Scriptures for New Year's Day:
Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 
Psalm 8 
Revelation 21:1-6a 
Matthew 25:31-46

Scriptures for The Epiphany, January 6, 2017
Isaiah 60:1-6
Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14
Ephesians 3:1-12
Matthew 2:1-12

                          Covenant Service for New Year’s Day
INVITATION
Commit yourselves to Christ as his servants.  Give yourselves to him, that you may belong to him.  Christ has many services to be done.  Some are more easy and honorable, others are more difficult and disgraceful.  Some are suitable to our inclinations and interests, others are contrary to both.  In some we may please Christ and please ourselves.  But then there are other works where we cannot please Christ except by denying ourselves.  It is necessary, therefore, that we consider what it means to be a servant of Christ.  Let us, therefore, go to Christ, and pray:
Let me be your servant, under your command. 
I will no longer be my own. 
I will give up myself to your will in all things.
 
Be satisfied that Christ shall give you your place and work.
Lord, make me what You will. 
I put myself fully into Your hands: put me to doing, put me to suffering, let me be employed for You, or laid aside for You, let me be full, let me be empty, let me have all things, let me have nothing. 
I freely and with a willing heart give it all to Your pleasure and disposal.
 
Christ will be the Savior of none but his servants.  He is the source of all salvation to those who obey.  Christ will have no servants except by consent; Christ will not accept anything except full consent to all that he requires.  Christ will be all in all, or he will be nothing.  Confirm this by a holy covenant.  To make this covenant a reality in your life, listen to these admonitions:
1. First, set apart some time, more than once, to be spent alone before the Lord; in seeking earnestly God's special assistance and gracious acceptance of you; in carefully thinking through all the conditions of the covenant; in searching your hearts whether you have already freely given your life to Christ.  Consider what your sins are.  Consider the laws of Christ, how holy, strict, and spiritual they are, and whether you, after having carefully considered them, are willing to choose them all.  Be sure you are clear in these matters, see that you do not lie to God.
2. Second, be serious and in a spirit of holy awe and reverence.
3. Third, claim God's covenant, rely upon God's promise of giving grace and strength, so you can keep your promise.  Trust not your own strength and power.
4. Fourth, resolve to be faithful.  You have given to the Lord your hearts, you have opened your mouths to the Lord, and you have dedicated yourself to God.  With God's power, never go back.
5. And last, be then prepared to renew your covenant with the Lord. 
 

[Fall down on your knees, lift your hands toward heaven, ] Open your hearts to the Lord, as we pray:
COVENANT PRAYER
O righteous God, for the sake of Your Son Jesus Christ, see me as I fall down before You.  Forgive my unfaithfulness in not having done Your will, for You have promised mercy to me if I turn to You with my whole heart.
 
God requires that you shall put away all your idols.
I here from the bottom of my heart renounce them all, covenanting with You that no known sin shall be allowed in my life.  Against Your will, I have turned my love toward the world.  In Your power I will watch all temptations that will lead me away from You.  For my own righteousness is riddled with sin, unable to stand before You.
 
Through Christ, God has offered to be your God again if you would let him.
Before all heaven and earth, I here acknowledge You as my Lord and God.  I take You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for my portion, and vow to give up myself, body and soul, as Your servant, to serve You in holiness and righteousness all the days of my life.
 
God has given the Lord Jesus Christ as the only way and means of coming to God.
Jesus, I do here [on bended knees] accept Christ as the only new and living Way, and sincerely join myself in a covenant with him.  O blessed Jesus, I come to you, hungry, sinful, miserable, blind, and naked, unworthy even to wash the feet of your servants.  I do here, with all my power, accept you as my Lord and Head.  I renounce my own worthiness, and vow that you are the Lord, my righteousness.  I renounce my own wisdom, and take you for my only guide.  I renounce my own will, and take your will as my law.
 
Christ has told you that you must suffer with him.
I do here covenant with you, O Christ, to take my lot with you as it may fall. 
Through your grace I promise that neither life nor death shall part me from you.
 
God has given holy laws as the rule of your life.
I do here willingly put my neck under Your yoke, to carry Your burden.  All Your laws are holy, just, and good.  I therefore take them as the rule for my words, thoughts, and actions, promising that I will strive to order my whole life according to Your direction, and not allow myself to neglect anything I know to be my duty.
 
