Worship
Service for January 12, 2025
Prelude
Announcements:
Call to Worship
L: All creation proclaims the greatness and
love of God.
P: God’s love permeates even the deepest
darkness.
L: The light of God shines on us with new
hope.
P: We are called to be people of compassion
and justice.
L: Open our hearts, O Holy One, to see Your
light and live into Your hope.
P: Prepare us for service to all Your people
and to this world.
Opening Hymn – For the Beauty of the Earth #473/793
Prayer of Confession
Gracious God, we would like to
be among those who saw the coming of the Christ Child, those who dropped all
that they were doing and traveled to worship the coming of Your love into this
world. We would like to be those who cared for You in infant vulnerability; who
tickled and cuddled and comforted the growing child, that he might know love
and safety. And yet, merciful God, we
must recognize all the times we are more like Herod. Whenever we, in our actions or in our
inactions, find our own need for control more compelling than the needs of
others for health and safety. Whenever
we cling to the security of our privilege, rather than standing up for the
rights of the oppressed. Whenever we are
complicit in the harming of innocents for the sake of profit, or power, or
because we fear to know, and to change, the injustices of this world. Loving God, we confess our sins against you
and one another, and pray that you will fill us with your light, that we may
live our lives as true disciples in your name, without counting the cost. In the name of Christ, the one who showed us
the way, we pray. (Silent prayers are
offered) AMEN.
Assurance of Pardon
L: Hear the words of our Creator, spoken
through the prophet Isaiah: “I have called you by name. You are mine.
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you.”
P: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven and
redeemed. 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
Pastoral Prayer and Lord’s
Prayer
Emmanuel, God with us, You
are our help and home. Like Mary and
Joseph circumstances beyond our imagining, beyond our control take us far from
home. Like King Herod our desires for
security, pleasure, and power lead us down destructive paths and take us far
from home. Jesus, you are with us. You are our help and home. Like the Magi, quests for wisdom and
direction, a truth we can trust, sometimes take us far from home. Holy Child of Bethlehem, you are with us. You are our help and home. No matter where we find ourselves there is a
future, with hope. Shelter us in the
wings of Your love. Gather us in the
strength of Your compassion. Free us
from the bonds of evil when we find ourselves far from home. Because Jesus, you are with us. You are our help and home. When we find ourselves alone and frightened,
in a landscape that is unfamiliar, keep us safe.
We pray this day
fervently for the needs of world, especially those living in Southern
California and the wildfires that have devastated the land, burned down homes
and businesses, left thousands of people homeless, who now must find new
shelter far from home. We pray for those
who have been killed in its destructive path and lift up prayers of comfort for
their families. We continually pray for
those in war-torn areas of the world who find themselves displaced and far from
home.
Our hearts are heavy
this morning, Lord, with constant news of war and devastation, but we also pray
for loved ones here at home. We pray
for…
In this time of silence
hear the groanings of our hearts…
Hear us O Lord, as we
pray with one voice saying, 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. 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 – Now
Thank We All Our God #555/788
Scripture Reading(s):
First Scripture Reading – Psalm
96
Second Scripture Reading – Matthew 2:13-18
Sermon – “Flight to Egypt”
“Flee
to Egypt.” With those words echoing in
his ears Joseph got up, took Jesus and Mary by night and went to Egypt. Regardless of whether this story really
happened the way Matthew tells it, it’s not hard to know that it’s true. The names and faces might change but it’s a
story that continues to be lived in lands throughout the world today. We’ve seen the pictures. We’ve read the news. We’ve heard and maybe even participated in the
arguments over what to do about this situation. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were not the first
refugees and they are not the last.
What
do you hear in today’s gospel, the flight to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23)? What feelings does it evoke? What images fill your mind’s eye? What prayers arise within you? What experiences does it recall from your own
life? And finally, what does it have to
do with you and me?
Much
of today’s message comes from the writing of Michael Marsh in his webpage
called, “Interrupting the Silence”.
When
we think of this story in Matthew and of today’s refugees, we might picture a
little boy and his mom and dad. Violence,
a tyrant ruler, an oppressive government, and the threat of death that have
them on the run. They have left behind nearly
everything. I feel the parents’ fear and
the knot in their stomachs. I am certain
their one thought, their only priority, is to protect the child and to keep him
safe. I see them feeling their way
through the darkness of night hoping not to be noticed. With each passing moment they are a bit
further from the known and familiar, and bit closer to the unknown and
unfamiliar. I hear their whispered
questions. When will we get there? How much further is it? What will we find? What will it be like?
I
am not talking about only Jesus and the Holy Family, I’m also talking about the
story of Alan and the Kurdi family who were in the news. One child arrived safely in Egypt. The other child drowned and washed up on a
Turkish beach. Both were refugees and
they shared a common story.
