Immediate Word

In Hebrews 1:3, Christ is described as “the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being,” who “sustains all things by his powerful word.” That’s another way of saying that he brings God’s perfection to the world -- and in this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Robin Lostetter suggests that one way of understanding the Incarnation is to think of it as a viral attack of love and forgiveness unleashed by God on humankind. And Robin notes that offers numerous parallels with how cyberattacks -- like the recent efforts by Russia to disrupt U.S. election -- are spread. Indeed, a major investigative piece last week in the New York Times was headlined “The Perfect Weapon: How Russian Cyberpower Invaded the U.S.” Obviously, cyberattacks have an entirely different motivation -- they are intended to enable the hostile takeover of computer networks; but as Robin points out, the spread of the gospel message works in a similarly viral fashion. In fact, if we were to detail the implications of Christ’s birth for the world, our headline might be “God’s Perfect Weapon: How Heavenly Power Invaded the World.” God’s healing is offered to us in the most unlikely package -- a baby who is not concerned with worldly power but who is the coming of the Prince of Peace... and our calling as people of faith is to keep the incredible viral power unleashed by Christ’s birth going and to continue to spread its influence in the world.

Team member Beth Herrinton-Hodge shares some additional thoughts on Luke’s nativity narrative and the motivation of the shepherds to immediately schlep into Bethlehem to find the manger and see the newborn babe that inspired a spectacular music and light show from the Trans-Angel Orchestra. We’re so familiar with this story that we tend to take the logistical challenges facing the shepherds for granted -- so it certainly must have taken something so out of the ordinary that we’d have a hard time imagining it to cause the shepherds to go to all that trouble... so they must have really been desperate to “see this thing that has taken place.” Beth notes that while their motivation is entirely different -- one based largely on a desire for mere survival -- one might sense a similar sense of urgency and desperation on the part of Aleppo’s remaining residents as they flee before the city falls completely to the siege of Syrian forces. How urgently do we experience the nativity? Beth wonders if we have become so comfortable in our celebrations that we have forgotten the feeling of approaching the manger and the meaning of Christ’s birth with the desperate anticipation of the shepherds. Have we relegated the shepherds and the manger to a mere pastoral backdrop for our holiday rituals? Perhaps we need to re-examine the urgency of the nativity in our lives, putting less emphasis on “comfort” and more on unbridled “joy.”

 

The Viral Jesus
by Robin Lostetter
Hebrews 1:1-4 (5-12); John 1:1-14

When the innocent, helpless child Jesus was born to Mary, scripture tells us that “the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being” entered the world. It may have seemed a stealth move to those, like King Herod, who view power in terms of wealth and physical strength. 

But this entrance into our reality, this incarnation of the divine, was more powerful and less subject to control by humans bent on destroying it than the richest, most well-equipped army. Like the Soviet cyberattack which ultimately affected the recent U.S. election, one could describe Jesus’ birth as viral, if we were to do as federal investigators did, spending “two years, often working day and night, tracing how it hopped from the Navy to the Department of Energy to the Air Force and NASA.”

Similarly, this peaceful infiltration of heavenly power began small with a baby’s cry in Mary’s arm, then reached shepherds, townsfolk, magi, Herod, and eventually every disciple down to you and me. This is still the model for how our faith is often spread -- face-to-face, one-on-one, quietly -- in a fabric or matrix that infuses our society. In its purest form, it remains the power of subversive love, undermining the worship of wealth and physical strength in the world.

In the News
Cybercrime and cyberespionage are among the most successful modes of attack today. The FBI is struggling to keep pace with cyberattacks such as the ones visited upon the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in the presidential campaign and election. This new weapon, perpetrated by individual hackers as well as nation-states, is extremely difficult to identify and stop. When an FBI agent contacted the DNC in September 2015 with a warning (by phone, so as not to clue in the hackers), the “tech-support contractor at the DNC who fielded the call was no expert in cyberattacks.” Therefore, the first opportunity to stop the organic, viral spread of intrusion was missed. “It was the cryptic first sign of a cyberespionage and information-warfare campaign devised to disrupt the 2016 presidential election, the first such attempt by a foreign power in American history.” Other countries besides the United States had been subjected to similar attempts, but this headline-making attack on a world power has made waves among not only the government and law enforcement communities in our country, but also among our citizens and across the globe.

