Esther 9: 1 – 17

Now in the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, when the king’s command and edict were about to be executed, on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain power over them, but which had been changed to a day when the Jews would gain power over their foes, the Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who had sought their ruin; and no one could withstand them, because the fear of them had fallen upon all peoples. All the officials of the provinces, the satraps and the governors, and the royal officials were supporting the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai had fallen upon them. For Mordecai was powerful in the king’s house, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces as the man Mordecai grew more and more powerful. So the Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, slaughtering, and destroying them, and did as they pleased to those who hated them. In the citadel of Susa the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred people. They killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, Vaizatha, the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews; but they did not touch the plunder.

That very day the number of those killed in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king. The king said to Queen Esther, ‘In the citadel of Susa the Jews have killed five hundred people and also the ten sons of Haman. What have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? Now what is your petition? It shall be granted you. And what further is your request? It shall be fulfilled.’ Esther said, ‘If it pleases the king, let the Jews who are in Susa be allowed tomorrow also to do according to this day’s edict, and let the ten sons of Haman be hanged on the gallows.’ So the king commanded this to be done; a decree was issued in Susa, and the ten sons of Haman were hanged. The Jews who were in Susa gathered also on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and they killed three hundred people in Susa; but they did not touch the plunder.

Now the other Jews who were in the king’s provinces also gathered to defend their lives, and gained relief from their enemies, and killed seventy-five thousand of those who hated them; but they laid no hands on the plunder. This was on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested and made that a day of feasting and gladness.

Reflection

This passage fits neatly into a story where tables have been turned but is hard to read in our current context.  We started considering Vashti who refused to obey her husband and Esther who, through obedience, manipulated her (rather idiotic) husband to save her people.  We see Haman killed on the gallows he erected for Mordecai and admire the neatness of the plot twist but today’s passage seems to describe wanton slaughter for no good reason.  

Since Hamas’ dreadful attack last October on Israelis going about their lawful business, the actions of the Israeli Defence Forces have felt to many as wanton slaughter.  Security for Israel is being sought through ruthless might which has included murder and mayhem.  What might have been appropriate in the mythical days of Esther and Mordecai doesn’t feel right in the 21st Century.  Yet it’s hard to comprehend the horror of living in Israel with continual attacks from Hamas and Hezbollah and hard to contemplate the fate of Palestinians whose state was sacrificed by European guilt following the Holocaust.  

The Book of Esther contains a good story; it’s told and retold to children each year, though it only appears once in the three year cycle of readings which make up the Lectionary.  It’s a story which is simultaneously known and mysterious, fun and horrific, appealing and appalling.  As such it’s like the complexities of life – and the complexities at play in the Middle East.  It’s an ancient narrative which needs to inform but give way to a new story so that Israeli and Palestinian might live together in peace and security; where Haman’s gallows and Esther’s revenge are set aside so that olive and orange grove might flourish, and children live in safety.  

Prayer

God of story and turned table,
of security and flourishing,
bless those seeking peace is Gaza and Israel,
that trust, lives, and buildings might be rebuilt,
and that your children might run free.
Amen. 

Esther 8

On that day King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews; and Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was to her.  Then the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. So Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.

Then Esther spoke again to the king; she fell at his feet, weeping and pleading with him to avert the evil design of Haman the Agagite and the plot that he had devised against the Jews. The king held out the golden sceptre to Esther, and Esther rose and stood before the king. She said, ‘If it pleases the king, and if I have won his favour, and if the thing seems right before the king, and I have his approval, let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote giving orders to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king. For how can I bear to see the calamity that is coming on my people? Or how can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?’ Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to the Jew Mordecai, ‘See, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows, because he plotted to lay hands on the Jews. You may write as you please with regard to the Jews, in the name of the king, and seal it with the king’s ring; for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s ring cannot be revoked.’

The king’s secretaries were summoned at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day; and an edict was written, according to all that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews and to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, to every province in its own script and to every people in its own language, and also to the Jews in their script and their language.  He wrote letters in the name of King Ahasuerus, sealed them with the king’s ring, and sent them by mounted couriers riding on fast steeds bred from the royal herd.  By these letters the king allowed the Jews who were in every city to assemble and defend their lives, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them, with their children and women, and to plunder their goods on a single day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. A copy of the writ was to be issued as a decree in every province and published to all peoples, and the Jews were to be ready on that day to take revenge on their enemies. So the couriers, mounted on their swift royal steeds, hurried out, urged by the king’s command. The decree was issued in the citadel of Susa.

Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king, wearing royal robes of blue and white, with a great golden crown and a mantle of fine linen and purple, while the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. For the Jews there was light and gladness, joy and honour. In every province and in every city, wherever the king’s command and his edict came, there was gladness and joy among the Jews, a festival and a holiday. Furthermore, many of the peoples of the country professed to be Jews, because the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them.

