Litany for Christmas Communion

The words put in Mary's mouth were inspired by a 4th-century Syrian named Ephrem.

Performance notes: This litany is an oral icon that engages us with Mary in beholding Christ. It is recommended for use on Christmas Eve or Day in a service of Word and Table. It might be used as an opening act of praise, a response to the readings and sermon, or as an act of devotion prior to the Great Thanksgiving. A female voice should read or sing the part of Mary. An icon of Mary and the child Jesus, projected or placed before the congregation, could give a visual dimension to this act of worship. In place of the refrain of "O Come, All Ye Faithful" (The United Methodist Hymnal, 234), the refrains of the following songs in The Faith We Sing may be used:

• "Star-Child," 2095
• "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High," 2088
• "Open Our Eyes," 2086
• "He Came Down," 2085

In a postmodern and digital world, images and visually rich connections to Christ link us to the wider experience of the church across time. Be courageous and innovative in moving from modern sensibilities to engage imagination and multiple senses. It is not necessary to print the text of the litany below. The musician can cue the people to sing the refrain as they look at a suitable icon.

• For other icons of the virgin and child, visitwww.textweek.com/art/holy_family.htm or http://www.sacredicons.com/hodegetria.html.
• For an article on the Wesleys and Ephrem the Syrian, read
  http://syrcom.cua.edu/Hugoye/Vol1No2/HV1N2Wakefield.html.

Mary to the newborn:

I am not jealous, my child, that you are both with me and
with everyone.
Be God to those who confess you, and be Lord to those
who serve you,
and be brother to those who love you so that you save all.

The people singing:

O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

Mary:

While you lived in me, you were both in me and outside of me.
Your majesty dwelt in me yet in birth your hidden power was not
taken from me.
You are within me, and you are beyond me, O blessed Mystery.

The people singing:

O come, let us adore him ...

Mary:

With my eyes I see your outward image, with my mind I see your
hidden image.
In the outward image I see Adam,
but in the hidden one I see God [the Father] with whom you are one.

The people singing:

O come, let us adore him ...

Mary:

Do you show your beauty in two images to me alone?
Let bread and mind manifest you to all. Live in bread and in all
who eat it.
Let your church see you, as does she who bore you.

The people singing:

O come, let us adore him ...

Mary:

Distant ones who love your bread are like those who cherished you in
the body.
In bread and body the former and the latter behold you.
Those far in the future rejoice; their portion is greater than mine.

The people singing:

O come, let us adore him ...

For a full text of Ephrem's hymn on the nativity (no. 16) as translated by Kathleen McVey, see Ephrem the Syrian: Hymns in The Classics of Western Spirituality (Paulist Press, 1989), pp. 149-152.