Dreaming with God Christmas Eve Communion

A Christmas Eve Communion Liturgy based on the Gospel of Matthew

INVITATION/CONFESSION/PARDON

When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel commanded. God is waking us up, now, today. How many of us are still asleep, trapped in nightmares that obscure the dream God has for us? Or how many of us are still asleep, too comfortable in our own dreams to pay attention to the life God calls us to? We have forgotten God's commandments, wrapped up in the sleep. Let us respond as Joseph did, turning our hearts to God:

Light of the World, shine into the shadowed places of our souls tonight. Where we are confused or violent, bring us peace. Where we are fearful or worried, grant us strength. Where we are grieving and lost, comfort us. Where we are hateful or apathetic, shake us up. Wake us with your transforming love.

Silence

Do not be afraid. God came to dwell among us to show us how beloved we are.

We are awoken and set free from the bondage of sin and evil by that great love. For nothing is impossible with God!

THE PASSING OF THE PEACE

You are invited to turn to those sitting near you and offer signs of peace.

THE GREAT THANKSGIVING

Emmanuel means God-With-Us.

God is with us indeed.

Open your hearts to this Emmanuel

and be not sent away empty, but rather filled with good things.

For in the beginning of creation, God shared a dream with us, a dream of goodness and abundance. God breathed into us, inspiring us. But we took God's dream and turned it into a nightmare in which brother killed brother, kings became tyrants, and violence seemed more natural than breathing.

Yet God adapted the dream, teaching brothers to forgive and women to resist evil, painting rainbows and opening the sea. God crafted laws as a way to bring the dream to life, and sent prophets to point us back toward love and justice. And then God offered us inspiration by taking on flesh and dwelling among us.

Glory to our God who is full of grace and truth!

Mary believed in the fulfillment of the dream God shared with her, as Joseph did. Mary proclaimed that dream when she spoke of bringing the powerful from their thrones and lifting up the lowly. This is what God did in Jesus: he lifted up the sick by healing them, the marginalized by loving them, and dreamed again goodness and abundance for all of creation.

Even when we abandoned this dream too, Emmanuel would not leave us. Before he was taken away by those who create nightmares, he gathered us around a table. He broke bread with us and blessed it, saying:

This is my body, given for you. In its brokenness, may you be restored to wholeness.

When we had eaten, Jesus took the cup, again gave thanks, and said:

This is my lifeblood, poured out to bring healing to our world.

When we eat and drink and receive Jesus, we dream with God, proclaiming a mystery together:

Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.

Let us pray:
Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these gifts of bread and wine. Share your dream with us again as we come together on this sacred night. From your fullness may each of us here receive grace upon grace. May we in receiving through bread and cup, wake up and go forth from this place living this dream with our brothers and sisters. May we be light that shines in the darkness that the darkness cannot overcome.
Amen.

And now with the confidence of children of God, let us pray as Jesus taught us:

Join in the prayer of Jesus in whatever language helps you feel more connected to God and one another.

THE BREAKING OF THE BREAD AND THE OFFERING OF THE CUP AND THE SHARING IN THE FEAST

Using those words and elements that fit your context, invite one another to the Table and eat together.

THE PRAYER AFTER RECEIVING

Let us pray: Emmanuel, we give you thanks for this mystery, for how you came to be with us in human form and in this meal to love and nourish us. Now we ask that as we light candles and sing, your grace will grow within us, overflowing to touch those around us. Let your love pour out of this place so we might live as those who know you are indeed with us. Amen.