Wesley United Church– Year c
December 29, 2024, 11:00 am
1st Sunday after Christmas
Worship Leader: Evelyn MacDonald

Reader: Bev Bragg
Music: Bev Bragg
Greeter: Bev Hinks
Bell Ringer: Ross Cooper

Gathering in the Spirit

Welcome to our worship service either online or in printed form.

Life and Work of the Church may be found at the end of the service.

Our Blessings & Birthdays for this week are:

Lighting of the Christ Candle

Long ago, before there was a world, before there was anything, before there was day or night, there was God, our Creator and Source of Life and Goodness. Then God said, “Let there be light.” We light this candle to remind us of that gift of light and love.

Introit: VU # 60 Chorus: O come, Let Us Adore Him

O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.
O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

Call to Worship

L: It is good to gather with friends

P: who know and accept us as people of faith.

L: It is good to gather with friends

P: who seek the meaning and purpose of life.

L: It is good to gather with friends

P: who wish to make a difference in our world.

L: Friends, let us worship!

Opening Hymn: VU #60 O Come All Ye Faithful

1 O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem:
Come and behold him, born the King of an-gels;
O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

2 God of God, light of light,
Lo, he abhors not the virgin’s womb;
Very God, begotten, not created:
O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

3 Sing, choirs of angels sing in exultation,
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above;
Glory to God in the highest:
O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

4 See how the shepherds summoned to his cradle,
Leaving their flocks, draw nigh with lowly fear;
We too will thither bend our joyful footsteps;
O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

5 Yea, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning;
Jesus, to thee be glory given;
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing:
O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

Opening Prayer

God of joy, the spirit of Christmas lingers and the festivities continue, so it is good to slow down and reflect on the meaning and impact of the season. As we sing the timeless carols, help us to hear the message with clarity, and as we reflect on the reason for our gathering, may we realize the connection between Bethlehem and Calvary. Help keep the message alive in our hearts, we pray. Amen.

Invitation to Confession

Sometimes, we let the cares and stresses in our lives crowd God out of our thoughts, words and actions. Let us open our minds and hearts as we voice our confessions to God.

Prayer of Confession

God of love and peace, be with us today. We come with the burdens of the stress and difficulties we know in our lives and with the cares of the world on our shoulders. We bring to you our fears and our worries, and we pray for your healing for ourselves and our world. God of hope, we confess that we let the events and demands of our day-to-day lives crowd you out of our thoughts and our actions. Help us consider again the many ways in which you bless and care for us. Help us be people who will reach out to others in loving compassion. We ask these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Words of Assurance

L. From birth to rebirth, God writes new beginnings. God offers grace upon grace. In Jesus Christ, God demonstrates an endless love that inspires green shoots of new life. We are forgiven.

P. Thanks be to God!

Listening for the Spirit

*Hymn: VU #254 Songs of Praise the Angels Sang

1 Songs of praise the angels sang,
heaven with hallelujahs rang,
when creation was begun,
when God spoke and it was done.

2 Songs of praise awoke the morn
when the Prince of Peace was born;
songs of praise arose when the
captive led captivity.

3 Heaven and earth must pass away,
songs of praise shall crown that day;
God will make new heavens and earth,
songs of praise shall hail their birth.

4 And will people silent be
till that glorious day they see?
No, the church delights to raise
psalms and hymns and songs of praise.

5 Saints below, with heart and voice,
still in songs of praise rejoice;
learning here, by faith and love,
songs of praise to sing above.

6 Hymns of glory, songs of praise,
Blessed God, to you we raise.
Jesus, Saviour, Living Word,
With the Spirit be adored.

1 Samuel 2: 18-20,26

In this text we will learn how Eli blessed Hannah and asked God to give her more children to replace Samuel whom she had given away to dedicate his life to the Lord, and how Samuel grew in stature and favour with the Lord and the people,

1 Samuel 2: 18-20,26

The Child Samuel at Shiloh

Samuel was ministering before the LORD, a boy wearing a linen ephod. His mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year, when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, ‘May the LORD repay you with children by this woman for the gift that she made to the LORD’; and then they would return to their home.
Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favour with the LORD and with the people.

