Child in the manger, infant of Mary;
Outcast and stranger, Lord of all;
Child who inherits all our transgressions,
All our demerits on him fall.

Once the most holy child of salvation
Gently and lowly lived below;
Now as our glorious mighty Redeemer,
See him victorious o’er each foe.

Prophets foretold him, infant of wonder;
Angels behold him on his throne;
Worthy our Saviour of all their praises;
Happy for ever are his own.

♫♫ Scroll to the bottom of the page for the media player where you can hear the music and practice your singing. ♫♫

Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ✝

And blessed be his kingdom, now and forever. Amen

From Easter to Pentecost:

Allelulia. Christ is risen!

The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia

In Lent and other penitential occasions:

Bless the Lord who forgives all our sins;

His mercy endures for ever.

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, to whom all hearts be open, all desires known and from whom no secrets are hidden: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name, through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

This prayer is omitted during Lent and Advent:

Glory to God in the highest, and peace to God’s people on earth.  Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.  Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us; you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father.  Amen.

 Holy God, holy and mighty ✝, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.

A Reading from the book of:

Thanks be to God

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

A hallowed day has dawned upon us.

Come, you nations, worship the Lord,

for today a great light has shone down upon the earth.

Alleluia!

The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to:

The Holy Gospel according to John:

✝✝✝

After the Gospel reading

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

During the Middle Ages, a liturgical custom arose that is rarely seen today.  The priest, during the procession back to the sacristy after the conclusion of Eucharist, would recite to himself the prologue to John’s Gospel, those beautiful verses of poetry that also serve as our Gospel for today. Over time, the practice shifted (as liturgical practice always does) and the priest began reciting it from the altar out loud to the people before the procession back.  Since the English Reformation, it has not been a part of prayer book liturgy, though some churches adopt it as a way of ending their time of worship.  At the end of communion, they hear those ancient words John used to begin his story of Jesus, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

John’s prologue is certainly a very different beginning to a gospel than what is found in the other three.  Mark, as we noted a few weeks ago, begins by jumping right into John the Baptist.  Matthew and Luke begin with the more familiar Nativity stories, particularly Luke’s story that is heard each year on Christmas Eve.  We are used to the story of the Gospel beginning with Mary, with Joseph, with a small child born to this strange family.  This is the Christmas story we tell one another, and depict on Christmas cards!

But John’s understanding of Christmas is more than that.  In this prologue, John makes it clear that the Nativity of our Lord is, in his eyes, a profoundly cosmic event, one that goes back to the very dawn of time.  John’s prologue indicates that the Word becoming flesh is an event that forever changed the nature of the world, the nature of humanity itself!

The choice to place the prologue of John’s Gospel on the First Sunday after Christmas each year is a very intentional choice.  I believe it is an attempt to help reorientate you and I, as Christians, to what the Twelve Days of Christmas is actually about.  Given the nature of the holidays, it is easy to sentimentalize the idea of the incarnation, to make it simply the lovely story of a baby and a family.  We may hear it subversively, remembering that this family was poor and oppressed, that the birth was farfrom what either Mary or Joseph expected, but still, the image of the baby warms our hearts.

But John’s Gospel reminds us that this is no mere story of the birth of a great leader, but that there are cosmic implications.  John’s Gospel reminds us that the child we come to adore at Christmas truly is the Eternal Word who created all things.  And, most unsettling, John’s Gospel reminds us that this child is rejected, that God is rejected. John’s Gospel reminds us religious people that when God came, it was the religious who decided God should be killed for all the ways he unsettled them in their comfort.

Christmas is a time of blood and sacrifice, a time that challenges the status quo. The Twelve Days of Christmas are filled with feasts like St. Stephen, the first Martyr, the slaughter of the Holy Innocents by King Herod.  They contain the anniversary of the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket.  Christmastide is a time to remember that God coming into the world is cosmic and profound… and that this event comes at great cost.  We cannot celebrate Christmas without having the whole story in view, without remembering that this child was rejected from the outset!

Through Jesus, God himself has been made known to us.  Through Jesus we are made sharers in God’s divinity.  We see in Jesus who and what we are called to be in this world as followers of God.  And though this world often wants God to be tame and pleasant, for the followers of God to be innocuous, to remain content in their churches, our God is a God who calls upon his followers to rage against injustice, to love those no one else seems interested in, to be willing to give of themselves for others.

And if our practice of Christianity is never unsettling to those in power, if it is not risky and costly, if it does not ask us to give up of ourselves in some way… then it is questionable whether our practice of Christianity has much to do with the rejected God we claim to follow.

As we approach this altar each Sunday, God is made flesh and blood for us once more under the form of bread and wine.  As we take this bread and wine, we are meant to become incarnations of God’s costly love for this world.  The sacrament is intended to change us, when we approach it aright, to fashion us into a people who know the true meaning of Christmas has very little to do with arguing with the non-religious about keeping Christ in it.

The true meaning of Christmas is instead found when Christians worship God made flesh by choosing to exit their churches and give of themselves for the broken of this world.

The true meaning of Christmas is found when we truly are willing to lay ourselves at this altar, allowing God to refashion us into instruments of mercy, healing, and justice.

The true meaning of Christmas is found when we are willing to give of our very selves, that our sacrifice may be joined with the sacrifice of the Christ-child.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Please stand for the Nicene Creed.

Let us together affirm the faith of the Church. ✝

We believe in one God,

the Father, the Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth,

of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,

the only Son of God,

eternally begotten of the Father,

God from God, Light from Light,

true God from true God,

begotten, not made,

of one Being with the Father.

