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In BethlehemA Series of Special Services for Advent

By Arden W. Mead

A Child Is Born

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2 A Child Is Born in BethlehemBB2

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A Series of Special Services for Advent 3BB2

Index

About A Child Is Born In Bethlehem .......................4-5

Service One: Benjamin .............................................6-22

Service Two: Obed ..................................................23-40

Service Three: David ..............................................41-57

Service Four: Jesus ..................................................58-74

Music Guide .......................................................... 75-111

By Arden W. Mead. Art by Sally Beck. © 2011, 1996 by Creative Communications for the Parish, 1564 Fencorp Dr., Fenton, MO 63026.

1-800-325-9414. creativecommunications.com. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.


By Arden W. Mead

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O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, you are little among the clans of Judah. But out of you will come forth a ruler for Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.

These Advent services may be used as either a three-part or a four-part series; the final service could serve as the Christmas celebration.

The birth of Christ (the fourth service) was the climax of a number of significant births that took place in Bethlehem:

• In the first service, Jacob’s beloved Rachel dies in childbirth as Ben-jamin is born at Bethlehem. Dramatic dialog and homily deal with grief and hope.

• The second service highlights God’s gift of family; Ruth and Naomi rejoice—after years of poverty and widowhood—at the birth of Obed (eventually David’s grandfather).

• The third service deals with David, Bethlehem’s most famous son to date, and looks forward to Christ as shepherd-king.

• In the final service, Jacob and Ruth and David gather at the Christ-mas manger to see the fulfillment of all that God had foreshadowed through them.

Please note that in each service the dramatic dialog is followed by a homily—preached by the pastor. Therefore, services one through three require three partici-pants each. Service four (which has a three-person dialog) requires four participants.

Staging and the question of costumes are entirely up to you. It is possible that all of the voices can be heard (and not seen) from the balcony, the back of the church, or over the PA system. Again, your situation dictates such decisions.

About A Child Is Born in Bethlehem

In BethlehemA Child Is Born

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About the Worship ServicesEach order of service begins with Micah’s Bethlehem prophecy and includes bibli-cal background, responsive psalmody, drama, homily, and another New Testament reading showing Christ as fulfillment—with hymnody and prayers provided as well.

Two familiar melodies are associated with the hymn “O Little Town of Bethlehem” used in the opening liturgy, St. Louis (provided here) and Forest Green. Use which-ever you prefer. For the sake of variety, if the fourth service is a Christmas service, the other tune might be used.

Choose The Prayer of the Day from your own lectionary. The traditional Advent “Stir Up” Collects work well with services like these.

Following “The Biblical Background” reading, a single chime might sound to set the scene for The Responsive Psalmody, which might be led by a person other than the Scripture reader.

The “Come, Lord Jesus” stanzas before and after the reading of the Gospel may be sung to the tune Jefferson (found in some, but not all, hymnals). The words also fit the melody Hymn To Joy (included here), Nettleton (“Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”), as well as Hyfrydol. The choice is yours.

Notice that the Dramatic Dialog in each of the first three services involves two read-ers. For those who use the fourth service, three readers are needed. Two of these, Jacob and Ruth, have appeared in earlier services and might be performed by the same people who did them then.

About The CDIncluded with this kit you will find a CD recording of the dialogs, the homilies, and brief musical interludes. The recorded dialogs may be used in a number of ways. You may simply want to listen to them to help prepare for the reading (or memo-rization) of each dialog. You may use the recordings in your worship. Or, you may provide a local radio station with this recording for use in their Advent program-ming. The musical introduction preceding each dialog may be used during worship as a musical accompaniment to lighting the Advent candles.

CD-ROMA CD-ROM is included with this book. It contains the contents of the book in PDF form (for reprinting) and text files for the services and dramas (for revising, if you wish). Also included are PDF files for bulletins, set up and ready for reproduction. Purchase of this book grants copyright for your worshiping community.

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Service One: Benjamin

An Order Of Service .................................................7-10

Scripture Readings ................................................. 11-12

Children’s Sermon ..................................................13-14

Script .........................................................................15-18

Concluding Homily ................................................19-20

Prayers ......................................................................21-22


By Arden W. Mead

A Child Is BornCreative

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An Order Of Service

—Benjamin—“O Little Town of Bethlehem” ......................... Micah 5:2-5a

O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie!