The almighty God searches and knows your heart.
O God, You know that I make this covenant with You today without guile or reservation.  If any falsehood should be in it, guide me and help me to set it aright.  And now, glory be to You, O God the Father, Whom I from this day forward shall look upon as my God and Father.  Glory be to You, O God the Son, Who have loved me and washed me from my sins in Your own blood, and now is my Savior and Redeemer.  Glory be to You, O God the Holy Spirit, Who by Your almighty power have turned my heart from sin to God.  O mighty God, the Lord Omnipotent, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, You have now become my Covenant Friend.  And I, through Your infinite grace, have become Your covenant servant.  So be it.  And let the covenant I have made on earth be ratified in heaven.  Amen.

​                †                                         †                                       †

          Peace on earth and mercy mild:
                God and sinners reconciled !
- Charles Wesley (a brother of John Wesley), from “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” 1734
Especially for those of you who plan to be at Bethel this coming Sunday, New Year’s Day, A.D. 2017, it is important that you take some time to look over the Covenant Service which is published above this newsletter article.
Whether you attend Bethel’s worship or not, I highly recommend the teachings and prayers which are contained in this Covenant Service.
As most of you will have heard from me in the past, I myself grew up in the Methodist and United Methodist tradition, where opportunities for renewing the believer’s Covenant with God have always been available.  Renewing and refreshing one’s relationship with God seems to me to be a basic part of being a believer.
This year at Bethel, we celebrated one hundred and twenty years since our charter members organized Bethel Christian Church.  They chose to join the Christian Church movement which had begun about one hundred years before that, here in Virginia and in North Carolina.
James O’Kelly and others established the Christian Church movement (not to say “denomination”) in 1794.  Two years before that, in 1792, they had decided not to accept the leadership of Francis Asbury as their Bishop in the Methodist movement.  O’Kelly and his colleagues stood for congregational authority over the affairs of the local church, including the choice of ministers.  They resisted the call of Asbury and a majority of Methodist leaders to join a system in which Bishops held considerable authority.
However, O’Kelly and his fellow Christian Church leaders continued to follow the religious teachings of John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement.  The Covenant Service before us this week is a basic element of John Wesley’s teaching.

{the following refers to parts of the Wesley Covenant Service, above}

† Why do this on New Year’s Day ?  While our modern January First New Year observance doesn’t have any intrinsic spiritual meaning, “New Year’s” in our culture is a symbolic time for making resolutions and “turning over a new leaf.”  And anyway, if it’s something worth doing, Why not now?

† What is a “covenant” ?  A covenant is a solemn agreement between two or more parties.  Examples include the relationship between God and Noah, God and Abraham, God and the Israelites under Moses and Aaron, and between God and King David.  The best example is the relationship between Jesus as Son of God and his Heavenly Father.

† Why an “Invitation” ?  This Covenant, like all true covenants, is yours to either accept or reject, like an invitation to dinner.  Only you can freely choose to say “Yes” to a covenant relationship between God and yourself.

† What are “admonitions” ?  This Sunday, I won’t exactly be preaching.  Instead, I mean to lay out before you these historic pieces of solemn advice – you might think of them as ‘warnings’ – to consider, before you say you agree to this Covenant.  Take a good look at them ASAP.

† If I start to say these prayers and then I have questions and doubts, is that terrible ?
It depends....
Actually, these prayers do have a strong basis in the Bible and Christian tradition, but they are only one way of praying for a healthy, covenantal relationship with God.  You may find some other form of words that better expresses your preferred way of making a covenant with God. 
It is not a sin to disagree with somebody’s choice of words in a prayer...
... but, failure to establish and maintain a strong relationship with God— SOME way— would indicate that you have a very serious problem.
 
Our Bethel Deacons have called for a service of covenant renewal and re-commitment to God, so here we are.  Please make the most of it.
 
Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.  All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats....”                                              - Matthew 25:31-32

SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR 
Christmas Eve, December 24
Isaiah 62:6-12
Psalm 97
Titus 3:4-7
 
Christmas Sunday
December 25
Psalm 96
Isaiah 9:2-7
Titus 2:11-14
Luke 2:1-20
   
     Happy birthday, Jesus!
     I'm so glad it's Christmas.
     All the tinsel and lights
     And the presents are nice,
     But the real gift is You.
 
     Happy birthday, Jesus!
     I'm so glad it's Christmas.
     All the carols and bells
     Make the holiday swell,
     And it's all about You.
 
