Saturday 27th December 2025

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being  in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.  He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.  He came to what was his own,  and his own people did not accept him.  But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God,  who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.  (John testified to him and cried out, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.”’)  From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.  The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

Reflection

I never feel it is Christmas until I hear the wonderful opening words from John’s Gospel. Nowhere is the mystery of faith so beautifully captured than in the statement that “the Word became flesh and lived among us”.

The Word is the force that brought about creation. The Word is the big bang. The Word is the emergence of life. The Word is evolution. With the birth of Jesus, the Word became vulnerable: the Creator was no longer hidden but came into the world he had created, and that world was as messy and conflict-ridden as our world today.

The Word living among us brings both a new hope and also a significant challenge. The hope comes from the Creator whose love for us is demonstrated by his coming in grace and truth. He shares our journey, comforts those who suffer, and shines a light that darkness cannot overcome.

However, as we take hope from the incarnation, we realise that this presents us with a significant challenge.  We may look at the world and wonder what God is up to. Humanity is not doing too well at the moment and this Christmas we may feel that there isn’t much that we can celebrate. The Word challenges us to play our part, to receive God’s grace, to be God’s children and act accordingly.  God is not a puppet master. He constantly responds to the decisions that we freely make.  Mary freely accepted the role God had given her and God’s intervention through Jesus was hugely vulnerable to human action and human response, as it continues to be today.

John’s account of the Word becoming flesh and living among us confirms that God’s Providence has a human face. The most important way God chose to work in the real world was through a real baby. God is in the mess with us. No matter how difficult things get, God is here alongside us, and God accompanies us on our journey.

Prayer

God, we give thanks for your Word.
You spoke and everything came into being.
May we, like John, testify to your coming into the world.
As we face the darkness of winter, shine your light upon us.
As we look at our troubled world, pour out your grace upon us.
When we fail to recognise you, pour out your forgiveness upon us.
May the Word give us hope as we step out in your name.
Amen