Infant Holy

God to man

Exploring
Christ’s coming
through a single carol,
readings and
prayerful reflections.
Infant Holy Forward
Welcome to this Advent service as we seek to prepare for Christmas
in what we hope will be, a wonderful and fresh way.
Together we will partake fully in the story of Christ’s coming told by
the Gospel writers, Matthew, Luke and John. Yes, this service seeks
to help us capture the whole birth drama as presented by the gospels.
It is rare to take in the whole, yet we pray so enriching.
While the readings are numerous, different voices will help bring
these to life with bursts of song between each reading. Our huge
thanks to the Caritas choir from Enniskillen for their help with these.
The single carol used is Infant Holy (verses 8 & 9) with additional
verses written to take us deeper into this wonderful season when
Christ comes into our fragile world. We will have the rest of the
month to sing all the other carols we love so much, but here we focus
in a fresh way, a chance to rethink the story we know so well.
The extra verses help us consider less well known events surrounding
Christ’s birth and childhood, Zechariah encountering the angel, the
birth of John, and the joy of Simeon and Anna along with the awful
violence of Herod after Jesus’ birth. The moment Jesus stayed in the
Temple, as a boy becoming man, is also included, but optional.
The service is of course entirely indebted to the original 2 verse carol
‘Infant Holy’. This traditional Polish carol may possibly date back to
the thirteenth century with a rhythm likened to a Polish folk dance.
In 1920 the song was translated into English by Edith Margaret
Gellibrand Reed (1885-1933).
Short reflections with prayerful responses are also provided. As you
feel able please join in the prayers in bold.
May your soul be blessed through this Advent exploration.
Revd Richard Beadle
Opening prayer

Heavenly Father
Open our eyes, our ears, our mouths,
Open our minds, our hearts and souls
to the wonder of your story. Amen
Introduction

Leader: We live through change. The Jews longed for

change. They looked and longed for the promised
Messiah, one who would change the fortunes of their
nation. Successive invasions cast them as people
daring and struggling to hope. Prophets and miracles
of the Old Testament belonged to a distant past. Yet
change was coming, not just for the Jews. This was
change for the whole world… forever changed.

Verse 1 (Tune as carol Infant Holy)

Good News coming, Good News coming,
Heaven reigns o’er all the earth.
Angels singing, history bringing,
love that speaks into the dark.
New day dawning, grace outpouring
kingdom drawing, God restoring:
God will hear and answer prayer!
God will hear and answer prayer!
 Reading 1: Luke 1: 5-25
Zechariah in the Temple

Verse 2
Temple serving, incense burning
Zechariah filled with fear.
Angel speaking, Spirit bringing,
Holy fire*, the gift of John.
Wife conceiving, great the calling,
disbelieving, silence falling:
Struggling faith encounters God!
Struggling faith encounters God!

Ldr: We are called to faith to a God who can do anything.

Yet like Zechariah we can be filled with doubt and
unbelief. Zechariah reminds us that faith comes through
questions, struggles and encounter with a living God.

Prayer: Lord help me to seek your face

through the struggle of questions and doubt.
As I grapple with you, may I find you. Amen
*Luke 3:9
 Reading 2: Luke 1:26-38
The Angel Gabriel comes to Mary

Verse 3
Angel greetings, call to Mary,
“Favoured one, you will conceive.”
Young girl questions, young girl wonders;
“Tell me please, how can it be?”
Spirit leading, Mary heeding,
fear dispelling, peace indwelling:
Words from God will never fail.
Words from God will never fail.

Ldr: A young girl living in an insignificant backwater

town is chosen by God. Why Mary? Why was she
chosen for this, the greatest parenting role ever
known? Unlike Zechariah her questions appear not
rooted in disbelief, rather trying to fathom the mystery
ahead. Her response points to why she was chosen -
trust and obedience. “Let it be according to your will.”

Prayer: Lead us in ways of trust and obedience.

