Worship and Devotions

First Sunday of Christmas

December 28, 2025

As we celebrate the Twelve Days of Christmas, our gospel today confronts us with the death of innocent children at the hands of Herod. The birth of Christ does not remove the power of evil from our world, but its light gives us hope as we walk with all the “holy innocents” of past generations and today who have suffered unjustly. In our gathering around word and meal, God continues to redeem us, lift us up, and carry us as in days of old.

Music

In A Deep, Unbounded Darkness

In A Deep, Unbounded Darkness - ELW/Acs 1093

Prayer of the Day

O Lord God, you know that we cannot place our trust in our own powers. As you protected the infant Jesus, so defend us and all the needy from harm and adversity, through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

Readings

Isaiah 63:7-9; Psalm 148; Hebrews 2:10-18

Gospel - Matthew 2:13-23

Glory to you, O Lord.

In a dream, Joseph is warned to flee to Egypt to protect the infant Jesus from the jealousy of Herod.

¹³ Now after [the magi] had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” ¹⁴ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt ¹⁵ and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”¹⁶ When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the magi. ¹⁷ Then what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:¹⁸ “A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.” ¹⁹ When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ²⁰ “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” ²¹ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. ²² But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. ²³ There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazarene.”

Praise to you, O Christ.

Music

Gentle Joseph Heard A Warning

Gentle Joseph Heard a Warning - ELW/ACS 1060

Sermon

The Holy Innocents, Martyrs

Pastor Carol Dennison

Matthew 2:13-23

The murder of all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years of age and under is like a splash of ice-water in the face after the peace and joy of the Christmas story. Yet it is far closer to reality than the sentimentalized pictures of a clean, odourless stable, a first birth without pain or mess.

Jesus was born into a sinful world, a world with dirt, urine, manure, and power-mad tyrants ready to kill to keep what they have stolen. In this world such horrendous crimes occur and, in the words of Madeleine L'Engle: "The earth will never be the same again. Rock, water, tree, iron, share this grief As distant stars participate in pain. A candle snuffed, a falling star or leaf,.... O this particular loss Is Heaven-mourned ....... " (P. 251 Glimpses of Grace) It was into this world that God's Love came, to participate in all the pain and misery which is here. The poet Yeats got it exactly right when he wrote: "But Love has pitched her mansion in The place of excrement...." (quoted p.239, Glimpses of Grace)

Did Mary and Joseph ever hear what happened in Bethlehem after they left for Egypt? If they did, they surely mourned the loss of these little ones and yet, they would not have been human if they did not also rejoice that their child was saved. It is ever so, for we all live in interrelationships with each other. Whatever is done to or by one person has effects on every other human being on the planet as well as on creation. The early church looked on this terrible tragedy and saw that these children died for the sake of Christ even though neither they nor their parents knew it. The church honoured them as "the buds of the martyrs" who had been killed by the frost of hate as soon as they appeared. Born in the wrong time and in the wrong place, they were caught between God's unfolding plan and the angry resistance of the world's powerful, the first innocent casualties in a war between God and evil.

About thirty years later, Jesus, the Holy Innocent, was also murdered by all the accumulated resistance to God's kingdom. But in his death, he conquered death and sin. Now there is hope for a future when there will be no more pain or evil or death, but all will live in God's shalom. As we honour these Holy Innocents this day, let us also remember all the innocents of all ages who have been killed and are being killed in wars and genocides, in family abuse, in poverty. Then let us resolve to do whatever we can to save even a few of these innocent ones. The fight against evil continues even though the victory has already been won. Onward, Christian soldiers, to protect the innocent and vanquish evil! Amen.

Prayers of Intercession

Empowered by the news of Christ’s birth, let us pray boldly for the church, creation, and all who are in need.

A brief silence.

God of grace, as they face this day, find those who are lost, separated from those they love, crossing unknown borders, without a country or home, not knowing where to turn: Find them, God, who always seek for the lost, and cover them safely as a hen covers her chickens. …Stand among the ones in refugee camps around the world, in the hunger and despair, in the crowds and the emptiness, in the wet and the thirstiness: Be their hope and their strength in the crying out for justice and open the ears of the world to hear their cries. … may those who live with us, uprooted from their homelands, find a new home where their history is respected, their gifts and graces celebrated, and their fear departed from them. May we be their home, may we be the ones who open our hearts in welcome. … sing to us your song of encouragement, paint for us your bright pictures of a new world where people need not flee from wars and oppression, where no one lacks a country or a home, and where we are all part of your new creation. We long to be your people, in spirit and in truth. We pray in the name of Jesus the Christ, who knew the life of a refugee. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great. (Adapted from WCC © Christian Conference of Asia, Hong Kong SAR, China. WIC pp.219-20)

God of abundance, the sun and moon praise you and the shining stars sing of your love. Where we have desecrated your creation, make us into a healing balm for what we have broken. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.

God with us, grant to we your people and especially of leaders, both lay and ordained, the courage, and guidance we need to be your people and show the world your steadfast love and mercy. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.

God of righteousness, when leaders fail to fulfill their calls to enact justice, you suffer alongside us. Propel those in power to see you reflected in the faces of all they serve. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.

God of life, you claim us as your own and care for us as Christ’s siblings. Pour out your compassion, healing and comfort in every place your people suffer, and protect them in the palm of your hand. We especially pray for the families of the more than 1,550 people who have died from toxic drug overdoses in BC this year; the families of all murdered and missing Indigenous persons; the more than 218 homeless here in the Comox Valley; the more than 600 homeless in Nanaimo; and others whom we name in our heart. (A brief silence) Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.

God of compassion, you nurture children as the apple of your eye. As you sheltered your son Jesus from Herod’s grasp, shelter all children in danger. As you comforted Rachel, comfort all who have lost children to violence. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.

Here other intercessions may be offered.

God of love, you console those who weep for lost beloved ones. Even as we mourn, we offer thanks for those who have gone before us, trusting in your comfort and protection. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.

With the joy of Christ’s birth in our hearts, we commend our prayers to you, O God, trusting in your boundless mercy and eternal love, through Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Amen.