     Happy birthday, Jesus!
     Jesus, I love You.
     I love You, Jesus.
Arnetta Jones, the Executive Administrative Assistant who operates our Central Atlantic Conference office in Catonsville, Maryland, shared the above little song from her granddaughter’s Christmas program. 
I hope that, in the New Year, many of you get to meet with Arnetta and her colleague, Angie Megna, as we put on the Synod of the United Church of Christ in Baltimore.  Arnetta and Angie, along with our Associate Conference Ministers, are the voice and hands and feet of our Conference, more than anybody else.  God bless them.
With our beautiful Christmas Card program last night at Bethel, we began our annual collection for the Christmas Fund / Veterans of the Cross.  This year’s theme is, “God’s Love Colors Everything.”
 
The Christmas Fund is administered by the Pension Boards of the United Church of Christ.
The following is a testimonial to the good work of the Christmas Fund, also known as “Veterans of the Cross” :
“It wasn’t easy picking up the telephone to share with you my present situation.  In fact it was one of the most humiliating experiences of my life although it reminded me that grace still happens.  Sometimes we as clergy persons lose sight of God’s grace when the negative stuff comes into our lives….”
“…thanks so much for sharing your time and ministry with me.  Your most gracious gift is appreciated more than words can say as I continue to live in the ‘meantime.’”
These eloquent words are from a pastor who is the recipient of the caring and concern of those who contribute to the Christmas Fund Offering.
Your gift to the Christmas Fund will not only assist pastors like the one above, but also provide for the Supplementation of Small Annuities, Supplementation of Health Premiums, Emergency Grants, and provide Christmas “Thank You” Gift Checks next December to low-income retirees.
Your gifts are needed more than ever to help the growing number of retirees whose low-income makes it difficult to meet increasing living costs.  This is your opportunity to participate in God's promise of renewal by enabling this ministry of compassion and care.
Our joy at Christmas is a response to God's promise of new life through the birth of Jesus.  It is a joy we are called to share widely, through our witness and gifts, both to loved ones and to distant neighbors.
                                †                      †                      †
Christmas-time is when we get our greatest exposure to the New Testament Epistle to Titus.  It speaks of the Grace of God which we do not deserve, yet God gives so richly.
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, despicable, hating one another.
But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.  This Spirit He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.                                            Titus 3:3-7
Like all of you, at Christmas-time I am hit by a lot of requests for charity.  We feel the temptation to throw them all in the trash, to ignore them, to regard them all as money-grubbing by despicable beggars.  We “get tired of it.”
As followers of Jesus, however, we must let this onslaught of requests for help remind us how God patiently hears our prayers, and those of the entire weary world.     Love came down at Christmas....

SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR Sunday, December 18
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
Isaiah 7:10-16
Romans 1:1-7
Matthew 1:18-25

“Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.”
                                                 - Matthew 1:19
“That’s a shame,” we say, when we hear about things going badly for someone.
“Shame on you!” my Dad used to say, when I did something naughty.  He said that to me a lot, if I recall...!
The birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: Mary was pregnant, and her fiancé Joseph knew perfectly well that he was not responsible for that fact.  Being an intelligent fellow, who knew enough about the birds and the bees, he guessed that she was involved with someone else.  But, as Matthew reports, Joseph was not only intelligent; he was also “righteous” and compassionate, too.  He had a choice: to either tell people why he was letting her out of the engagement, or to simply end it.  He was all set to simply end it without adding to her shame.
Nowadays, we live in a society which has countless different standards for sexual behavior for different people.  Laws differ across county and state lines; community standards also differ widely.  In Rockingham County, Virginia in the year 2016, a boy and girl of sixteen may marry if they each have the consent of a father, mother, or legal guardian.  In other states and nations, the ages and rules sometimes go younger still.  We are told that that was the case in Joseph and Mary’s day.
In Rockingham County and the City of Harrisonburg in A.D. 2013 (the latest year for which the Virginia Department of Health has published statistics,*) thirty-six girls here ages 17 and younger gave birth to babies.  In Page County, there were three.  One may fairly assume that those girls did not conceive those babies all by themselves.  Unless marvelous supernatural events like we read about in Matthew and Luke’s gospels took place, there were boys and men involved— not to say “responsible.”
 
http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/HealthStats/documents/2010/pdfs/TeenPregAge13.pdf
 
