These three words sum up progressive Christian theology. They represent a turning point in the evolution of human understanding of Ultimate Reality. The Bible starts with Superman-In-The-Sky and ends with agape – unconditional love - as the identity of the Divine.
O God, who grace feels abundant in our sunshine, but far removed in our shadows: We have come today to bear witness to Jesus’ suffering and death upon a cross. We are appalled at the injustice and inhumanity — not only of his last day, but of days in our lives when we hear about greed, corruption, discrimination, hatred, violence, and death.
Reinhold Niebuhr's brother, H. Richard, argued for faithfulness to the example of Jesus's nonviolence, while Reinhold believed this was naive and unrealistic in an imperfect world. H. Richard was the purist to the Christian faith, believing that following the Golden Rule, no matter the consequences, is what Jesus and God called us to do -- the success of the mission being in God's hands rather than our own. Reinhold, however, looked at the more practical side of things, substituting his or the world's idea of what was possible and changing his ethics accordingly. H. Richard thus trusted more in the providential moral arc of history as M.L. King, Jr. , would call it rather than a realist's version of what humans believe is attainable given their corrupt nature. In essence, H. Richard focused on the power of God's grace to transform our spirits and the world for the better, while Reinhold accepted a more cynical view of our ability to be radically changed as a specie.
One: A Blessing on you who are poor Many Yours is the household of God One A blessing on you who mourn Many: you shall be comforted
One: May God the World Maker bless you; Many: Let us delight in sunlight and starlight and surprises of the turning earth.
From the Boundless Life collection
Leader: Creator God to you we pray; - All: Help us hear your children's cry. Leader: Most joyful God to you we pray; ‑ All: Help us share your children's joy.
Drawn by God’s presence. . . . . .we gather Inspired by God’s spirit. . . . . .we worship
We are here to praise and enjoy God with body and soul, mind and heart, with song and word, with hands and feet. We are here to give because of the abundance God has given us, to share with each other, and to receive, because God has created us to depend on each other. We are here to celebrate the differences that otherwise might divide us: differences of age, of body, of culture, of opinion, of ability, of religious conviction. We are here to put things in perspective: to celebrate what matters, to laugh about things we take too seriously, to cry about things that truly touch our hearts. So may it be this morning: Amen!
We crouch with Mary on the straw of our messy lives letting go of everything but this moment.
Born to a poor uneducated carpenter and his partner All: Jesus was one with oppressed humankind
Come, let us walk the road that Mary walked the challenging road from Nazareth to Bethlehem not knowing what the future holds.
An opening affirmation
We are community Embraced by the mystery of God’s love for all creation
A responsive reading
One What is the sound that calls us? Listen carefully. Many The beating of our own hearts calls us to ourselves. It calls us to be our true selves, our best selves. Calls us to be what we might become.
Leader: Give thanks for the Lord’s goodness, God’s love is steadfast and forever. People: God has gathered us from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south, and rescued us from trouble.
Leader: The presence of God is surely in this place. People: The presence of God is everywhere.
For those who promote human rights in countries controlled by military dictatorships, risking their lives every day All: Blessed are those who are persecuted for their struggle for justice: the kingdom of heaven is theirs
One: Hear the voices, small voices, loud voices, voices of the oppressed, voices of the powerful.
Leader: Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Christ. People: We celebrate the birth of Jesus, who showed us how to express God by letting the Christ within be our guide.
Leader: It is a night of anticipation, a night of waiting. People: We wait, as Mary and Joseph waited for the birth of their son.
Adapted from a Sufi poem
I asked for strength and God gave me difficulties to make me strong.
We recognise that life is a gift and a joy to be lived in all its richness All: We give thanks with all our hearts
We worship and adore God, source, essence, and aim of all things, spirit that enlivens all beings.
"Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est." A Taize chant is incorporated into a opening invocation
Let us take a short period of silence to reflect on those with whom we need to be reconciled and what action we can take to make this happen.