大象传媒

Rev Scott Robertson

Good morning and welcome. We greet you in the name of Jesus Christ, the light of the world.

Our beautiful church is dedicated to St Margaret, the 11th century Queen of Scotland, whose life of godly devotion and service of her people is illustrated in many of the stained-glass windows around us this morning.

Rev Maggie McTernan

Margaret鈥檚 internationalism and her deep personal devotion not only testify to her enduring legacy but also serve as a reminder to us of the wider dimensions of the mission of God in Jesus Christ, who came to be light in our darkness. In that spirit, we begin our service this morning by approaching God in the singing of the hymn, 鈥楤rightest and best of the sons of the morning鈥�.

MUSIC:听听听听听听听听听听听 Hymn - Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning

听听听听听听听听听听听听 (Tune: Epiphany)听

Scott

One of the singular symbols of the Christian faith is light. This light which shines in the darkness is the light which we both crave and fear. We recognise our deep need of direction and purpose in life, which it can provide. But we recognise, too, that this light can reveal truths about ourselves that we would prefer to be hidden. So it is important that we expose ourselves to the light of God鈥檚 love and mercy, so that we can live renewed and fulfilling lives.听

Maggie听听听听听听听听听听听听 Let us pray;

础尝尝:听 Almighty God,

to whom all hearts are 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.听 Amen.

Maggie:听 God is love and we are his children.

There is no room for fear in love.

We love because he loved us first.

Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith.听

础尝尝:听 God our Father, we confess to you

and to our fellow members in the Body of Christ

that we have sinned in thought, word and deed,

and in what we have failed to do.

We are truly sorry.

Forgive us our sins,

and deliver us from the power of evil,

for the sake of your Son who died for us,

Jesus Christ, our Lord.

惭补驳驳颈别:听

O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son

to the Peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by
faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to
face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
础尝尝:听 Amen.

Isaiah 60: 1-6听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Colin Fraser

A reading from the book of Isaiah, Chapter 60.

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.听

For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you.听

Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.听

Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses' arms.听

Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you.听

A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.

Scott

In all our journeying, it鈥檚 often difficult simply to stop. We find ourselves unwilling or unable to come to rest. And yet there are moments when we pause. We are stopped in our tracks by someone or something. Frances Chesterton captures this almost mystical moment of pausing in her poem 鈥楬ere is the little door鈥�, where we hear from the lips of the Magi that 鈥榳e need not wander more but enter with our gift鈥�. 听We are delighted to be joined this morning by Glasgow Chamber Choir, who now sing for us Chesterton鈥檚 poem set to music by Herbert Howells.

MUSIC:听 CHOIR -听 Here is the Little Door

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 (Frances Chesterton, setting by Herbert Howells)

Reflection 1听听 Scott

In a few days鈥� time, we will witness the inauguration of a new era in the United States of America. It is, as it always is I suppose, a vital moment in that nation鈥檚 history and, indeed, for the world. Regardless of our own political persuasion, such events inevitably face us with an unclear future. In this context, it is helpful to hear from a former Presidential candidate, Adlai Stevenson, who once famously said, 鈥業t is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.鈥� This sums up the life of faith. Faith can only be faith when we recognise light in the darkness. Whether that darkness is physical, political, emotional or spiritual. Whether it is a darkness that is of our own making or a darkness beyond our control. It is into this darkness that light shines. Epiphany is a reminder, if a reminder were needed, of the darkness that threatens to overwhelm us, but it is also a reminder of the light that breaks in to illuminate us. Light is something we don鈥檛 see, but it is the medium through which we see everything. Christian tradition has Jesus fulfilling Isaiah鈥檚 prophecy, being described most vividly as the light of the world. So, though we may not see Jesus, we discover, though him, our perspective on life.

Faith recognises that light which shines in the darkness. It doesn鈥檛 shine in the bright places 鈥� it only shines in the darkness. This is why faith is more than wishful thinking 鈥� it鈥檚 more than just superstition, or merely looking on the bright side of life, or practicing the power of positive thinking. Faith is about seeing the world as it really is in all its beauty and terror. Faith is about opening our eyes to the reality of our world from the very good to the very bad, and looking squarely at this world, discerning light at the heart of it. It is this faith which allows us to live in hope.

Christianity is nothing if not a religion of hope. We sing at Christmastide 鈥榯he hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.鈥� Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. In other words, like faith, hope is only hope in the dark.

All this would appear to be rather bleak 鈥� all this talk of darkness. But that is precisely the point. To see the darkness as bleak, to see the darkness as all-powerful, all enveloping, insurmountable is to give way to despair 鈥� and the irony is that it is in the darkness where we will see the light shining most brightly. We need to remember the words of the Psalmist when reflecting on the inescapable love and mercy of God he writes: 鈥業f I say: 鈥淪urely the darkness will cover me, and the light around me become night,鈥� even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.鈥�

The art of living as Henri Nouwen once put it, echoing Adlai Stevenson, 鈥榠s to enjoy what we can see and not complain about what remains in the dark.鈥�

听

MUSIC:听 Hymn - From the Eastern Mountains听 听(Tune: King鈥檚 Weston)听

Matthew 听2: 1-12 听听听听听听听听听听听Naomi

A reading from the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 2.

