Planning Worship
Focus text: Luke 2:1-14, (15-20)
“And suddenly…” Two words that signal a wondrous, glorious surprise for the shepherds watching their flocks, a surprise we remember and re-encounter every year as we gather for worship on Christmas Eve. I wonder, after reading Luke 2 year after year, do the angels seem like such a surprise anymore? Does the story, though still wondrous, seem a bit routine? Surprises pervade the Christmas season. From little daily surprises in our Advent calendars to the surprise of a large present under the Christmas tree, there’s anticipation and excitement around the possibility that something unexpected might happen. But big surprises don’t leave much room for reflection and wondering. In the moment, they flood the senses with stimuli, and only after the fact can we stop and reflect. Perhaps it’s good that the story of Christ’s birth, the angelic announcement to the shepherds, and the impromptu gathering in the stable to celebrate Jesus’ arrival is no longer a source of surprise, so that it can become a source of wonder.
As you prepare for Christmas Eve worship, leave room for wonder. Make space to encounter the glory of the story once again, not by hyping up the surprise but by inviting those gathered to reflect on the glory of God among us—the glory we encounter again and again when we love our neighbors, gather in worship, lift our voices in song, and notice the beauty of God’s creation. We all have our traditions for Christmas Eve, and this is not the time to remove traditions that continue to serve us. Instead, consider how a well-placed question or prayer can help us experience the routine in a new way. If you sing “O Come All Ye Faithful,” consider using the final phrase of the sixth verse—“Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing”—as part of a spoken prayer response. When you read Luke 2, consider reading it in dialogue with a storybook version of the Nativity story, such as N.T. Wright’s The First Christmas or the version in Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s Children of God Storybook Bible. If you celebrate Holy Communion, invite congregants to focus on the tactile reality of the bread and the juice, a physical reminder that Jesus came among us as a vulnerable baby, an embodiment of God’s love and glory. When it comes time to light candles in the darkness, take a moment and invite everyone to bask in the glory of God that shines all around us when we gather to worship and remember the coming of our Savior.
Author bio:
Dr. Lisa Hancock, Director of Worship Arts Ministries, holds a Master of Sacred Music and Master of Theological Studies from Perkins School of Theology and a PhD in Religious Studies from Southern Methodist University, where she researched and wrote on the doctrine of Christ, disability, and atonement. Lisa is also the co-lead of Growing in Grace: Accessible Worship for All God’s Children.
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