Blue Christmas Service Bulletin

Wednesday, December 18, 2024 Sue Turley

“Blue Christmas” Service

Written by Rev. Dr. Lisa Waites for Advent Unwrapped 2024
(adapted by Laura Steidl for Windsor Park United Church)

God Gathers Us

Musical Prelude – “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”

Welcome

Welcome to our Blue Christmas service. Tonight’s service will be led by members of Windsor Park United Church.

Call to Worship

All around us we see festive Christmas lights and beautiful displays of trees and ornaments, special foods and gifts; everywhere we turn, we encounter people and places carrying an unrelenting message that shouts at top volume, “TIS THE SEASON TO BE JOLLY!” Yet we recognize that the month of December is also difficult for many people, for many different reasons. Christmas may not be as joyful for us as it seems to be for others.

As the nights grow longer, sadness and emptiness, loneliness and pain intensify in the hearts of many people. In this season of longest nights, some of us struggle to put into words what it is that causes us to feel blue. But whether we can describe how we are feeling, or not, the reality is that for some of us gathered here, a loved one has died, and we are grieving.

For others, a dear friend or family member has moved away. Maybe you’ve lost a job, or your dream was crushed, or your health has declined, or your pain is unrelenting, or maybe you are simply exhausted by the effort it takes to navigate around the ableist attitudes that are deeply entrenched in so many of our communities and churches. Perhaps this Advent season has left you feeling as desolate as the December landscape, and your heart wonders if you’ll ever sense God’s hope and peace again; maybe, after the year you’ve just endured, joy and love seem like alien concepts, like ideas you don’t even recognize.

Maybe you are feeling worried, trapped, insecure, or lonely. Perhaps you are grieving what might have been, but will not be, or mourning what used to be, but is no longer possible. Maybe you simply need a place of quiet and calm, a safe place to reflect and to be centered. A safe place to grieve, without any pressure to “pull yourself together” or any expectation to “put on a brave front.” This time of intentional gathering to “make space for grace” is a place for each of us to find real rest, the kind of rest that the Holy Spirit offers us, rest for our bodies, our minds, and our souls, rest in an otherwise hectic and often overwhelming season.

The time we’ll spend together—this night of worship, in the midst of our sorrow and suffering—this is holy, blessed time. This is a safe place, a supportive place, and you are welcomed in the fullness of your brokenness and pain. Wherever you may be, you are in the presence of the God who tenderly accompanies each of us, the Triune God who is attentive to all who suffer, and who longs to comfort us and to mend our wounded hearts with God’s own unrelenting, patiently waiting, never forsaking, “capital L Love.”

Whatever circumstances prompted you to watch this service, you are truly welcome here. Together, we offer this time of worship to Emmanuel, God-with-us, trusting that there is no pain that does not echo in God’s heart, no joy that does not come from God’s hand.[1] Come, let us worship God together.

Opening Song – “Where is He, Immanuel”

Where is He, the One who comes to save?
Where is He, O Israel?
Ages pass, the world awaits His birth.
Where is He, Immanuel?

Counsellor, who comforts all who mourn,
Bringing captive souls release,
Where is He, the Child of Bethlehem?
Where is He, the Prince of Peace?

On that day, every valley is exalted!
Through the desert, the flowers bloom and grow.
Praise ring and resound through all creation.
Every hill, every mountain are made low.

Prophets say He comes to teach and heal.
Lame will walk, the blind will see.
On that day, the promise is revealed
From a branch of Jesse’s tree.

Where is He, the One who comes to save?
Where is He, O Israel?
Ages pass, the world awaits His birth.
Where is He, Immanuel?
Where is He, Immanuel?

Opening Reading – This Christmas Season

This Christmas season, as others swarm the stores looking for bargains, we sit at home, our bodies in too much pain for holiday shopping.

This Christmas season, as carolers walk from house to house singing, we struggle with sidewalks too broken up and stairs too steep for us to navigate them.

This Christmas season, as others talk of hope, peace, joy, and love, we are overwhelmed by our racing minds, troubled hearts, and haunted histories.

This Christmas season, as others indulge in an extra slice of pie, spend on extravagant gifts, or join their colleagues at the local pub for festive drinks, we wrestle with our addictions, sometimes successfully, sometimes not.

This Christmas season, as people stare at holiday lights and decorations, we know what it is like to be stared at because of how we look, talk, or act.

This Christmas season, as families gather together, we mourn broken relationships with those who have not understood us or shown us grace.

This Christmas season, as fires are lit in cozy living rooms across the country, we struggle to find warmth in over-crowded shelters, or we shiver on the street.

This Christmas season may seem like it is intended for others, not for us. Yet we can still claim the holiday as our own, with all of its complications, regrets, sadnesses, and anger. May our joining together tonight ease our pain, remind us of our connections with others, and enable us to find peace, even if just for this little while.[2]

(Adapted by Lisa Waites from Amanda Udis-Kessler, 2024)

Response – “Come, Come, Emmanuel”

Come, come Emmanuel. Come, Emmanuel.
Come, come Emmanuel. Come, Emmanuel.

God Shapes Us Through the Word

Scripture Reading/Candle Lighting

We call to mind those we especially miss at Christmas. We remember them by name in our hearts. We still hear their voices and celebrate our memories of them. We acknowledge and mourn losses suffered: the loss of relationship, the loss of stability, the unexpected changes in our lives, this year. We remember the many emotions and experiences of Christmas, both the memories that bring smiles to our faces, and those that stir fear or sadness in our hearts.

