St Clement Church Community Christmas 1 Service 2025

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St Clement Church Community Christmas 1 Service

Good morning to you all as we celebrate the first Sunday of Christmas. We will be holding a Eucharist in Church at 10.15, this Service of the Word is for folk who are unable to be with us in person, but will be worshipping with us in spirit. I hope you continue to have a blessed and happy Christmas. May Christ’s love sustain you always.

Much love to you all,

Rev Di and family xx

Let us pray;

God in Trinity, eternal unity of perfect love: gather the nations to be one family, and draw us into your holy life through the birth of Emmanuel, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Hymn; ‘Away in a Manger’

Our prayers of Penitence

Hear the words of the angel to Joseph: ‘You shall call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins.’ Therefore let us seek forgiveness from God through Jesus the Saviour of the world:

Jesus, Emmanuel, God-with-us, forgive our unwelcoming hearts…

Lord, have mercy.

Jesus, Son of God, Servant of humanity, forgive our self-centred lives…

Christ, have mercy.

Jesus, Prince of Peace, Hope of the nations, forgive our bitter conflicts…

Lord, have mercy.

May our Almighty God, who sent his Son into the world to save sinners, bring us his pardon and peace, now and for ever. Amen.

Let us pray our Collect for today

Almighty God, who wonderfully created us in your own image and yet more wonderfully restored us through your Son Jesus Christ: grant that, as he came to share in our humanity, so may we share the life of his divinity; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Readings:

Isaiah 63. 7-9 Hebrews 2. 10-end

Hymn; ‘The First Nowell’

Gospel: Matthew 2.13 – end

(Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.

Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’)

After the wise men had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”

Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”

When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”

When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel.

But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazorean.”

This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.

Reflection

One of the great traditions of Christmas is the sending and receiving of Christmas cards from family and friends. People whom we haven’t heard from since last Christmas somehow track us down, even if we have moved twice since then, and they send us news and Christmas joy. C.S. Lewis once wrote “Let us make a pact that, if we are both alive next year; whenever we write to one another it shall not be at Christmastime. That period is becoming a sort of nightmare to me!”

I disagree with Dr. Lewis, because I love this tradition. And this year, the cards found us again, carrying greetings and letters and pictures of those we love.

What I noticed this year more than any other though, is how the people have changed. Some families have grown larger, with weddings and births. But others – by virtue of divorce or death – are noticeably smaller.

Some people in the pictures this year have grey hair…or less hair...or no hair. And the people look older. But this year, I especially noticed the children who have grown up, my cousin’s children especially.

They grow up so fast, don’t they? I know its cliché-ish, but one day our children are toddlers, and seemingly the next day, they’re leaving school. And it all happened so fast, we don’t know where the years went.

Before we know it, they’re grown up, every parent knows it true.

Even Mary and Joseph. Three days ago, we gathered to celebrate the Saviour’s birth. But today, everything is different. We’re still celebrating Christmas; we’re still singing carols and basking in the glow of his birth, but Mary and Joseph are fleeing Bethlehem to protect their young son.

We’re still in awe of this baby king, but the principalities and powers of this world are threatened by him, and want to destroy him. And it only took three days! Things changed so quickly for Baby Jesus, and things have really not changed for us in over 2000 years.

When Wise Men from the east noticed signs in the heavens that the Saviour had been born, they made their way to Bethlehem, by way of Jerusalem.

When they tell King Herod about the Saviour’s birth, Herod pretends to worship Jesus, too. “On your way back home, let me know the exact location so I can send a gift” he tells them.

And this is where today’s gospel picks up. The wise men never do go back. In a dream, they find out that the baby’s life was at risk, and they take a different route home.

So, Herod does a terrible thing: he has all the male infants in and around Bethlehem, killed. And just to be sure he gets the right one; he kills all of them under the age of two, even one of his own sons.

There was a saying around Jerusalem those days which said “In Herod’s house, his pigs are safer than his children.”

And even today, as we continue singing “Joy to the World” we read about children dying senselessly, and mothers weeping uncontrollably. And our gospel, along with other verses in the Bible that are almost too painful to read, have come to be known as “texts of terror.”

You see, terrorism didn’t get invented in the 21st century. Evil people have been perfecting that quality since Adam and Eve were thrown out of the Garden of Eden. Whenever there is an opportunity to stand in the way of peace, or to work against love, or to insult human dignity, evil people have found a way to do that. Herod thought if he could eliminate a heavenly king at birth, the earthly kingdom would be his.

The dream that the wise men had was also shared by Joseph, so he and Mary took their young son off to Nazareth, and this is where he grew up. But that happened quickly, too. One day, Jesus is perhaps laughing and playing with his friends, and seemingly the next day, he was arguing with the Pharisees. One day he was learning the carpentry trade with Joseph, and not long after that, he was crucified.

From wooden cradle to wooden cross in 33 short years.

The time went by so quickly.

I know it’s hard to hear this sort of news while we’re still in the Season of Christmas; it’s especially difficult for us to look out of our Christmas cocoon and see the violence of the modern world.

But Jesus came to prove that ultimately, love wins over evil. And there was no other way to show this, except by the life he lived, and the life he gave. We will leave this place, hopefully encouraged by understanding the purpose of Christmas. But we will go out into a world that is wearied by violence and evil. Who will tell them that there is hope? Who will tell the world that cold, dark January will eventually give way to spring? Who will tell them that the birth of the Baby in Bethlehem was not the end of the story…it was just the beginning? Us, that’s who, only those who know the news can tell the news. And the news is this: the Saviour is born, and all is well. Pass it on, and thanks be to God! Amen.

Hymn; ‘In the Bleak Mid-Winter’

Affirmation of our faith

Let us declare our faith in God.

We believe and trust in God the Father, source of all being and life, the one for whom we exist.

We believe and trust in God the Son, who took our human nature, died for us and rose again.

We believe and trust in God the Holy Spirit, who gives life to the people of God and makes Christ known in the world.

This is the faith of the Church. This is our faith.

We believe and trust in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Our Intercessions this week are written by Liz Davies

The waiting of Advent is over and you Lord are with us – Emmanuel – Son of Mary – Son of David – Messiah – Jesus Christ. So, we raise our prayers to you our Lord and Saviour.

Jesus Christ, Wonderful Counsellor, you order all things with your wisdom: help the Church here in Cornwall to reveal the mystery of your love and fill all the Church with the Spirit of truth.