“The Longest Night”
a service of worshipThe “Longest Night” worship service draws its name from the Winter Solstice on December 21, the longest night of the year. Tonight we meet in a place of sanctuary to honor the sorrows that temper our holidays. May this be a time of peace and comfort for you.
A TIME FOR PREPARATION
To you, O Lord, I call;
my rock, do not refuse to hear me,
for if you are silent to me,
I shall be like those who go down to the
Pit.
Hear the voice of my supplication,
as I cry to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
toward your most holy sanctuary.
MUSIC FOR
MEDITATION
(Feel free to use any name
for God that is comfortable for you.)
WE APPROACH GOD
CALL TO WORSHIP
LEADER: I am at an impasse, and you, O God, are the
one who has brought me here.
ALL: Here in this darkness, I cannot find
you. Will my eyes adjust to this
darkness? Has anyone ever found you
there? Did they love what they saw? Did they see love? And are there songs for singing when the
light has gone dim? Or in the dark, is it
best to wait in silence?
LEADER: Couldn’t
you, O God, come and sit with me? O God
of my heart, peel back the night and let starlight pour out on my upturned
face.
OPENING PRAYER
O living God, you dwell in clouds and
thick darkness. We lift our eyes to the
night sky and sense depth and fullness beyond our grasp. In the beginning there was a dark void and
from it you drew the light. It was night
when you led the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt
Hymn #333 Joyful is the Dark (vs. 1, 2, 3, 5)
CONTEMPLATING DARKNESS AND
LIGHT
Lament from Psalm 55
Give ear to my prayer, O God; do not
hide yourself from my supplication.
Attend to me, and answer me; I am troubled…. My heart is in anguish
within me, the terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror
overwhelms me. And I say, “O that I had
wings like a dove! I would fly away and
be at rest; truly, I would flee far away; I would lodge in the wilderness; I
would hurry to find a shelter for myself from the raging wind and tempest.
It is not enemies who taunt me – I
could bear that; it is not adversaries who deal insolently with me - I could
hide from them. But it is you, my equal,
my companion, my familiar friend, with whom I kept pleasant company; we walked
in the house of God together. (pause)
But I call upon God, and God will save
me. Evening and morning and at noon I
utter my complaint and moan, and God will hear my voice.
Reflection
God saw that the light was good. Sometimes it seems that our lives are filled
with only darkness. Our days stretch
before us as a void that has no boundaries.
We can only remember our hurts and our loss, and the worst part is the
loneliness and isolation we experience – especially from people we once
trusted.
Assurance Genesis
1:1-5
In the beginning when God created the
heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the
face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and
there was light. And God saw that the
light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness
God called Night. And there was evening
and there was morning, the first day.
Response
And so we light this candle to
represent God’s creating presence, with us since the beginning of time. We are not alone. When solutions are impossible to find, there
is One beside us, creating still. We are
never alone in the darkness of our pain and despair, for God’s light is there
waiting patiently to break into that darkness.
( light one candle)
Leader: The people who walked in darkness
PEOPLE: have
seen a great light.
SECOND LIGHT: Comfort
Lament from Psalm 42
As a deer longs for flowing streams,
so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul
thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and behold the face of God? My tears have been my food day and night,
while people say to me continually, “Where is your God?”
These things I remember as I pour out
my soul: how I went with the crowd, and led them in the procession to the house
of God, with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving, a multitude keeping
festival. Why are you cast down, O my
soul, and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise this One, my help and my God.
Reflection
All around us are the sights and
sounds of Christmas: the laughter of parties, the songs of carolers, the music
playing in every store. But deep within
us we carry our pain; our grief walks with us every step we take; loneliness is
a shawl we drape over our shoulders on empty nights. We try to put on happiness, but it doesn’t
fit. So, in this season when every night
stretches into eternity, we come bringing our gifts – not gold, frankincense
and myrrh, but grief, bitterness and loss.
Assurance Matthew 11:28-30
Come to me, all you that are weary and
are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for
I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Response
As we light the candle of comfort may
we see before us the assurance of God’s love that will not leave us, no matter
how dark the night.
( light one candle)
Leader: The
people who walked in darkness
PEOPLE: have seen a great light.
SOLO “In the Bleak Midwinter” – Rossetti
THIRD LIGHT: Promise
Lament: Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not
want. He makes me lie down in green
pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s
sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest
valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff – they
comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the
presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all
the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life
long.
Reflection:
Sometimes in the midst of the
preparation, joy, and celebration of this season, we find it hard to sustain
our enthusiasm. The loss, the hurt, the
pain that is so very real to us in this season overwhelms us. We may find ourselves sinking into the
darkness of our past, our sorrows, our losses and our memories. We hear the words of God’s love; we may even
be aware of God’s presence in our wandering, but the darkness of the moment
wipes our confidence away.
Assurance: Isaiah 60:1-3
Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory
of the Lord has risen upon you. For
darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord
will arise upon you, and God’s glory will appear over you. Nations shall come to your light, and rulers
to the brightness of your dawn.
The candle of promise echoes the words
of the prophet Isaiah that herald the light of hope and renewal. It is a sign that within each of us is the
power to banish darkness. And so we
hear, one more time, the cry of Isaiah telling us to stand up and stand tall. The coming of the Christ into our homes and
hearts will shine within us.
