Collect and Readings for Christmas Day – Isaiah 52.7-10, Psalm 98, Hebrews 1.1-12, John 1.1-14
The Prayer for today
Almighty God, you have given us your only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him and as at this
time to be born of a pure virgin: grant that we, who have been born again and made your children by
adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The well-loved reading from Isaiah resounds with hope. It is not wishful thinking, talking about impossible dreams, but rings with utter surety that God has revealed to his attentive prophet, so that the good news can be shared with all the people of Israel. There is a great sense of excitement, like the stirring in the crowd as word gets round the famous and adored person they have been waiting for is about to arrive. Today God has arrived in person to live with the people of his creation, sharing their humanity in order to save them.
The writer of Hebrews chooses this to introduce his whole teaching: in the past God had spoken through his prophets, but from the Incarnation onwards we are looking at an entirely new and dynamic experience, as God speaks to us in person, through Jesus, the Son of God.
The introduction of John’s Gospel helps us to see the extraordinary depth of meaning of God’s ‘Word’, flinging us back to the emerging creation from chaos, and forward to the streams of people through the generations who choose to receive the light of God’s life to transform them and the world they inhabit. Stretched out across it all is the person of Jesus, expressing God’s creative and redeeming love in a way we, as humans, can understand. No darkness can ever extinguish the hope of this light.
Some things to reflect on:
· Do our own words - as individuals, as a society and as a Church – express God’s love? What kind of things do, and what should we aim to change?
· As you look back over the last year, can you discern Jesus’ grace and truth? What are you particularly thankful to God for?
God bless and I wish you a peaceful and joyful Christmas.
Rev’d Fiona Robinson