Reflection

There are many possible lenses with which we could read this passage but what strikes me as I read this chapter today is how humanity seems unable to break away from cycles of oppression.

While not explicitly mentioned in this book, God’s handprint in this plan is clear. We see many similar themes throughout scripture: a resourceful and unlikely hero whose apparent weakness becomes their power. Esther and Deborah, both women in a patriarchal society, Ehud the Judge whose left handedness gives him an element of surprise and of course Jesus whose death is not a weakness but a victory.

Esther’s actions are taken to save her own people and it becomes clear they are favoured by God. All good so far – God’s people are protected and we see in verse 16 it’s a time of great happiness and celebration. But by verse 17 we hear also, “but many non-Jews became Jews—now it was dangerous not to be a Jew!” (The Message).
It’s a tough read  which can’t be resolved in a short reflection. We have to remember this reaction of happiness and relief was a response by a people who had lived under an oppressive regime and now were no longer living in fear. How quickly the tables seemed to be turning though, a new group was now becoming fearful.
 
The Bible reminds us over and over how quickly this happens when suddenly our circumstances improve. Pick once again any of the tales of the Judges! Or the people of Israel in the wilderness who once liberated start complaining and remember the ‘good life’ back in Egypt, or the people greeting Jesus with palms who were crying out for his crucifixion a week later.

Jesus reminded us that this tit for tat was not the way to live, “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family. (Matt 5:9 The Message)

How then do we break the cycle and bring about this world? How do we create a new story with a different ending?
 
Prayer

Elohim Shomri, God of Protection
We thank you for walking with us in whatever our circumstances
If we find ourselves in a position of privilege, help us to recognise it
If we find ourselves in a position of oppression or abuse, support and guide us
El Rachum, God of Compassion
We thank you for protecting us like a Mother Hen
Help us to  refrain from using your favour to exercise power
Help us to recognise that your love is a gracious gift to be shared
Most High, Rope, the God who heals
Help us work with you to create a world where all know peace, happiness and joy
Amen

Esther 6:14 – 7: 10

While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman off to the banquet that Esther had prepared.  So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. On the second day, as they were drinking wine, the king again said to Esther, ‘What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.’ Then Queen Esther answered, ‘If I have won your favour, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me—that is my petition—and the lives of my people—that is my request. For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have held my peace; but no enemy can compensate for this damage to the king.’  Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, ‘Who is he, and where is he, who has presumed to do this?’  Esther said, ‘A foe and enemy, this wicked Haman!’ Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.  The king rose from the feast in wrath and went into the palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that the king had determined to destroy him.  When the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman had thrown himself on the couch where Esther was reclining; and the king said, ‘Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?’ As the words left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman’s face.  Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, ‘Look, the very gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, stands at Haman’s house, fifty cubits high.’ And the king said, ‘Hang him on that.’  So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the anger of the king abated.

Reflection

There is so much in this story to unpack, but the one thing that stands out is Esther’s courage and her unwavering trust in God’s purpose. Esther took such a risk unveiling Haman’s plan. It could so easily have backfired. Was Esther nervous I wonder? If she was, it obviously wasn’t visible to the people watching the story unfold. Esther remained calm, certain and full of faith. She took one step of faith in speaking out and saved the lives of thousands. Her faith was solid, encouraged, no doubt, by the three days of fasting and praying. 

We don’t often hear these days about when or how to pray and fast. Fasting isn’t just about food, it is denying ourselves a fleshly want, to stand before God with clarity of mind and immerse our life in prayer, worship and devotion. How often do we make space in our diary to just be with God, instead of doing God’s work that day? We are called to be people of the Word, yet too often we are caught up in the world; in the lives of the people and the challenges around us (I am talking to myself too!)

It is a balance, with so many needs at our door everyday, so many prayers we feel we should be praying and people we should be helping. Someone once said to me that ‘in consistency lies the power’, meaning our determination to constantly put God first, on a daily basis, develops our intimacy with Him, opens our communication and aligns our prayers to His will. When we are encouraged that we are truly praying the will of God, through our words or the Spirit, we feel empowered and free not to worry. Anxiety is gone and we walk in faith, trust and certainty that all will be well, just as Queen Esther did that day. 

Prayer

Father, my heart yearns for more of you. 
To be saturated by your Spirit, 
filled with your strength, 
renewed by your forgiveness 
and joyful in your love. 
Help me to stay focused, 
disciplined and aligned to your will, 
your Word and your presence. 
Help me to  practise hour by hour 
until I am present in the world 
but my mind and my heart remain forever focused on You. Amen

 
Today’s service is led by Peter Ranscombe 

 
Call to Worship

In the beginning was the one who is called the Word. he Word was with God, and was truly God.  From the very beginning the Word was with God. And with this Word, God created all things. Nothing was made without the Word. Everything that was created received its life from him, and his life gave light to everyone. The light keeps shining in the dark, and darkness has never put it out.

