Hanging of the Greens
The Call to Celebration (Congregation standing, light dimmed)
Leader: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
People: And also with you.
Leader: Christ has come. Christ is Risen.
People: Christ will come again.
Leader: We dwell in the midst of a fallen world, a broken world, beset by darkness, death, and dehumanization.
People: We long, with all peoples, for the Light of Christ.
Leader: Christ is alive amongst us, His Spirit burning within us.
All: We are called to be for the world a foretaste of the Feast to come. The Resurrection of Christ is but the firstfruits of the Resurrection of all the dead. Someday He will come again to right all wrongs, to heal all wounds, and to raise every child of earth up and out from our tombs. Until that day, we are called to be Christ for the world.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray: Our Father, we long for the Christ Mass, for the celebration of the birth of Your Son, our Lord—God made flesh. By the power of the Holy Spirit He became incarnate of the Virgin Mary and was made Man. By that same Spirit, may He be manifest now in us, whom He has marked as His own and claimed as His Body. May we know God within, as did Mary, that we may reveal Him to be the Savior of this and all possible worlds. In Jesus’ Name. Amen. (congregation is seated)
Reading 1: The Meaning of the Service
Advent is a season of joyful waiting and sacred preparation. We prepare our hearts and our minds for the King: who came to us in days of old as the Babe born in a manger; who comes to us today in Word and in Sacrament, in the assembly of sainted sinners saved by grace; and who one day, at the End of the Age, shall reveal His glory in full, that all wrongs may be set right, the arrow of time rolled back, and death itself shall die. Then shall the Son hand over the Kingdom to the Father, and God at last will be all in all.
Congregational Song: Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus—ELW 254
Reading 2: Holidays in America
A Star in the sky, carols in the evening air, a candle in the window, a wreath on the door, mistletoe hung high, church bells ringing, and families reunited around the joys of hearth and home—this is Christmas in America! We are all of us a nation of immigrants, bringing with us the myriad traditions of our homelands, mixing them together into something bold and new. Christians the world over prepare for the coming of Christ in this season, each in their own way. And in such a choir, the American voice is unique.
Reading 3: Warmth in Winter
Many faith traditions celebrate their own holidays at this time of year. Few things prove more joyous than a winter festival: the celebration of light amidst the dark, warmth amidst the cold, generosity and abundance in a season of scarcity and insecurity. By celebrating the birth of Christ in December, we affirm that He is not merely a summer sun to the prosperous, but a winter fire for the unfortunate. Christmas is built upon a beautiful and intentional paradox: that the birth of the homeless should be celebrated in every home.
Congregational Song: ‘Twas in the Moon of Wintertime—ELW 284, v. 1-3
Reading 4: The Sanctuary Evergreens
When the world is blanketed in white and sterile snows, we gather evergreens with which to festoon our homes, signs of hope and joy and life amidst the seeming death of the world outside. Holly and ivy, pines and firs, are called evergreens precisely because they remain ever green, ever alive, even in the midst of winter. They symbolize the unchanging love and everlasting life poured out for us by God from the Cross.
In the words of the Prophet Isaiah: “The Glory of Lebanon shall come unto you, the fir tree, the pine tree and the box together, to beautify the place of your sanctuary.” Our forefathers called the procuring of these evergreens “bringing home Christmas.”
Congregational song: Awake! Awake, and Greet the New Morn—ELW 242, v. 1-3
Action: While the song is being sung, the evergreens on the side walls and front are hung, and any other evergreens are put in place.
Reading 5: The Christmas Tree
While many cultures enjoy evergreens in winter, the Christmas Tree is uniquely Christian. Long ago our pagan forefathers in northern Europe held trees as sacred to the heathen gods: oak for Thor, ash for Odin, and so on. Human sacrifices were hung from trees in order to appease these gods.
St Boniface put a dramatic end to such sacrifices by hacking down the Oak of Thor with an axe, and pointing to a fir tree sprouting up from roots of the stump. “Behold!” he cried. “Thor is fallen! But Christ is ever green!” And ever since, the fir tree has been a symbol of Christ to the Germans.
Later centuries added new traditions. Red balls and white communion wafers were hung in evergreens during medieval Christmas pageants, to represent the twin trees of Knowledge and Life in the Garden of Eden. Martin Luther is credited with first adding lights in the form of little candles. But the Christmas Tree really hit it big when Queen Victoria and Prince Albert brought one into Buckingham Palace, thus setting a precedent for the entire British Empire.
Yet even as the Christmas Tree celebrates Jesus’ birth, it also foreshadows His Crucifixion—for in all the oldest Christian traditions, the Cross upon which our Savior would die was hewn from an evergreen.
Congregational song:
The King Shall Come—ELW 260, v. 1-3
Action: The tree is decorated. After the decorations have been placed on the tree, the lights are turned on.
Reading 6: The Red Star
While most of our holiday traditions originate in Europe, the Christmas poinsettia is a native American. Known in Mexico as the Flower of the Holy Night, its bright red leaves recall for believers the many-pointed Star of Bethlehem, which guided Wise Men from the East to the Christchild. The poinsettia was introduced to the United States in 1828 by J.R. Poinset, our ambassador to Mexico—for whom it has been named.
Congregational song: People, Look East—ELW 248, v. 1-3
Action: As the song is sung the flowers are put into place around the front of the church.
