2022 Christmas Church Service from EFKS East Tamaki

From the EFKS (Ekalesia Fa’apotopotoga Kerisiano Samoa) Congregational Christian Church of Samoa in East Tamaki, Auckland

Rev. Eperone Futi: service leader
Toma Futi and Mafumaiala Fenunuti: Bible readers
Choir director, music arrangements, pianist: Wayne Seau
Junior Youth Choir of the EFKS Church

PRELUDE

O HOLY NIGHT
Piano Solo by Wayne Seau

 

Rev. Eperone Futi:

Let us worship God

PRELUDE AND LOGOTASI

AMATA LOTU
Sung by the choir

PRAYER OF INVOCATION

Rev. Eperone Futi:

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness, on them light has shined.

Congregation:

For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Rev. Eperone Futi:

O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.

Congregation:

For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be revered above all gods. Worship the Lord in holy splendour; tremble before him, all the earth.

Rev. Eperone Futi:

Lord Jesus, the Light of the world and the reason for Christmas. As the three wise kings honoured you, and as the shepherds and angels worshipped you; we too as a nation come not just to celebrate and remember your coming to be with us, but even more so to magnify your Holy Name. May we be open to your leading, sensitive to your speaking and alert to your calling. May our hearts overflow with thanksgiving and our mouths proclaim your everlasting greatness. In the wonderful name of Jesus, we pray.

Amen.

We will sing to the praise of God Samoan hymn No. 107, Pour upon us O Lord your Holy Spirit.

HYMN 107
IA FAAMALIGI MAI
Pour upon us O Lord your Holy Spirit
Sung by the choir

Ia faamaligi mai
Lo matou nei Tamā
Lou lava alofa ia i matou
E lou Agaga Sa

Ia faamaligi nei
Lea lava alofa mai
E faatutumu ia i matou
Ia matou fiafia ai

Ia faamaligiina ai
Sei olioli ai
Ma matou tau vivii ai
I lou alofa mai

Ia faamaligiina ai
E faauma ai le ma
Ia matou lata ai ia te oe
Lo matou nei Tama

Ia faamaligiina ai
Ia i matou uma nei
Ia loto malolosi ai
I au feau lelei

Tali
Ia faamaligiina ai
Sei olioli ai
Ma matou tau vivii ai |
I lou alofa mai

Rev. Eperone Futi:

We will listen and hear the reading of God’s word.

BIBLE READINGS

Toma Futi reads from the Bible
Matthew 1:18-25

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet he did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dreams and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel” (which means “God with us”).

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Mafumaiala Fenunuti reads from the Bible
Luke 1:39-45

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfil his promises to her!”

Rev. Eperone Futi:

We will praise God again by singing Samoan hymn No. 34: Let us rejoice and be thankful for Jesus Christ.

SAMOAN HYMN 34
TATOU TE OLIOLI
(Let us rejoice and be thankful for Jesus Christ)
Sung by the choir

Tatou te olioli
Tatou te faafetai
Ia Iesu le Keriso
Le Ola e ola ai

Ne’i mao le mitamita
I mea faaleaoga
Tau lava o Keriso
Na afio mai luga

Ia fiu ai le loto
I agamasesei
Ia galo i manatu
Le lalolagi nei

A e olioli pea
I Le alofa mai
O Iesu le Keriso
Le Ola e ola ai

O Iesu le Keriso
Na puapuaga
Na tali le satauro
Le sasa ma le ma

Lenei o le satauro
E olioli ai
Aua Iesu Keriso
O Ia na maliu ai

Ia fiu ai le loto
I agamasesei
Ia galo i manatu
Le lalolagi nei

A e olioli pea
I Le alofa mai
O Iesu le Keriso
Le Ola e ola ai

PRAYERS

Rev. Eperone Futi:

Let us pray.

Lord and God of all, we come before you proclaiming our gratitude, celebrating and acknowledging the good news of our Saviour’s birth, the hope of all the world.

We give you thanks and praise because as we celebrate Jesus’ birth, the Prince of Peace, we celebrate the vision of peace especially in a world filled with hate and wars.

We thank you Lord God, because as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we celebrate the love of the Good Shepherd who comes to seek and take care of the lonely and lost.

We thank you because as we celebrate the birth of our Saviour, we celebrate the good news of healing in a world recovering from different diseases and pandemic, a world filled with people who are wounded physically, mentally and spiritually and are in need of restoration.