Grow in us questions of wonder,
at what you can do in our lives. Amen
 Reading 3: Matthew 1:18-25
Joseph persuaded this is no ordinary child.

Verse 4
Faithful Joseph, pledged to Mary,
found his heart was badly torn.
Honour wanting, yet protecting;
Could he save himself from scorn?
Angel sharing, Son is “Jesus”
Mary bearing, “God is with us”
Come to save us from ourselves.
Come to save us from ourselves.

Ldr: This incredible new life, Jesus Christ, comes to save

the people from their sins. Our song phrases this, “to save
us from ourselves.” The desire to please ourselves comes
at a cost. It can cause us to miss our very reason for
existing,that we would know God and his love and reach
out with his love to a world full of need. As his vessels we
are truly saved from ourselves.

Prayer: Lord, save us from ourselves.

Reveal in our lives where priorities are misplaced, where
our gaze is far from you. Keep us on your paths. Amen
 Reading 4: Luke 1:39-56
Mary and Elizabeth meet

Verse 5
Young lives growing, Eliz’beth showing,*
as the kindred mothers speak.
Mothers marvelling, Spirit flowing
praise to those who have believed.
Baby leaping, joyful greeting,
promise keeping, blessings meeting:
Hearts give glory to the Lord
Hearts give glory to the Lord.

Ldr: Mary and Elizabeth’s meeting is full of great wonder

and excitement as they share stories of God at work in
their lives. Christians since, have shared the joy of being
used by God. It is the place of deepest blessing and
wonder… that God would choose to use us.

Prayer: Lord, may I know in my life the wonder of you

living and working through me. Seeking your ways,
may my heart be overflowing with praise and glory to
your name. Amen
*Luke 1:36
 Reading 5: Luke 1:57-80
The birth of John the Baptist

Verse 6
Zechariah, silenced father,
comes to name his new-born son.
Questions raising, “John we name him”
voice now filled with songs of praise;
Way declaring, Christ preparing,
death defying, light is shining:
Christ to lead our steps in peace!
Christ to lead our steps in peace!

Ldr: As Zechariah names his son John, he is suddenly

released. He can now give voice and immediately
breaks into spontaneous songs of joy. Freedom breaks
out, his heart finds the deepest joy as he walks steps of
obedience to God.

Prayer: Lord, help me understand

that it is only in your will that I am truly free
and the deepest joy is in your way. Amen
 Reading 6: Luke 2:1-6
The Arrival

Verse 7
God is ruling, empire fooling,
counting men for his great plan.
Census heeded, travel needed,
Journey then to Bethlehem.
Space enquiring, mother tiring,
birth requiring, baby crying:
Faithful girl gives birth to God!
Faithful girl gives birth to God!

Ldr: Who is to be more powerful? Is it the might of

Rome and its Emperor Augustus? Or is it a young babe,
born to a young mother, from humble origins?
A mother who struggles even to find a place to lie, gives
birth to the Christ-child. The world is forever changed.

Prayer: Lord we thank you for the way you delight in

using the small and insignificant to bring about your
ways on this earth. Help us to know more of the ways
of your upside down kingdom. Amen
 Reading 7: Luke 2:8-20
Celebration of the Birth

Verses 8-9
All sing
Infant holy, infant lowly,
for His bed a cattle stall;
oxen lowing, little knowing;
Christ the child is Lord of all.
Swifts are winging, angels singing,
Nowells ringing, tidings bringing:
Christ the child is Lord of all!
Christ the child is Lord of all!

Flocks were sleeping, shepherds keeping,

vigil till the morning new.
saw the glory, heard the story,
tidings of a Gospel true.
Thus rejoicing, free from sorrow,
praises voicing, greet the morrow:
Christ the child was born for you!
Christ the child was born for you!
 Reading 8: Luke 2:21-40
The Presentation in the Temple

Verse 10
Simeon waiting, Anna praying,
prophets age and still arise.
Watching, waiting, longing, praying,
promised one before their eyes.
Words of hope and revelation,
shouts of praise and celebration:
Christ the Saviour for us all!
Christ the Saviour for us all!