Reading 7: The Paraments and Advent Colors
The colors of Advent are not red and green, as one might find in J.C. Penny’s, but rather purple and blue. Purple vestments and paraments symbolize both royalty and repentance, reminding us of Christ’s Kingship and of the humility necessary to receive Him. Blue is often thought of as a more hopeful, joyful color. During Advent, even waiting is a joy.
Congregational Song: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel—ELW 257, v. 1-3
Action: The coverings used for Ordinary Time are removed and replaced with the coverings for Advent.
Reading 8: The Advent Candles
It’s hard to wait for Christmas, especially when we’re young. The Advent wreath is meant to help with that. The story goes that the first Advent wreath originated in a mission school for poor urban children in nineteenth century Germany. Every day, the kids at the school would ask their pastor, J.H. Winchern, when it would be Christmas. After a few days of this, he pulled off a wagon wheel, lined it with candles, and lit one each day to show the kids how much time was left. This both answered their questions and kindled their wonder.
For each of the four Sundays in Advent, we light a candle on our wreath here in the sanctuary. The light grows, along with our anticipation, as we prepare to welcome Jesus as the Light of the World. The different colors of the candles come with different interpretations, but when that big white one in the middle is lit—then our Christ is born!
Congregational song, Light One Candle to Watch for Messiah—ELW 240, v. 1-3
Reading 9: The Nativity
No one loved Christmas more than St Francis of Assisi. In thirteenth century Italy, he fervently desired to live out the story of Jesus’ birth as intimately as possible, and so he arranged the very first live Nativity scene. For the baby Jesus, he would always choose a poor or orphaned child to lie in the manger. Today the construction of Nativity scenes, both as live displays and as miniature crèches, continues throughout the world as a way to bring the story of Jesus’ Nativity alive for our children and our children’s children.
Congregational Song: Joy to the World—ELW 267, v. 1-3
Action: As the song is sung the Nativity pieces are set.
Reading 10: The Gifts of Christmas
Gift-giving has been part of our Christmas celebrations from the start, as Wise Men brought their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. But the most famous gift-giver of the season is of course St Nicholas, Bishop of Myra in fourth century Turkey.
When he entered religious life, Nicholas gave away his wealth in part by tossing bags of gold through a poor family’s window, so that their three daughters would have dowries enough to be wed. Legend has it that some of the gold fell into the girls’ shoes, set by the fireplace to dry. If that sounds familiar, then it ought to be no surprise that St Nicholas would come to be known as Santa Claus. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and he’s a canonized saint of the Church.
We continue to give gifts in honor of the Christchild to this day, remembering that what we offer to the least of those among us, we offer in fact to the Lord.
Congregational Song: We Three Kings—WOV 646
Action: While the song is sung, children bring gifts wrapped, and place them under the tree.
Reading 11: Christmas Caroling
In the Old Testament, angels sing in constant praise around the throne of God. With the birth of Jesus, their songs enter into our world, bringing Heaven to earth. The angels were the first to sing at Christmas, “Glory to God in the highest, and peace to God’s people on earth.” For hundreds of years, carolers have continued to bring this heavenly tradition into our streets and our homes.
Yuletide songs were often rewarded with a hot mulled cider called wassail, or perhaps a bit of figgy pudding. After warming their bellies in a few good draughts, the carolers would travel on to bring holiday cheer to other homes and other villages, in the good company of holy angels.
Congregational song, Good Christian Friends Rejoice—ELW 288
Action: A group of carolers walks around the church greeting people as they lead the song.
Reading 12: The Christ of Christmas
The greatest gift of Christmas is the gift of God in Jesus Christ. Here at long last comes the prophesied Light to reveal God to the nations, the glory of His people Israel. All that we do throughout this holy season points to God’s incarnate Word come down from Heaven, not that He might judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. The Babe in the manger is our light, our life, and our hope for the future: the eternal reconciliation between God and Man.
Confession and Forgiveness
Minister: The day of the Lord is coming soon. The signs have been fulfilled.
People: But who can abide the day of His coming, and who can stand when He appears?
Minister: Lest that Day surprise us unawares, let us confess our sins to God our Father, imploring his forgiveness for the sake of Jesus Christ, who will come as King and Lord.
Action: Silence for meditation and self-examination.
Minister: Most merciful God,
People: We long for your coming, O God. But we are often unprepared, because we have not lived as Your people. Many times in our lives, we have disobeyed Your will. We have not always done as we ought to have done. We have often done what we ought not. We have failed, and we have sinned. We implore Your forgiveness for the sake of Your Son Jesus Christ, and seek the power of Your Holy Spirit to renew our faith.
Minister: He who is coming has come, born among us to live our life, to die our death, and to guarantee our resurrection. For His sake I proclaim to you the entire forgiveness of all your sin. The gifts of the Lord are yours in great abundance.
People: Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Amen.
Minister: Glory be to the Father and to the +Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
ALL: Our ears have heard the words of your prophet, O God. Our spirits have responded to the call: “Prepare!” And the work has begun. Make straight the Way of the Lord!
The Blessing
Minister: Now may the God who has called us to live in hope and expectation go with you throughout this holy season. Go in His grace and His peace.
Congregational Song (lights come up): Fling Wide the Door—ELW 259
[The above is adapted from a liturgical service by Dennis Bratcher, Copyright © 2009]
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