In fact, of 1453 live births in Harrisonburg and Rockingham in 2014, 485 were to unmarried women of all ages (33.4%).  We don’t stone women— or men— to death for adultery or fornication around here... not in A.D. 2016.  Those babies are growing up among us, as are their mommies and daddies.
This reminds me of a ‘blooper’ given to me by an old social worker who worked for the YMCA and Salvation Army for many years.  Someone sent in an angry response to the way they were described in their official paperwork: “I resent you saying I am illiterate as I was married 2 weeks before my children were born.”
Luke’s gospel says that Jesus was born while Joseph and Mary were engaged.  Matthew’s gospel says that Joseph “took her as his wife” — already pregnant.  This raises many questions for us, such as: did the neighbors make snide comments about the baby?  When Joseph and Mary went from ‘engaged’ to ‘married,’ who witnessed, or celebrated, or officiated, or gave consent?  We know who invited the magi to the baby shower.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.  We deal with people today who are ashamed, whether privately or publicly.  We have talk shows that daily allow people to air their dirty laundry.  We have neighbors who assume double standards for themselves compared with their children, or for themselves compared to people who are somehow “different”— by race, or age, or culture, or nationality, or religion, or language.
Joseph had a visit from an angel in a dream.  The angel told him to go beyond even the righteousness and compassion that were already part of his character, and to accept the baby as “God with us.”  Let us allow angels from the All-Compassion-ate, All- Loving One to speak to us in our dreams, this Christmastide, about babies, mommies, and daddies.  God is still speaking.
“Therefore the LORD himself will give you a sign: ....”                                                                                         Isaiah 7:14

SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR
Sunday, December 11
Psalm 146:5-10
Isaiah 35:1-10
James 5:7-12
Matthew 11:2-11

“The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down....”
                                         - Psalm 146:8b
After a fairly long dry spell, we have been getting a little rain, recently.  A warm breeze came through in the middle of the day today, which combined with the dampness to make it seem more like a spring day than the end of the autumn.  Our Valley of Virginia climate has always featured more variety than a lot of places, but some of these little odd intervals can be quite surprising. Nancy B tells me, her grandmother said she saw it snow in June, once.  You can’t be quite sure what weather tomorrow will bring, at least not around here.
​Isaiah talks about the weather in chapter 35 of his prophecies.  He says,
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
     the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly,
     and rejoice with joy and singing.
Maybe the blessing of water Isaiah is talking about is coming from underground— I’m not totally clear on that.  Either way, the One who provides water to the earth is getting the job done.  Places which usually are dry and barren are coming to life.

Here at Christmas time, folks seem to look for a sudden, miraculous blossoming of goodness out of our old world which is ordinarily parched and thirsty for goodness.  Crowds of people who have no use for Christ all through the rest of the year make a big deal out of his Feast Day (“Christ-Mass” means the Feast Day of Christ) and all of the hullabaloo leading up to it.
One of the weirdest things that takes place this time of year has to be the tradition of taking photos of children with Santa Claus in shopping centers.  I have participated in this bizarre ritual a few times: I know how it goes. The child is kept in line  for  a  long  time,   watching  other  children disappear into the zone of Santa and later come out crying or looking bewildered.  Finally, her turn arrives, and she is placed beside or on the lap of a total stranger, surrounded by strangely-dressed people.  The parent and photographer try various stunts to try to get her to smile or at least stop crying; the flash goes off; then she is dragged out again into the world of more shopping.
We still have a photo of one of our boys in that situation.  I’m sorry ! 
I wouldn’t do it again.
The letter of James has practical advice for many situations, including the crazy run-up to the North American Christmas Extravaganza: You also must be patient.  Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.  Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged.  See, the Judge is standing at the doors !                                                                (James 5:8-9)
When Isaiah prophesied about the desert blooming and becoming fertile, his neighbors in Judea were suffering, under siege by the Assyrians. 
Many years later, the Christians in James’ community were also very stressed and upset.  James says, Strengthen your hearts. 
Isaiah says,
Strengthen the weak hands,
      and make firm the feeble knees. 
Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
      “Be strong, do not fear!”
You may be saying to yourself right about now, “I’m at the end of my strength: where am I supposed to get more?”  Good question.
I hope you find it encouraging, to reflect on the fact that the Bible was written during really bad times, by people who had experienced suffering first-hand.  God was there for the Psalmist, to lift up those who are bowed down and uphold the orphan and the widow.  The LORD was there for Isaiah’s people, to promise a solution to their exile in a foreign land: a new way to get home, straight across the wilderness.
And the LORD was there in Jesus, healing the handicapped and giving good news to poor people. “Congratulations to anybody who doesn’t feel offended by me,” Jesus says.   (Matthew 11:6).
People say, “Jesus is the reason for the season,” but much of what goes on in this season is not about Jesus at all.  We will have more strength to enjoy the abundant life Jesus offers if we can drop some of the worldly decorations and expectations which we have piled on top of Christ’s Feast Day.