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by;

Yet in thy dark streets shineth The everlasting light.

The hopes and fears of all the years Are met in thee tonight.

PO Bethlehem of Ephrathah, you are little among the clans of Judah.CBut out of you will come forth a ruler for Israel, whose origin is from of old,

from ancient days.PWait quietly until she who is in labor has brought forth.CThen God’s people will be reunited once again.PAnd he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the

name of the Lord his God.CHis people will live securely, and the whole earth will know his true greatness.PFor he will be a man of peace.


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Where Rachel closed her eyes in death, Where Benjamin was born—

Shall searing grief e’er find relief? Shall Jacob be forlorn?

For all who seek, in anguish, Their sorrows to be stilled

From Bethlehem shall come to them God’s promises fulfilled!

The Prayer of the Day

How silently, how silently The wondrous gift is giv’n!

So God imparts to human hearts The blessings of his heav’n.No ear may hear his coming;

But, in this world of sin,Where meek souls will receive him, still

The dear Christ enters in.

The Biblical Background ........................... Genesis 35:9-20

A Responsive Psalmody .................................from Psalm 30

PI will exalt you, O Lord, because you have lifted me up. CO Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you healed me; you restored my

life as I was going down to the grave.PSing to the Lord, you servants of his; give thanks to his holy name.CHis anger lasts only a moment, his goodness for a lifetime. PWeeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.CWhen the Lord’s face was hidden from me, then I was filled with fear.P“Hear, O Lord, and be gracious,” I cried. “O Lord, be my helper.”CYou have turned my mourning into dancing; you have put off my sackcloth

and clothed me with joy.PTherefore my heart sings to you without ceasing.CO Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.

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Come, Lord Jesus .................................Scripture and Song

Come, thou long-expected Jesus, born to set thy people free;From our fears and sins release us; let us find our rest in thee.

Israel’s strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art,Dear desire of ev’ry nation, joy of ev’ry longing heart.

Gospel ................................................................ Luke 1:5-17

Born thy people to deliver, born a child, and yet a king;Born to reign in us forever, now thy gracious kingdom bring.

By thine own eternal Spirit rule in all our hearts alone;By thy all-sufficient merit raise us to thy glorious throne.

Born inBethlehem

• Jacob and his beloved Rachel •

Once in royal David’s city Stood a lowly cattle shed,

Where a mother laid her baby In a manger for his bed.

Mary was that mother mild, Jesus Christ her little child.

A Homily

Born at length to walk among us Where the patriarchs have trod,Son of Jacob, Ruth and David,

Son of Mary, Son of God,In the place that harbored them—

Humble, holy Bethlehem.

A Further Fulfillment ........................................ John 11:17-27

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Here is hope to calm our sorrow, Here is light for darkest woe:

One is born our griefs to carry, Pains to bear and anguish know.He who once drew infant breath Breathed anew to conquer death!

The Prayers

The Offering

The Lord’s Prayer

The Benediction

Closing Hymn .................................“Emmanuel Shall Come”

Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel,

That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear.Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, our Dayspring from on high, And cheer us by your drawing nigh;Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,

And death’s dark shadows put to flight.Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to you, O Israel!

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Scripture Readings

—Benjamin—The Biblical Background ........................... Genesis 35:9-20

L God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel. And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.” Then God went up from him in the place where he had spoken with him. And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.

Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Ra-

chel went into labor, and she had hard labor. And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for you have another son.” And as her soul was depart-ing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin. So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachel’s tomb, which is there to this day.


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Gospel ................................................................ Luke 1:5-17

L In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

A Further Fulfillment ........................................ John 11:17-27

L Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

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Children’s Sermon

—Benjamin—Welcome to Bethlehem! That’s what this series of Advent services is all about. It’s

about visiting Bethlehem to witness the birth of a baby.

Let’s use our imaginations for a moment and concentrate on being in Bethlehem. Can

you imagine a water-well over there? An inn? A bakery? A marketplace? Imagine

all of the sights and sounds ... even the smells that you would experience if walking

through the ancient streets of tiny Bethlehem. Can you hear a sheep bleating? Can

you smell dinner being cooked? Imagine seeing a woman coming close to town—a

woman who is ready to have a baby. She’s with her husband, who loves her very

much. She looks tired. He looks worried.

Now ... I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that the birth we’re going

to witness is the birth of Jesus. That’s what Christmas is all about, after all ... isn’t

it? It’s about the celebration of the birth of God’s Son. And that’s true. Advent is

preparing us for that Christmas celebration ...