I
can’t explain why one child found refuge and the other didn’t. There are no good or acceptable reasons for
that, but I can tell you what are not the reasons. It is not because Jesus’ life mattered more,
was more important, or more valuable than Alan’s. It’s not because God loved Jesus more than
Alan. It’s not because Jesus is God’s
eternal son and Alan was just another Syrian refugee. If we think it’s any one of those things we
have missed the point of Christmas. We
have denied that the Word became flesh; human flesh, flesh like Alan’s, like
yours, like mine. We have forgotten the source
of our worship and the focus of our prayers that remind us that in Jesus God
shares our humanity so that we might share His divinity. If these things mean anything at all it means
that the depth and measure of God’s joy and thanksgiving that Jesus arrived in
Egypt is equaled only by the depth and measure of God’s anger and sorrow that
Alan did not reach his Egypt.
God’s
heart is with the refugee. In the birth
of Jesus, in the angel of the Lord who spoke to Joseph in a dream, and in the
Holy Family’s flight to Egypt God has revealed himself to be aligned with the
refugees of this world, not only with Alan but with you and me as well.
And
if it sounds like I just named us as refugees you heard right. Those two little
boys, Jesus and Alan, are the face of a refugee humanity, a humanity you and I
share with them. In Alan’s face we see a
modern-day retelling of the flight to Egypt, and in Jesus’ face we see the
spark that ignites hope, kindles the fire of love, and illumines the darkness
for all refugees.
Their
stories confront us with the collective memory of our ancestors who did the
same from the lands they once called home to find a new one. Or they confront us with own current refugee
status and bring to mind the times we have fled to Egypt. Some of you may be on that road right now.
If
your life has ever been disrupted and you needed a safe place to get away to;
if you’ve ever known it was no longer safe or good for you to stay where you
were or to stay the way you were; if you’ve ever left the known and familiar
and traveled in darkness to the unknown and unfamiliar; if you’ve ever realized
your life was at risk and you had to make a change; if your survival depended
on crossing borders into a new and foreign land; if you’ve ever experienced
these or a thousand other things like them, then maybe you know what it’s like
to be a refugee. And my guess is that in
some small way or another, we all know what that’s like.
We
may not have had the same experience as Jesus and the Holy Family or Alan and
the Kurdi family, but we share a common story and a common status. Herod is not just a king in Israel some two
thousand years ago. In every age Herod
is the power, circumstances, and abuses that disrupt and seek to destroy life. Herod is that one who creates refugees. For
every refugee there is a Herod, and there are all sorts of refugees and all
kinds of Herods.
You
see, being a refugee is not only about tyrant kings, oppressive governments,
and threats of death. It’s also about a
deep longing and drive for a new life and a new place in life. It’s hearing and responding to the nighttime
calling of God. The refugee life is
neither easy nor safe, but we never go alone. We go with the God of refugees, the God who
“has nowhere to lay his head” (Matthew 8:19-20). We go with the promise that our Egypt has
already been sanctified and prepared by the presence of “this child [who] is
our spark.” This child who knows the
way.
Some
of us are refugees from a marriage or relationship that was unhealthy,
destructive, or violent. Some are
refugees from the land of addiction. Some
are refugees wandering through the darkness of depression, emptiness, or a life
seemingly void of meaning. Some are
fleeing the countries of neglect or abuse. Many of us have recognized behaviors and
choices that we had to flee or situations we just had to get away from. Most of us have probably been refugees from
the land of grief and sorrow when our current life is turned upside down by the
death of our loved ones.
I
don’t know what your refugee story is, but I’ll bet you have one. I’ll bet you have had at least one time in
your life when you had to get to Egypt. Your
life depended on it. You left home for a
better place, a different life, a new way; and you left not really knowing
where you were going or what you would find when you got there. You trusted the child of Bethlehem to show you
the way. You followed in the footsteps
of the Holy Family and with each step along the way your life was the retelling
of today’s gospel.
Every
time I hear today’s gospel, every time I read about refugees in today’s news,
every time I reflect on my own refugee status and my times in Egypt, I cannot
help but wonder what if. What if Egypt
had closed the borders of its heart? What
if the Holy Family had arrived only to find a big wall and locked doors? What if the wannabe Pharaohs had unleashed on
them the dogs of fear and prejudice? What
if the Egyptian people had said, “There’s no room for you here?” What story would we be telling today? Would
there be any good news for the refugees of the world? For you? For me? Would the spark have been extinguished?
But
that didn’t happen. Perhaps Egypt
remembered. Perhaps Egypt remembered
another time, another Joseph, another refugee people. Perhaps God sent the Holy
Family to a land that would remember. Perhaps
God was hoping and counting on Egypt to remember it had once been a place of
refuge for His people, and it could be again.
Might
it be possible for us to remember, as well; that we too might remember the Holy
Family, Alan and the Kurdi family, the refugees in the news, and our own
flights to Egypt and be a blessing of shelter and comfort to any and all those
who face those same flights to Egypt in our land?
Thanks
be to God. AMEN.
Offertory –
Doxology –
Prayer of Dedication –
With
these gifts, O God, we offer up our sacrifices of time, talent, and material
tithes. Bless them to the use of Your
Holy Kingdom. In Christ’s Name we pray. Amen
Closing
Hymn – Have Thine Own Way, Lord #591
Brown
Benediction –
As Mary and
Joseph set out for safety in a new land to find hope, may we too set out on a
journey of discovery for God’s light, truth, hope, and love. Go from this place of refuge and bring God’s light
of illumination with you. Go and serve
the Lord. AMEN.
Postlude
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