In the Scriptures
The baby of Bethlehem is, in a sense, the cryptic first sign of a different sort of campaign -- God’s full revelation as “the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being.” (Hebrews 1:3). Having spoken “to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets” (v. 1), God had prepared the People of the Book as fertile ground for this revelation. David Rensberger, in Feasting on the Word, suggests that even at the time, the wisdom tradition in scripture had prepared people of faith to begin to grasp the cosmic nature of the Messiah: “A typical example comes from the apocryphal Wisdom of Solomon, written in Alexandria perhaps just before or just after the birth of Christ: ‘Wisdom [is] the fashioner of all things.... There is in her a spirit that is intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle... all-powerful, overseeing all, and penetrating through all spirits.... For wisdom... pervades and penetrates all things. For she is a breath of the power of God, and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty.... For she is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness’ (Wisdom 7:22-26)” [David Rensberger, “Exegetical Perspective on Hebrews 1:1-4 [5-12],” in Feasting on the Word (Year A, Vol. 1)].

Our reading in Hebrews, linking back to such Wisdom literature, makes a direct link to the prologue to John in the Christmas lection: Jesus, Son of God, Wisdom of God, participates not only in our salvation, but also in the creation of our world, and has come to join flesh and Spirit. Add the Hebrews passage to Genesis and the imprint of the imago dei on the newly formed humans, plus texts such as this from the Wisdom of Solomon, and we find that Incarnation shows the Spirit dwelling in us as well -- making a path for viral faith.

In the Sermon
Rensberger continues his observation on the impact of wisdom literature: “There can be little doubt that as Christians in the first century pondered whom they had encountered in Jesus and what the meaning of that encounter might be, they found their way to wisdom traditions such as this. They came to see in Jesus not only the fulfillment of messianic prophecies but much more: the unique embodiment of divine Wisdom. Jewish philosophers, like their pagan counterparts, had understood the human intellect or Logos to be a share of this divine Wisdom present in every person, identifying it as the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27).”

From there, the jump to seeing Jesus as the unique Logos/Wisdom, as spoken of in John, is not difficult to imagine. So as we preach the high poetry of Hebrews and John, let us consider “incarnating” it and helping it go viral -- as it has for centuries. Speak, perhaps, of the encounter with the innocent face of a newborn, or of seeing the face of Christ in our neighbor; proclaim the image of God that nothing can erase from the lined face of an aged relative or wearied refuge. And encourage each one to put on the face of Christ as well, to acknowledge the imago dei within, so that we live our faith in a way that our words and actions become viral messages to each person we are in contact with. 

Rod Dreher speaks of building a Communal Church in today’s fragmented world -- a church built not on hardened doctrine, but on authentic lived faith. He recalls how “Benedict wrote his Rule as a constitution for these men to live together. That little document and Benedict’s little mustard-seed community of monks ended up becoming enormously influential in the life of the West. They held Christianity together during the so-called Dark Ages. The monks went into barbarian areas to evangelize, and if the barbarians killed them off, the mother house would send more brothers out. Slowly, these men laid the ground for the rebirth of Christian civilization in the West.”

The faith was spread by individuals, sent out, making ripples, and then larger waves -- just like the nearly unobserved viral attacks on the DNC. Then the waves became an oceanic tsunami! 

Faith, spreading virally, connecting as a matrix -- “infecting,” if you will, every life it touches. Let us encourage each one holding a candle and singing “Silent Night,” awed by the manger scene and surrounded by angelic voices, to go and do likewise.

 

SECOND THOUGHTS
They Went with Haste
by Beth Herrinton-Hodge
Luke 2:(1-7) 8-20

Images of darkly-clad people -- men, women, children -- walking in single-file lines, picking their way through the rubble along city streets, streaming toward hope; these images tell the story of a people making haste to their destination. These are images of Aleppo’s refugees urgently fleeing their homes and lives. They are in a hurry, committed to their journey -- not unlike the shepherds outside of Bethlehem who made haste to the manger of the Christ child.

