Christmas Eve– Sacred Being

Christmas Eve – Sacred Being

5:00 pm ~ Family Service
8:00 pm ~ Candle Light Service

“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God
our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of any
works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” – Titus 3: 4-7 (Proper II)

“… she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped
him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger…” –
Luke 2: 1-20

It is not difficult to imagine this night as “reflecting
the sacred.” We gather and sing and light candles and dare to believe that love truly enters the
world time and again and anything is possible. What may be more difficult to understand, however, is that this love is ours, not because we’ve been “good” (as if God is Santa Claus), but simply because we are beloved–the firstborn of God. Our very being reflects the sacred. The incarnation of God in human flesh is proof.

Christmas Eve, Sunday, December 24 ~ “Sacred Being” @ 5pm & 8pm

Advent Theme: Reflecting the Sacred
by Marcia McFee

As religious folk, it is imperative that we grapple with our incarnational faith and what it calls us to be and do. Advent and Christmas is as good a time as any to talk about incarnation. Our wrestling with theology matters because religion has, and does, move us to create a particular
kind of world. And the world we live in at the moment has its problems (did I hear an “amen?”). The way we see the world, relate to the world, live in the world and with each other has theological roots. In other words, what we believe about the holy, what we think is “sacred” or not, determines how we treat each other and creation.

The worship series logo features a “bokeh” light effect–a term that graphic designers use to describe “the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in out-of-focus parts of an image.” We’ve chosen this look to highlight the idea that we can look through a “lens” of the sacred to see the
beauty of the Christ reflecting in all things. When we have a “hard-focus,” things appear two-dimensional. With this kind of lens, we tend to criticize, we nit-pick, we judge, we even fret about perfection. But when we add a “soft-focus” like the “portrait” setting on our phone cameras, that which we are looking at becomes more three-dimensional, more stunning against
the blurred backdrop. We see it in a different way. More fully. Perhaps even more beautifully reflecting the sacred. Can we use a lens this season that highlights the holy all around us?

Can we see life as pregnant with Christ… not just Mary in a story from long ago, but everyone and everything capable of bursting forth with goodness and grace?