Welcome

Hello, and welcome to worship. My name is Peter Ranscombe, and I’m a member at Saughtonhall United Reformed Church in Edinburgh and am about to start studying for ministry at the Scottish College.  Our worship will take a different form today – we’re going to be celebrating Christmas in August. And so, as well as welcoming you to our time together, may I also shamelessly wish you all a very merry Christmas.

My day job is as a freelance journalist and copywriter, and so I often find myself writing about Christmas in August – often, that’s when articles for the Christmas issues of magazines or the text for Christmas catalogues get written, giving publishers enough time to print and distribute their material before December starts.  Sitting there at my desk in a pair of shorts at the height of summer while listening to Christmas music to put me in the right mood got me thinking about all those carols that we only hear once a year, during Advent and Christmas and Epiphany.  That link between summer and Christmas also got me thinking about all those passages from the Bible that we only read during Advent and Christmas and Epiphany. And, most importantly of all, that link between summer and Christmas got me thinking about how the Christmas story doesn’t just contain lessons for us to learn at Christmas – but lessons that we can learn throughout the year. God is timeless – and God’s love for us is timeless too.

And we were reminded of that timelessness in our call to worship, the prologue from the Gospel according to John, the first five verses from the first chapter, in which we’re told: “The light keeps shining in the dark, and darkness has never put it out”. That passage from John reminds us that Jesus was there with God and with the Holy Spirit from the very beginning of time. And he’s with us now, for all time. Today, as we celebrate this “Christmas in August”, we’re going to explore why the Christmas story isn’t just for Christmas – we’re going to explore why God isn’t just for Christmas. And we’re going to do that through our hymns and carols, through our Bible readings, and in five short reflections like this one, instead of one big, long address. Our prayers will also be in a different order today, so that they fit in with our readings and reflections. And so, having heard the beginning of our Christmas story in the Gospel according to John, let’s now move to the Gospel according to Luke, and hear how the message about our salvation was delivered to Mary.

Reading     St Luke 1: 26-33 

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee named Nazareth. He had a message for a young woman promised in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was a descendant of King David. Her name was Mary. The angel came to her and said, “Peace be with you! The Lord is with you and has greatly blessed you!”  Mary was deeply troubled by the angel’s message, and she wondered what his words meant. The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary; God has been gracious to you. You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God. The Lord God will make him a king, as his ancestor David was, and he will be the king of the descendants of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end!”

Hymn     The Angel Gabriel From Heaven Came
Translator S. Baring-Gould Public Domain Sung by Ruth and Joy Everingham and used with their kind permission
 
The angel Gabriel from heaven came,
his wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame;
“All hail,” said he to meek and lowly Mary,
“most highly favoured lady.” Gloria!

“I come from heav’n to tell the Lord’s decree:
A blessed virgin mother you shall be.
Your Son shall be Immanuel, by seers foretold,
Most highly favoured lady.” Gloria!

Then gentle Mary meekly bowed her head;
“To me be as it pleases God,” she said.
“My soul shall laud and magnify his holy name.”
Most highly favoured lady, Gloria!

Of her, Immanuel, the Christ, was born
In Bethlehem, all on a Christmas morn,
And Christian folk throughout the world will ever say,
“Most highly favoured lady.” Gloria!
 
Reading     St Luke 2: 1-7 

At that time Emperor Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Roman Empire. When this first census took place, Quirinius was the governor of Syria. Everyone, then, went to register himself, each to his own hometown.  Joseph went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to the town of Bethlehem in Judea, the birthplace of King David. Joseph went there because he was a descendant of David. He went to register with Mary, who was promised in marriage to him. She was pregnant, and while they were in Bethlehem, the time came for her to have her baby. She gave birth to her first son, wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger—there was no room for them to stay in the inn.

Reflection     No room in the inn

“She gave birth to her first son, wrapped him in strips of cloth, and laid him in a manger – there was no room for them to stay in the inn.”
There was no room for them to stay in the inn.