The motivation of the refugees stems from a desire for survival. Theirs is a desperate situation following years of oppression, war, and bloodshed in their homeland. These last two weeks have offered brief windows of respite amidst a shaky ceasefire designed to allow refugees to flee the siege of Syrian forces. What these people will find as they flee to rebel-held territory is unknown. What they hold onto is a fragile hope for their very lives.

The primal force behind the need for those in Aleppo to leave bears some resemblance to the primal force attracting the shepherds to the manger. Both groups move with haste toward their destination. There is an urgency, a purposefulness, to their movement.

What do we know of such urgency? When have we moved with such purpose and single-mindedness?

First-century shepherds were largely distrusted by common society. These rural dwellers were viewed as shifty, dishonest, and unwelcome in the community. They usually held no permanent dwelling place and frequently grazed their flocks on other people’s property. Townspeople likely preferred that shepherds remain with their animals outside the city gates.

During a time of census-taking, it was likely that towns were bustling with people returning home. Many out-of-towners could lodge with family, if any remained in their hometown. Still, it appeared that extra rooms were scarce for the people who had no home to return to. The familiar line in the birth narrative rung true: there was no room for anyone to stay in local inns.

For shepherds, it would have been a daunting task to travel from the fields with their flocks. It was even more daunting to think about shepherding their animals through the crowded village streets of Bethlehem. Yet to leave their flocks in the fields unattended would have compromised their livelihood. There is no record of shepherds bringing their flocks with them to visit the Christ child, yet it’s not hard to imagine the scene. Seeing shepherds making haste toward a lowly manger as they drove their flocks before them would have made for quite a sight!

The urgency which caused the shepherds to undertake such movement arose from an astounding visit from one angel, followed by a host of angels, who appeared in the heavens above their fields. It was an out-of-the-darkness vision of light and joy and hope. A heavenly angel brought a message to lowly shepherds: This is it. The time has come. Go and see!

What the shepherds saw and heard from the angels was so magnificent, so glorious, so wondrous that they were filled with fear. It’s not every day that an angel chorus fills the heavens with light and sounds and beauty. Perhaps if such visions did come every day they would become commonplace. They might not stir an urgent response. The shepherds might not drop everything to seek the sign the angel told them about. But on this night, the shepherds were struck with fear and awe and hope. They had to go and find for themselves this promised joy for all people that they were told was to be found in the newborn child in a manger.

These shepherds were not jaded by the endless cycle of light shows that we see year in and year out on the Fourth of July. They have not read and heard Luke’s birth narrative so many times that they can recite it by heart. The glorious light, the amazing message, the appearance of angels above their darkened field were extraordinarily uncommon incidents. These were so uncommon and astounding that they demanded a response -- an immediate, hope-filled response.

The disparate bunch of herders -- no one knows how many -- came together and made a unified decision: “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place which the Lord has made known to us” (Luke 2:15b). Upon arrival, they found the sign which they sought: Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger.

Their urgent actions didn’t end at the manger. The shepherds began to speak, making known what had been told to them about the child. Mary and Joseph heard the shepherds’ words; others who gathered at the manger heard and were amazed at what the shepherds told them. The news spread throughout the village. For Luke, public testimony -- in both word and action -- is a characteristic of discipleship. The shepherds went to see, as urged by the angel. They shared what they had been told about this Christ child: “To you is born this day a Savior, a deliverer, Christ the Lord.” They were among the first to proclaim God’s good news.

God’s people had been waiting for the Messiah. They sought a new king who would usher in a new world order. The angel told the shepherds: This is it. The time has come. The shepherds proclaimed this good news to everyone they encountered. All who heard were amazed.

What astounding event might stir us from our ordinary lives? What revelation would disrupt our annual holiday celebrations? What could possibly happen that might stir us from complacency to urgency so that we would move with haste to go and see and tell all whom we meet?

