Online Worship for January 2, 2022

Welcome to Church of the Holy Cross’s live streaming worship service for January 2, 2022. Feel free to follow the service text by scrolling down, or you may download and print the service in PDF format below.

Online Worship January 2, 2022
Second Sunday after Christmas

Rev. Eric S. Anderson, Pastor

WE GATHER TO WORSHIP GOD

Welcome                                                                                                    Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Prelude: Let Us Break Bread Together (spiritual arrangement by Doran)
                                                                                                                        Kayleen Yuda

Call to Worship: based on Isaiah 60:1-6                                         Woody Kita

Leader: Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
All: Though shadows lie upon the earth and upon the human spirit, the glory of God has appeared over us.

Leader: Let nations come to your light, let rulers come to the brightness of dawn.
All: We lift our eyes and we see them coming, rulers and infants and children together.

Leader: Then you shall see and be radiant. Then shall your heart thrill and rejoice.
All: The abundance of the sea has come to us, the wealth of the nations in frankincense and gold.

Leader: Proclaim the name of the LORD!

Invocation: based on Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14                                              Woody Kita

You have given us your Holy Child, O God, in the birth of Jesus. May the justice he proclaimed live among us. May Jesus raise up the poor in resources, the poor in spirit, and the poor in heart. May Christ defend their cause against the oppressions laid against them; may he live while the sun endures. May Jesus be like rain that falls upon the land, like showers that water the earth. In the days of the Christ may righteousness flourish and peace abound until the moon is no more. Amen.

Hymn #148: What Child Is This                                                        Eric Anderson
                                                                                                                        Doug Albertson
                                                                                                                        Movement led by Genie Phillips

Scripture                                                                                                    Woody Kita

Matthew 2:1-12
 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise menfrom the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiahwas to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
    who is to shepherdmy people Israel.’”

 Then Herod secretly called for the wise menand learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

John 1:1-18
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.  But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’”) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

Story/Sermon: What Child is This?                                                 Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Pastoral Prayer                                                                                      Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Please join me in the Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever and ever. Amen

Instrumental Anthem: Waltz Op.42–Chopin                              Kanako Okita

Call to Offering                                                                                        Woody Kita

On this Sunday, may we be found among this called magi, or wise. May we be among those who celebrate the birth of a Savior with an outpouring of heart and with hands extended in generous giving. Please send your offering through the mail in an envelope to 440 West Lanikaula Street, Hilo, Hawai’i, 96720, or give online at holycrosshilo.com/donate. Let us pray together:

Offertory Prayer

We do not follow a star in the heavens, O God. We follow ancient words, repeated down the ages. We follow the inspiring example of those who live by those words. And we follow the star that shines within our hearts, a guide in the day and in the night. Accept these gifts with our gratitude and praise, O God, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Vocal Anthem: We Three Kings                                                        Eric Anderson
                                                                                                                        Doug Albertson
                                                                                                                        Movement led by Genie Phillips

Celebration of Holy Communion

Invitation to Communion (responsive)

Pastor: Come from your still nights and morning oases.
All:     We come with the hopes and fears
            of long years and brief days.
            We come with road dust and star dust
            with gifts always inadequate
            but always needing to be given away.        
Pastor: Come with the need for peace of mind and peace on earth.
All:     We come to the Bread and Cup,
            speaking star words with our lips
            wanting to run away from so many dangers.
Pastor: Come to Bethlehem remembered,
            but hold in prayer the sorrows of Bethlehem today.
All:     We come for Emmanuel –
            God with us in journey and shelter.

Prayer of Confession

Emmanuel, all children are holy,
and we have failed to give them
dreams of hope, paths to safety,
places of shelter from fear and violence.
Forgive us when we ignore children
in our neighborhoods and on our newsfeeds
who face modern Herod-dangers.

Lead us this new year to find magi-resources,
map the journeys to possibility,
and welcome all who need a safe place,
for we pray in the name
of any frightened child of Bethlehem. amen

Assurance of Grace (responsive)

Pastor: The dream came, there was enough gold for a fresh donkey,
the moon shone on the desert.
All: God forgives us when we put hands over our ears
because we are so tired of weeping for our own past year.
Pastor: God gives us courage to help
the most vulnerable in our world in the year to come.
All: Thanks be to God.

Words of Remembering

We remember today a Child born to change everything
and the endangerment of many children,
and we remember that the baby
named Jesus,
grew up to help people
in their hurting and loss,
traveled as many roads as we do,
taught us with simple words
we can understand,
and stories we come to many times
to find new meaning.

We remember that there are six miles
between Bethlehem and Jerusalem,
and some thirty years between the magi visit
and a Passover meal when Jesus blessed
a new royal gift – Bread of hope
and a Cup of love poured freely.

Prayer of Consecration

Emmanuel, God you are with us, in our lonely nights,
and following so-distant stars.
We carry all our old years and open our new one,
always hoping,
for an oasis for each of us and a blessing on earth,
in the form of bread in our hands, and the cup we lift.

May this Bread and Cup be so sacred
we never lose the Star’s shine,
ignore the new year and new chance embedded in every day,
or forget Christ who calls us to sharing and joy. Amen.

Sharing of the Elements

Pastor: Let us share the bread.
All: It is the gift that reminds us of our gifts.   
Pastor: Let us drink deeply.
All: So that we may always travel on.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

God, we give thanks that you come to us as Epiphany, in Bread and Cup, in old story and your answer to each of our hopes, need for peace, longing for joy, commitment to love. You have filled us so we may share the good tidings all the year-long. Amen.

Announcements                                                                                     Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Benediction                                                                                              Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Postlude: Jubilate Deo—G. F. Handel, arr. Blake                         Kayleen Yuda

Permissions
Let Us Break Bread Together (spiritual arrangement by Doran)
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

What Child Is This
Text: William C. Dix, 1865
Tune: GREENSLEEVES, 16^th cent. English trad.
Public Domain

Waltz Op.42—Chopin
Public Domain

We Three Kings of Orient Are
Text: John H. Hopkins, Jr., 1856
Tune: KINGS OF ORIENT by John H. Hopkins, Jr., 1857
Public Domain

Communion liturgy by Maren Tirabassi
giftsinopenhands.wordpress.com
Used by permission of the author

Jubilate Deo—G. F. Handel, arr. Blake
Tune: © Lorenz Publishing Company, a division of the Lorenz Corporation
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

Pastor                                                          Rev. Eric S. Anderson
Moderator                                                 Woody Kita
Lay Reader                                                Woody Kita
Chapel Decorations                              Laura Ota
Choir Accompanist                                Kanako Okita
Choir Director                                         Doug Albertson
Organist                                                     Kayleen Yuda
Hand Bell Director                                Anna Kennedy
Childcare Coordinator                        Evonne Shioshita
Movement Leader                                 Genie Phillips
Projected Imagery                                Sue Smith
Web Master                                              Ruth Niino-DuPonte  
Videographers                                        Eric Tanouye, Bob Smith

This week at the Church of the Holy Cross

• Pickleball: Mondays, 12 noon, Tuesdays, 8:30 a.m., Wednesdays, 2:00 p.m., Thursdays, 8:30 a.m., Fridays, 8:30 a.m., Saturdays 12:00 p.m., Sundays 1:30 p.m. Building of Faith—limited to 10 attendees
• Bible Study with Pastor Eric: Tuesdays, 3:00 p.m. via Zoom.
• Online Song – Wednesday, 11:00 a.m. online.
• Community Concert – 2^nd and 4th Fridays, 6:00 p.m. online.