Sunday 29 December 2024
First Sunday After Christmas
Welcome!
We know not everyone who is part of Westwood Church is able to be in church on Sunday morning however, we thought it would be good to offer some excerpts from the Sunday morning service. Where we can, we offer parts of the service in text and audio, whichever works best for you. If you want to plug in headphones to your computer, tablet or mobile phone now is a good time to do it ! If you want to offer some comment or feedback just use the comment box at the end of this post.
Your Weekly Church Notices
Scripture
1 Samuel 2: 18 – 26
Luke 2: 41 – 52
Praise – Angels from the realms of glory
Prayers
Today’s prayer were prepared by Mark Williams, Worship Leader
For the times we do not draw close to You
Father forgive us
For the times we do not see You at work in our lives
Father forgive us
For the times we fail to acknowledge Your sovereign authority
Father forgive us
For the times when we place ourselves at the centre
Father forgive us
Immanuel; God with us
We thank You for Your presence in our lives
For walking with us in times of pain and loneliness
For celebrating with us; the times of joy
And now we join together in the words You taught us, saying
Our Father who art in heaven
Hallowed be thy name
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done
On earth as in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors
And lead us not into temptation
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory for ever
Amen
Address
Luke offers us a very calm picture of Jesus childhood. There is no flight to Egypt, no jealous King Herod hunting him down, no sense in which Jesus, Mary and Jospeh become refugees. What Luke offers us is a waiting for promise to be fulfilled.
In every way Mary and Jospeh do what is right by the commands of the Lord God. Jesus is taken to the temple for the act and ritual of circumcision at seven days old. That ceremony becomes again, a place of prophecy and promise through the words of Simeon and Anna. It is that time, when in circumcision Jesus is embraced as one of God’s people and placed under God’s promise. And then quietly they return to Nazareth where Jesus enjoys his childhood growing up alongside his brothers and sisters. We might be tempted to think that Mary and Joseph were exemplary at keeping a secret. All that went on with Shepherds and Angels at the time of his birth seemed to offer no clues whatsoever to Mary or Joseph as to why Jesus was in the Temple. Whatever, whoever they thought their son Jesus might turn out to be everything about his young life is so ordinary that it doesn’t even get a mention.
Jesus is twelve years old. He is on the cusp of becoming a man; Bar Mitzvah, the right of passage from childhood to adulthood, being celebrated at age 13. For us it feels like a ridiculous jump forward in time; just four days ago we were celebrating his birth, now he is 12 years old, still a child if only just still a child and showing that he is growing into that sense of promise. Jesus has developed a curiosity for the things of God, he wants to learn, he has questions to ask, he offers thoughtful wise answers. And he impresses the Teachers of the Law and he impresses his parents; even though they were not just a little anxious about him and angry with him for disappearing in the way he did.
Very rapidly things settle down and the little family return to Nazareth where Mary treasures all these things in her heart; not the first time we’re told that Mary treasured all these things and thought deeply about them. And yet, we never get the impression that Mary or Joseph ever try to explain or convince or force the issue, or try to show their son that he is somehow special in the eyes of God. They just let it be. If it’s God’s will then God will bring it about when the time is right.
If we truly understand Jesus to be God’s son, fully God and fully human, then it must be one of the most heart-warming things for us to find that Jesus still asked questions. He was not born with all knowledge about God, he was not born with the sense that He was God. He still had to learn, he still had to ask questions and wrestle with the answers he was given. He certainly did not accept everything he was told. Jesus was always willing to interpret God’s Laws and challenge the traditional views of the Teachers of the Law. It was there in his own questioning and seeking that he developed a relationship with his Heavenly Father. Is this why he refers to the Temple in a much more personal way as his “Father’s House”? Is this the time that Jesus begins to come alive to his relationship with God which goes beyond the annual ritual of Passover, beyond simple acceptance of the Law, beyond the codes that govern the Sabbath day and the pattens of daily life; beyond the book and into something living, growing, evolving.
Maybe we’ll never truly know what was going on in Jesus thinking or in his spirit, or indeed that of Mary and Joseph; there is so much that is not said, so much that leaves us curious for more, so many questions and so few answers.
If there is anything we can take with us from this reading of Luke’s Gospel maybe it’s this; Jesus entered into a relationship with his Heavenly Father by asking questions. As we begin the cycle of another Christian year, we too must grow our relationship with God by asking questions until we come to know him as our Heavenly Father.
Praise – As with gladness men of old
Prayers for Others
Today’s prayer were prepared by Mark Williams, Worship Leader
Creator God, you have generously blessed us with an abundance of gifts in this, your world. Help us to share in that generosity by living in a way that ensures that your gifts will continue to be available for future generations.
Creator God, we rejoice that, as human beings, we have been created in your image and likeness. But we also recognise that humanity alone cannot adequately reflect you. The whole diversity of the earth is needed to give us even a glimpse of your wonder and greatness. Help us to live in a sustainable way so that this marvellous diversity is respected.
Creator God, we live in a world where some of us throw out food while others go to bed hungry; where some have modern amenities of life at their disposal and others struggle to find drinking water. May we learn to share with one another and, in this way, come to share in your generosity to all.
Creator God, the sun, the wind and the waves are your gift for the flourishing of the whole community of life on earth. Help us to use them creatively to produce sustainable energy for all.
Through scientists, engineers and scholars new knowledge comes to light; may new developments in the production of sustainable energy protect our fragile planet and promote the well-being of all peoples and all creatures on their journey to wholeness.
We pray for the United Nations, for all international, national and local leaders and for managers of companies that they may be guided by your Spirit to make wise decisions about sources of sustainable energy for all. O God, give us your love for the whole of creation.
Creator God, You have blessed humankind with understanding, imagination and memory. Show us how to learn from past mistakes and plan for the future creatively and responsibly.
Amen
Praise – Tell out my soul
The Grace
And now… May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you and all whom you love, now and for evermore. AMEN.
A good service lots to think sbout