The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God

Psalm 148

This Psalm focuses on praising God’s control of the created or-der, with an implied theme of God’s salvation of Israel. It serves as a reminder that salvation isn’t just about the individual, but has meaning for the entire universe.

Psalm 148

L. Praise God from the heavens; give praise in the heights! Give praise, all you angels; praise God, all you hosts!

P. Praise God, sun and moon; give praise, stars and lights! Praise God, farthest heavens, and all waters beyond heaven!

Refrain:
Let the whole creation cry, “Glory be to God on high.”

L. Let all things praise the Holy One at whose com-mand they were created, who established them for all time, setting bounds, which cannot be passed.

P. Praise God from the earth, lightning and hail, snow and frost, gales that obey God’s decree,

Refrain:
Let the whole creation cry, “Glory be to God on high.”

L. all mountains and hills, all fruit trees and cedars, wild animals and cattle, creatures winged and earth-bound,

P. sovereigns who rule earth and its people, all who govern and judge this world, young men and women alike, old people and children together!

Refrain
Let the whole creation cry, “Glory be to God on high.”

L. Let all things praise the name of God, the name above every other, whose splendour covers heaven and earth.

P. You give strength to your people, songs of praise to your faithful, to Israel, the people dear to your heart.

Refrain:
Let the whole creation cry, “Glory be to God on high.”

Response to Psalm

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen

Gospel Reading: Luke 2: 41-52

This scripture describes an incident where Jesus, as a young boy, was left behind in Jerusalem after the Passover. The passage emphasizes Jesus’ interaction with the teachers of Israel and highlights his unique nature as both fully human and divine. It also provides insight into his upbringing in a faithful Jewish household. The story serves as an example of how Jesus could be a normal boy without sinning.

Gospel Reading: Luke 2: 41-52

The Boy Jesus in the Temple

Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming that he was in the group of travellers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, ‘Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.’ He said to them, ‘Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’ But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favour.

