Worship
Service for January 2, 2022
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Prelude
Announcements:
·
You can join us for in-person worship at Olivet
Presbyterian Church in West Elizabeth, PA at 9:45 or at Bethesda United
Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth, PA at 11:15.
·
Sabbatical Information
Call to Worship
L: Darkness is banished!
P: God’s light has come to us!
L: The brightness of the Star leads us!
P: We come to celebrate God’s abiding
love!
L: Glory to God in the Highest!
P: And on earth, peace forever. AMEN.
Opening Hymn – What Star Is This? #68 Blue Hymnal
Prayer of Confession
Lord, we
confess that too often we get wrapped up in our secular celebration of
Christmas. We thoroughly enjoyed the
music, the food, and the swirl of all the activities. We have looked happily at the Christmas
lights and the beautiful decorations, and yet too often we have chosen to
ignore the people who are most in need of compassion and assistance during this
time. We often feel overwhelmed by the
demands on our resources and so we turn a deaf ear and look away. Open our hearts today, precious Lord, and
help us hear the cries of those in need.
Bring us to an understanding of active discipleship in which we work
towards helping others and thus serving You.
Heal us, and give us courage and joy in Your service. For we ask this in Jesus’ name. (Silent prayers are offered) AMEN.
Assurance of Pardon
L: As surely as the Light follows the
Darkness, the light of God’s love, given to the world so long ago, is given for
you, for healing and hope. You are
beloved of God.
P: In Christ’s name, we receive the Light! Thanks be to God.
Gloria Patri
Affirmation of Faith/Apostles’
Creed
I believe in God the Father
Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under
Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the
third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on
the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge
the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost,
the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins; the
resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. AMEN
Choir: This Peaceful Night
Pastoral Prayer and Lord’s
Prayer
Holy God, together we
start a new year, full of unwritten stories and new
opportunities.
Together we pray that we
can embrace all that the next twelve months have to offer us.
We ask that you continue to be with us, and that your presence be felt in all
things. We ask that you extend to each of us the wisdom, the
strength, and the courage to meet each new day and each new challenge head on
and full of eagerness. Give us the courage to accept the clean slate you
offer.
Let this year be filled
with things that are truly good. Let us look beyond the mundane or
the struggles and see the blessings that wait for us at each
corner. Bless us with the warmth of strong relationships, the
strength to help those in our community that need help, and the courage and
humility to accept it ourselves, in the moments when we need it too.
As we consider those
around us who begin this year fighting sickness, disease, or battles beyond
compare, help us to meet them with hearts full of compassion. Let
us find the way to reach out to them, so that in each of us they find a strength
that eases their pain, and reminds them that there are people who care, and
will fight right alongside them. Today
we especially pray for….
Let all things be new
this year. Remind us that you are a God of fresh
starts. Let us become new creatures again, beginning today in this
moment. Let the ministry of all of your children, and of your
church be not confined within these walls or the small circles of our lives,
but rather be directed throughout our community and our world.
Remind us that it takes
only one person,…one person willing to step out, speak up, and take a
risk… Remind us it takes only one person to change the world.
Help us to be the people who choose to do just that. Help us to be
the people who are willing to let our light shine, no matter the cost.
Hear now the prayers of
our hearts as we pray in silence…
Together, we celebrate you in praise and prayer, and we do
so as one voice, one people, and one church, praying Your Son’s words…
Our Father who art in
heaven, Hallowed by Thy name. Thy
kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. 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. AMEN.
Hymn – We
Three Kings #66/288
Scripture Reading(s):
OT – Isaiah 60:1-6
NT – Matthew 2:1-12
Sermon – Starstruck
Kings
(based on
Matthew 2:1-12)
How many of
you know the names of the wise men? How
many of them were there? There were
three and their names were Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthazaar. We know this not from scripture, but rather
from a 19th Century poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Christus: A Mystery, section
IV. THE WISE MEN OF THE EAST
As I was
growing up my mother used to read to us from Longfellow, who became one of my own
favorite poets. And it was actually
Longfellow who gave the kings from our Matthew text names. Up until that time, they had no names. They were simply wisemen from the East, as
the text says. Yet, see how much culture
plays a part in translating the text for us.
And how many of us grew up “knowing” that there were three kings and
their names are Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthazaar? But scripture actually never says this.
Since that
time, so much has been made of this story about which we know so little. They were not really kings, of course, and
there were not three of them, at least not according to Matthew. We don’t know who they were, where they came
from, or how many of them there were. We
do not know how long it took them to get to
It’s not that the facts don’t
matter. It’s just that they don’t matter
as much as the stories themselves do, and stories can be true whether they ever
happened or not. Jesus used
story-telling throughout his ministry to explain universal truths. Was there really a vinegrower who went away
to foreign land? Was there really a Good
Samaritan who came across a hurting victim?
Was there really a Prodigal Son with a forgiving father? Probably not in the historical sense, but in
the universal sense of storytelling, absolutely. You don’t have to do archaeology to find out
if they are genuine, or spend years in the library looking through ancient
texts. You just have to listen to the
story. Kids are great at listening and
participating in storytelling. But, we
adults don’t do so well. You have to let
it come to life inside of you, and then you can decide on the basis of your own
tears or laughter whether the story is true.
