Sundays at All Hallows (December 21, 2025)

Welcome to Sundays at All Hallows

This year the Fourth Sunday of the Advent Season, the Sunday before the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord, falls on the winter solstice, also traditionally known as “midwinter,” the shortest day and the longest night in the Northern Hemisphere. After this Sunday the light will begin to return and the days to grow longer.

In this Sunday’s message we take a look at Joseph, husband to Mary and father to Jesus.

GATHERED IN GOD’S NAME

Open this link in a new tab to hear Christine Sullivan Robbins’ arrangement of VENEZ DIVIN MESSIE for solo piano.

The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.

Through Christ, let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Hebrews 13:15

Open this link in a new tab to hear Charles Wesley’s "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling."

1 Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of Heav'n to Earth come down,
Fix in us thy humble dwelling,
All thy faithful mercies crown;
Jesus, thou art all compassion,
Pure, unbounded love thou art;
Visit us with thy salvation,
Enter ev'ry trembling heart.

2. Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit
Into ev'ry troubled breast;
Let us all in thee inherit,
Let us find thy promised rest;
Take away our love of sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
End of faith as its beginning,
Set our hearts at liberty.

3. Come, Almighty to deliver;
Let us all thy grace receive;
Suddenly return, and never,
Never more thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
Serve thee as thy host above,
Pray, and praise thee without ceasing,
Glory in thy perfect love.

4. Finish, then, thy new creation;
Pure and spotless let us be;
Let us see thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in thee;
Changed from glory into glory
Till in Heav'n we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise!

Coda:
Changed from glory into glory
Till in Heav'n we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise!

Let us confess our sins to God our Father.

Silence

Heavenly Father,
we have sinned against you and against our neighbour
in thought and word and deed,
through negligence, through weakness,
through our own deliberate fault;
by what we have done
and by what we have failed to do.
We are truly sorry and repent of all our sins.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ who died for us,
forgive us all that is past;
and grant that we may serve you in newness of life
to the glory of your name. Amen.

Merciful Lord,
grant to your faithful people pardon and peace,
that we may be cleansed from all our sins,
and serve you with a quiet mind;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Bruce E. Ford’s setting of “Holy God, Holy and Mighty” (Trisagion).

Holy God
holy and mighty
holy immortal one
have mercy upon us

Holy God
holy and mighty
holy immortal one
have mercy upon us

Holy God
holy and mighty
holy immortal one
have mercy upon us

Let us pray.

Silence

God our redeemer,
who prepared the blessed Virgin Mary
to be the mother of your Son:
Grant that, as she looked for his coming as our saviour,
so we may be ready to greet him
when he comes again as our judge;
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Almighty God,
Give us grace to cast away the works of darkness
and to put on the armor of light
now in the time of this mortal life
in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility;
that on the last day
when he shall come again in his glorious majesty
to judge the living and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal;
through him who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD

A reading from the Book of Isaiah.
Isaiah 7: 10-16

Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. Then Isaiah said: ‘Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.

Silence

Open this link in a new tab to hear Owen Alstott’s setting of “Lord, Make Us Turn to You” (Psalm 80).

Lord, make us turn to you;
let us see your face
and we shall be saved.

Lord, make us turn to you;
let us see your face
and we shall be saved.

1 O shepherd of Israel, hearken,
from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power,
and come to save us.

Lord, make us turn to you;
let us see your face
and we shall be saved.

2 Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.

Lord, make us turn to you;
let us see your face
and we shall be saved.

3 May your help be with the man of your right hand,
with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.

Lord, make us turn to you;
let us see your face
and we shall be saved.

A reading from Paul’s Letter of the Romans.
Romans 1: 1-7

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Silence

Open this link in a new tab to hear Catherine Winkworth’s translation of St. Ambrose’s “Redeemer of the Nations, Come!”

1 Redeemer of the nations, come!
Ransom of earth, here make Thy home!
Bright Sun, oh dart Thy flame to earth,
For so shall God in Christ have birth!

2 Thou comest from Thy kingly throne,
O Son of God, the Virgin's Son!
Thou Hero of a twofold race,
Dost walk in might earth's darkest place.

3 Thou stoopest once to suffer here,
Risest o'er the starry sphere;
Hell's gates at Thy descent were riven,
Ere thy ascent to highest Heaven.

4 How bright Thy lowly manger beams!
Down earth's dark vale its glory streams,
The splendour of Thy natal night
Shines through all Time in deathless light.

A reading from the gospel according to Matthew.
Matthew 1: 18-25

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel’,
which means, ‘God is with us.’ When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

Silence

Joseph, Husband to Mary, Father to Jesus

In Jewish society of that time from the moment of her betrothal a woman was treated as if she was actually married even though she was not living with the man to whom she was betrothed. Being pregnant with the child of someone other than her husband would have been considered on its face evidence of unchastity or adultery, depending upon how long the woman had been betrothed to the man and how far pregnant was the woman. Either would have been grounds for a divorce, the only way to dissolve the betrothal. Under Jewish law the penalty for unchastity and adultery was death by stoning, a slow, brutal form of capital punishment in which members of the community pelt the condemned person with stones until they die from blunt force trauma and loss of blood. 

Joseph’s willingness to quietly dissolve their union gives us some insight into the kind of person he was as does his acceptance of what the angel told him in a dream and his acting upon what he was told. 

