Texts: Isaiah 60: 1-6; Psalm 72:1-7:10-14; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12
Call to Worship
L:
This past year, we found ourselves
on
a different road,
P:
yet we still look for that Baby
born
long ago in Bethlehem.
L:
This year, we are worshiping
in
different ways,
P:
yet we still look for that
Child
of Christmas
who
gifts the needy with hope,
who
sets free the oppressed.
L:
This year, we gather
in
different places,
P:
yet we still long to find
the
One who has come for us,
even
as we remain apart
from
those we love so much.
Prayer
of the Day
Shaper
of stars
we
know by name
and
those we have numbered,
you
call us to travel
different
roads than
we
expect:
to
walk with the forgotten
down
that road
which
leads to justice,
and
to follow them
rather
than trying
to
show them the way.
Bright
morning star
of
every morning,
you
would illuminate
those
new roads
you
want us to travel:
the
neighborhoods potholed
by
poverty’s heavy trucks,
the
communities where
the
cries of the vulnerable
are
drowned out by the shouts
of
the wealthy at expensive gatherings.
Wisdom
which can teach us
different
ways of living,
of
loving, of caring,
you
would have us reach out
to
those who have known only indifference,
and
to open our eyes
to
see the isolated and lonely
so
we can gather them to our hearts.
In
these times which seem
when
we long to turn around
and
go back to the way it used to be,
you
call us to continue
to
travel down different roads,
God
in Community, Holy in One,
even
as we pray, saying,
(The
Lord’s Prayer)
Call
to Reconciliation
We
find it so easy to walk down the familiar roads of foolishness, turning our
backs on those God would have us love, and ignoring the map God gives us. As we speak of our choices, let us open our hearts
to the One who offers us the hope and grace we seek, even if we don’t realize
it.
Unison
Prayer for Forgiveness,
If we turned toward the Light you offer,
Creator of stars, we would find the road you want us to travel. But we are more comfortable on those shadowed
streets of seduction we know all too well.
We can drive down the roads of rebellion with our eyes closed. We continue to play hopscotch with hate and
fear on the sidewalks placed along the paths of prejudice.
Have mercy on us, Shaper of universes as
well as our lives. How foolish we are to
continue to take the easy paths, rather than that road of justice, that road of
hope, that road of forgiveness that are less traveled in these days. May we be like those wise ones of so long
ago, who found grace, salvation, and you by following that different road of
faith which lead them to that Child called Jesus, who would guide them and the
rest of us, from that moment on. Amen.
Silence
is kept
Assurance
of Pardon
L: Open your eyes! The Light has come to all of us, to each of
us. The Light of justice, the Light of
love, the Light of life.
P: This Light is not just for us, so we will
carry it to everyone we meet, as we travel down the different road of faith in
our lives. Thanks be to God, we are
forgiven! Amen!
Prayer
of Dedication/Offering
We
could take the high road of self-righteousness
Great
Prayer of Thanksgiving
L: May God be with you, Advent travelers!
P: May God be with you, as well!
L: Now in these moments, lift your hearts,
all who
found their way to Bethlehem.
P: We bring them to the Child born,
who has come to fill us with grace.
L: Wise travelers, little children, everyone,
join
in singing praises to our God.
P: we have followed the Star to hope,
and will take a different road home,
the road of mystery and faith.
L:
Chaos had laid out a path for you,
God
on unparalleled imagination,
but
you chose a different road,
paved with the bricks of beauty,
lined with majestic oak trees,
right next to rivers flowing into oceans.
This
gift, which we call creation,
was
given to provide light
out
of the emptiness of temptation,
but we continued to live
in those shadows we found
so appealing and comfortable.
you
sent women and men to us,
those
ordinary folks who spoke
of
your steadfast love and hope,
but we continued to trail behind
temptation as it led us further from you.
since
you knew we could not find
our
way back to you on our own,
you
sent Jesus to us,
your
servant of salvation.
so,
with the wise as well as the foolish,
with
those who know the way by heart,
and
those in need of road assistance,
we
sing of your grace and love:
P:
Holy, holy, holy are you, God of the vulnerable.
All creation delights in praising you.
Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is the One who gathers the
isolated.
Hosanna in the highest!
Though
he knew the streets
of
glory like the back of his hand,
though
he had played hopscotch
on
the sidewalks of eternity,
when
in your holiness, God of grace,
you
called him to become one of us,
Jesus
was willing
to become a prisoner of sin
so we might be set free;
Jesus
was willing
to travel another road,
going to Calvary, so
we could run with abandon
into your arms of grace.
So,
as we celebrate his birth and love,
as
we start down a different road called faith,
may
we understand that mystery revealed through him:
P: Christ came, the morning star of love;
Christ died, the night star of salvation;
Christ arose, the radiant star of
resurrection;
Christ will come again, the constellation
of hope.
We
have traveled different roads
than
we expected this year,
Star
Maker and Bread Baker,
yet
we have all been led to this Table,
where
you send down your Spirit
upon
the gifts of life and grace
and
all who have gathered wherever they are.
Hope
was broken on the cross,
but
like this bread, it gives us the strength
to
travel different roads
as we seek justice for those who have none,
as we challenge power to listen to the voiceless,
as we stand with those who are cast aside.
Grace
was poured out in resurrection love
and
through the gift of this gup, it refreshes us
so
that we can go down different roads
to share meals with strangers in our neighborhoods,
to welcome the lonely as close family,
to continue to distance ourselves, so that
one day we can embrace each other.
And
when our different roads lead us to you,
gathered
around your feast of love,
with
all we have missed and lost,
all
who have been ignored and dismissed,
all
our sisters and brothers
from
every time and from every place,
we
will join in songs of praise to you,
God
in Community, Holy in One. Amen.
Sending
L:
Now, let us go into the world with our God,
P:
taking the different road of grace
to bring hope to everyone.
L: Now, let us go with Jesus to care for others,
P: taking the different road of justice
to bring healing and life to the forgotten.
L: Now, let us go to bring the Spirit’s light
into the shadowed corners of isolation and
fear,
P: taking the different road of faith and
confidence
to walk with those who feel so alone.
©
2020 Thom M. Shuman