Let’s pause for a moment there. It’s all too easy for us to sanitise the nativity story – especially at Christmas. It’s cold and wet outside in winter, and so we want warmth and we want comfort. And I’m sure there was warmth and comfort in that stable. fter all, there was Mary’s love for her newborn son. But I’m sure there was also coldness and stress. Jesus wasn’t born in a hospital or in an ambulance or even in a bed. Jesus was born in a stable – a place where they would have kept the smelly animals, like the donkeys and the cows. Jesus wasn’t born in a house or a home or a palace. Jesus was born in a stable – a place where people weren’t meant to stay. Jesus wasn’t born into riches. Jesus was born into poverty.
Jesus, who had been there at the beginning of time – Jesus who was there with God and who was God. Our high king of heaven, our  redeemer, and our saviour – not born with a crown but born into poverty.
The message in this part of the Christmas story for us as individuals and for us as congregations perhaps seems clear. Jesus was born into poverty – and we must therefore help those in poverty.  Jesus even spelt it out for us, in the Gospel according to Matthew, in chapter 25, in verses 31 to 40.

As congregations, we often follow Jesus’s teaching – we help our neighbours in poverty locally through supporting charities such as food banks. And we help our neighbours in poverty globally by supporting charities such as Christian Aid. But could we do more? Could we also campaign to end poverty? Could we write letters to Westminster and Holyrood, to Senedd and Tynwald, to States Assembly and States of Deliberation, to our local councils, to hold them all to account for why poverty still exists throughout our three nations and three crown dependencies at the start of the 21st century? That poverty, that homelessness, into which Jesus was born is not only with us at Christmas – but throughout the year. It creates a challenge for us – and it also creates an opportunity for us to serve God not just at Christmas but throughout the year.

Offertory Prayer

Homeless God,
thank you that we have rooves over our heads.
Please bless all those people in our city, and in our country, 
and in our world who don’t have a home.
Please use these gifts of money, 
and please use our time and our talents in your service, 
so that we might feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, 
clothe the naked, heal the sick, and bring comfort to the prisoner, 
both in place and in mind. Amen.

Hymn     When Out of Poverty is Born  
© Kathy Galloway, Wild Goose Publications OneLicence # A-734713  Unknown Singers at Christian Aid Service on YouTube

When out of poverty is born 
a dream that will not die 
a landless, weary folk find strength 
to stand with heads held high, 
it’s then we learn from those who wait 
to greet the promised day: 
‘The Lord is coming; don’t lose heart 
Be blest: prepare the way!’ 

When people wander far from God, 
forget to share their bread, 
they find their wealth an empty thing, 
their spirits are not fed. 
For only just and tender love 
the hungry soul will stay. 
And so God’s prophets echo still: 
‘Be blest: prepare the way!’ 
 
When God took flesh and came to earth,
the world turned upside down,
and in the strength of women’s faith
the Word of Life was born.
She knew that God would raise the low,
it pleased her to obey.
Rejoice with Mary in the call:
‘Be blest: prepare the way!’

Reading     St Luke 2: 8-18 

Now in that same region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and 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 heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger. 

Reflection     The last shall be first

“In that region, there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.”

Other translations of the Bible render these verses as “spending the night in the fields”. Here, the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible spells it out for us. There were shepherds living in the fields. Not just camping out, not just spending a random night there – living there.
In the fields.

Not only was Jesus born into poverty, but the first people to hear about his birth were also living in poverty – not in nice houses, not in nice homes, but out in the fields.

Ordinary people – people like you, people like me, people like us. The first people to hear about Jesus’s birth weren’t kings or queens, princes or princesses, lords or ladies.  They were the workers. They were the supermarket shelf stackers and the long-distance lorry drivers, the cleaners and the posties, the Just Eat delivery cyclist and the single parent on three zero-hours contracts trying to feed their kids.
God used ordinary people like us to be the first to hear his message. And it’s a theme that’s repeated throughout the Gospel. God used ordinary fishers to become his disciples. God used ordinary lepers to demonstrate healing through faith. God used Zacchaeus, an ordinary, hated tax collector in Jericho, to illustrate that salvation was no longer just for the Jewish nation but for all nations. God used ordinary people throughout the Gospel – and God tells us that ordinary people like us are blessed.

In Matthew, chapter 20, at verse 16, at the end of the parable about the workers in the vineyard, we hear or read: “And Jesus concluded, ‘So those who are last will be first, and those who are first will be last’.” And then, a few verses later, as he approaches Jerusalem with his disciples, at verses 26 to 28: “If one of you wants to be great, you must be the servant of the rest; and if one of you wants to be first, you must be the slave of the others – like the Son of Man, who did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life to redeem many people.” The last shall be first – the poor shepherds living in the fields and the poor workers living in Scotland, England, and Wales, in Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man. And we too can be first if we are servants. Not just servants for each other, but servants for the poorest people in our communities. Servants for the homeless, servants for the naked, servants for those people for whom there’s no room to stay in the inn, just as in our previous reflection. Servants not just at Christmas – but servants all year round.