If you are in any doubt, it is always a good idea to watch other people
who have listened to the story – just pay attention to how the story affects
them over time. Does it make them more
or less human? Does it make them more or
less faithful? Does it open them up or
shut them down? Does it increase their
capacity for joy?
So, this morning, as a child would
listen, listen with your heart open, your eyes wide with wonder, and your
imagination ready to listen, and hear again the age-old story, this time told
by Barbara Brown Taylor in Going Home Another Way:
Once upon a time there were three –
yes, three – very wise men who were all sitting in their own countries minding
their own business when a bright star lodged in the right eye of each one of
them. It was so bright that none of them
could tell whether it was burning in the sky or in their own imaginations, but
they were so wise they knew it did not matter all that much. The point was, something beyond them was
calling them, and it was a tug they had been waiting for all their lives.
Each in his own country had tried
books, tried magic, tried astrology and reflexology. One had spent his entire fortune learning how
to read and write runes. Another lived
on nothing but dried herbs boiled in water.
The third could walk on hot coals but it did nothing for him beyond the
great sense of relief he felt at the end.
They were all glad for a reason to get
out of town – because that was clearly where the star was calling them, out –
away from everything they knew how to manage and survive, out from under the
reputations they had built for themselves, the high expectations, the
disappointing returns. And so they set
out, one by one, each believing that he was the only one with a star in his eye
until they all ran into one another on the road to
From a distance, each thought the
other to be a mirage at first, a twinkling reflection made out of vapor and
heat. But as they drew near to one
another they saw the star they had in common and it was like a tattoo, or a
secret handshake, that made them brothers before they spoke. They were unanimous that the star was leading
them to
They had no trouble gaining entrance
to the palace. They looked rich, and
that was enough to get them a royal audience, only the king they met was
something of a disappointment. He was
old and fat and he had terrible breath.
His skin was yellow, as if his bile had gotten the best of him, and the
guards on either side of him shook so that their spears jingled against their
shields. Without even conferring with
one another, the wise men knew he was not the one, so they asked him if he knew
of any other kings in the general area.
He had been picking at his fingernails
until then, but their question seemed to get his attention in a big way. He looked right at them for the first time,
and when he saw the stars in their eyes, his own eyes grew perfectly round,
like the eyes of a snake. Asking the
wise men if they would please excuse him for a moment, the king stepped into
his chapel to confer with his clergy, who whipped out their concordances and
told him what he wanted to know. Yes,
there was a little something in the book of Micah about a new ruler for
So that was what the king did. He gargled, combed his hair, and went back to
tell the wise men they should go to
It was a perfectly nice place, modest
but well built. It just was not the kind
of place they had expected to find a king.
A dog was sniffing the woodpile under the eaves in hopes of a
mouse. Someone was practicing the lute
next door, going over the same phrase again and again. The smell of dinner was still in the air –
wheat cakes cooked on a griddle greased with sheep’s fat, lentils with lots of
garlic and rice. If they had chosen the
place themselves they might never have knocked, but he star had chosen it, so they did, and when the door opened the
couple inside almost died of fright.
Not that the wise men noticed. With their arms full of gifts, they crowded
into the small space, bumping their turbans on the rafters and snagging their
robes on the rough furniture. All they
could see was the baby, who was not afraid, and whose right eye shone with the
same star they had seen before they ever left home. It was he, then, whoever he was. They did not have a clue, but they knew what
to do . They got on their knees and
worshiped him. Then they gave him the things
they had brought him – all the wrong things, they could see now, things he had
no use for. They should have brought
goat’s milk, a warm blanket, something shiny to hang above his crib, only how
could they have guessed?
The child’s parents were gracious. They thanked the foreigners for their gifts
and held them up for the baby to see.
Then, to the wise men’s complete alarm, the child’s mother picked him up
and handed him around, so that each one of them held that damp, soft, living
weight in his arms. Then she took him
back and nursed him until they all fell asleep where they sat.
In the morning, the wise men could not
find their stars anywhere. They looked
in all the corners and under the chairs.
The baby’s mother even shook out his blankets but after an initial panic
the wise men said never mind, they did not need them anymore. They had found what they were looking for and
they could not lose that. As much as
they hated to, they guessed they had better be on their way.
No, they would not be going back
through
“For this home and the love here,”
said the first wise man, who could not remember how to say it in runes.
“For baby flesh,” said the second wise
man, who had no interest in living on herbs anymore.
“For a really great story,” said the
third wise man, who thought telling it might do a lot more for him than walking
on coals.
Then the wise men trooped outside,
stretched, kissed the baby good-bye, and went home by another way.
Dear
Friends, begin this year listening to life around you in wonder and in awe,
starstruck by what you see and experience.
Thanks be to God. AMEN.
Offertory
Doxology
Prayer of Dedication
God, you have given each of us gifts to use as members of the body
of Christ. Here are our gifts – the work
of our hands, our hearts, and our lives. We pray that they may help to bring the Good
News of Jesus Christ to our world, today and always, here and everywhere. Amen.
Closing Hymn – As With Gladness Men of Old #63/290
Benediction
As the star guided the wisemen
of the east to find the Christ child, may we be as willing to follow God’s
light that guides us each and every day.
Go in wonder from today’s worship and serve the Lord.
Postlude
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