Theme: Christmas Eve
Hymn 170
John Greenleaf Whittier – Adapted
Let every creature hail the morn
On which the holy child was born
And know, through God's exceeding grace,
Release from things of time and place.
I listen, from no mortal tongue,
To hear the song the angels sung,
And wait within myself to know
The Christmas lilies bud and blow.
The outward symbols disappear
From him whose inward sight is clear,
And small must be the choice of days
To him who fills them all with praise.
Keep while ye need it, brothers mine,
With honest zeal your Christmas sign,
But judge not him who every morn
Feels in his heart the Lord Christ born.
Readings from the Bible.
Luke 2:1‑20 it
it came to pass in those days, that there went
out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius
was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own
city. And Joseph also went up from
Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David,
which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there,
the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and
wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was
no room for them in the inn. And there
were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over
their flock by night. And, lo, the angel
of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them:
and they were sore afraid. And the angel
said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people. For unto
you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the
Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you;
Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, 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, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone
away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go
even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord
hath made known unto us. And they came
with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known
abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those
things which were told them by the shepherds.
But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and
praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told
unto them.
Matthew 1:18‑25
#Now the birth of Jesus
Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before
they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man,
and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away
privily. But while he thought on these
things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying,
Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that
which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for
he shall save his people from their sins.
Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of
the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and
shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being
interpreted is, God with us. Then Joseph
being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took
unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn
son: and he called his name JESUS.
Matthew 2:1‑15
Now when Jesus was born in
Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men
from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews?
for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things,
he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people
together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea:
for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda,
art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a
Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them
diligently what time the star appeared.
And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for
the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may
come and worship him also. When they had
heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east,
went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with
exceeding great joy. #And when they were
come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell
down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they
presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they
should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another
way. And when they were departed,
behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise,
and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there
until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy
him. When he arose, he took the young
child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the
death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the
prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
Readings from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
vii:1
To those leaning on the sustaining infinite,
to‑day is big with blessings. The
wakeful shepherd beholds the first faint morning beams, ere cometh the full
radiance of a risen day. So shone the
pale star to the prophet‑shepherds; yet it traversed the night, and came where,
in cradled obscurity, lay the Bethlehem babe, the human herald of Christ,
Truth, who would make plain to benighted understanding the way of salvation
through Christ Jesus, till across a night of error should dawn the morning
beams and shine the guiding star of being.
The Wisemen were led to behold and to follow this daystar of divine
Science, lighting the way to eternal harmony.
25:13‑32
Jesus taught the way of Life by
demonstration, that we may understand how this divine Principle heals the sick,
casts out error, and triumphs over death.
Jesus presented the ideal of God better than could any man whose origin
was less spiritual. By his obedience to
God, he demonstrated more spiritually than all others the Principle of
being. Hence the force of his
admonition, "If ye love me, keep my commandments."
Though demonstrating his control over sin and
disease, the great Teacher by no means relieved others from giving the
requisite proofs of their own piety. He
worked for their guidance, that they might demonstrate this power as he did and
understand its divine Principle.
Implicit faith in the Teacher and all the emotional love we can bestow
on him, will never alone make us imitators of him. We must go and do likewise, else we are not
improving the great blessings which our Master worked and suffered to bestow
upon us. The divinity of the Christ was
made manifest in the humanity of Jesus.
26:1‑18
While we adore Jesus, and the heart overflows
with gratitude for what he did for mortals,‑‑treading alone his loving pathway
up to the throne of glory, in speechless agony exploring the way for us,‑‑yet
Jesus spares us not one individual experience, if we follow his commands
faithfully; and all have the cup of sorrowful effort to drink in proportion to
their demonstration of his love, till all are redeemed through divine
Love.
The Christ was the Spirit which Jesus implied
in his own statements: "I am the way, the truth, and the life;"
"I and my Father are one."
This Christ, or divinity of the man Jesus, was his divine nature, the
godliness which animated him. Divine
Truth, Life, and Love gave Jesus authority over sin, sickness, and death. His mission was to reveal the Science of
celestial being, to prove what God is and what He does for man.
95:19
We welcome the increase of knowledge and the
end of error, because even human invention must have its day, and we want that
day to be succeeded by Christian Science, by divine reality. Midnight foretells the dawn. Led by a solitary star amid the darkness, the
Magi of old foretold the Messiahship of Truth.
Is the wise man of to‑day believed, when he beholds the light which
heralds Christ's eternal dawn and describes its effulgence?
342:21
Christian Science awakens the sinner,
reclaims the infidel, and raises from the couch of pain the helpless
invalid. It speaks to the dumb the words
of Truth, and they answer with rejoicing.
It causes the deaf to hear, the lame to walk, and the blind to see. Who would be the first to disown the
Christliness of good works, when our Master says, "By their fruits ye
shall know them"?
365:15
If the Scientist reaches his patient through
divine Love, the healing work will be accomplished at one visit, and the
disease will vanish into its native nothingness like dew before the morning
sunshine. If the Scientist has enough
Christly affection to win his own pardon, and such commendation as the Magdalen
gained from Jesus, then he is Christian enough to practise scientifically and
deal with his patients compassionately; and the result will correspond with the
spiritual intent.
463:6
To attend properly the birth
of the new child, or divine idea, you should so detach mortal thought from its
material conceptions, that the birth will be natural and safe. Though gathering new energy, this idea cannot
injure its useful surroundings in the travail of spiritual birth. A spiritual idea has not a single element of
error, and this truth removes properly whatever is offensive. The new idea, conceived and born of Truth and
Love, is clad in white garments. Its
beginning will be meek, its growth sturdy, and its maturity undecaying. When this new birth takes place, the
Christian Science infant is born of the Spirit, born of God, and can cause the
mother no more suffering. By this we
know that Truth is here and has fulfilled its perfect work.
Silent prayer followed by the audible repetition of the Lord’s Prayer.
Hymn 23
Christmas Morn – With words by Mary Baker Eddy
Blest Christmas morn, though murky clouds
Pursue thy way,
Thy light was born where storm enshrouds
Nor dawn nor day!
Dear Christ, forever here and near,
No cradle song,
No natal hour and mother's tear,
To thee belong.
Thou God‑idea, Life‑encrowned,
The Bethlehem babe‑‑
Beloved, replete, by flesh embound‑‑
Was but thy shade!
Thou gentle beam of living Love,
And deathless Life!
Truth infinite,‑‑so far above
All mortal strife,
Or cruel creed, or earth‑born taint:
Fill us today
With all thou art‑‑be thou our saint,
Our stay, alway.
Sharing of experiences, testimonies and remarks by members of the congregation.
Hymn 222
Phillips Brooks
O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie;
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by;
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.
O morning stars, together
Proclaim the holy birth,
And praises sing to God the King,
And peace to men on earth;
Where charity stands watching
And faith holds wide the door,
The dark night wakes, the glory breaks,
And Christmas comes once more.
How silently, how silently,
The wondrous gift is given;
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear his coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meekness will receive him, still
The dear Christ enters in.