Prayer of Confession, Assurance of Forgiveness

God our shepherd,
on that first Christmas day, 
you sent your messengers to tell ordinary shepherds, ordinary workers, that their saviour and our saviour, their servant king 
and our servant king, was born in a stable.
You came down to Earth as Jesus – you lived among us.
You know what it feels like to live in poverty.
You know what it feels like to have nothing.
You know what it feels like to feel utterly powerless.
And even though Jesus was without sin, you know what it’s like to see your relatives and your friends and your neighbours struggling with the wrong things that they’ve said and done.

God of mercy,
Please forgive us for our sins, 
for the wrong things that we’ve said and done.
Please forgive us for speaking when we should have stayed silent 
– and please forgive us for staying silent 
when we should have shouted at the top of our lungs.
Please forgive us for acting when we should have stayed still – and please forgive us for staying still when we should have acted to help other people, to love our neighbour.
Please forgive us when we’ve failed to keep the true meaning of Christmas alive in our hearts – a story about love, about your love for us and our love for our neighbour.
And in this moment of silence, we confess the sins that are weighing heavily on our hearts today…

silence

God of forgiveness,
Thank you for washing away our sins through Jesus’ death on the cross.
Thank you for welcoming us into your kingdom 
through Jesus’ glorious resurrection.
Thank you for demonstrating your love for us, 
through a baby born in Bethlehem, 
through a child who grew up in Nazareth,
and through a saviour who continues to teach us this and every day through our Bibles and through our prayers.
And now, as your forgiven people, please hear these and all our prayers, as we say or sing the words of the Lord’s Prayer…

The Lord’s Prayer

Hymn     See Amid the Winter’s Snow
Edward Caswall (1858) Public Domain. Sung by the Northern Baptist Association and used with their kind permission.
 
See amid the winter’s snow,
born for us on earth below,
see, the gentle Lamb appears,
promised from eternal years.
Hail that ever blessèd morn,
hail redemption’s happy dawn,
sing through all Jerusalem:
Christ is born in Bethlehem.

Lo, within a manger lies
he who built the starry skies;
he who, thronèd in height sublime,
sits amid the cherubim. 
Hail that ever blessèd morn,
hail redemption’s happy dawn,
sing through all Jerusalem:
Christ is born in Bethlehem.

Say, ye holy shepherds, say,
what your joyful news today.
wherefore have ye left your sheep
on the lonely mountain steep? 
Hail that ever blessèd morn,
hail redemption’s happy dawn,
sing through all Jerusalem:
Christ is born in Bethlehem.

“As we watched at dead of night,
lo, we saw a wondrous light;
angels singing ‘Peace on earth’
told us of the Saviour’s birth.” 

Hail that ever blessèd morn,
hail redemption’s happy dawn,
sing through all Jerusalem:
Christ is born in Bethlehem.

Sacred Infant, all divine,
what a tender love was thine,
thus to come from highest bliss
down to such a world as this. 
Hail that ever blessèd morn,
hail redemption’s happy dawn,
sing through all Jerusalem:
Christ is born in Bethlehem.

Teach, O teach us, holy Child,
by thy face so meek and mild,
teach us to resemble thee,
in thy sweet humility. oh!
Hail that ever blessèd morn,
hail redemption’s happy dawn,
sing through all Jerusalem:
Christ is born in Bethlehem.

Reading     St Matthew 2: 1-15 

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, magi from the east came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star in the east and have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him, and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’” Then Herod secretly called for the magi and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” When they had heard the king, they set out, and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen in the east, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road. Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”

Reflection     ‘I’m a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world’

It was hard to avoid the colour pink last year. Love it or hate it, the new Barbie film dominated at the box office. Director Greta Gerwig tried to do something very clever with her movie – she tried to tell a story about empowerment, rather than simply creating a vehicle to sell more toys. And toys – for better or worse – have become a big part of our modern Christmas. Wider society perhaps points to the verses that we just heard or read from Matthew’s gospel as justification for placing gifts under the Christmas tree. The wise men gave gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the baby Jesus. And, so, we now give gifts of Barbie, Transformers, and Lego to our children.

Yet if it goes too far, that giving of gifts, that commercialisation of Christmas, can mask the important details of our story, whether it’s told in December or August. In the final verses of today’s reading from Matthew, we reach the point in our Christmas story that we often miss out or gloss over – the flight to Egypt. King Herod is scared of losing his throne, and so he sets out to kill the baby. In the verses that follow, Herod orders the killing of all the children in Bethlehem who are two years old or younger. But Joseph has been warned in a dream to leave Bethlehem and take the baby to Egypt for safety.  It means that Jesus begins his life on Earth as a refugee, fleeing persecution. It’s a strong reminder for us as individuals and us as congregations of the need to care for refugees and other vulnerable people. And that comes in sharp contrast to how wider society is behaving. Last year, the UK Government’s Illegal Migration Act received royal ascent and became law. Our United Reformed Church expressed concern as part of the Joint Public Issues Team, which also includes the Church of Scotland, the Methodists, and the Baptists in England and Wales. But could we do more as individuals and as congregations to campaign on such issues? That could come through letter writing with support from our wider United Reformed Church or through charities such as Christian Aid. That could come through how we use our votes at the ballot box throughout our three nations and three crown dependencies. And that could come through prayer – praying for refugees, praying for asylum seekers, and praying for people being kidnapped and trafficked across borders. Just as the new Barbie film defied expectations and went against the male-dominated culture of our day, so too can the church be counter cultural and serve God’s purpose of love and not our apparent human purpose of hate.

