Keeping Advent: December 24

Candle

Theme: Jesus is the Light of the World

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. …

…14 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.

 

 

Read the rest:

John 1:1-14

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We meditated on Jesus being the Radiant Dawn earlier this week. Today we contemplate it more fully. The Word of God, made flesh: this is the great mystery of our faith. It’s so important that when we recite the Creed at Mass, we bow deeply when we recall it (“…and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man”), and on Christmas, we actually kneel during this part of the Nicene Creed. When we pray the Angelus, we also bow deeply at the words “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.”

Easter is the greatest feast on the Christian calendar, but it’s on Christmas that we remember the beginning of this part of God’s plan of salvation. It’s on Christmas that we recall how God came to us, lowering Himself to become one of us. We remember that the Word of God, the Light of the World, was born as a tiny baby. The Creator of the Universe, who spoke us into being, became a tiny child.

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Meditation text and images © Christine Johnson