(light one candle)
Leader: The
people who walked in darkness
PEOPLE: have seen a great light.
HYMN “Comfort, Comfort You My People” (v. 1) #122
FOURTH LIGHT: Fulfillment
Lament from Psalm 13
How long Elusive One? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from
me? How long must I bear pain in my
soul, and have sorrow in my heart all day long?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
Consider and answer me, O my God! Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the
sleep of death, and my enemy will say, ‘I have prevailed’; my foes will rejoice
because I am shaken.
But I trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to God who has dealt bountifully with me.
Reflection
Mary, the mother of Jesus, knew what
it was like to be afraid. Mary knew the
wonder of God’s presence. And so Mary
sang a song of praise to her God, even though the world around her was a
frightening place, without assurance of enough to eat or a place to house the
child that soon would be born to her.
Mary’s is a song filled with hope, a song expressing her trust in God and
the knowledge that the child she was to bear would banish the darkness of this
uncertain world.
Assurance Luke 1:46-53
Mary said, “My soul magnifies the
Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for God has looked with favor on
the lowliness of this servant. Surely
from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done
great things for me, and holy is the name of God who has scattered the proud in
the thoughts of their hearts. God has
brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly, filled
the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.”
Response
As we celebrate Christmas this year
may we share Mary’s understanding that God’s promise is fulfilled in us. The sorrow and hurts of our life will
pass. There will be healing, and like
Mary we can discover and sing our own hymn of praise. As we light Mary’s Candle, the light of
fulfillment and completion, let us remember that this light can never be
extinguished when we carry it in our hearts.
( light one candle)
Voice II: The people who walked in darkness
PEOPLE: have
seen a great light.
SOLO “Mary Did You Know?” --
Lowry and Greene
Pastoral Prayer
Holy God of Advent, you became weak so
we would find strength in moments of heartbreak; you left the safety of heaven
to wnder the wilderness of the world, holding our hands when we feel hopeless;
you set aside your glory to hold our pain so we might be healed, even when
there seems to be no hope; you became one of us, so we would never be alone in
any moment.
So come now, Child of Bethlehem, to
strengthen us in these days. May we feel
your presence in a way we have never known, not just as one born in a stable
long ago and far away, but as the One born in our hearts.
You have promised to go before us into
our brokenness, into hospital rooms, into empty houses, into graveyards, into
our future held by God, and we sense you here, even now, to hold and comfort
and heal us, to live in us, now and for ever.
Amen.
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Voice 1:
Sacred Presence, we have come from
different backgrounds, from different families, from different faith
traditions. But we have all lived in the
land of shame and wandered the far country of despair. We have stood on the side of every room we
have gone into, hoping against hope that someone would ask us to dance but
finding that the wall is our only friend.
Voice 2:
In a season when so many people don’t
have enough hours in a day to get their lists checked off, their cards mailed,
their presents wrapped, we have all the time in the world: to remember the loss
that has stolen the joy of the season; to grieve over a job, a dream, a loved
one; to sit in the shadows of our homes, too weary to turn on the lights; to
wander the streets lit by lights on all the houses, but not by the Light of the
world.
Voice 3:
Our fear of the future, our remembrance
of the past, our pain that is difficult to bear and harder to release, our
emptiness which cannot be filled with platitudes, our hands which cannot hold
the ones we wish to embrace: all make this a season of long nights.
All:
Be with us in our loneliness, in our
longing, in our loss, in our living.
Amen.
INVITATION TO
LIGHT INDIVIDUAL CANDLES
During
this quiet time, you are invited to light a candle and place it in the sand,
letting it represent a hurt you wish to release, or a prayer you wish to leave
in silence. If you prefer to write your
prayer or a statement of your sorrow, you may use the note cards provided and
take your writing with you, or leave it at the altar. The pastor will remember you in prayer.
BENEDICTION
In your silence, may the Word dwell in
your heart.
In your brokenness, may the Bread of
Life fill you and mend you.
In your pain, may the One who breathed
life into you at your birth, and loved you even then, ease your spirit. Amen.
-----------------
Resources
Chalice Hymnal,
Merrick, ed. St. Louis
“In the Bleak Midwinter,” Christina Rossetti,
1872.
“Joyful Is the
Dark,” Brian Wren, 1989, Hope Publishing Co., music by Gayle Schoepf, 1994,
Chalice Press.
“Mary, Did You Know?” Mark Lowry and Buddy
Greene, Hal Leonard Publishing Co.
“The Longest
Night,” Candles and Conifers, Wild
Goose Publications: Glasgow
MORE PSALMS FOR SILENT
REFLECTION
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from
me? How long must I bear pain in my soul,
and have sorrow in my heart all day long?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
Consider and answer me, O Lord my
God! Give light to my eyes, or I will
sleep the sleep of death, and my enemy will say, ‘I have prevailed’; my foes
will rejoice because I am shaken.
But I trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord, because God has dealt bountifully with me.
As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for
you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for
the living God. When shall I come and
behold the face of God? My tears have
been my food day and night, while people say to me continually, ‘Where is your
God?’
These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I went
with the throng, and led them in procession to the house of God, with glad
shouts and songs of thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival. Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are
you disquieted within me? Hope in God,
for I shall again praise this One, my help and my God.
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not
want. He makes me lie down in green
pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s
sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest
valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff – they
comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the
presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all
the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life
long.
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