Prayers of Intercession

“Peace on Earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled…”

God of peace, thank you that we can come before you today to study your Word. Thank you for giving us this space to examine the Christmas story without the pressure of cooking turkeys and writing cards and wrapping presents. Thank you for giving us these moments of peace and quiet to spend with you.
In this quiet time, we remember all those people who won’t find peace today. Please bring peace back to the Earth. Please end the wars that rage in the places that we choose to remember and on all the world’s forgotten battlefields.

“When out of poverty is born a dream that will not die…”

God of poverty, when you came down to Earth as Jesus, you knew what it felt like to live without a roof over your head.  You knew what it felt like to have no crib for a bed. You knew what it felt like to flee persecution as a refugee.  Please end poverty on this Earth. Please help us to play our parts in supporting food banks  and night shelters and other charities.  And please place the gospel message on the hearts of our prime minister and first ministers and chief ministers and all our leaders so that they play their parts too.

“Oh, rest beside the weary road, and hear the angels sing…”

God of weariness, you walked this Earth as Jesus and felt the weariness we feel.   You felt the full range of our emotions, fully God yet fully human.  You felt the ups and the downs that your friends and relatives experienced too. Please heal those who are weary through sickness. Please comfort those who are weary through grief. And please help us to love ourselves amid our own weariness,  so that we can love you and love our neighbour too.

“He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove the glories of his righteousness.”

God of righteousness, during Advent, we wait for the coming of a baby. Yet we also wait for your second coming. Your second coming at the end of time,  but also your continuous coming each and every day, as your kingdom breaks through the cracks in this world,  and we experience moments of your truth and grace.
Please help us to experience more of those moments this summer.
Please guide us to those “thin places”, those moments in which we can experience your love more fully. Please lead us to that great moment 
when we will no longer see through a mirror darkly,  but instead we will experience the full radiance of your love  that came down at Christmas.
We ask this, and all these things, and praise you, and thank you,  in the name of your son and our coming saviour, Jesus Christ Emmanuel. Amen.

Hymn     I Cannot Tell Why He, Whom Angels Worship
W. Y. Fullerton (c. 1920) Public Domain sung by Joy and Ruth Everingham and used with their kind permission.
 
I cannot tell why He, whom angels worship
Should set His love upon us, nor or then,
Or why, as Shepherd, He should seek the wanderers
To bring them back, they know not how or when.
But this I know, that He was born of Mary,
When Bethlehem’s manger was His only home,
And that He lived at Nazareth and laboured,
And so the Saviour, Saviour of the world, is come.

I cannot tell how silently He suffered,
As with His peace He graced this place of tears,
Or how His heart upon the cross was broken,
The crown of pain to three and thirty years.
But this I know, He heals the broken hearted,
And stays our sin and calms our lurking fear,
And lifts the burden from the heavy laden,
For yet the Saviour, Saviour of the world, is here.

I cannot tell how He will win the nations,
How He will claim His earthly heritage,
How satisfy the needs and aspirations
Of east and west, of sinner and of sage.
But this I know, all flesh shall see His glory,
And He shall reap the harvest He has sown;
And some glad day His sun shall shine in splendour
When He the Saviour, Saviour of the world, is known.

I cannot tell how all the lands shall worship
When at His bidding every storm is stilled,
Or who can say how great the jubilation
When every human heart with love is filled.
But this I know, the skies will thrill with rapture,
And myriad, myriad human voices sing;
And earth to heaven, and heaven to earth will answer:
“At last the Saviour, Saviour of the world, is King!” 
 
