2016 Christmas Celebration

Welcome to Haddington, in the heart of East Lothian,

and the beautiful St Mary's Church.

With just a few minutes to go to Christmas Day,

we're joining the congregation and friends in the community

for readings and carols to celebrate the birth of Christ.

We start in traditional style, with Once In Royal David's City.

# Once in royal David's city

# Stood a lowly cattle shed

# Where a mother laid her baby

# In a manger for his bed

# Mary was that mother mild

# Jesus Christ, her little Child

We begin our story with the Gospel of Luke.

It's the familiar account of Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem,

but in a new translation called The Message.

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus,

that all the world should be registered.

This was first the 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 the child,

and she gave birth to her first-born son,

and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger

because there was no place for them in the inn.

# Away in a manger

# No crib for a bed

# The little Lord Jesus

# Laid down his sweet head

# The stars in the bright sky

# Looked down where he lay

# The little Lord Jesus

# Asleep on the hay

# The cattle are lowing

# The baby awakes

# But little Lord Jesus

# No crying he makes

# I love thee, Lord Jesus

# Look down from the sky

# And stay by my side

# Until morning is nigh

# Be near me, Lord Jesus

# I ask thee to stay

# Close by me forever

# And love me, I pray

# Bless all the dear children

# In thy tender care

# And fit us for heaven

# To live with thee there. #

As well as the Bible, we've also got some modern readings

reflecting on what Jesus' birth means.

This first one throws us forward to the end of his life

when he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey to be tried.

No room in the inn, of course,

And not much room in the stable

What with the shepherds, Magi, Mary,

Joseph, the heavenly host -

Not to mention the baby

Using our manger as a cot.

You couldn't have squeezed another cherub in

For love nor money.

Still, in spite of the overcrowding,

I did my best to make them feel wanted.

I could see the baby and I

Would be going places together.

# I saw a fair maiden

# Sitten and sing

# She lulled a little child

# A sweete lording

# Lullay, mine liking

# My dear son, my sweeting

# Lullay, my dear heart

# My own dear darling

# That same Lord is he

# That made alle thing

# Of alle lordes he is Lord

# Of alle kinges King

# Lullay, mine liking

# My dear son, my sweeting

# Lullay, my dear heart

# Mine own dear darling

# There was mickle melody

# At that childes birth

# All that were in heavenly bliss

# They made mickle mirth

# Lullay, mine liking

# My dear son, my sweeting

# Lullay, my dear heart

# Mine own dear darling

# Angels bright sang their song to that child

# "Blessed be thou and so be she

# "So meek and so mild"

# Lullay, mine liking

# My dear son, my sweeting

# Lullay, my dear heart

# Mine own dear darling. #

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."

# Gaudete, gaudete! Christus est natus

# Ex Maria virgine, gaudete

# Tempus adest gratiae Hoc quod optabamus

# Carmina laetitiae Devote redamus

# Gaudete, gaudete! Christus est natus

# Ex Maria virgine, gaudete!

# Deus homo factus est Natura mirante

# Mundus renovatus est A Christo regnante.

# Gaudete, gaudete! Christus est natus

# Ex Maria virgine, gaudete!

# Ezechielis porta clausa pertransitur

# Unde lux est orta Salus invenitur

# Gaudete, gaudete! Christus est natus

# Ex Maria virgine, gaudete!

# Ergo nostra concio

# Psallat iam in lustro

# Benedicat Domino Salus Regi nostro

# Gaudete, gaudete! Christus est natus

# Ex Maria virgine, gaudete!

# Gaudete, gaudete! Christus est natus

# Ex Maria virgine, gaudete! #

This was the moment when Before

Turned into After, and the future's

Uninvented timekeepers presented arms.

This was the moment when nothing

Happened. Only dull peace

Sprawled boringly over the earth.

This was the moment when even energetic Romans

Could find nothing better to do

Than counting heads in remote provinces.

And this was the moment

When a few farm workers and three

Members of an obscure Persian sect

Walked haphazard by starlight straight

Into the kingdom of heaven.

# Sing this night

# For a boy is born in Bethlehem

# Christ our Lord

# In a lowly manger lies

# Bring your gifts

# Come and worship at his cradle

# Hurry to Bethlehem and see the son of Mary

# See his star shining bright

# In the sky this Christmas Night

# Follow me joyfully

# Hurry to Bethlehem and see the son of Mary

# Angels bright

# Come from heaven's highest glory

# Bear the news

# With its message of good cheer

# Sing, rejoice

# For a King is come to save us

# Hurry to Bethlehem and see the son of Mary

# See his star shining bright

# In the sky this Christmas Night

# Follow me joyfully

# Hurry to Bethlehem and see the son of Mary

# See, he lies in his mother's tender keeping

# Jesus Christ in her loving arms asleep

# Shepherds poor come to worship and adore him

# Offer their humble gifts before the son of Mary

# See his star shining bright

# In the sky this Christmas Night

# Follow me joyfully

# Hurry to Bethlehem and see the son of Mary

# Let us all pay our homage at the manger

# Sing his praise on this joyful Christmas Night

# Christ is come bringing promise of salvation

# Hurry to Bethlehem and see the son of Mary

# See his star shining bright

# In the sky this Christmas Night!

# Follow me joyfully

# Hurry to Bethlehem and see the son of Mary

# Hurry to Bethlehem and see the son of Mary! #

Matthew's gospel has the story of the Three Kings.

We pick it up at the point

where the star has led them to the baby Jesus.

On entering the house,

they saw the child with Mary his mother,

and they knelt and paid him homage.

Then, opening their treasure chests,

they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod,

they left for their own country by another road.