Rev. Eperone Futi:

We thank you because as we celebrate Christmas, we are reminded of your real presence among us, and the gift of yourself through your Son, born in a manger.

But as we celebrate the birth of the greatest gift ever to the world through our Saviour Jesus Christ, we realise that we have failed to live up to the expectations of our Lord and Saviour. We have not been good ambassadors of peace. Forgive us for failing to attend to the needs of others, for being blind to the moral injustices going on around us, and for being deaf and silent to the cries of those who are victims of social, political, economic and every form of abuse and injustice. Merciful God, forgive our shortcomings and sins.

We pray for those who experience no peace, those who are denied justice, hope and dignity; we pray for all victims of prejudice, violence, hatred and greed. Make us bearers of your message of peace and goodwill.

Rev. Eperone Futi:

We pray for those for whom Christmas is a time of sadness and distress. We pray for the unwanted and the unloved, for the hungry and homeless; and for those who are unsure of the future. May we, like Mary, be the bearer of your love to the world.

We pray for all those broken in body, mind and spirit; and for this broken world suffering wars and pandemic. We pray for those who mourn the absence of loved ones, for the sick and the dying, as well as all those who minister to them. May we, like the Christ-child, bring your tender compassion to all in need. 

O Lord we come before you today to pray for our elected leaders. Grant our Leaders the courage and integrity to stand for what is right. Grant them wisdom in order to make wise decisions that will benefit everyone, and uphold a standard of righteous values for our people, as a result bringing stability to our nation.

Rev. Eperone Futi:

We also pray for media outlets like Radio New Zealand, to continue to be the channel of your holy and righteous ways.

Teach us not to get lost in the worldly celebrations of this special day. Make us see with our eyes the true meaning of Emmanuel. That you, God are forever with us, your true healing, loving and restoring presence permeates every aspect and sphere of life. Reassure us that though worldly systems and government and even religious communities may fail to reach out to all of us, yet you O God Emmanuel will never abandon us.

We pray all these in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Amen.

SAMOAN HYMN 3:
(Lord we thank you; for you had made known your goodness to us.
We exalt you for sending your Son Jesus to save us)
Sung by the choir

Le Alii e, ua faafetai
Ua lauiloa lou lelei
Ua fa’aalia tino mai
I mea uma ua E fai

Matou te faamanu ai nei
I lou alofa tele mai
Na e auina mai Iesu
O Le na togiola mai

O loo vivii i lau Afio
Le au agelu i luga
Ma ou tagata o i ai
Sa tautiga i lalo nei

Matou te faamanu ai nei
I lou alofa tele mai
Na e auina mai Iesu
O Le na togiola mai

Le Alii e, ua faafetai
Ua lauiloa lou lelei
Ua fa’aalia tino mai
I mea uma ua E fai

Matou te faamanu ai nei
I lou alofa tele mai
Na e auina mai Iesu
O Le na togiola mai

SERMON

By Rev. Eperone Futi

Focusing on a text from the bible (Luke 1:39-45), the sermon considers what it means for God to be with us, as well as in the periphery and beyond.

The gospel story that we read today from Luke, tells the story of the meeting between two women. Two women in the opposite poles of life.

One, a young virgin, too early and too young to be a mother. Though she is engaged, but she had not yet known a man.

The other, an old married woman, well past her years to give birth, and too old to be a mother.

Fair to say that with their circumstances, becoming pregnant is impossible.

But miraculously, and it is indeed a miracle, when we find these women, they are both pregnant.

The young virgin Mary is pregnant with Jesus by the Holy Spirit, her much older relative Elizabeth, is pregnant with John, who would prepare the way for Jesus.

Elizabeth had been praying with her husband Zechariah for many years for a child. It seems that everyone, including her husband, thought that she was too old. Even Elizabeth herself had resigned to the idea that she can never have children.

She even claimed earlier that she had endured disgrace from her own people, for not being able to give birth to a child. The word Disgrace is: Dis – to remove from – grace.

Everybody, even including Elizabeth and her husband thought that grace had passed her by. But grace is usually associated with God. If grace had passed her by, it is like saying, that God had passed her by, that God had overlooked her.

So in the language of our theme for today, Elizabeth is pushed or relegated to the periphery, or even beyond, the space allocated for those who had been overlooked and disregarded. Another word that describes the periphery is the word margin.

So Elizabeth is marginalized. Marginalized by her own people. And in her mind, she is marginalized and overlooked by God. She has been disgraced.

But Elizabeth is a well-respected woman. She is married to Zechariah the priest. She herself is from the Aaronic priestly line. She has status.

