Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2015 (full size gallery)
One of the warmest Christmas Eve’s on record – 70’s. We had rain until the afternoon with the clouds breaking up and creating some wonderful visual effects. Some nice reflections off the gallery windows and Parish House. By the end of the service clear with that full moon shining – first Christmas full moon since 1977 – next one in 2034.
We had 57 in attendance with a traditional Christmas Eve service in contrast to the Love Feast last year. New this year were floating candles in the windows and font. Quite a visual site. The bulletin is here
The choir started the service with "Un flambeau, Jeannette, Isabell!" featuring choir and Helmut on violin and then "Sing we Now of Christmas" with the choir. The hymns starting with "O Come All Ye Faithful" were punctuated this year with Andy Cortez on trumpet performing many descants.
Betty lit all of the Advent candles and Andrea was lector on Isaiah, Psalm 96 and Titus (one of the few times reading this letter).
Catherine read the Gospel by memory which is the best way to appreciate the beauty of the story. Her sermon reflected the recent Star Wars release, "A Force Awakens." How is that connected to the Gospel ?
" Tonight we have just heard a story that begins, not with “in a Galaxy Far, Far Away,” but with these words—“And it came to pass in those days…” But the story that unfolds is essentially the same. In the gospel story, the earth is in the hands of Caesar Augustus, and those under his command, like Cyrenius, and they control a large part of the world."
"Ordinary people must do as they are told—ordinary people like Joseph and Mary, who have to leave the city of Nazareth at a very inconvenient time in their lives to travel to Bethlehem to pay their taxes. Ordinary people like the shepherds, who are watching over their flock at night out in the field, and get overwhelmed by light and celestial voices, and rather than dismissing this event as some sort of hallucination, they choose to go and to see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to them.And then they choose to go and tell what they have seen."
"The First Order, headed by Caesar Augustus, is in control, but The Force has been awakened. The resistance is on the move, and the decisions that ordinary people make will have lasting consequences in the struggle between good and evil."
"The current world situation creates within us a feeling of helplessness… The First Order seems to have taken control. We live in a time when people with guns think nothing of killing children in schools and people in churches, killing ordinary people like us who are simply going about their daily lives. We live in a time when beheadings, suicide bombers, and terrorist acts have become a normal part of the daily news cycle. The world is living in deep darkness."
"And yet, this story that we have heard tonight, part of a larger story beginning in the earliest pages of the Bible, and underscored by the prophesies of Isaiah—this story tells us that in this darkness in which we live, a light will shine, a light that burns eternally, God’s light—in Star Wars language, the light of The Force. Isaiah also prophecies that conflict and war will end, and “all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire.”
"Even if you’ve never seen any of the Star Wars movies, you would recognize the tramping warriors wearing the massive white storm trooper armor of The First Order. This armor makes the troopers an anonymous force at the beck and command of their ruthless leaders. Basically, they are killing machines."
"In contrast, the ordinary people in Star Wars and the people who are part of The Resistance carry weapons and use them, but they do not wear armor. They don’t need armor because The Force gives them power beyond any armor that they could ever put on."
"The gospel story offers an alternative. The ordinary people in the story—Mary and Joseph and the shepherd, trusted in God…"And there they saw a baby in a manger, a child more powerful than any force of evil that the world has ever known or ever will know. They saw with their own eyes the personification of peace that will reign eternally, long after the struggle between good and evil has come to an end throughout the universe.
"Tonight, let us go now even unto Bethlehem, and when we come to the stable, to remove the armor made up of the fear, distrust, hatred and need for power that we have unwittingly chosen to wear—to remove all of that cumbersome and death dealing armor, so that we are free to stretch out our hands and take the infant child into our arms, and hold that child close, as a mother cradles her new born infant. When we decide to reach out our hands and to hold this new born King close to our hearts, we are absorbing light, hope and God’s justice and love"
"But even more important than God’s light, hope, justice and love, is God’s peace—because God’s peace holds within it all light, hope, justice and love—and this peace is the only protection we need to live as people of the light. My deepest prayer for all of us this night is that as we behold this child and hold this child, that we will find that all of the fear and the evil in our hearts will flee away and will be replaced by God’s peace, The peace that passes all understanding, the peace that keeps our hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God and of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, the peace that blesses our going out and our coming in from this time forth and forever more."
Following the peace, the announcements featured Cookie giving Barbara Wisdom a gift for the recent Ladies Tea. The choir anthem was "Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring" with Helmut on violin and Andy with his trumpet. As communion concluded, candles were lit for "Silent Night". Helmut sang the first verse in German and the congregation cam in English the next two verses. The lights of the candles reflected beautifully off our clear glass windows.
The concluding hymn "Joy to the World" was followed by the Choir postlude on "O Holy Night".
We were pleased to welcome numerous guests, including former St. Mary’s rector, Ron Okrasinski who is between jobs, expected to work with the Diocese in February.
Thanks to all who helped with the service.