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

under the age of two.

MEN SING:

WOMEN SING:

ALL SING:

I am Joseph, carpenter,

Of David's kingly line,

I wanted an heir, discovered

My wife's son wasn't mine.

I am an obstinate lover,

Loved Mary for better or worse.

Wouldn't stop loving when I found

Someone Else came first.

Mine was the likeness I hoped for

When the first-born child came

But nothing of him was me. I couldn't

Even choose his name

I am Joseph, who wanted

To teach my own boy how to live.

My lesson for my foster son:

Endure. Love. Give.

CHOIR SINGS:

ALL SING:

Thank God for empty churches and bursting shops

For the soldiers' Christmas Eve patrol

For starvation and gluttony

For reckless, randy playboys

For tenements and prisons

For boring sermons and trivial TV

For minds warped by bent schooling

For drunks and thugs

For wreaths made out of holly

For mucked-up sex and prudery

For comfortable affluence

For ignorance and selfishness

For foreigners in foreign lands

For missiles and war toys

For hymns that can't be understood

For me, and mine

Thank God for these, else we would soon forget

The work to which Christ came, and why

And lose the meaning of this cosy celebration.

HYMN: Who Would Think That What Was Needed

It is not true that this world and its people

are doomed to die and be lost.

This is true -

God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son,

that whosoever believes in him shall not perish,

but have everlasting life.

It is not true that we must accept inhumanity and discrimination,

hunger and poverty, death and destruction.

This is true -

I have come that they may have life, and that abundantly.

It is not true that violence and hatred

should have the last word,

and that war and destruction have come to stay forever.

This is true -

unto us a child is born, and unto us a son is given,

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,

the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

# O holy night!

# The stars are brightly shining

# It is the night of our dear saviour's birth

# Long lay the world in sin and error pining

# Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth

# A joy of hope

# The weary world rejoices

# For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn

# Fall on your knees

# Fall on your knees

# O hear the angel voices O hear the angel

# O night divine Voices, o night, o night

# O night Divine, when Christ

# When Christ was born Was born

# O night divine O night divine

# O night, o night divine O night, o night divine

# Fall on your knees

# O hear the angel voices

# O night divine

# O night when Christ was born

# O night divine

# O night, o night divine

# Led by the light of faith serenely beaming

# With glowing hearts by his cradle we stand

# So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming

# Here came the wise men from the Orient land

# The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger

# In all our trials born to be our friend

# He knows our need

# He knows our need

# He guardeth us from danger He guardeth us from

# Behold your King! Danger, behold

# Behold and lowly bend! Your King, before him bend

# Behold your King Behold your King

# Behold and lowly bend! Before him lowly bend

# He knows our need

# He guardeth us from danger

# Behold your King

# Before him lowly bend!

# Behold your King

# Before him lowly bend! #

Our next reading was written by a girl

who died when she was just a teenager,

but it's so full of optimism.

It's from a diary -

the diary of Anne Frank.

It's difficult in times like these -

ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us,

only to be crushed by grim reality.

It's a wonder I haven't abandoned all my ideals,

they seem so absurd and impractical.

Yet I cling to them because I still believe,

in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.

It's utterly impossible for me to build my life

on a foundation of chaos, suffering and death.

I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness,

I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too,

I feel the suffering of millions.

And yet, when I look up at the sky,

I somehow feel that everything will change for the better,

that this cruelty too will end,

that peace and tranquillity will return once more.

In the meantime, I must hold on to my ideals.

Perhaps the day will come when I'll be able to realise them.

# I had a dream that I was standing on a hillside

# And all the lights of town were shining far below

# When up in the air beautiful voices

# Sing a new song Let everyone know

# Oh and love shone down

# Over the hills and over the valleys

# Oh and love shone down

# Over the world

# Somebody spoke to me I knew it was an angel

# He said there's something that I think you ought to know

# Then he just smiled, said "Don't be afraid now"

# Sing a new song Let everyone know

# Oh and love shone down

# Over the hills and over the valleys

# Oh and love shone down

# Over the world

# And then he told me all about the baby Jesus

# How to find him Where exactly I should go

# Then he was joined by millions of others

# Sing a new song Let everyone know

# Oh and love shone down

# Over the hills and over the valleys

# Oh and love shone down

# Over the world

# Well, did I dream or was I really on that hillside

# On that Christmas night so very long ago?

# When he was born Jesus our saviour

# Sing a new song Let everyone know

# Oh and love shone down

# Over the hills and over the valleys

# Oh and love shone down

# Over the world

# Over the world. #

We're almost at the end of our Christmas Celebration,

I hope you've enjoyed it.

Wherever you are, have a very merry Christmas.

WOMEN SING:

MEN SING:

ALL SING:

When the world was dark and the city quiet,

you came.

You crept in beside us.

And no-one knew.

Only the few who dared to believe

that God might do something different.

Will you do the same this Christmas, Lord?

Will you come into the darkness of tonight's world -

not the friendly darkness

as when sleep rescues us from tiredness,

but the fearful darkness,

in which people have stopped believing

that war will end or that food will come

or that a government will change

or that the Church really cares?

Will you come into our lives

if we open them to you and do something different?

When the world was dark and the city quiet,

you came.

You crept in beside us.

Do the same this Christmas, Lord.

Do the same this Christmas.

CONGREGATION SINGS:

ALL SING:

MEN SING:

ALL SING:

# Yea, Lord, we greet thee

# Born this happy morning

# Jesus, to thee, be glory given

# Word of the Father

# Now in flesh appearing

# O come, let us adore Him

# Christ the Lord! #