She had a life, only, there is something missing in it. In her eyes and in the eyes of her community and family; her life is incomplete. Something her good social status and a loving husband cannot fill.

Mary on the other hand, like all good Jewish young women at that time, she hoped that one day she will become a mother, but only when it is right and acceptable in the eyes of their community.

Definitely not while she was a virgin and unmarried. Much worse, is to be pregnant by someone other than the man she was engaged to. This is unacceptable and disrespectful to say the least.

Both women had expectations that they needed to be fulfilled. But all those expectations were interrupted by God.

God’s interruption into Elizabeth’s life, finally filled the gap and answered their prayers for a child. She is no longer disgraced. She is no longer marginalized.

But God’s interruption in Mary’s life is a different matter altogether. It is devastating for Mary socially.

The gospel of Luke even claimed that the news of her pregnancy deeply troubled and scared Mary. And rightly so. A young unmarried pregnant woman who had already been engaged, is major news headlines for that culture and community in a bad way.

But Luke never said anything about how Joseph felt. It is as if Joseph does not exist at all, or his feeling are not important.

From the gospel of Matthew, we get the story of the angel’s visit to Joseph in a dream. I always kind of feel sorry for Joseph. Throughout the Christmas story, he seems to be a person pushed to the margin, playing a supporting role to Mary. Ironically, this is in a culture where men supposedly control everything; including women.

He finds that the woman he is engaged to is pregnant. That is insulting and despicable in their culture. Because to be engaged is just as binding legally as the marriage itself, but without the sexual contact. I can only imagine his state of mind at the time.

But Joseph is described to be a righteous man, meaning he always try to do the right thing. Furthermore, he did not want to disgrace Mary. What a man!

Despite feeling disgraced by Mary’s pregnancy, he did not want to disgrace Mary publicly. Although this is his right in order to redeem his name. He has decided instead, to silently divorce Mary.

In their culture, where unmarried pregnant women are stigmatized, Mary herself will not just be marginalized, she will in fact be alienated from her society. Joseph’s well intended solution will not save Mary’s reputation; nor serve her best interests.

The good news is, God visited Joseph. He is not left in the margins. God even came to him in his darkest of moments. It’s kind of funny that in Matthew’s gospel, it is Joseph who is commanded not to fear, not Mary. We usually fear what we do not understand

The message to Joseph is do not fear, but arise and take responsibility of Mary and the child that will be born. And Joseph shall name him Jesus.

Naming a child is huge in the Jewish culture. It is claiming the child to be your own. The name of the child also is equally important, because the name is an indication of that child’s life.

Joseph is called to take Mary for his wife. Not to dismiss her; but to take her as a wife. Joseph is also called to take the child and name him. It is a command to embrace and be part of this prophesied child’s ministry; a ministry of grace to the marginalized. To be part of the saving ministry, for Jesus means Saviour.

I suppose some of us feel like Elizabeth, that the grace of God moved so slowly, or feel that it had not moved at all. And we too feel that we are removed from grace.

We feel that no matter how hard we work, we still struggle to make ends meet. We cannot fulfil our dreams for a good sustainable life for ourselves. We feel that that powers that are, are not hearing us and failing us.

Or sometimes we feel like Mary, dismissed and left alienated to the mercy of the elements of life. We become victims of societal norms.

Sometimes, we feel like Joseph. When challenges come our way, it’s easier to dismiss them and look the other way.

I am in awe of Joseph. He intended to divorce Mary because of fear. But after the angel’s visit; he no longer feared. Instead, he did the opposite of what he initially intended. He married Mary.

In other translations like the New International Version, it says that Joseph took Mary home. He brought Mary from the margins and beyond, to the comfort of his home.

We are living in a society that is divided by wealth and social status. We have just a few in the centre holding and controlling everything. Most of our people felt pushed and left forgotten in the margins. Some, sad to say, are left alienated by government systems and policies that favour and protect a few.

We hear the concerns and cries of people from the margins and beyond of our society: the poor, the underpaid, the homeless, people who are stretched thin by the cost of living and frustrated by empty promises.

Some are left in the margins and alienated by racial discrimination; because of gender discrimination and so forth.

This Christmas, we are reminded again of its core message: that Emmanuel, the incarnation of God through Jesus, the baby born in a manger, is the calling for all of us to attend to the margins of society.

Not to look away, not to dismiss them as despicable. Rather as Joseph was called to be attached to what he thought was a problem that needed to be dismissed; we too are called not just as a church but as a government and a nation to bring grace to the neglected parts of society.