The refugees exiting Aleppo are moved by a desire for mere survival -- a desperation to flee before their city falls completely to the siege of their own government. They hope to find a place of safety, peace, and shelter from tragedy. The shepherds left their hillside toil. They hoped to find fulfillment of the promises of God for God’s people. Both groups of people travel with a sense of urgency, immediacy. We pray that their movement is not in vain.

What would incite us to live with a similar urgency and hope for the good news Jesus brings? What must we see and hear that would move us to act and speak an immediate, hope-filled response?

What the shepherds experienced that night when Jesus was born was more than a quaint backdrop for our home and church celebrations. What they experienced rocked their world. How does the coming of Jesus rock our world? Let us go with haste to seek and find and tell.

 

ILLUSTRATIONS

From team member Dean Feldmeyer:

The Worst/Best Virus Ever
Probably the most effective computer virus ever created was actually a good guy. Its name was Stuxnet.

Stuxnet was the first computer virus designed specifically to cause damage in the real, as opposed to virtual, world. While previous malware programs may have caused secondary physical problems, Stuxnet was unique in that it targeted software that controls industrial systems. Specifically, Stuxnet was designed to damage machinery at Iran’s uranium enrichment facility in Natanz.

Based on the available information, including data from the International Atomic Energy Agency, experts believe Stuxnet caused a large number of Iran’s centrifuges -- essentially giant washing machines used to enrich uranium -- to spin out of control and self-destruct. Though Stuxnet was discovered in 2010, it is believed to have first infected computers in Iran in 2009.

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The Most Viral Videos
Here are the top ten viral videos of all time, according to YouTube:

10. Meghan Trainor -- “All About That Bass” -- 1.2 billion views
The unofficial summer song of 2014, Meghan Trainor released this song when she was just 20 years old.

9. Katy Perry -- “Roar” -- 1.21 billion views
A decent song, this was way overplayed in sports montages a few years back.

8. Enrique Iglesias -- “Bailando” -- 1.24 billion views

7. Katy Perry -- “Dark Horse” -- 1.243 billion views
A kooky and visually stunning video, “Dark Horse” was a genre-crossing hit that received heavy radio play and quickly racked up the YouTube views.

6. Taylor Swift -- “Shake it Off” -- 1.26 billion views
A fun and catchy jingle, this song was everywhere during the summer of 2014.

5. Justin Bieber -- “Baby” -- 1.27 billion views
First shown in 2010, this video is still a favorite with teenage girls.

4. Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars -- “Uptown Funk” -- 1.28 billion views
Just barely a year old, Uptown Funk almost has 1.3 million views, which perhaps isn’t too surprising given its catchy tune. The song was nominated for two Grammys.

3. Wiz Khalifa & Charlie Puth -- “See You Again” -- 1.33 billion views
Part of the Furious 7 soundtrack, this song was famously written for and dedicated to actor Paul Walker, who was killed in an automobile accident.

2. Taylor Swift -- “Blank Space” -- 1.39 billion views
The song famously covers Swift’s string of ex-boyfriends, with the twist being that in the song Swift purposely takes on an exaggerated version of her media persona.

1. Psy -- “Gangnam Style” -- 2.49 billion views
This still holds the record for being the fastest song to ever accumulate 1 billion YouTube views, having achieved the feat in only 160 days. No one can figure out why.

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Viral Marketing
Truly a 21st-century phenomenon, viral marketing is the practice of using social media (Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, etc.) to advertise or raise awareness of a product or a person.  Here are some of the most successful viral marketing campaigns so far:

* Ashton Kutcher Reaches 1 Million Twitter Followers: Ashton Kutcher proved his tech savvy by becoming the first person ever to break the 1 million follower barrier. This was a key moment in social media history. It helped legitimize a growing social network and showed just how much popularity and influence Twitter could have.

* Mad Men Yourself: To help create buzz around the third season of Mad Men, AMC launched Mad Men Yourself, an avatar creator that allowed you to make a stylized ’60s version of yourself. The site received half a million visitors in the first week, and the Season 3 premiere saw record ratings.
 
