Lectionary for Christmas 1 Part 2
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, Ephesians 1:3 (NKJV)
Reading. Ephesians 1:3-14. As we begin to look forward to a New Year the first verse of the reading today should fill us with the strength to approach the year with both confidence and hope. As Christians we are blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing. Through this blessing we are destined to fulfil the purpose for which God has equipped us. This was and is God’s plan for us. To be “holy’ before him, does not mean that we are now ‘goody good”, common sense should tell us that! No it means that we are set apart in order to be God’s women and men in this world. We are called to be members of God’s family. Now, as we begin this year of our Lord 2021, let us begin by remembering that we are chosen to be a part of God’s planned community. We are not chosen because we are in any way special, we are chosen because God planned to choose us. God is sovereign and therefore can choose whom he wills, and he wills to choose us. So rejoice and be glad. God has set us apart to be the evidence of the family of God here and now. We are to be the salt and the light in our living and in our relationships through all that Jesus has achieved: We are only blameless “in Him”. Through the ministry of Jesus Christ we have become God’s Community. This community is to have a personal relationship with God: adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will. This is as personal as it is possible to get, yet it is not as individuals. This is community; we are all in this together. Before the coming of the Spirit we were essentially un-spiritual, (unfilled). However with the coming of the Spirit we not only can see that God has set up a community but we have become participants in that community. We essentially have come under the reign and rule of God. If you want to make a resolution with which to begin a New Year perhaps it could be to accept this new understanding of whose we are: Now is the time to live out that new identity for through Jesus, we now belong to him. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:5-6 (NRSV).
Prayer. All praise and thanks to you Lord God Almighty, for the blessings of each day, We thank you for those days which are past, days when you have walked with us through triumphs and trials, we also thank you for the days which lie ahead and look forward to them with confidence for you know that you go before us and have already prepared the way. These are strange times Lord and we are learning new things and new ways; yet one thing is constant; we are your children through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord and you watch over us as a shepherd over the sheep. So we pray, take our hand and lead us that our way may be your way and our trust be fully in you, now and always. Amen
Reading. John 1:(1-9). 10-18. This is John’s brief account of the incarnation, the birth of Jesus; the Word made flesh. We have read this story so many times that, without meaning any disrespect, it has almost become commonplace. Wesley tried to grab the nettle in his famous hymn with the words, “Our God contracted to a span; Incomprehensively, made man”. What John is saying is that the Word became flesh without any outside influence. Here is an amazing event that is difficult to understand because we have no other example with which to compare it. John goes on to describe Jesus as coming to “tabernacle’ with us. Some translators understand this best as saying “pitched his tent with us” At the very least John is saying that Jesus did not have a privileged position when he came; it was just the same as experienced by the lowliest of us. Jesus truly shared our life, just as it is with all its joys and sorrows. He saw the injustice and the disappointment because he lived with it and in it. The transition from Word to man is now complete. However, because Jesus came as God’s gift he didn’t just experience it; Jesus did something about it. As John looks back over the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus he can go on to say, “From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” John 1:16 (NRSV). Jesus coming among us as God’s gift is significant; the ministry of his life is significant and his death and resurrection are also significant. From this composite event grace in all its fullness has washed over us and our lives have been changed. Here was one who showed us who God is and what God is like. Here is one who has opened for us a door into a new way of life and here is one who has offered to us a new future, filled with expectation and hope. The coming of Jesus marks the start of something new and wonderful. Here according to John’s message is the opportunity to begin again as one of God’s children through belief in Jesus the Son of God. What a wonderful message with which to begin a New Year.
Prayer. Lord Jesus, as we celebrate again your coming among us, we remember the stories of your love for all people and for the way that you accepted those who no one wanted or loved. So today at the close of another year and the beginning of a new year, we offer our prayers for those who are in need around our world: For those struggling with isolation; for those who mourn the loss of loved ones and were not able to say goodbye; For those who live in fear because the news is so unrelenting, highlighting every new disaster. Despite all that we experience it is to you alone that we turn for in you is the source of life. In you we find fullness for daily living and through you we stand firm, knowing that your presence is all we need as you lead us on. Fill our hearts with hope and our lives with purpose as we seek to honour your name. This we ask in your precious name. Amen
Collect. Eternal Word, we thank you that you became not words but human flesh, living among us. Make us children of God, and fill us with your grace and truth now and for ever. Amen.
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