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,听asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage."听听When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him;听and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.听

They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:听"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.' "听

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared.听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."听When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was.听When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.听

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.听And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

MUSIC:听 CHOIR - We Three Kings of Orient are

Reflection 2听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Maggie

What gift would you give to a baby?听 Something practical maybe, some clothes?听 Or perhaps you鈥檇 bring a meal for the sleep deprived parents.听 Maybe you鈥檇 give something for when the baby is older, a book, or a toy.听 We give gifts that are practical, gifts that are fun.听 But these gifts 鈥� brought to the child by the foreign travellers 鈥� these are strange gifts indeed.

Gold, well that was practical, at least. 听Joseph was a tradesman, work would come and go, money was not unwelcome. 听But gold? That was a gift fit for a king. 听The only king these days was Herod, the old fox - puppet of the Romans. 听Where was the king promised of old by the prophets? 听A king who would feed the hungry, lift up the lowly, who would bring about a kingdom of justice and peace? 听Now that would be a king worth following - but where on earth would you find such a king?

The other gifts were curiouser. 听Incense? 听that belonged to the priest, God鈥檚 servant on earth.听 Dawn and dusk, the priest would burn incense in the temple, a cloud of prayer rising before God.听 As the incense burned, the priest would bring an offering to God, daring to ask for mercy, seeking forgiveness.听 But the boy was a peasant, not a priest.听 What did he have to offer, how could he restore the bond of love between God and humankind?

The last gift was strangest of all. 听Myrrh, the bitter herb of burial 鈥� who would give that to a baby?听 A cruel gift 鈥� and yet an honest gift. 听For who goes through life without suffering, who does not, in the end, face death?听 What would this child face in his life - what griefs would he bear, this child of sorrows? 听What would his suffering achieve?听听 And would anyone notice his passing, would anyone remember him?

His parents received the gifts graciously, of course, as parents do.听 And Mary, his mother, pondered them in her heart.听 Such strange gifts to give to a little child.

Scott

We now hear once again from the Glasgow Chamber Choir as they sing the first performance of Phillip Cooke鈥檚 setting of Laurie Lee鈥檚 poem Twelfth Night, composed specially for our service this morning.

听

MUSIC:听 CHOIR - Twelfth Night 听(by Laurie Lee; setting by Phillip Cooke)

Scott

This arrival changes everything. Even time is disrupted by this arrival at Bethlehem. The mysterious seers from the East seemed to sense this change in the air and in their astral studies.

And we live with the residue of that inbreaking of God.听 Our calendar which has just turned to 2017 testifies to the perennial significance of the event of the Babe of Bethlehem.

Ursula Fanthorpe, in her poem 鈥楤C/AD鈥�, captures the drama of this temporal revolution.

鈥楤C:AD鈥櫶� by U.A. Fanthorpe 听 Adrian Osmond

鈥淭his was the moment when Before

Turned into After 鈥︹��

INTERCESSIONS with choral response听 (Setting by Michael Bawtree) 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听

Kalpana Panickar

Let us pray.

Jesus Christ, Light of the World,

revealed through baptism as God鈥檚 beloved Son,

we ask You to hear our prayers.

听

Lord God,

we pray for Your church throughout the world

and for Christians who continue to believe and trust in You despite the worst of circumstances.

Bless all Your ministers that they may be good shepherds to their flocks and sources of hope and strength in these uncertain times.

CHOIR:听 We need not wander more but enter with our gift.

Lord God,

Give wisdom to those in power around the world,

That they may govern their nations with equity, honesty and humanity.

We pray for all those whose lives have been, and continue to be, ravaged by the devastation

of war.

Give them courage to face each new day and all that it will bring.

We commit into Your care all who have no choice but to flee their countries only to find themselves unwanted strangers in foreign lands.

Grant understanding and compassion to those in authority who make the life-changing decisions that determine their futures.

CHOIR:听 We need not wander more but enter with our gift.

Lord God,

We thank You for all that You have blessed us with in this country 鈥� for the peace we enjoy, for the choices we can make, for the daily comforts we take for granted.

We pray for the many whose lives are blighted by homelessness, unemployment and poverty 鈥� bless all those who work hard to ease their suffering.

CHOIR:听 We need not wander more but enter with our gift.

Lord God,

We pray for all those in need of Your love, mercy and healing 鈥� may they feel Your presence with them and be comforted by it.

We especially ask You to rest Your hand on those who are bereaved 鈥� fill their hearts with Your peace and consolation.

CHOIR:听 We need not wander more but enter with our gift.

Jesus Christ, Light of the World

Burn bright within our hearts, that others might look at us and see You.

And we bring all our prayers together in the words that Jesus taught us when we say:

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done, on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

Do not bring us to the time of trial but deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power

and the glory are yours,

now and for ever. 听听听Amen.

MUSIC:听 Hymn - O Worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 (Tune: Was lebet, was schwebet)

Blessing听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Scott

The Lord bless you and watch over you,

the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you,

the Lord look kindly upon you and give you peace:

and the blessing of God Almighty,

the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,

be upon you and all those you love,

this day and for evermore.

Amen. 听

Organ voluntary:听 Allegro Maestoso e Vivace from

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Organ Sonata No. 2 in C minor, Opus 65, Mendelssohn

听