* Paranormal Activity: A small independent movie with a $15,000 production budget was able to become one of the most profitable movies of all time. Its success was due to a fantastic viral marketing campaign. The movie was initially released to a small number of cities; however, after the goose-bump inducing trailer a call to action appeared, prompting fans to “demand” the movie play in their city. If a city reached a certain number of people demanding the movie, it would play in that city. If there’s anything that piques people’s interest, it’s not having access to something.

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The Five Most Difficult Things to Move
According to professional movers, these are the five most difficult things to move, often requiring the help of movers who specialize in these items. If this list was created 2,000 years ago, it probably would have included sheep:
* aquariums full of fish
* plants -- especially delicate tropical varieties
* grand pianos
* fine art
* very large televisions

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From team member Mary Austin:

Luke 2:1-20
Christmas Logistics
Getting the shepherds to the manger was a cumbersome task, and our modern form of Christmas has its own logistical challenges. Toys 'R Us has a former military officer in charge of its supply chain. “Marie Robinson, who helped supply soldiers with food and ammunition during the first Gulf War, now oversees the movement of Barbie dream cars and Furby talking dolls from shipping ports to the chain’s 600 U.S. stores. She also makes sure $1 billion a year in internet purchases reach customers' doors. It is an increasingly important job at retailers -- perhaps nowhere more so than at Toys 'R Us, which faces mounting threats from online rivals such as Amazon.com and is under pressure to improve delivery speeds as well as lower prices to maintain market share.” 

Robinson says that when she took the job, her teenaged son’s face lit up and he said, “Mom, you’re the new Santa Claus.” Robinson says, “When you think of Santa’s workshop, a nice wooden Swiss chalet comes to mind. But today it looks more like NASA Mission Control.”

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Luke 2:1-20
What Are the Shepherds Up to Now?
While shepherds may seem like a quaint relic from the Christmas story, modern-day shepherds still tend sheep. Glen Fisher, a Methodist layperson, takes pride in being part of a profession singled out in the Christmas story. “I’m quite proud that even today all the Christians in the world know about shepherds and their sheep," he says.

The tools of the job have changed a little -- there’s no shepherd’s crook now. “These days, Fisher tends his flock of 1,800 ewes and about 60 rams with a big blue Ford pickup, a feed buggy, and the help of two ranch-hands. He mainly checks to make sure his livestock, which also includes cattle and goats, have enough water and feed in their concrete troughs. It is dusty and time-intensive work. Even with the feed buggy, it takes a man two days to feed all the livestock on his property. The feed troughs typically need refilling every 10 days. He also checks the condition of the pasture, sees if any fences need mending, and looks for the tracks and droppings of any potential predators.” 

Fisher “does not watch his flocks by night. He has metal pens to help keep the sheep safe. Still, he can identify with the frightened shepherds of Luke. ‘They cared for their sheep because the sheep took care of them,’ he says. Fisher speculates that maybe God chose the shepherds for the special birth announcement to show that God cares for people just as much as a shepherd cares for his sheep.”

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How Busy Is Santa?
Another person with logistical challenges is Santa, delivering presents worldwide from his sleigh. Ambitious scientists have calculated that Santa has to visit 1,000 homes per second on Christmas Eve, based on the assumption that he delivers only to Christian households (the only people celebrating Christmas, presumably) and only to children who have been nice, not naughty. They put the number of deserving children at 90%. The calculations assume that 667 million children worldwide might receive gifts. If the average weight of each gift is two pounds, the sleigh would have to carry a billion pounds of gifts, and the average speed of the sleigh would be about 3.6 million miles an hour.

The scientists conclude that there are two logical explanations for these incredible figures: “Santa Claus does not exist, except as a symbol or a myth. Some adults believe this, but most young children do not.” Or, “Santa Claus has magical, near god-like powers. This is part of the Santa tradition.  From his location at the North Pole, he sees the children when they are sleeping.  He knows when they are awake.  He knows they are bad and good. There is even a tradition that he can travel up the chimney with near-infinite speed by simply rubbing the side of his nose.” 

