Leadings and promptings

Terry Oakley shares ideas for worshipping together

What do you do in worship leading up to Christmas? Do you have all-age worship? Do you sing carols? Or do you follow the traditional Quaker practice of not marking times and seasons?

What is our experience of leadings and promptings? Can we find in the stories of the birth of Jesus something that helps us deepen our awareness of our own spirituality and that of others in the seasons of Advent and Christmas?

We have the story of wise men from the east who discern that a ‘king’ has been born who will be a ‘saviour’. They are led to make a pilgrimage to offer him gifts. The gifts are usually interpreted to represent the three roles that the child will play: gold for the ‘king’, incense for the ‘priest’, and myrrh for the ‘prophet’. They are led by a guiding star. How can we enter into this story in ways that will enable all ages to participate and contribute to each other?

First, we could have the story read from the Bible, in chapter two of Matthew’s Gospel. It could simply be read aloud from one of the translations available to us or dramatically presented, whilst remaining close to the received text. Each person might be offered a star – a piece of card in a star shape – to use as a way of sharing either a person or an experience which has ‘led’ them to make an important discovery in their lives. They could talk about this, or write or draw on the star. This might be done together in twos and threes, or family groups. The stars could then be placed on the table in the centre of the Meeting room. A time of quiet reflection or open worship could follow, in which there may be spoken ministry.

Next, the story of the angels appearing to the shepherds could be read from Luke’s Gospel. Again, it might be a straightforward reading from one of the translations available, or presented in a different way.

The angels’ message to the shepherds is a prompt to go to Bethlehem to see the child that has been born. This is good news for the world. The story can be used to help think about promptings to future action, which can help to bring about change for good.

A similar process to that of the star could be used, with an angel cut-out or drawn on a circle to represent the angelic message to Earth. This can be used to explore the messages or promptings we have received that lead us to act. Or one or two people might share their stories of how they have been – and are – prompted to act out of concern. The ‘angels’ could be held by each person during a time of worship sharing or creative listening and, afterwards, carried as a reminder to heed the promptings we receive.

If it is thought to be appropriate, a song such as the following, which I wrote a few years ago, could be sung, expressing the sense of joy and challenge when we are led and prompted to new experiences.

Angels sing your songs of glory;
promise peace for all the earth.
Let your light surround the story
of the Chosen’s lowly birth.
We will join your joyful singing
echoing the timeless theme
of salvation here among us
and the Gospel’s present worth.

God will banish our deep darkness,
break our burdens, free our fears.
We will see in shining starlight
how the message spans the years.
We will sing the songs of glory
celebrate God’s love and peace.
We will work for worldwide justice
till the bright new world appears.

(Suggested tune: ‘Ode to joy’ by Ludwig van Beethoven)

Correction (8 January 2019):
The suggested tune of ‘Ode to Joy’ was incorrectly attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach instead of Ludwig van Beethoven

---

Comments

Please login to add a comment