Dec. 25, 2016 (full size gallery)
We had 27 at the service, somewhat larger than 5 years ago in 2011 when Christmas fell on Sunday. It was a mixed congregation – about 40% who were not part of Christmas Eve and the rest who were. The day was overcast, continued mild with swirling clouds.
We celebrated the Tilt’s 52nd wedding anniversary. For communion, we appropriately used beeswax candles form Bethlehem. The beauty of the inside of the church was still appaarent with the poinsettia, candles and greenery surrounding as well as the restored altarpiece. We greeted a new visiting family from Portabago Bay.
From the sermon -"Today’s Christmas readings are full of voices! The accompanying readings were here as well as the bulletin.
"Isaiah talks about the messenger who brings good news and announces salvation..And the psalmist says “Sing to the Lord a new song for the Lord has done marvelous things! The writer of Hebrews tells us that God sustains all things through God’s powerful word.
And then we come to the gospel according to John, with that incredible opening that begins with THE WORD.John’s birth story is unique. John doesn’t introduce us to the babe in Bethlehem, but rather to the cosmic Christ.
Christ the "first-born of all creation," he is not born at all in the fourth gospel. The Word was always with God even before creation began. Just as the Word was God’s original means of self-revelation through the creation of all things;
John uses three powerful Old Testament images that describe the divine eternal word; they are life, light and voice. It’s that third one the subject of sermon. Together Jesus is the revelation of God’s heart – of God’s sight, insight, choosing, loving, valuing – and yes speaking.
"God’s voice spoke all things into being at the beginning of time, and God did this through the WORD. “And what has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.” God has spoken each of us into life, and God has given each of us a unique voice.
The sermon describes an effort to create a "Human Voicebank" "To do this, the scientists have turned to a “vast network of volunteers who are donating their voices to share with people who cannot speak.”Right now, over 17,000 volunteers from 110 countries are donating their voices for this project. "
"As Christians, we have a “Human Voicebank.” That voicebank is right in the Bible—the voices of the prophets, the voices of the Psalmists, the voices of the people who walked alongside Jesus himself during his time on earth, the voices of the apostles—all of them have given their voices through the centuries to our Human Voicebank. They have donated their voices so that we can learn to speak with God’s voice, as they did. "
"And when we remember that God’s word called each one of us into being, then we can use the unique voice that God has given us to praise God and to tell the great story of God’s salvation for each one of us and for all of creation.
"To spread the word—to speak God’s language of love, mercy, compassion and peace into the world, to add our unique voices to the Human Voicebank that is love. The world needs our voices speaking God’s language of love. Maybe our voices will help others find their voices, so that they too can speak with love to the world. "