St Clement Church Community Midnight Mass

Good evening to you all, at 11.30pm on Christmas Eve we will be celebrating Midnight Mass in our church building.  I’m aware that a number of folk who usually attend this service are unable to attend this year, so the below is a service of the word for you.

(You can read it before midnight if you wish!)

May Christ’s love sustain you always.

Our love to you all,

Rev Di and family xx

 

Let us pray;

Eternal God, in the stillness of this night you sent your almighty Word to pierce the world’s darkness with the light of salvation: give to the earth the peace that we long for and fill our hearts with the joy of heaven through our Saviour, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

 

Carol: ‘Once in Royal David’s City’

 

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:

God our Father, you sent your Son full of grace and truth: forgive our failure to receive him.

Lord, have mercy.

Jesus our Saviour, you were born in poverty and laid in a manger: forgive our greed and rejection of your ways.

Christ, have mercy.

Spirit of love, your servant Mary responded joyfully to your call: forgive the hardness of our hearts.

Lord, have mercy.

 

May our God, of all healing and forgiveness draw us to himself, that we may behold the glory of his Son, the Word made flesh and be cleansed from all our sins, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

 

The Collect

Let us pray in the peace of this Christmas celebration that our joy in the birth of Christ will last for ever.

Eternal God, who made this most holy night to shine with the brightness of your one true light: bring us, who have known the revelation of that light on earth, to see the radiance of your heavenly glory; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

 

Readings: Isaiah 9. 2-7    Titus 2. 11-14

 

Carol: ‘Silent Night’

 

Our Gospel Reading is taken from Luke 2. 1-14 (15-20)

 

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

Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’

 

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.  All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. 

He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.  While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 

This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’ So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.  When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

 

(This is the Gospel of the Lord.  Response: ‘Praise to you, O, Christ’)

 

Reflection

 My dear friends in Christ, grace to you and peace…especially peace…on this night of our Saviour’s birth. Amen.

I love Christmas Eve. It’s my favourite night of the year, and as I look at you here tonight I sense that this time is special for you as well.

For many of us, it's the first peaceful moment we've had in the past four weeks at least. But now, we come together with family, and as family, and there's almost a collective sigh of peacefulness.

The quiet peacefulness; that's what it is, isn't it. Silent night, Holy night. The images we treasure in our hearts of a young couple and a newborn baby, we just want to breathe in the quiet peace that comes to us on this Holy night.

But our peaceful, quiet night has just been shattered by the most incredible proclamation of all time when Isaiah said to us:

 "For a child has been born for us.  Authority rests upon his shoulders, and he is named wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’

We should be sitting bolt upright, astounded, because tonight we celebrate the most wonderful night in all of history.  God has come down from highest heaven and has taken on human form to be among us. God is no longer some distant, heavenly deity who judges us from afar. EMMANUEL. That's not a name, that's a proclamation. EMMANUEL, GOD IS WITH US!

That's the good news that I want you to hold in your hearts and take from here tonight. But I also want you to keep in mind that Christmas is just the beginning. What begins tonight in a stable in Bethlehem, will only be fully accomplished on a hill outside of Jerusalem.  

It's the wonder that’s just so amazing, of what happens in Bethlehem and later in Jerusalem.

It's the wonder of God coming to us in the most unexpected of ways, as a baby born in a stable and laid in a manger—because there was no room for him anyplace else.

Think about that, there was no room for him! We talk about it every Christmas. We picture it on Christmas Cards. We sing about it in Christmas Carols. But do we really think about it? There was no room for him. His young, unwed mother gave birth to him in a stable, and his crib was a box full of hay.

We should be surprised, but we're not. We know the story. We know all about the census and the crowded town of Bethlehem, the stable, the shepherds and the angels, and we take it all in our stride.

But we should be surprised, because this isn’t how kings are supposed to come into the world. Kings are meant to be born in palaces surrounded by adoring subjects who celebrate the birth of an heir to the throne. But the king of all creation comes into the world surrounded by farm animals.

I am always surprised though, by how some people just don't understand what Christmas is all about. Now, having said that, I'm sure most of you are expecting me to go on about the commercialism of Christmas, well, I'm not.  Because I think if God wanted to, God could use it to spread the good news. If God can use a stable, then what makes anybody think that God can't use Sainsburys or Tescos?