Christmas gatherings can trigger happy and traumatic memories alike. The holidays can prompt feelings of grief, anger, sadness, and pain. We may feel lonely or excluded by our family members or friends. Some relationships have been broken by conflict, distance, marital separation, or divorce; others have ended because of illness, disease, disability, or caregiver burnout; some relationships were forever changed by the suicide of a friend or loved one, or an untimely death from other causes. The constant pain we feel as a result of our losses may not be visible to the people around us, but our suffering is very real, and it is completely known by God.

We also make space for the grace of faith, remembering, even as we take this unwelcome journey through the valley of the shadow of death, that God has promised to never leave us or forsake us. We are grateful for the comforting presence of the Holy Spirit. We are thankful for the care of family and friends, near and far, and the support of those whom we’ve encountered at home, in our places of worship, at work, in our schools, and in our wider communities.

Let us hear the words of Isaiah 58:6–12,

⁶“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? ⁷Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? ⁸Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.

⁹Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, ¹⁰and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. ¹¹The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. ¹²Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

When we are discouraged and in need of help, God promises to hear our call and to answer us. The Holy One is compassionate and kind, quick to respond, and delighted to satisfy our needs. God tenderly invites us into God’s own loving presence, rebuilding and repairing us as we learn to live out kingdom principles, helping to satisfy our neighbours’ needs and speaking out against injustice. God promises through the prophet, Isaiah, that our light shall rise in the darkness, and our gloom will be like the noonday sun.

God said, “Let there be light.”

And there was light.

(The first candle is lit, followed by a time of silence.)

We remember Isaiah’s ancient words, that we will not be disgraced or abandoned. We will not be left to marinate in our shame. Through God’s everlasting faithfulness, we are treated with compassion and kindness. We are not forsaken. We can be rescued by God’s love—a love that is strong enough to completely heal our broken hearts and to gently mend our ragged souls.

Sung Response – “How Deep the Peace”

How deep the peace, the confidence, of those whose wrongs are forgiven.
How deep the peace, the confidence, of those whose hearts are healed.

And now we hear the words of David from Psalm 27:1–6

¹The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? ²When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. ³Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident. ⁴One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. ⁵For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock. ⁶Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord.

When our journey is hardest, when the way ahead seems unclear; when we wonder if the tears will ever stop, we remember that God was faithful to our spiritual ancestors. David sang with a courageous heart, confident that God would preserve his life and deliver him from his enemies. When it seems like there are enemies camped all around us, and our circumstances seem desperately difficult, verging on hopeless,

God says, “Let there be light,”

And there was light.

(The second candle is lit, followed by a time of silence.)

We remember the paths we have taken in this life, paths through seasons of suffering and seasons of solace. As we reflect on where we’ve been, where we are now, and where life may take us in the future, like the Psalmist, we place ourselves into God’s loving hands, reminding ourselves, and each other, that God has promised to be our light and our salvation.

Sung Response – “How Deep the Peace”

How deep the peace, the confidence, of those whose wrongs are forgiven.
How deep the peace, the confidence, of those whose hearts are healed.

In his letter to the Philippians 2:5–11, Paul says:

⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: ⁶Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; ⁷rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. ⁸And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!

⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

In our seasons of suffering, we think of the apostle Paul, who reminds us that although Jesus Christ was filled with all the glory of God, he chose to empty himself; he chose to take on the limitations of human flesh; he chose to humble himself, to be with us. Jesus chose redemptive love for us over personal comfort, and he kept on choosing that self-giving love for humanity over and over again, all the way to his death on the cross and his resurrection from the grave. We are never left to endure discouraging circumstances, illness, grief, or pain alone! In every kind of suffering and heartache, Jesus journeys with us, faithfully shepherding and accompanying us through each season of our earthly lives, especially our seasons of suffering.

God says, “Let there be light,”

And there was light.

(The third candle is lit, followed by a time of silence.)

We remember that even when we are at our worst, God does not abandon us. God has promised to never leave us or forsake us. In the midst of our sorrow and suffering, we are thankful for the faithful, loving example of Jesus, the One who rescues and redeems us, who tenderly remakes and restores.

Sung Response – “How Deep the Peace”

How deep the peace, the confidence, of those whose wrongs are forgiven.
How deep the peace, the confidence, of those whose hearts are healed.

We now hear the story from Matthew 1:18–25, Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son

¹⁸This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

²⁰But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

²²All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

²⁴When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

As we look toward the future with tear-stained faces, worrying about what horrors the new year may bring, we can be encouraged by the words of Scripture. Emmanuel is the gift of God-with-us, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus freely offers abundant grace and enduring peace to each of us.

Even as we suffer, we do not lose all hope, because God says: “let there be light!”

And there is light.

The light of Christ still shines in our hearts; nothing and no one can ever overcome or extinguish it.

(The fourth candle is lit followed by a time of silence.)

We remember the costly love that God has demonstrated by sharing Emmanuel with us, and in Advent, we anticipate the birth of Jesus with gratitude. Matthew’s gospel reminds us that when we are lonely, confused, misunderstood, traumatized, anxious, excluded, or overwhelmed, all is not lost! God is still working behind the scenes, fulfilling God’s promises, patiently mending all willing hearts, trading beauty for ashes and healing for heartbreak, working in and through us to bring the good news of God’s redemptive, peaceful reign to all of creation.[3]

Sung Response – “How Deep the Peace”

How deep the peace, the confidence, of those whose wrongs are forgiven.
How deep the peace, the confidence, of those whose hearts are healed.

A Communal Prayer for Hope and Wholeness

Let us pray together in word and in song, honestly acknowledging our circumstances before our Creator and humbly asking God to renew our hope and to restore our lives. Out of the depths we cry to you, God: