There is a Light
Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
PREPARATIONS:
The advent wreath with the Christ candle lit is in the center of the congregation. Candles for each section
People come in the dark, candle-lit sanctuary as an instrumental prelude is playing.
INSTRUMENTAL PRELUDE
Piano plays softly throughout the entire service.
WELCOME:
Tonight we celebrate the coming of the Messiah, the Son of God, promised to Israel, thrust upon humble parents, and revealed to an unsuspecting world. Tonight we journey with Joseph and Mary to witness the birth of this most holy child.
You are seated in sections, and at the close of the service you will receive light, one section at a time. Please let your neighbor light a candle for you. Please do not pass your light across the aisle to the next section.
By the end of the service the light will have reached everyone.
Now let us remember the days before the coming of Christ, and imagine the world of trouble and turmoil into which Jesus was thrust, a world not unlike the one we still have. Let us remember the hope given to us in the coming of the light.
Song "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" (2 verses)
O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel;
That mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!
O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!
Candle #1 is lit.
Leader:
There is a light shining in the darkness,
a light which shines through the Word,
and the Word is light;
and the light is the light of the world.
People:
Under the cover of a warm and quiet night
there is a heart that beats with quiet thunder,
that shudders under the load of fear
that comes with glimpsing the face of the unknown.
He shivers in the night air as he looks out the window
wondering how he will manage.
Men:
Where is the light?
So many worries...
No money,
No security,
No steady income,
only the sweat of his brow and the work of his hands.
Leader:
But he is lucky.
He is not out there in the streets begging for the mercy of strangers,
Shivering in chill night air.
But neither is he warm.
Women:
How will they manage?
the two of them,
soon to be three...
so young,
so scared,
so full of "what will happen if..."
People:
Will there be light at the end of this tunnel of uncertainty?
SONG: "I Will Lift My Eyes" by Bebo Norman
God, my God, I cry out, your beloved needs You now.
God, be near, calm my fear and take my doubt.
Your kindness is what pulls me up.
Your love is all that draw me in.
I will lift my eyes to the Maker of the mountains I can’t climb.
I will lift my eyes to the Calmer of the oceans raging wild.
I will lift my eyes to the Healer of the hurt I hold inside.
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You.
God, my God, let Mercy sing her melody over me.
God, right here all I bring is all of me.
Your kindness is what pulls me up.
Your love is all that draw me in.
I will lift my eyes to the Maker of the mountains I can’t climb.
I will lift my eyes to the Calmer of the oceans raging wild.
I will lift my eyes to the Healer of the hurt I hold inside.
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You.
’Cause You are and You were and You will be forever
The Lover I need to save me.
’Cause You fashioned the earth and You hold it together, God
so hold me now.
I will lift my eyes to the Maker of the mountains I can’t climb.
I will lift my eyes to the Calmer of the oceans raging wild.
I will lift my eyes to the Healer of the hurt I hold inside.
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You.
God, my God, I cry out, your beloved needs You now.
or have man read Psalm 121
I lift up my eyes to the hills--
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip--
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD watches over you--
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm--
he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
CANDLE 2 is lit.
Leader:
There is a light shining in the darkness,
a light which shines through the Word,
and the Word is light.
And the light is the light of the world.
People:
They have family nearby
who try to understand and refrain from judging.
But there are questions...
unasked,
Murmurs behind his back,
hands covering
mouths whispering.
Men:
Then he thinks of her--
The wonder in her eyes,
The anticipation of things to come,
Her calmness...
Sure that God is with her.
Women:
Eyes follow her down the street.
He’s seen them watch and wonder at her. She grows daily
more and more full of the wonder of life.
People:
Can there be light for her that he can’t see?
SONG: "Mary’s song or something like it"
Leader:
But there was an angel!
Imagine--an angel!
People:
The angel’s name was Gabriel.
How could she mistake an angel for anyone else?
It was no one she knew,
not dressed up,
not from far away,
but rather "otherly,"
from another place entirely ... from heaven
where there is no fear for what tomorrow will bring.
Where no one asks whether there will be comfort or safety.
Leader:
As she rested in the words of the angel,
in the darkness of her room,
the light flickered within her.
Soon they would travel. Weariness would well up in them.
People:
And the man and woman would try
to remember the words given to them by the angel.
So, the man and the woman packed up their food and their belongings
and headed toward the town of crowds and camels, of pushing and noise, of
travelers looking for shelter.
Leader:
There they would find lodging
Men:
and food
Women:
and warmth
Men:
and shelter
Women:
and light.
Candle #3 is lit
Leader:
There is a light shining in the darkness,
a light which shines through the Word.
And the Word is light,
and the light is the light of the world.
Women:
For the angel had promised her a great joy--
A child of wonder and wisdom,
A child of grace,
A child.
Men:
The name of the child would be
the awaited one,
the comforter,
the prince of peace,
the promise of God.
SONG: "Emmanuel" by Bob McGee
Emmanuel, Emmanuel, His name is called Emmanuel;
God with us, revealed in us;
His name is called Emmanuel.
Leader:
And as the man and the woman stumbled wearily into the dark town,
there were no smiles of reassurance
with hot food to warm them.
People:
No beds ready
with clean linens smelling of sun and wind.
But after the final step was taken,
the time arrived.
Waiting not for beds or linens,
or warmth,
or shelter,
or comfort,
or light.
Song "O Little Town of Bethlehem"
O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep, the silent stars go by;
Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting Light:
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.
Leader:
A miracle,
An every day miracle!
that was made miraculous
by the touch of God.
People:
The man stared at the wonder before him.
What strange and holy waves were they that cast this child on the shores of their lives?
Leader:
To be part of such a moment ...
surely it was never before like this
for anyone.
An everyday miracle,
but more.
The woman nestled the babe to her breast
as if there was nothing in all the world
but the child ...
Women:
no chickens underfoot
no musty straw to sneeze away
no drafty darkness
Men:
just warmth
just shelter
just comfort
just light
CANDLE 4 is lit.
Leader:
There is a light shining in the darkness,
a light which shines through the Word.
And the Word is light,
and the light is the light of the world.
Leader:
There they lay,
Whole and complete.
The man wondered at the gentle sounds and soft breathing
when suddenly a joy--so deep it wound around his heart,
wafted out the cracks in the walls,
soared high into the night,
and cracked the darkness.
SONG: "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" 2 verses
Hark the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!"
Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th’angelic host proclaim,
"Christ is born in Bethlehem!"
Hark the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King."
Christ, by highest heav’n adored;
Christ, the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come,
Offspring of the Virgin’s womb:
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail th’incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with men to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Hark the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King."
Leader:
The night was changed.
No longer a waiting, shapeless, presence,
but a time of holiness and awe.
Even those in the fields
were shaken by the shattered darkness.
A rent in the sky appeared and angels gushed out over the night-shrouded hills.
SONG: "Angels We Have Heard on High" 2 verses
Angels we have heard on high,
sweetly singing o’er the plains;
And the mountains in reply,
echoing their joyous strains.
Glo - - - ria, in excelsis Deo;
Glo - - - ria, in excelsis Deo.
Come to Bethlehem and see,
Him whose birth the angels sing;
Come adore on bended knee
Christ, the Lord, the newborn King.
Glo - - - ria, in excelsis Deo;
Glo - - - ria, in excelsis Deo.
Leader:
The darkness could not hold back the light.
People:
Light poured out over the keepers
and their sheep,
and rolled over the town,
pushing before it men and women who had no love for the town,
its crowds and its noise,
and pulling in its wake, wanderers from the world’s edge.
All to see the babe.
Leader:
The Word become flesh,
the light of the world.
People:
bringing hope
bringing peace
bringing love
bringing joy
SONG: "Joy To The World" all verses
Joy to the world! The Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room.
And heav’n and nature sing, and heav’n and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven and nature sing.
Joy to the earth! The Savior reigns;
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains,
repeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
and makes the nations prove
the glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love, and wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders of His love.
Leader:
And the man leaned against the dark of the stable wall,
his head resting on the rough surface,
hands limp with relief.
People:
The strangers had gone,
leaving behind gifts and memories of faces touched by holy light.
Wisps of excitement still hung in the air
and joy wrapped in garlands around the sleeping pair.
He watched them sleep,
breathing low
and soft,
wrapped together in straw and silence.
Leader:
The light of God shining in and around them
People:
There is a light shining in the darkness,
a light which shines through the Word.
And the Word is light,
and the light is the light of the world.
SONG: "Silent Night" 3 verses
Silent night, holy night,
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and Child,
Holy infant so tender and mild.
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.
Silent night, holy night,
Shepherds quake at the sight.
Glories stream from heaven afar;
Heavenly hosts sing alleluia.
Christ the Savior is born!
Christ the Savior is born!
Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face,
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.
As the song is sung, one person from each section lights his candle from the Christ candle, and then the light is passed through the section.
Revised from a service by Lynette Wiebe of the Charleswood Mennonite Church