No, I'm surprised by those who think that Christmas is a beautiful story told with softly lit images and glorious music about something that took place 2,000 years ago, and has little relevance in the 21st century.

After all, how can we relate to something that certainly couldn't happen to any one of us? How can we relate to Angels appearing in the sky and announcing the birth of a baby in a stable?

But that's just the point. We can't relate or understand because God has done what was least expected, Christmas is not about angels or shepherds in the fields. Those images are simply the way that God gets our attention. It's about a baby in a manger. Christmas is about God pulling off the greatest surprise in all of history.

Could God have sent his son to be born in a palace? Sure—no problem. Could God have chosen a princess to be the mother of the king of all creation? Sure—no problem at all. But God didn't choose to work that way. God chose to come to us in poverty, humility and helplessness.

And God continues to come to us in the crushing poverty that so many people in our world experience every day of their lives. God continues to come to us in the humility of a Salvation Army worker standing outside a shop with a collection tin, and in the helplessness of a homeless person sleeping in an alley in the bitter cold.

But why did God come to us as that helpless baby in the stable and not in majesty and power for all to see?  Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph because God knew that in order to save us from our sin, Jesus had to know what it was like to be one of us.

That's the most wonderful and surprising part of Christmas. Jesus claims us by being one of us. Jesus knows what we feel, how we hurt and what we fear. He knows all of our insecurities, pains and sufferings. But he also knows all of our joys, happiness and laughter. He knows these things because he lived these things. That's what Christmas is all about; Jesus coming to us not as God, but as one of us.

Jesus wasn't just pretending to be one of us, he really was one of us. That was the only way we could be saved. Jesus had to experience every possible emotion, pain, and joy that we experience.

This night, the Saviour, the Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord, is born anew in our hearts, that's what Christmas is all about my friends. Jesus Christ comes to us once again in the most surprising of ways. EMMANUEL! GOD IS WITH US!

It’s Christmas! And my prayer is that Jesus will be born in us, and live in us, and be our reason for living, loving, caring, and giving, not just tonight, but every day of our lives.

Thanks be to God. And a Merry Christmas to you all!  Amen.

 

Carol: ‘Oh Come all ye Faithful’

 

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 night are taken from the book: Times and Seasons

In peace let us pray to the Lord.

Father, in this holy night your Son our Saviour was born in human flesh.  Renew your Church as the Body of Christ.

Holy God Hear our prayer.

 

In this holy night Mary, in the pain of labour, brought your Son to birth.  Hold in your hand all who are in pain or distress.

Holy God Hear our prayer.

 

In this Holy night your Christ came as a light shining in the darkness.  Bring comfort to all who suffer in the sadness of our world.

Holy God Hear our prayer.

 

In this Holy night the angels sang, ‘Peace to God’s people on earth.’  Strengthen those who work for peace and justice in all the world.

Holy God Hear our prayer.

In this Holy night shepherds in the field heard good tidings of joy. Give us grace to preach the gospel of Christ’s redemption.

Holy God Hear our prayer.

 

In this Holy night strangers found the Holy family, and saw the baby lying in the manger.  Bless our homes and all whom we love.

Holy God Hear our prayer.

 

In this Holy night heaven is come down to earth, and earth is raised to heaven.  Hold in your hand all who have passed through death in the hope of your coming kingdom.

Holy God Hear our prayer.

 

In this Holy night Christians the world over celebrate Christ’s birth.  Open our hearts that he may be born in us today.

Holy God Hear our prayer.

 

Father, in this Holy night angels and shepherds worshipped at the manger throne.  Receive the worship we offer in fellowship with Mary, Joseph and the saints through him who is your Word made flesh, our Saviour Jesus Christ.  Amen.

 

Gathering our prayers and praises into one, let us pray with confidence as Jesus taught us;

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.   And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory,

for ever and ever.

Amen.

 

Carol: ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing’

 

The Peace

Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and his name shall be called the Prince of Peace.

May the peace of God be always with us. 

Amen.

 

Blessing

May Christ, who by his incarnation gathered into one things earthly and heavenly, fill us with peace and goodwill and make us partakers of the divine nature; and may the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among us, those whom we love, and remain with us always.

 Amen.