1. Christmas Eve: Readings St. Croix Vineyard December 24, 2015

2. Christmas Eve: Readings God of the Watching Ones

3. * God of the watching ones, give us Your benediction * God of the waiting ones, give us Your good word for our souls Celtic Daily Prayer CCLI 571844

4. * God of the watching ones, the waiting ones, the slow and suffering ones, give us Your benediction, Your good word for our souls, that we might rest. Celtic Daily Prayer CCLI 571844

5. * God of the watching ones, the waiting ones, the slow and suffering ones, Celtic Daily Prayer CCLI 571844

6. * and of the angels in heaven, * and of the child in the womb, Celtic Daily Prayer CCLI 571844

7. Give us Your benediction, Your good word for our souls, That we might rest and rise In the kindness of Your company Celtic Daily Prayer CCLI 571844

8. Micah 5:2 But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.

9. Madeleine L’Engle This is the irrational season When love blooms bright and wild Had Mary been filled with reason There’d have been no room for the child.

10. Blaise Pascal The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing.

12. Isaiah 9:6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

13. Madeleine L’Engle: God’s Beast Least important of all animals, I am a beast of burden. I can carry heavy loads, and I am more patient than a camel, gentler of nature, though occasionally stubborn. I am not considered intelligent, and my name is used as an insult

14. Madeleine L’Engle: God’s Beast But when I see an angel in my path, I recognize a messenger of God. “Stop!” the angel said to me, and I stopped, obeying God rather than my master, Balaam, who hit me and cursed me and did not see the angel’s brilliance barring our way

15. Madeleine L’Engle: God’s Beast Later, I took the path to Bethlehem, bearing God’s bearer on my weary back, and stood beside her in the stable, trying to share her pain and loneliness, and then the joy

16. Madeleine L’Engle: God’s Beast I carried on my back the Lord Himself, riding, triumphant, through Jerusalem, but the blessings turned to curses, Hosanna into Crucify Him! Crucify Him!

17. Madeleine L’Engle: God’s Beast Least important of all animals, beast of burden, my heaviest burden is to turn the curse into a blessing, to see the angel in my path, to bear forever the blessing of my Lord

18. Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

19. Luke 2:10-14 10 But the angel said to them (the shepherds), “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

20. Luke 2:10-14 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, good will, among all people.”

21. George Herbert The shepherds sing; and shall I silent be? My God, no hymn for Thee? My soul’s a shepherd too; a flock it feeds Of thoughts, and words, and deeds

22. Bill Maher And not to put too fine a point on it, but nonviolence was kind of Jesus’ trademark— kind of his big thing. To not follow that part of it is like joining Greenpeace and hating whales. There’s interpreting, and then there’s just ignoring... You’re supposed to look at that figure of Christ on the cross and think, “how could a man suffer like that and forgive?”

23. Zechariah 9:10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.

24. Matthew 23:37: Jesus “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.”

25. Now unto us... a choice is given, an opportunity has been placed before us: To learn the way of peace, to welcome the weary stranger, to turn away from violence and all forms of racism and colonialism To love the families we’ve been given, in spite of brokenness that is at times evident, to help and to heal the hurting ones until they too can love with greater ease

27. To help and to heal this ailing planet by wise use of resources and by valuing local and small businesses and enterprises To build our communities with hard work, positive attitudes, and sincere encouragement To treat each person we meet with fairness, justice and compassion, as we would like to be treated ourselves

28. Isaiah 9:6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

29. Micah 5:5 This One will be our peace