The Word of the Lord

Thanks be to God

Message: No Longer a Baby

By Rev. Randy Quinn
It was the week after Christmas when he came to visit me in my office. I don’t remember his name, but I remember who he was. His mother was active in the church I was serving, and he had come home for Christmas to visit.
What brought him to my office was an almost vicious attack on my preaching. He was adamant that I was leading the church astray. (More important to him was his mother, I realize in hindsight, but he never said that.)
In particular, he was concerned because I said – or had implied – that Jesus came as a baby to save us. He knew Jesus saved us on the cross, not in the manger; he was afraid that what I had said the Sunday before Christmas and on Christmas Eve was misleading and flat out wrong.
His visit and his voice still echo in my mind 20 some years later[1]. It echoes in my mind because in many ways he is right. Jesus was born in a manger and was given a name that means “God saves us” (Mt. 1:21); but it was his death and resurrection that brought us salvation. And yet some people would prefer to spend the rest of their lives celebrating Christmas, singing the carols that we all love so well, and avoiding the tragic tale of the passion because of its violent nature.
He was right to be concerned because some people only want to hear about the precious baby Jesus.
In other ways, though, his concern misses the point of the Christmas story. God came to us in human form; God came as a vulnerable baby; God took a great risk by coming to us in the manger. There is an important part of the gospel that Christmas helps us know.
Like so many half-truths, the real problem is with the other half. Part of the reason we have a church year is to celebrate various portions of the story at different times of the year – thus avoiding the possibility of only hearing one part of it, making it harder to preach half truths as the full gospel story is told over time.
The concerns of that young man prevented him from hearing the good news that the story of Christ-mas tells, and nothing I could say that day was going to open his ears to that part of the story.
Our text today brings that all to mind again, because it feels like we are moving way too fast on the church calendar from Jesus’ birth on Friday to his Bar Mitzvah on Sunday and his crucifixion in a few months! Most of us would prefer to spend time with the baby. We want to hold the baby. We want to watch him learn to recognize faces and smile and laugh. We want to watch him learn to crawl and play games.
Some of us are frustrated because no one is singing Christmas carols anymore! We want to reclaim the tradition of the “twelve days of Christmas” that begin on December 25th and end on Epiphany, Janu-ary 6th.
We want to keep Jesus in the manger – and while we may have good excuses for it, I wonder if it’s because we don’t want to hear the story of his violent death. We don’t want him to grow up because we know what’s in store for him. We want to let him be a baby for a little while longer – even if we face the ire of people like that young man who met me in my office the week after Christmas.
Our text for today may seem to be racing us along from one end of the story to the other, taking us away from the manger before we are ready to leave, but I don’t think that’s what Luke is suggesting. In my un-derstanding of Luke’s telling of the story, anyway, this story is placed here as a reminder that our faith needs to grow up as we mature. Not only does Jesus “increase in wisdom,” we are invited to increase in ours as well (Lk. 2:52).
Too many of us are like Mary and Joseph who have heard the angels singing and met the wise men; but twelve years later they seem to have forgotten that God has a plan in mind. The angel spoke to Mary and then to Joseph. But here in the temple, it’s as if they have forgotten who Jesus is. God spoke to the shepherds and the magi and Mary “hid these things” in her heart – where they still seem to be hiding. God spoke to Anna and then to Simeon when they brought Jesus to be dedicated, but that was too long ago to remember. Each person in the story seemed to understand who Jesus was at the time; each made their own profession of faith in way or another.
But none seem to have been changed by that news – none but Jesus, that is. Here, he is the one who makes the announcement that he is God’s son. “I must be in my Father’s house,” he says (Lk. 2:49).
In that sense, this really is a “coming of age” story. Jesus has been the main character of the story up to this point, but here we hear him speak for the first time. Here we witness his first actions as an individual. Because we know who he is, we are not surprised where he was to be found. We are surprised, however, by the response of Mary and Joseph. But maybe we shouldn’t be.
Any of us who have been twelve years old recognize our own story in his. And any of us who have been parents of twelve year olds also recognize our stories in the story of Mary and Joseph.
Like any pre-teen, Jesus is pushing the limits. We all know he should have told Mary and Joseph where he was. The fact that his parents thought he was with someone else in the group of families traveling to-gether, suggests that this is not the first time he has left their sides. All the more reason he should have let them know. But he doesn’t. He is expressing his own independence.
When Mary and Joseph realize Jesus isn’t among the group, they become frantic as they look for him. It’s every parent’s worst nightmare. But what I am struck by is how calmly they respond when they find him. It’s as if they have been reminded of the fact that Jesus doesn’t belong to them – he is really God’s child.
Like every child in every family, he came into their lives as a gift and some day he will leave.
Here we get a foreshadowing of that departure. He is in Jerusalem where he will have many more discussions with the religious leaders. In our text he was not seen for three days – just like the three days he will spend in the tomb.
In telling us this story today, Luke is anticipating the rest of the story we will hear as we read his gospel. The point he makes is that Jesus comes into our lives to make a difference, to change our lives as well as the lives of every person he meets.
Just this week, Ronda and I were talking again about the first two foster children that lived in our home. Daniel and Pauletta were afraid of foster homes, so the case worker didn’t tell them we were foster parents – she just said they would be staying with us while their mother took care of some things.
Pauletta was only 4, and on the first night, she was understandably missing her mother. Ronda told her that her mother was in her heart – and that Pauletta was in her mother’s heart so it would be OK.
After 9 days, Daniel and Pauletta went home. We told them at that point that we were foster parents – and that they didn’t need to be afraid of foster homes anymore. But as Ronda was buckling Pauletta into her car seat, she asked Ronda if we would keep Pauletta in our hearts.
That was nearly 20 years ago. And she is still in our hearts. We don’t know if we are in hers – but we can hope that our presence in her life made a difference.
When we encounter Jesus at the manger, we meet God who has come in human form. And God wants a place in our hearts. The fact that God has come to us is good news, news that needs to be celebrated and proclaimed. But the question that remains for us is whether or not we have been changed by the news of Christmas.
Our church is here to cultivate life-changing relationships with God, with one another, and with our community. We welcome Christ into our hearts, and the seed of faith is planted. We may meet Jesus as a baby, but he grows up. Time will tell if our faith will grow as well.
As we approach the New Year, we have the opportunity to allow the good news of Christmas to fill our hearts so that the grace of God can change our lives and our world.
That’s why Jesus came.
Thanks be to God. Amen.

Responding to the Spirit

*Hymn: VU # 87 I Am the Light of the World