... but we’re not there yet. We’re not quite ready for that birth.


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This couple is not who you think it is. That’s not Mary, getting ready to have a baby.

That’s not Joseph, helpful and concerned about his wife and the unborn child. No

... we’re in Bethlehem nearly two-thousand years before that birth.

You are looking at Jacob, the grandson of Abraham. He’s the one looking worried.

And the woman who’s looking tired and sick ... that’s Rachel, Jacob’s beloved bride.

I have some good news for you: Rachel will have her baby in Bethlehem. His name

will be Benjamin. He’s Joseph’s brother and Jacob’s youngest son. Benjamin will

grow up to be the father of a whole tribe of Israel—God’s special people. So his

birth is VERY good news.

But ... I have some bad news, too. Rachel will die here in Bethlehem. She will get

weak and sick while giving Benjamin life. And she will die here ... and be buried

here. Her tombstone will even become famous: a marker on the road to Bethlehem.

Rachel, Jacob and little Benjamin remind us of something that is very, very impor-

tant as we prepare for the other Bethlehem birth—the birth of Jesus. They remind

us that Jesus’ birth is all about GOOD NEWS—that God has come to earth.

But Rachel, Jacob and little Benjamin remind us, too, that Jesus’ birth is all about

BAD NEWS—that God had to come to earth to save us from something bad: sin.

And in the process of saving us, Jesus had to suffer and to die. Death is involved in

Jesus’ birth, in the way that death was involved in Benjamin’s birth.

But Jesus ROSE AGAIN. And that brings us back around to GOOD NEWS. We have

new birth because of Jesus’ birth, and death, and life!

Little Benjamin can remind us of that!

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Script

—Benjamin—Staging and the question of costumes are entirely up to you. It is possible that all of the voices can be heard (and not seen) from the balcony, the back of the church, or over the PA system. Again, your situation dictates such decisions.

The part of Jacob is printed in body type.The part of Rachel is in boldface type and indented.

Why did you have to die, Rachel? Why did you have to die?

Oh, Jacob!

You were my most beloved, Rachel! Why did you have to die?

I did not choose to die, dear Jacob.

I know, my beloved.

Or perhaps I did, in a way.

What do you mean, Rachel? You did not choose to die.

I died giving you what you most desired, Jacob.


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What I most desired was you, Rachel. I labored seven years for your hand in mar-riage, then seven more. What more could I want?

I died giving you another son, dear Jacob, another heir. The twelfth and last. A sign of completion.

I could not hold on to you, my beloved. You were one thing I could not hold.

And holding on is important, I know.

I was born holding on. That’s how I got my name—Jacob, “the grabber”—I was born holding on to Esau’s heel. And somehow, I never learned to let go. Although I was the younger son, I managed to grab hold of Esau’s birthright and his blessing. He was furious, of course.

But your running away is what brought you to me, my Jacob.

After years of laboring for you, of serving your father for the right to have you as my wife, I found that I had many holdings. And when I wrestled that night at the Jabbok, I continued my holding ways. “I will not let go until you bless me,” I cried.

And you were truly blessed.

There was so much to hold—there is so much to hold.

Oh yes, there is. And it is in your grasp, my Jacob.

But I could not hold you. I lost you here, at Bethlehem.

Here, where a child was born, at Bethlehem.

I had a vision once, my dear. At Bethel.

Where you slept with a rock for a pillow, and saw …

A ladder—a staircase—stretching up to heaven, and touching down to earth, with God’s angels going up and down on it, a connection between earth and heaven. And the voice of the Lord from the top.

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“I am the Lord, the God of Abraham and Isaac before you. To you and your descendants after you …”

Including this new son, this Benjamin.

“… I will give the land on which you lie. Their numbers will increase, and I will make them a blessing to many.”

That was a promise for the future, obviously. It waits to be fulfilled. But the Lord had a good word for the present, as well.

“I will watch over you, wherever you go.”

Good news right then, for I was running for my life!

“I will bring you back to this land. I will do for you all that I have promised.”

And more! So much more! Look what God has given me, Rachel, after all my years of serving in your father’s house, and moving back here, to this promised land. Flocks, and herds, and servants, and eleven sons!

Twelve, my dear Jacob.

Yes, twelve.

One more person to love.