Through him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation

he came down from heaven:

was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary,

and became truly human.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;

he suffered death and was buried.

On the third day he rose again

in accordance with the Scriptures;

he ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified,

who has spoken through the prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead,

✝ and the life of the world to come.  Amen.

The First Sunday after Christmas – Year C

b. Grant to all Christian people the spirit of forgiving and reconciling love, for mutual support,  and for a clear witness to the world….Bless with wisdom those who are called to teach, and expound your word.

We pray for the welfare of your church here on earth; guide and govern it by your Spirit, so that all Christians may be led in the way of truth, and hold the faith in the unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in the righteousness of life.

We ask your blessing on +Vsevolod our Bishop, on this, our parish of St. George – for its work, its worship and its witness. We pray particularly for Fr. David in his ministry to us, and for all members of our congregation, be they near or far.

1 Lord hear us – Lord graciously hear us.

c. We pray for the children in so many parts of the world who are in need…Nourish those who are hungry for food and for love….Strengthen and enable all who work to relieve child poverty and neglect.

d. We pray for the children of our own families, and all who live in our community…Guide all parents and teachers, that our children may grow up in health of body, mind and spirit.

We pray for the leaders of all the nations of the world, most particularly for the King and Government of Thailand at this time of unrest, and also in the countries from which we come. We remember also all the people in countries that have had problems of any kind during this past week.

Grant wisdom to those in authority in every land, and give to all people a desire for righteousness and peace, the will to work together in trust, to seek the common good, and to share with justice and equity the limited resources of the earth.

2 Lord hear us – Lord graciously hear us.

e. Have mercy on families that are broken or divided…Comfort parents who seek for children who are lost, or alienated from them, and restore them in safety and love.

We pray for all who are prevented from, or persecuted for practising their faith, wherever they may be. We pray for our fellow Christians, both here in Thailand, and also in our own home countries.

3 Lord hear us – Lord graciously hear us.

We pray for all those who suffer in body, mind and spirit;  the sick; the poor; the depressed; the lonely;  the afraid, the unloved; the persecuted; the unemployed and those who care for them.  Those who grieve; and those who have nobody to pray for them.

4 Lord hear us – Lord graciously hear us.

We remember all those who have been touched by the COVID 19 pandemic; particularly here in Pattai-Ya. We give thanks that Thailand has now reopened to visitors from abroad, as the outbreak is showing gradual signs of decline, and for the progress which has been made with the vaccination programme, where greater numbers are being safeguarded more speedily, and hopefully being spared the worst of the unpleasant side-effects.

Amongst the sick we remember:

Fr. Tom,  Brian, Kyoko, Colin, Mavis, Patricia, Eric, Kent, Elizabeth, Conrad, Griselda, Jun, Martyn, Dave, Carole, and any others, known personally to each and every one of us…

5 Lord hear us – Lord graciously hear us.

f. We give thanks for the lives of all the faithful departed, who have enriched others by their love….Grant them reunion with those they have loved, to share with them in your eternal joy.

We bring to you all who have died in the hope of the resurrection, especially the millions who have perished in the COVID pandemic –for  Desmond Tutu,  ……… and for all whose anniversaries occur at this time, and for any known personally to us, collectively or individually…

6 Lord hear us – Lord graciously hear us.

[DAVID] – g. As we seek in our prayers the will of Christ, may we have grace always to find him.

Grant that what we have asked in faith we may by your grace receive, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

THE CONFESSION:

God is steadfast in love and infinite in mercy, welcoming sinners and inviting them to the Lord’s table.

Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith, confident in God’s forgiveness.

Merciful God, our maker and our judge, we have sinned against you in thought, word and deed, and in what we have failed to do: we have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves; we repent and are sorry ✊ for all ✊ our sins ✊, Father forgive us, strengthen us to love and obey you in newness of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen

**(Note: all are encouraged to strike their breast 3 times following the lead of Fr. David as he utters the words: ‘sorry for all our sins’)**

Almighty God, who has promised forgiveness to all who turn to him in faith, pardon you ✝ and set you free from all your sins, strengthen you in all goodness and keep you in eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

THE PEACE:

The congregation stands.

We are the Body of Christ.

His Spirit is with us.

The peace of the Lord be always with you.

And also with you.

Please greet each other with a sign of peace.

Unto us a boy is born!
King of all creation,
Came he to a world forlorn,
The Lord of every nation.
The Lord of every nation.

Cradled in a stall was he
With sleepy cows and asses;
But the very beasts could see
That he all men surpasses.
That he all men surpasses.

This did Herod sore affray,
And grievously bewilder,
So he gave the word to slay,
And slew the little childer.
And slew the little childer.

Now may Mary’s son, who came
So long ago to love us,
Lead us all with hearts aflame
Unto the joys above us.
Unto the joys above us.

Omega and Alpha he!
Let the organ thunder,
While the choir with peals of glee
Doth rend the air asunder.
Doth rend the air asunder.

♫♫ Scroll to the bottom of the page for the media player where you can hear the music and practice your singing. ♫♫

THE OFFERTORY

Blessed are you, God of all creation. Through your goodness we have these gifts to share. Accept and use our offerings for your glory and the service of your kingdom.

Blessed be God forever.

 Let us pray

We do not presume to come to your table, merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in your manifold and great mercies.  We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under your table, but you are the same Lord whose nature is always to have mercy. Grant us, therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of your dear son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that we may evermore dwell in him and he in us.  Amen.