 We welcome everyone to our services at Yetholm (10am) and Morebattle (11.15) on the First Sunday after Christmas. Please stay for refreshments after the Yetholm service.
Call to Worship As we approach 2024 May the God of hope be with us. In our celebrations of Christmas May the God of joy be with us In our caring for the world May the God of peace be with us In our living of life in all its fullness May we know that God is with us Carol 313 – See in yonder manger low Prayer of Adoration and Confession God of grace and glory, we praise you from the heights and from the depths; from the courts of power and from the pathways of our lives. Your splendour shines from a manger, where the Light of the World was born for us. In fragile flesh, you are revealed to us face to face reaching out to claim our love. And so we gather with those who have glimpsed that love to rejoice that you have claimed us in Christ. We offer you our praise, Creator, Son, and Spirit; Source of life, Glorious light, and Wisdom of the ages. God of our lives, we know you are with us through thick and thin, in times of great joy and at moments of disappointment. As we think of the year past, Lord, we remember the times when we have not shown love through our thoughts, words and actions. We seek forgiveness. Lord, we remember the times when we have been hurt by the words and actions of others. Help us to forgive. Lord, we remember the times when we have been distracted from seeking after you. Lord, make yourself known to us, help us to see you in the midst of the noise and clamour of this world. Hear the good news of the Gospel: Jesus Christ is our light and our salvation. In him we are made new. Let us give thanks to God and be at peace with ourselves and with one another. Lord’s Prayer Readings – Isaiah 61:10-62:3 (Pg 748) Luke 2:22-40 (pg 1028) Carol 331 – Unto us a boy is born Weekly Prayer Lord our God, thank you for letting your light shine every day of every year. Thank you that we may always lift our eyes to you, whose right hand will bring true order to everything, even in difficult times. Give our hearts the strength to be faithful in this coming year and help us all to glorify your precious name. Amen Reflection The whirl of Christmas is over. At least all the waiting and anticipation has been realised, the family and friends have visited and maybe gone away again and maybe there is a sense of anticlimax – that’s it for another year. But it isn’t, as Christmas and the message of Christmas is till with us. I always love this poem: When the song of the angels is stilled, When the star in the sky is gone, When the kings and the princes are home, When the shepherds are back with their flocks, The work of Christmas begins: To find the lost, To heal the broken, To feed the hungry, To release the prisoner, To rebuild the nations, To bring peace among people, To make music in the heart. That is certainly the message from our first reading. In Isaiah’s time, some of the exiles had returned to Jerusalem. The excitement of the return had been tempered by the reality on the ground. There was so much to do; the opposition of those who remained to win over, the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem to begin; the routine work to accomplish, and they just had to get on with it. As we have to get on with clearing up dishes and clearing wrapping paper and making sure we have enough milk in the fridge for the New year. As we have to get on with the work of proclaiming the God who is with us through thick and thin. Christmas is still here, and this is the First Sunday of Christmas. Christmas week sees the feast of Stephen, marking Stephen’s martyrdom; it marks Holy Innocent’s day, remembering the slaughter of the children by Herod’s soldiers. But this year we focus rather appropriately on the dedication of Jesus in the Temple, appropriate on Hogmany, because we have the meeting of the old and the new. The new is represented by Mary and Joseph, bringing their new born child to be dedicated in accordance with Jewish practice. The first born was dedicated to the Lord. They sacrificed a pair of turtle doves, a sign of their poverty, as Leviticus stated that it should be a lamb. The whole of life lay ahead for the newborn, but first the baby was placed before God. And in the Temple they encountered firstly Simeon and then Anna. Anna was 84 and had been widowed most of her adult life, and while we are not told Simeon’s age, we get the impression that he too was an old man. Both would have seen much in their lives. Perhaps they had even witnessed the coming of the Romans to occupy Palestine. Anna as a widow would have relied on the charity of others, and both seemed to frequent the temple, praying, hoping, trusting. They both were people of faith and believed that the Messiah would come to bring change and usher in the Kingdom of God. Both, in turn, held Jesus in their arms and recognised him as the One, as the Messiah. Simeon utters what we now call the Nunc Dimittis, ‘Now, Lord, let your servant depart in peace…’ Maybe he was just going home happy, though we tend to interpret it as Simeon saying he can die in peace. They just have a tiny cameo in the Gospel story, but Anna and Simeon represent the old and the wisdom and life experiences that the elderly bring. I am always reminded of the group called the ‘Elders’, made up of Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Carter and others, who a decade or so ago tried to bring their wisdom and experience to situations of conflict. Simeon and Anna brought their wisdom and their faithfulness. But they also recognised something new was about to happen, and they were letting go of the old to pass on the baton to the new, to the couple and their baby. We meet here at the last day of 2023. We look back, and for some it has been a good year, with many memories to carry us on; for others we are maybe happy to see the back of it. But we stand at the threshold of 2024, and only God knows what kind of year it will be, but with Anna and with Simeon we can enter it with hope, with faithfulness and hopefully with a little wisdom, ready to face changes and make transitions in the knowledge that God journeys with us, the God who has been faithful in the past and beckons us on to a new tomorrow. And the work of Christmas goes on, ‘finding the lost, healing the broken… making music in the heart’. Hymn 237 – Look forward in faith Prayers of Dedication and Intercession Good and gracious God, your love overflows in goodness. As one year closes and another begins, help us trust your goodness. Bless these gifts so that they may provide others with the hope we know in Christ Jesus and the love you share with the world through him. God of love, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, our Saviour, we are filled with thanks that he has shared human life and knows well both our joys and heartaches. We bring our prayers for the world you love, grateful that Jesus walks ahead of us into the year ahead. We pray for all children for they embody our future. Protect them from danger, strengthen their characters, and give them joy. Help them look to the future with hope and trust. God of the ages, Hear our prayer. We pray for the most aged among us, those whom Simeon and Anna bring to mind. Protect them in these days of rising costs and rising tensions and reassure them of their value to you and to the whole community. God of the ages, Hear our prayer. We pray for those whose hearts are filled with pain and fear and for those whose Christmas has been touched with loss or grief. (Keep a time of silence) Surround each one with your comforting embrace. God of the ages, Hear our prayer. We pray for those who cannot afford enough to eat, and for those who lack adequate shelter here and in desperate corners of the world. We pray for those who fear violence in their daily lives here and in so many regions of conflict. And we pray for those whose are anxious about the year ahead for whatever reason, (Keep a brief time of silence) Grant each one the courage and strength to face the days ahead. God of the ages, Hear our prayer. As this year draws to a close, we surrender to you, O God, the challenges it has held for us so that they will not remain as burdens. Remind us of the good things that have offered us encouragement and pleasure. (Keep a brief time of silence) Give us wisdom to navigate whatever the coming year brings. God of the ages, Hear our prayer. In the new year, grant our leaders the wisdom and generosity of spirit to collaborate on decisions they face for the wellbeing of society and of the earth itself. Inspire us all with the hope, joy and peace we find through trusting you. Amen Carol – Good King Wenceslas Benediction May the tenderness of God enfold you, the promise of the Christ uphold you, and the strength of the Spirit lead you on, to greet the year ahead, filled with grace and truth, and the blessing….
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