth is beautifully messy when that “new” comes into being. There is an interruption of traditions, of family, and of processes. There is a new life, and a fundamental change to those here.

Birth can also be a beginning after a long trial. That is a restoration of possibility and path to salvation.  Birth and the anticipation of birth forms comes with questions of what do we do and how shall we proceed? Do we take responsibility or something else?

We see this clearly in what Joseph does and doesn’t do. Joseph is trying to understand what is happening and what to do, and by the norms of that tradition as a”righteous man”, he intends to do follow that.  This can put Mary into an awful position because she is a young woman with child and without a husband in a society rigged against her. It is a system that is favored towards tradition. 

Something however remarkable happens here.  Can anyone guess why we read the Bible?  Who do we learn about in the Bible ?? God!

God happens! Isn’t that just like God too? Just when you thought you knew everything, had all the ducks in a row, had plans laid out, God shows up to put a wrinkle, a wrench, a surprise, a question that does more than tickle our faith.  

As last week, we saw how God is with us “Emmanuel” always, but when we get cozy or nonchalant, God tends to reveal holy presence more dramatically - not quite a Hollywood entrance but real and sometimes dramatic. 

That is part of the narrative that Matthew sets before us with Jesus.  What does Jesus do best - transcend the tradition and social norms! Where did Jesus get this? 

Good parents.

So this birth is foreshadowed with a decision about tradition - a decision about family - a decision about responsibility. At any point, Joseph could easily walk away, wipe hands and disappear. Yet unlike others in Jesus’s lineage that we read in the earlier part of Matthew, Joseph has a dream that persuades him to accept responsibility to witness.  He stays. 

Why because God showed up and God made it be known that God wills it. 

Guess what, not only did Joseph stick around and take responsibility, but God stuck around too and continues to. God didn’t just show up to the young couple and leave them out to dry.  God didn’t show up to me and to the people around me and leave us out to dry like failed systems have. Although I (and we) can still shake finger at failed and broken processes, God doesn’t fail us.  Unlike untrustworthy human processes or faulty people, God sticks around guiding and working with the couple because Joseph took responsibility to truly witness “Emmanuel” with Mary.

Thus, Beloved, when you are at the proverbial fork in the road, the unsure decision, the question of what is right - lean into your faith and lean into God. 

God is lighting paths for you and me every day, in many different ways.  Let God be with you, and let God interrupt you to show you the possibilities. Find that God is with us and God will help you do the right thing. 

Beloved, God is with us! Emmanuel! And we say… 

Thanks Be to God

What Have You Seen? - Matthew 11 - Advent 3A

What Have You Seen?

Tony E Dillon Hansen

Reflection based upon Matthew 11:2-11, Isaiah 35:1-10, James 5:7-10

Opening prayer

Happy third Sunday of Advent! We light the pink candle, and like John in our lesson, we have questions: why and what for?

When I lost my job, I found myself in serious distress and blaming, and the person that got it the worst was my own and boy did I. For in these moments, when things have been rattled, when our world has been upended and rugs taken out from underneath us, we question everything, what we did, could do. We question our foundations, our connections and our faith.  

As I have said before, I will always be my worst critic, and when I fail, that critic is standing there saying “I told you so” and pointing an unforgiving finger, regardless of how unhelpful or belittling that action is. Regardless of whether it was justified or there was anything we could do different, we have to wrestle with the harsh change. 

That isn’t to say we can’t be hard on ourselves, but it is time for us to refocus and reinvent ourselves, (no matter how much we want to wrestle with God about what has happened.) Our future may look bleak, but in those moments, we ought and should ask ourselves what have we seen. 

I say these bits, not to gain sympathy, but because I think John, in today’s lesson, must be feeling something like that. 

John, who has been preaching from the wilderness, is now stuck in an awful prison.  John is suffering in prison because Herod doesn’t like what John has said. (Hopefully, our politicians don’t try to throw people into jail simply for speaking minds -or truth to power.)

It becomes natural for us, in moments like these, to question, “did I do or say the right things?” In fact, John raises serious doubts and is questioning Jesus. Ever done that?

Whether it is a need for confirmation or wondering how we got where we are, Jesus provides an answer through Isaiah. (Specifically to the disciples of John,) Jesus answers by praising the work of John, and calls upon John to witness again the power of Messiah through the beatitudes.

Still, John is questioning and Jesus answers as he does, with another question. “What have you seen?” What did you witness?

That is a great question! What did you witness and did you see and feel in your hearts?

That is the question that rises to the top in these moments because we question our faith and wonder if God is there for us. We question all that has transpired and whether it was real and whether we had our hearts in the right place. We have doubts.

From this lowly place, we can pick up the words of Isaiah to “be strong, do not fear!” God has been there, is there, and God will be there for us in the future.  If you look back on past trials, you will find that God has been there, and in this moment, this time, God is here - You are not alone!

Isaiah implores us to “strengthen weak hands and …feeble knees” despite how broken I feel today. The prophet tells us God will open our eyes and ears to witness with our full senses to find the joy of God is right there waiting. 

Beloved, that is what we need and that is what God provides for us. Whether in those lowly moments or just the moments of of our daily living, we can find God is there the whole time showing up in ways we didn’t think possible. 

Thus, we have a safe place, a safe way to go find ourselves and find our place in the realm of God. We have a safe place to bring our doubts and questions because God is big enough to hear them all, and God hears them all.

Yet the answer to our questions of whether we did what we were supposed or whether we said the correct things, the question remains for you and for me, “What did you see? What did you witness?”

So Beloved, take your doubts and questions with you and then find God there. Receive the holy spirit to relieve you and calm you today! Be full of love and grace of God!

“Be patient therefore beloved…Strengthen your hearts…”. God is near and ready to lift us from our depths and to help us see again and witness again the grace and love that has been pour out for us and be healed with God’s forgiveness. 

That Beloved is, 

Thanks Be to God

Lessons and Carols - Year A (Matthew)

******************************************************

24 Dec 2022 | 5:30 PM | Christmas Eve “Lessons and Carols”

Opening Prayer 

Our Father, who art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our debts As we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory Forever and ever. Amen.

Assurance 

Lighting the Christ candle.

Hymn 132 (NCH) / 270 (Celebration): Joy to the World.

First Lesson: Creation - Genesis 1:1-5 

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, ² the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. ³ Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. ⁴ And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light Day, and the darkness God called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Hymn 116 (NCH): O Come O Come Emmanuel (2 verses). 

Second Lesson: Covenant - Genesis 9:12-16

¹² God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: ¹³ I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴ When I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow is seen in the clouds, ¹⁵ I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. ¹⁶ When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”

Reflection for Genesis 1,9 – Creation and Covenant

Hymn: O Come O Come Emmanuel (refrain). 

Third Lesson: Compassionate and Forgiving God – Psalm 103: 1-8

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. ² Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all awesome benefits— ³ who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, ⁴ who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, ⁵ who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. ⁶ The Lord works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed. ⁷ The Lord made known divine ways to Moses, and gracious acts to the people of Israel.⁸ The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Hymn 133 (NCH)/250 (Celebration): O Little Town of Bethlehem. 

Fourth Lesson: God of Peace and Justice – Micah 5:2-5; 6:6,8

But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah,   who are one of the little clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me  one who is to rule in Israel,
whose origin is from of old,    from ancient days. ³ Therefore he shall give them up until the time  when she who is in labor has brought forth; then the rest of his kindred shall return   to the people of Israel. ⁴ And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord,   in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great  to the ends of the earth; ⁵ and he shall be the one of peace. 

⁶ With what shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before God on high? ⁸ Listen here mortal: God has told you what is good, And what YHWH requires of you; to do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God; Then your name will achieve wisdom.”

Reflection for Micah and Psalm 103 - God of Peace and Justice.

Hymn 131 (NCH) / 251 (Celebration): It Came upon the Midnight Clear.

Fifth Lesson: Birth – Matthew 1: 18-25 

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant from the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to divorce her quietly. ²⁰ But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” ²² All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ²³ “Look, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” ²⁴ When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife ²⁵ but had no marital relations with her until she had given birth to a son, and he named him Jesus.

Reflection for Matthew 1: 18-25 - Birth

Hymn 148 (NCH) /281 (Celebration): What Child Is This. 

Sixth Lesson: Shepherds Visit – Luke 2:8-16 

⁸ In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: ¹¹ to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.

Offertory:

Hymn 125 (NCH) / 278 (Celebration): Angels We Have Heard on High.

Seventh Lesson: Foreigners Visit – Matthew 2:1-11 

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise ones from the East came to Jerusalem, ² 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.” ³ When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; ⁴ and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵ They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

⁶ ‘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.’”

⁷ Then Herod secretly called for the wise ones  and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. ⁸ 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.” ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. ¹¹ 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.

Reflection for Luke 2:8-16 and Matthew 2:1-11 - Shepherds and Foreigners.

Hymn 139 (NCH) / 265 (Celebration): The First Noel.

Eighth Lesson: God’s Promise Through Jesus - Hebrews 1:1-4 

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by the Promised One, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. ³ He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

Hymn 132 (NCH) / 249 (Celebration): O Come All Ye Faithful. 

Ninth Lesson: Word Made Flesh - John 1: 1-5 (Inclusive version)

In the beginning, there was the Word, and the Word was in God’s presence, and the Word was God. ² The Word was present to God from the beginning. ³ Through the Word, all things came into being, and apart from the Word, nothing came into being that has come into being. ⁴ In the Word was life, and the life was our light-- ⁵ Light that shines in the darkness, Light that the darkness did not overcome.

Reflection for John 1:1-5 – God’s Promise Made Flesh.

**Lighting the Candles 

Hymn 134 (NCH) / 253 (Celebration): Silent Night.

Benediction:

*********************

* Please rise as you are able spirit and body. 

** Please make you way to perimeter of the Church for lighting the candles, sharing the light of Christ, and singing of Silent Night.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, ©1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Priests for Equality. 2007. The Inclusive Bible: The First Egalitarian Translation. Sheed & Ward: Lantham, MD.

Wren, B. 2008. Advent Christmas and Epiphany, Liturgies and Prayers for Public Worship. Westminster John Knox Press: Louisville. Reproduced with permission.