Ldr: Simeon and Anna are getting on in years. It would

have been very easy for them to have concluded their
meaningful days were over. Wonderfully their faithful-
ness to God is blessed with meeting Jesus. They are
filled with joy. It is a wonderful reminder that no
matter what our age, God delights in using us .

Prayer: Lord as we hold out our hands before us, we

thank you that there are no age limits as we seek you
in our lives. Help us to be faithful through all our
years. Amen
 Reading 9: Matthew 2:1-12
A visit from afar

Verse 11
Baby sleeping, baby feeding,
nourished by a mother’s care.
Quickly growing, little knowing;
He is Christ the Lord of all.
Wonder joining, star is guiding,
wise men searching, bow before him:
Christ the Lord is Lord of all!
Christ the Lord is Lord of all!
Ldr: Traditionally the wise men greeting the Christ child
is celebrated at the feast of Epiphany. An epiphany by
definition points to a moment when you come to a new
revelation or understanding. These are life changing
moments. We wonder how the wise men’s lives were
changed by a journey to the face of God himself? May
we continue to seek God that we too would have life
changing encounters.
Prayer: Lord when you seem far away, grant me the
perseverance of the wise men to seek you.
Lord grant within me moments of epiphany when you
reveal your love to me. Amen
 Reading 10: Matthew 2:13-23
Herod’s fury

Verse 12
Herod shouting, violence mounting;
Bethl’em sees the darkest deeds.
Mothers weeping, babes are sleeping,
infant death- the price he pleads.
But the Saviour, hast’ly travels,
plans unravel, through the sorrow:
Christ the King, he lives for you!
Christ the King, he lives for you!

Ldr: Herod reminds us that the holy family lived in times

of great threat and uncertainty. Even young children
were not spared the cruelty of a jealous king. We make
Christmas nice and there is much we rightly celebrate,
yet our Saviour Jesus came into a dark and hostile
world, a real world of death, suffering and refugees.

Prayer: Lord we thank you for this reminder

that you come into the dark places of struggle in the
world. Amen.
 Reading 11: Luke 2:41-52
The Boy Jesus in the Temple

Verse 13
Jesus missing; have you seen him?
Parents search both high and low.
Temple courts soon are revealing;
Christ has heard his Father’s call.
Jesus listens, Jesus questions,
wisdom, stature, so discerning:
Child to man, to seek your heart!
Child to man, to seek your heart!

Ldr: Jesus was about his heavenly Father’s business. Mary

and Joseph would have seen him develop in so many ways.
They would have seen his thirst for learning and his thirst
for loving others. It seems likely Jesus took time to discover
and take hold of his heavenly Father’s calling, the unique
contribution he would make. God’s calling for us too, is a
life journey of discovery. Amazingly God has hope and plans
for each one of us too.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, as the fingerprints you have
given me are unique, so is the work you have for me to do.
May your purpose for me, be the fuel for my journey of
life. Amen
Ldr: Our service ends with the Gospel reading from John.
Magnificently it captures the deep inspiring wonder of
this incredible moment in history. Our journey this night
draws us to the greatest gift imaginable - the gift of
Christ, a gift of unfathomable, boundless wonderful grace.
Whoever we are, whatever our history, this night tells us
we matter to God. That is why Jesus Christ, the light of
the world has come.
How will you respond to our most precious gift?

Reading 12: John 1:1-14

The Word

Verse 14
All sing
Infant holy, infant lowly,
Heaven’s word in flesh for you.
Christ is calling, new day dawning;
can you hear the Saviour’s call?
Life and purpose, his indwelling,
undeserving, come before him:
Gift of grace, his love for all!
Gift of grace, his love for all!
Please feel free to take this service sheet
away with you.
You might want to look afresh at the story
of our Saviour in your own time.