Reading     St Luke 1: 39-55 

About this time, Mary set out and went straight to a town in the uplands of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby stirred in her womb. Then Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and cried aloud, ‘God’s blessing is on you above all women, and his blessing is on the fruit of your womb. Who am I, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? I tell you, when your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby in my womb leapt for joy. How happy is she who has had faith that the Lord’s promise should be fulfilled!’ And Mary said: ‘Tell out my soul, the greatness of the Lord, rejoice, rejoice, my spirit, in God my saviour; so tenderly has he looked upon his servant, humble as she is. ‘For, from this day forth, all generations will count me blessed, so wonderfully has he dealt with me, the Lord, the Mighty One. ‘His name is Holy; his mercy sure from generation to generation towards those who fear him; the deeds his own right arm has done disclose his might; the arrogant of heart and mind he has put to rout, he has brought down monarchs from their thrones, but the humble have been lifted high. ‘The humble he has satisfied with good things, the rich sent empty away. ‘He has ranged himself at the side of Israel his servant; firm in his promise to our forefathers, he has not forgotten to show mercy to Abraham and his children’s children for ever.’

Reflection     Tell out all our souls

Our journey ends where it begins – with Mary hearing the news. When Mary hears that she’s going to give birth to the Son of God, the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible tells us that she was “much perplexed” – now there’s an understatement if I ever heard one. In both the Revised English Bible and the older New English Bible, it’s an equally understated “deeply troubled”. Either way, the angel tells her: “Do not be afraid”. And the first thing we’re told that Mary does after she received the news? She goes and shares it. She goes to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist. John leaps with joy in Elizabeth’s tummy when Mary arrives. Elizabeth praises God for all he has done. And that leads Mary to utter the words recorded for us in the passage we’ve just heard or read from Luke. his hymn of praise is often known as the “Magnificat” and over the years it’s inspired poetry and art and music. And I pray that it will provide inspiration too for us today, both as individuals and as congregations. Mary describes herself as God’s lowly servant. In our reading earlier, we explored how the shepherds living in the fields could be seen as lowly servants too. And so may this passage provide inspiration to us that God can use ordinary people, can use lowly people, can use you and me and us, to deliver his message of love to the world, through our words and through our actions. And may this passage also give us a clue as to how we can do that. Not necessarily through standing on a street corner with a megaphone and a sandwich board that reads “The end of the world is nigh”. Not necessarily through knocking on random doors if we don’t already have a relationship with the people inside. Instead, Mary knows her scripture and uses it to inspire her to praise the Lord, demonstrating her clear interest in social justice. ary speaks of all the good things that God has done in her life and in the life of her wider community.  Here, Mary gives us inspiration for how we can speak to our relatives and our friends and our neighbours, to tell them – in the right moments, when the Holy Spirit guides us – about the difference that following God and meeting with other Christians makes to our daily lives. And that’s a Christmas message that’s worth sharing – whether it’s in December or it’s in August.

Hymn     Tell Out My Soul, the Greatness of the Lord!  
Timothy Dudley Smith 1962, 1990 Hope Publishing Company  OneLicence # A-734713   Played and sung by Gareth Moore of the Isle of Man Methodist Church and used with his kind permission.

Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord!
Unnumbered blessings give my spirit voice;
tender to me the promise of his word –
in God my Saviour shall my heart rejoice.

Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his name!
Make known his might, the deeds his arm has done;
his mercy sure, from age to age the same –
his holy name: the Lord, the Mighty One.

Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his might!
Powers and dominions lay their glory by;
proud hearts and stubborn wills are put to flight,
the hungry fed, the humble lifted high.

Tell out, my soul, the glories of his word!
Firm is his promise, and his mercy sure:
tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord
to children’s children and for evermore!
 
Blessing

Our worship has ended – now our service begins.

And so may we go from this place:
bathed in the everlasting light of the Word;
humbled by our saviour, born into poverty;
encouraged by the ordinary workers like us who heard the message;
enraged by the injustices facing refugees;
ready to share the Good News through our words and deeds;
and filled with the timeless love and joy of Christmas –
which is for August, as much as it’s for December…
and may the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ Emmanuel,
the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with us,  and all those we love,
and all those we ought to love,
this day and forevermore, Amen.
 

Esther 6: 1 – 13

That night the king could not sleep, and he gave orders to bring the book of records, the annals, and they were read to the king. It was found written how Mordecai had told about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, and who had conspired to assassinate King Ahasuerus.  Then the king said, ‘What honour or distinction has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?’ The king’s servants who attended him said, ‘Nothing has been done for him.’  The king said, ‘Who is in the court?’ Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to speak to the king about having Mordecai hanged on the gallows that he had prepared for him.  So the king’s servants told him, ‘Haman is there, standing in the court.’ The king said, ‘Let him come in.’  So Haman came in, and the king said to him, ‘What shall be done for the man whom the king wishes to honour?’ Haman said to himself, ‘Whom would the king wish to honour more than me?’  So Haman said to the king, ‘For the man whom the king wishes to honour,  let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn, and a horse that the king has ridden, with a royal crown on its head.  Let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble officials; let him robe the man whom the king wishes to honour, and let him conduct the man on horseback through the open square of the city, proclaiming before him: “Thus shall it be done for the man whom the king wishes to honour.”’  Then the king said to Haman, ‘Quickly, take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do so to the Jew Mordecai who sits at the king’s gate. Leave out nothing that you have mentioned.’  So Haman took the robes and the horse and robed Mordecai and led him riding through the open square of the city, proclaiming, ‘Thus shall it be done for the man whom the king wishes to honour.’

Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate, but Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered. When Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him, his advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, ‘If Mordecai, before whom your downfall has begun, is of the Jewish people, you will not prevail against him, but will surely fall before him.’

Reflection

Karma – a word most often used by many of us when a despised person is brought low, but in Hindu tradition describing the acts of rewarding good deeds while offering fitting repayment for bad ones. This is the point in the story of Esther when you might feel sorry for Haman. He has belatedly become acquainted with the law of unintended consequences, and it hurts.

The king realised that Mordecai who had previously saved his life was a Jew who had never received the customary award. So the king called in Haman to suggest a fitting prize for his rescuer.  The puffed up vizier, believing he was the one about to be publicly lauded, shared his own dream of a victory parade – then was comprehensively humiliated.

At a Purim performance, this is a signal for the audience to boo enthusiastically. It’s like a pantomime. You have two “goodies”, Mordecai and Esther, with Haman as the ultimate “baddie”. The only opportunity for nuance lies with the bit players who are permitted to be a mixture, as most of us are.
Public humiliation, while unattractive, should have offered Haman an opportunity at least to repent and clear his conscience. After all his plan to kill all Jews never came to fruition. But he was hanged anyway. The king, who gave his permission for Haman to go ahead with plans to kill all Jews, was untouched by regret or in any way punished for his part in the crime.

As a Christian and having read the bloody climax of this book of the bible, I cannot take joy in what happened – the bit the Purim re-enactments, especially for children, tend to skim over. It was ultimately the Jews who killed hundreds of people they regarded as enemies.
Fitting Karma, or just crude and cruel revenge? 

Prayer

Lord God,
Many events and people in life hurt and distress us,
sometimes intentionally,
at other times without appreciating the damage caused.

Help us to learn the art of forgiveness,
however difficult,
so that we do not prolong any feud,
but instead repair our own hearts
and in doing so heal those who may have caused us harm.
Amen

Esther 5: 9 – 14

Haman went out that day happy and in good spirits. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, and observed that he neither rose nor trembled before him, he was infuriated with Mordecai; nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home. Then he sent and called for his friends and his wife Zeresh, and Haman recounted to them the splendour of his riches, the number of his sons, all the promotions with which the king had honoured him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and the ministers of the king. Haman added, ‘Even Queen Esther let no one but myself come with the king to the banquet that she prepared. Tomorrow also I am invited by her, together with the king. Yet all this does me no good so long as I see the Jew Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate.’ Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, ‘Let a gallows fifty cubits high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged on it; then go with the king to the banquet in good spirits.’ This advice pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made.

Reflection

The day I started writing this, wearing the “church secretary” hat  I received a notice for the church of a call to a day of prayer about the increasing knife violence in Bristol.   

Someone sitting in a park minding their own business is attacked; people leaving a party turn on one; others leaving home for a pizza; why attack these people?   Maybe the attacked didn’t rise and tremble, or maybe it’s that strange human emotion, tribalism, that regards happiness as best when it depends on others’ pain.

The resonance between the unprovoked knife attacks and Haman’s pleasure over advice to take retribution against Mordecai was striking.   From a simple start, how often crimes become violent until a person is killed and families vow “no on else should suffer in this way”.   

In her commentary on Esther, Carol Meyers notes:  “Happy as Haman was to have been entertained by the queen, he becomes intensely distressed when Mordecai once more refuses to do obeisance. At the bidding of his wife Zeresh, he erects monumental gallows intended for Mordecai; only then can Haman feel relaxed enough to look forward to Esther’s second banquet.”  

Tribalism permeates Haman’s thinking: he has started a scheme killing all Jews following Mordecai’s failure to offer obeisance.  The gallows are built very high, implying this is no secret execution but a way to achieve a public show of disgrace for Mordecai and by implication all Jews.  So jealous is Haman he cannot foresee any other outcome than glory for himself.  

By contrast, Esther followed advice which put herself in danger, asked for prayer from all whom she is connected with, then fasts and prays herself.   Only then does she prepare the first banquet.   As the story continues to unfold we find Queen Esther working with King Ahasuerus to protect her people that no one else should suffer.  

Prayer

Creator God,
when we see only one outcome, good or bad, 
remind us that you see the whole and another outcome.
Help us follow advice and prepare. 
Help us walk your way and bring your outcome to completion.
Amen