On Christmas Day a core Gospel reading is the prologue to John’s Gospel, where John sets out the mystery of the incarnation: ‘the Word became flesh and lived among us’. In this prologue, the incarnate Word is described as ‘the light of all people’. This light ‘shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it’. Then later in his Gospel John develops the theme of Jesus as the Light of the World.
For those of you who wanted to do some thinking and preparation for today’s service during the preceding week, I invited reflection on the image of Christmas lights. In today’s picture from his book, Lights, Teddy Horsley dances to the colourful lights in the square.
Lord Jesus Christ,
you are the light of the world.
Shine in our hearts
and bring your light to our lives;
now and always.
Amen.
We are continuing to explore the Christmas day theme on the First Sunday of Christmas. Then on the Second Sunday of Christmas, we anticipate the Feast of the Epiphany, when Matthew completes the Christmas story with the narrative of the magi, visiting from the East. The image to prepare for the visit of the magi is Christmas gifts. You can find out more about that theme by looking at the Educational Resources and the Preparation Resources.
Prayer Requests
Would you like to submit a prayer request? You can do so through the Prayer for Liverpool website.
Notice Sheet
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Exploring the Sunday Gospel – Fourth Sunday of Advent