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Santa Is Not the Only One Who Is Busy in December
Logistical challenges abound in December for people in all lines of work. We all head to the post office at the same time, as “December 15th is traditionally the day on which delivery companies process the highest volumes. The United States Postal Service is expected to process some 640 million items, from cards to periodicals and packages, while FedEx processes around 22.6 million packages.” It takes a lot of people to celebrate the birth of Christ, including seasonal employees. “Extra labor is always required to move more orders through the system and out for delivery, which for UPS means 95,000 temporary workers hired [in 2014.]” Flower delivery surges too. “As much as Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day hog the holiday limelight for floral gifts, it’s the Christmas and Chanukah celebrations that come out ahead on flower deliveries with some 30% of the annual order volume.” The quiet birth of Jesus has turned into a busy season for everyone who works with the public. 

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From team member Ron Love:

Each year NBC has a tradition during the season before Christmas of broadcasting a live musical. This year’s performance was Hairspray. But an addition was made to the live telecast -- some of the commercials were also live, rather than pre-recorded. NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt said of the new endeavor: “The more you can make the audience feel that the ads are a part of the zeitgeist of the show, the less they feel like, ‘Oh, it’s a pharmaceutical ad in the middle of this joyous musical.’ ” The proclamation of the birth of the child by the prophets and the angels makes those in the congregation feel like they are a part of the celebration.

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In a Family Circus comic, Jeffy, having just watched a news telecast, is running into the room with an exasperated look on his face. He asks his father, “Daddy, who was Pearl Harbor?” As we observed the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor earlier this month, we have to wonder how many from Generation X and the millennials know what it means. Our lectionary readings instruct us to preach the Good News of the birth of Jesus, because we cannot assume that everyone knows the story and its meaning. (Note: If your sanctuary has a projection screen, you may want to display this comic.)

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Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera received much criticism for benching quarterback Cam Newton -- last year’s league MVP who led the team to the Super Bowl -- for the team’s opening series in their game against the Seattle Seahawks. But Newton violated a team rule by not wearing a necktie on the plane to the game. Rivera said if he did not make that decision, then “chaos can consume your team. The idea was the right thing: treat everybody the same.” As we read the Christmas story, we know that many sat on the bench because they did not understand or did not want to accept the message of the Christ child. 

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In a Family Circus comic, Dolly is sitting on the couch with a kitten curled up on her lap. The kitten has a very contented look on his face when Dolly, with an equally joyful expression, says to her mother: “Kittycats are smart. They never grow bigger than lapsize.” It is nice to know that the baby in the manger, even as an adult, will always be lapsize for us. (Note: If your sanctuary has a projection screen, you may want to display this comic.)

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In a Blondie comic strip, Dagwood asks his boss Mr. Dithers if, since he is not getting a Christmas bonus, he could get some extra vacation days instead. Dithers thinks that is a great idea, and even volunteers to schedule them. As Dagwood walks through the door of his home, he hands his wife Blondie the vacation itinerary written by Dithers. It reads: “The Walking Papers Inn: Home of the Pink Slip Lounge on Severance Street.” In disgust Dagwood says: “Sounds like we’re not going on vacation this year!” There are many people who live on Severance Street -- in the many different forms that takes in each person’s life and household -- who need to hear the nativity story. (Note: If your sanctuary has a projection screen, you may want to display this comic.)

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At the trial of Dylann Roof -- the 22-year-old who shot and killed nine people participating in a Bible study at Emmanuel African Methodist Church in Charleston, South Carolina -- testimony revealed that Roof made sure to let one participant live so his story could be told to the public. That individual, Felicia Sanders, watched her son and aunt be shot and killed that evening of June 17, 2015. As Sanders testified, she looked over to Roof, who was wearing his striped prison jumpsuit, and said, looking directly at him: “He just sat there the whole time. Evil, evil, evil as can be.” Because of the evil in the world, we need the nativity story. 

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It has probably been forgotten by everyone by now. Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge? The viral phenomenon took off in 2014, in which one dumped a bucket of ice water over their head, then challenged a friend to do likewise and to make a donation to the find a cure for ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). The challenge has raised more than $220 million, and the person who started it -- former Boston College baseball captain Pete Frates, who suffers from the disease -- was recently honored with the NCAA’s 2017 Inspiration Award. Let us be sure we never forget the inspiring nativity story.