To hear their cries and concerns, to claim them as our responsibility.

That was and still is the message of Christmas. A message of grace for the less fortunate by God, who came to the world born in the margins of society, and identifying himself forever with people in the margins. Today we are called again: Come let us go to the margins this Christmas. Let us bring the marginalized and the alienated home.

In the Name of God the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit; Amen.

SAMOAN CHRISTMAS CAROL
(The angels rejoiced on that night Jesus the Messiah was born)
Sung by the choir

Na pepese mai le au agelu
I le po na fanau ai o Iesu o le Mesia
O le viiga i le Atua i mea aupito a luga
Ma le manuia i le lalolagi

Pese aleluia, aleluia
Ua fanau mai le Mesia
Pese aleluia
Pese osana ia Iesu
Ua fanau mai Iesu ma le filemu

O le tala ua salalau
Ua fanau mai le Tupu Sili o le faavavau
Ua potopoto mai le au agelu ma latou vivii
Ia Iesu o Ia le Tupu Silisili

Pese aleluia, aleluia
Ua fanau mai le Mesia
Pese aleluia
Pese osana ia Iesu
Ua fanau mai Iesu ma le filemu

Ua fanau Iesu ma le maulalo
Ina ia maua e tagata o le manuia
Na afio i le fale o manu ma lona maulalo
Ae faaeaina ma le fiafia

Pese aleluia, aleluia
Ua fanau mai le Mesia
Pese aleluia
Pese osana ia Iesu
Ua fanau mai Iesu ma le filemu

BENEDICTION

Rev. Eperone Futi:

Before we say the blessing, we would like to wish each and every one of you, and especially those who find themselves in the margins of society; a very Merry Christmas, and we leave you with the promise of Emmanuel, our God who is with us always.

May the peace of God, the everlasting love of Jesus Christ our Saviour, and the never-ending presence of the holy spirit, be upon New Zealand and everyone in the world on this festive season and forever more, world without end, Amen.

Choir:

Amene.

AND AS A SPECIAL CHRISTMAS GIFT, THE CHOIR ALSO SINGS THREE MORE HYMNS IN SAMOAN

PESE 92

People of, of the sea
Who are free, free to be
Le Atua we ask, Le Atua we receive
People of the sea
We who are free
Free to choose, free to be
Le Atua we ask, Le Atua we receive

Faafetai i le Atua
Le na tatou tupu ai
Ina ua na alofa fua
Ia te i tatou uma nei
Ia pepese
Aleluia faafetai

Faafetai i lona Alo
Le na afio mai luga
Le ua fai ma faapaolo
Ai le puapuaga
Ia pepese
Aleluia faafetai

Faafetai i le Agaga
Le fesoasoani mai
E manuia ai talosaga
Atoa uma mea e fai

PESE 371

Laulau mai pea ia te i matou
O upu lelei e ola ai
E fiafia atili ai
I upu lelei e ola ai
Upu malie i loto
E maua ai le ola

Upu lelei, upu malie. Upu malie e ola ai

Iesu le o faaali mai
O upu lelei e ola ai
Ia faalogo i matou i ai
I upu lelei e ola ai
Iesu ia e alofa
Faaaoga mai pea

Upu lelei, upu malie. Upu malie e ola ai

Talia e outou le valaau
O upu lelei e ola ai
Talai atu i e le iloa
O upu lelei e ola ai
Iesu lou faaola
Ia teu i lou loto

Upu lelei, upu malie. Upu malie e ola ai

PESE 356

Lota nuu ua ou fanau ai
Ua lelei oe i le vasa e
Ua e maua mai luga
O le tofi aoga

E ua lalelei Samoa
Lona valevalenoa
Ia moomia ai ou fanua
Tama Samoa ala mai

Samoana ala mai
Fai ai nei le faafetai
I le pule ia maua ai
O lou nuu i le vasa e

Nuu mamao ua e maua ai
Mea lelei e atiae
Lou mamalu ia mautu
Mataupu tau Iesu

E ua lalelei Samoa
Lona valevalenoa
Ia moomia ai ou fanua
Tama Samoa ala mai

Samoana ala mai
Fai ai nei le faafetai
I le pule ia maua ai
O lou nuu i le vasa e

This celebration of Christmas was recorded by RNZ in association with the EFKS Church East Tamaki. Adrian Hollay was the engineer, and Paul Bushnell the producer.