And one less.

I’m sorry, Jacob. Sorry to leave you with such grief. That’s why I named this final child Benoni, “son of my sorrow.” It was the last thing I was able to say, my husband, my dying breath, my final word.

But it will not be the final word, Rachel! Even as my heart is breaking, I will not let “sorrow” be the final word! Your child’s name—our child’s name—is Benjamin, “son of my right hand, son of strength”!

May God strengthen you, Jacob, even as you bury me here where this your “son of strength” is born.

Bethlehem.

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Bethlehem.

Why here? Why couldn’t things have stopped at Bethel, when we returned to that place of my vision? “This is the house of God,” I said. And God appeared to me again.

“I have been with you, Israel.”

That is the name he gave me—Israel.

“You shall be a father of nations. And what I promised to Abraham and Isaac I will surely grant to your children.”

But at what cost, dear Rachel? At what cost? Why am I left alone?

Alone, Israel? Alone? “I will be with you,” God had promised once, when you were childless. Alone? Count your blessings, Israel! Even in the face of death God has not left you utterly alone. “I will be with you,” God has said.

That was at Bethel, Rachel dear. That was at Bethel God declared, “I will be with you.”

Is it less true at Bethlehem?

A child is born at Bethlehem. If only one would come at last to find a way to con-quer death.

Wait, my beloved. Wait, even as you leave me here to wait … at Bethlehem.

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Homily

—Benjamin—L Birth and death, how closely intertwined! It seems almost ironic, if it were not so tragic,

that the first mention of Bethlehem in the Bible is … the birth of Benjamin … which is at

the same time the death of his mother Rachel. Triumph and tragedy meet in that incident.

Which is greater? Birth? Or death?

It may seem a strange place to begin an Advent series as well—Bethlehem. Not that Beth-

lehem almost 2,000 years in the future, that Christmas Bethlehem—but this Bethlehem,

this time and place where birth was clouded over with death.

But finally they are the same Bethlehem, aren’t they? And the message of Rachel is the

message of Christmas, at its deepest, darkest, most blood-red point. The Child whose birth

we are about to celebrate with Christmas joy … was born to die. One day his mother

would experience the searing kind of agony that Jacob felt. Down through the years the

phrase “Rachel weeping for her children” would become an expression of almost unbear-

able, unbelievable grief … quoted, for example, by Jeremiah when Jerusalem suffered the

atrocities of invasion and destruction, rampant bloodshed and wholesale death … quoted

again by Matthew when Herod’s soldiers slew the tiny boys of Bethlehem. Faced with such

incidents, it is quite possible to think only in terms of “rampant bloodshed and wholesale


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death”—mass murderings of people almost too numerous to name, or to remember prop-

erly.

But Jacob and Rachel make it personal again, the way we usually encounter death as well.

One loved one at a time, and very personal. This is grief that is not academic—sterile and

statistical—but real.

And it is for such that Christ was born … and died … and rose again, to conquer death.

Not academically, statistically, but really—one Savior, one stark, holy death, for the sins

of all.

Even in the flicker of only one candle, the light begins to shine. Another Child was born in

Bethlehem, a far descendant of Jacob, a true and obedient son of Israel … a son of strength,

one whose place is finally “at the right hand” of God the Father almighty, risen from the

dead!

Christ, why did you have to die?

For you! His death was personal, and real—for you. The life he came to win for you is

just as personal—for you. And just as real!

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Prayers

—Benjamin—Prayer Of The Day

Stir up, O Lord, your mighty power. Come quickly. Save us. We need protection

from the grave dangers of our sins. We require release from the sin-shackles that

bind us. You, O Key of David, have the power to forever free us, for you live and

reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.

Prayers

O God of promise and fulfillment, God of faith and hope and love:

Accept the thanks we offer for your children Jacob and Rachel, our parents in the

faith, and for the gift you gave to them—and us—at Bethlehem, the promise of life

in the midst of death, and so the possibility of future promises clothed in hope,

awaiting your good time.


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Comfort all who mourn, we pray, and look with favor on all who suffer any kind

of want or need. Wipe away their tears.

When the time was fully come, you sent forth your Son, O God. Now we await the

time to be fulfilled, when he will come again. Direct our ways as you directed Jacob

long ago, and bring us at last to the land of promise.

Through Jesus Christ, the Son of Jacob and your own dear Son, who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.Creative

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