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The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld the decision of the Dyersville city council to rezone an agricultural corn field into a business district. This brings to an end a lengthy lawsuit, and the field where the movie Field of Dreams was filmed will now become the All-Star Ballpark Heaven youth baseball complex. It will have 24 playing fields for young people to learn, practice, and play baseball. For many, the nativity is a heavenly complex for spiritual retreat and renewal -- a place where dreams are made.

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The term “white supremacist” has taken on an ugly meaning -- and now that Donald Trump has been elected president, many hate groups with white supremacist leanings who openly backed Trump during the campaign are now trying to distance themselves from that designation, in hopes of being viewed more favorably by the public. Reporters for the Associated Press decided to interview members of the Ku Klux Klan to learn of the new direction the organization is taking. This is especially important since the Kloran, the KKK’s rulebook published in 1915 that contains the organization’s working bylaws, states that the “organization shall ever be true to the faithful maintenance of White Supremacy.” One member said the Klan now prefers to use the term “white nationalists.” The story of the nativity must break into society with a new message of equality. 

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In 1901, President William McKinley visited Niagara Falls. Encouraged by his entourage, he agreed to walk across the bridge connecting the United States with Canada. Great excitement prevailed, until McKinley suddenly halted near the center of the bridge. He abruptly turned around, marching off the bridge by the way in which he came. Confusion and dismay erupted among his supporters, the news media, and the multitudes gathered to watch the parade. Fending off criticism, McKinley succinctly explained that he did not want to be the first president to leave the boundaries of the United States while still in office. If we decide to participate in the nativity story, we must realize that we must cross the bridge. There is no turning back in following Jesus.


WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed

Call to Worship
Leader: Let us sing to God a new song; our God who has done marvelous things.
People: God’s right hand and holy arm have brought victory.
Leader: Let us make a joyful noise to God through all the earth.
People: Let us break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
Leader: Sing for joy to God, who is coming to judge the earth.
People: God will judge the world with righteousness and with equity.

OR

Leader: God comes to us in love and grace today.
People: We long for God’s healing love in our lives.
Leader: God calls us to pause in our busyness to receive this gift.
People: We will take this time together to center on God’s good gift.
Leader: God sends love not only to us but to all.
People: With joy we will share God’s love with others.

Hymns and Sacred Songs
“Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light”
found in:
UMH: 223
H82: 91
PH: 26
NCH: 140
W&P: 202

“When Christmas Morn Is Dawning”
found in:
UMH: 232
LBW: 59

“Love Came Down at Christmas”
found in:
UMH: 242
H82: 84
NCH: 165
W&P: 210

“O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright”
found in:
UMH: 247
PH: 69
NCH: 158
CH: 105
LBW: 76
ELA: 308
W&P: 230

“Joy to the World”
found in:
UMH: 246
H82: 100
PH: 40
AAHH: 197
NNBH: 94
NCH: 132
CH: 143
LBW: 39
ELA: 267
W&P: 179
AMEC: 120
STLT: 245

“The First Noel”
found in:
UMH: 245
H82: 109
PH: 56
NNBH: 87
NCH: 139
CH: 151
LBW: 56
ELA: 300
W&P: 229
AMEC: 111

“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”
found in:
UMH: 240
H82: 87
PH: 31, 32
AAHH: 217
NNBH: 81
NCH: 144
CH: 150
LBW: 60
ELA: 270
W&P: 185
AMEC: 115

“Angels We Have Heard on High”
found in:
UMH: 238
H82: 96
PH: 23
AAHH: 206
NNBH: 89
NCH: 125
CH: 155
LBW: 71
ELA: 289
W&P: 188
AMEC: 118
STLT: 231

“Walk with Me”
found in:
CCB: 88

“Great Is the Lord”
found in:
CCB: 65
Renew: 22

Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELA: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship

Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who comes to spread love among your children: Grant us the grace to be open to receiving that love and the courage to share it with others around us; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

OR

We worship you, O God, because you are the source of love in our world. You come to share it with us, and through us to share it with others. We open our hearts to your Spirit that we might be so filled with your love that we joyously share it with others. Amen. 

Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our lack of urgency in sharing God’s love with others.

People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You come to us with the wondrous news of your saving love, and we receive it so complacently. We act as if it is no big deal. We are more interested in whether the presents we have bought for others will please them than we are with sharing your love with them. Forgive our foolish small-mindedness, and so fill us with your love that we cannot stop from sharing it with others. Amen.

Leader: God desires our salvation and the salvation of all. Receive God’s love and share it with all you encounter.

Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
Blessings and praise are yours, O God, for you are the Salvation of all creation. Your love comes and makes us whole. 

(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)

We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You come to us with the wondrous news of your saving love, and we receive it so complacently. We act as if it is no big deal. We are more interested in whether the presents we have bought for others will please them than we are with sharing your love with them. Forgive our foolish small-mindedness, and so fill us with your love that we cannot stop from sharing it with others.

We give you thanks for all the blessings of this life. You send your love to us in so many ways. We see it in the beauty of creation and in the care others show for us. We thank you for your constancy, which never gives up on making us whole. 

(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)

We pray for all your children in their need. We pray for those who have found that life has brought them to the point where they no longer expect love to come into their lives. 

(Other intercessions may be offered.)

All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father . . . Amen.      

(or if the Lord’s Prayer is not used at this point in the service)

All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.

Children’s Sermon Starter
Talk about gifts that the children may have received or are expecting. Some are more exciting than others. Clothes are nice, but toys are more fun. Some gifts are expensive, and some don’t cost very much. But God’s gift to all of us this Christmas is love in Jesus Christ. It is the best gift to receive, and the best gift for us to give to others. 

 

CHILDREN’S SERMON
Happy Birthday, Jesus!
by Chris Keating
Luke 2:1-20

Gather ahead of time:
* a manger scene
* optional: four wrapped gift boxes as birthday gifts for Jesus:
-- in one box, have a picture of a heart;
-- in the second box, place a picture of hands reaching out to others, or of people helping others;
-- in the third box, place a picture of hands folded in prayer;
-- in the fourth box, place a strand of Christmas lights.

Depending on your worship setting, there are a couple of options for exploring the meaning of Christmas with children during worship.

After the children gather, tell them that you know they are excited for Christmas. It is a time for great joy! Ask them what signs of joy they have seen or heard in worship so far. Did the hymns use words like adoration, praise, or joy? Where have they seen joy? If your church uses an Advent wreath, point out that lighting the Christ candle is also an act of great joy.

Today is Jesus’ birthday, which is the best reason of all to be joyful.

If you have time, one excellent way of cultivating a sense of wonder among children is to gather them around a nativity scene. (An unbreakable one is a remarkable gift for any church!) Pass around the different figurines (Mary, Joseph, Jesus, the animals, shepherds, magi, etc.). Read the scripture, stopping at various points to invite the children to place the figurines around the manger.

At the end, you could sing Jesus a song for his birthday. What’s a birthday party without singing? Try “Away in a Manger” or even “Happy Birthday.”

Optionally, you can move from the manger to thinking about birthday gifts for Jesus. We think of Christmas as a time when we get gifts -- but if it is Jesus’ birthday, what gifts do we bring to him?

Have a volunteer open box one. Pass around the picture of a heart, asking the children: “I wonder, could we give our hearts to Jesus?” Do the same with each of the gifts (you may wish to only use two or three instead of all four). The second box reminds us that another gift we can give Jesus is serving others or sharing with others. The third box is a reminder that we can give Jesus the gift of attention, or prayer; the fourth box, of course, is a reminder that we are called to let others see God’s light shining in us -- we give Jesus the gift of sharing him with others.

Close with a prayer thanking God for sharing the gift of Jesus with us.

Christmas is a time of unbridled joy and energy for children. Days upon days of waiting are over, and the day has come. It’s tough competing for the attention of children on either Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. But a bit of planning can yield a harvest of wonder, especially since the commercialized version of Christmas has held their attention for so long. It’s our privilege -- and obligation -- to help children explore God’s gift of Christmas.


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The Immediate Word, December 24-25, 2016, issue.

Copyright 2016 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.

All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.