The New Testament makes no further mention of Joseph after Jesus and his parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover when Jesus was twelve (Luke 2:41-52). We are left to assume that Joseph had died by the time Jesus began his ministry.

What we can glean from Matthew’s Gospel is that Joseph was a descendant of King David. God communicated with him through angels in dreams. He believed and obeyed as had Mary. He fled with Mary and Jesus to Egypt from Herod the Great. He returned with them to the land of Israel after Herod’s death and made his home in Nazareth, in Galilee. In these ways Joseph contributed to Jesus’ fulfillment of Old Testament prophesy, which Matthew emphasizes in his Gospel.

I believe that we can safely assume that Joseph played a role in Jesus’ upbringing. He appears to have been by God’s grace a godly, kind-hearted man. In all likelihood he taught Jesus a trade. In those days it was customary for a father to teach his trade to his sons. In Matthew 13:55-56 the people of Nazareth refer to Jesus as “the carpenter’s son.”

While we might like to know more about Joseph and Jesus’ childhood and early adulthood, Matthew only incorporates into his narrative those details that he believes are the most important, those which show that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah.

What we do learn from Matthew’s Gospel, from what Matthew does tells us about Joseph in his narrative, is that God works through ordinary people like ourselves to accomplish his purposes. What are God’s purposes? Jesus’ teaching and example were set down in Matthew’s Gospel and the other three Gospels to serve as a guide. Fashioning and framing our lives according to them would not go amiss.

Silence

Open this link in a new tab to hear Marty Haugen’s arrangement of Eleanor Farjeon’s “People, Look East.”

1 People, look east. The time is near
Of the crowning of the year.
Make your house fair as you are able,
Trim the hearth and set the table.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the guest, is on the way.

2 Furrows, be glad. Though earth is bare,
One more seed is planted there:
Give up your strength the seed to nourish,
That in time the flower may flourish.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the rose, is on the way.

3 Birds, though you long have ceased to build,
Guard the nest that must be filled.
Even the hour when wings are frozen
He for fledging time has chosen.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the bird, is on the way.

4 Stars, keep the watch. When night is dim
One more light the bowl shall brim,
Shining beyond the frosty weather,
Bright as moon and stars together.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the star, is on the way.

5 Angels, announce with shouts of mirth
He who brings new life to earth.
Set every peak and valley humming
With the news, the Lord is coming.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the Lord, is on the way.

Let us confess our faith, as we say:

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER

Let us pray for all people and for the Church throughout the world.

Almighty God, your Son Jesus Christ has promised that you
will hear us when we ask in faith: receive the prayers we offer.

We pray for the peace of the world and the welfare of your holy Church.

Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

We pray for our Bishop N, and for all the clergy and people.

Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

We pray for [Charles our King][…… our President], for the leaders of the nations, and for all in authority.

Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

[We pray for seasonable weather, and for an abundance
of the fruits of the earth.

Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.]

[We pray that we may share with justice the resources of
the earth, and live in trust and goodwill with one
another.

Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.]

We pray for the aged and the infirm, for widows and
orphans, and for the sick and suffering.

Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

We pray for the poor and oppressed, for prisoners and captives, and for all who care for them.

Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

We pray for ourselves and for each other.

Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

We praise you, Lord God, for the communion of saints, and
for the glorious hope of the resurrection to eternal life.

Gracious God,
you chose the Virgin Mary, by your grace,
to be the mother of our Lord and Saviour:
so fill us with your grace,
that with her we may rejoice in your salvation,
and in all things embrace your will;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Accept our prayers through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who taught us to pray,

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 trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Ruth Elaine Schram's arrangement of Fred Pratt Green’s “Long Ago, Prophets Knew.”

1 Long ago, prophets knew
Christ would come, born a Jew.
Come to make all things new;
Bear his People's burden,
Freely love and pardon.

Refrain:
Ring, bells, ring, ring, ring!
Sing, choirs, sing, sing, sing!
When he comes,
When he comes,
Who will make him welcome?

2 God in time, God in man,
This is God's timeless plan:
He will come, as a man,
Born himself of woman,
God divinely human.

Refrain:
Ring, bells, ring, ring, ring!
Sing, choirs, sing, sing, sing!
When he comes,
When he comes,
Who will make him welcome?

3 Mary, hail! Though afraid,
She believed, she obeyed.
In her womb God is laid;
Till the time expected
Nurtured and protected.

Refrain:
Ring, bells, ring, ring, ring!
Sing, choirs, sing, sing, sing!
When he comes,
When he comes,
Who will make him welcome?

4 Journey ends! Where afar
Bethlehem shines, like a star,
Stable door stands ajar.
Unborn Son of Mary,
Saviour, do not tarry!

Final Refrain:
Ring, bells, ring, ring, ring!
sing, choirs, sing, sing, sing!
Jesus comes!
Jesus comes!
We will make him welcome!
Ring, bells, ring, ring, ring!
sing, choirs, sing, sing, sing!
Jesus comes!
Jesus comes!
We will make him welcome!

THE SENDING FORTH OF GOD’S PEOPLE

Eternal God and Father, by whose power we are created and
by whose love we are redeemed: guide and strengthen us by
your Spirit, that we may give ourselves to your service, and
live every day in love to one another and to you; through Jesus
Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.

[Let us go now in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ. Amen.]