The Word John 1:1-18 – In the beginning was the Word: and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things came to be, not one thing had its being but through him. All that came to be had life in him and that life was the light of men, a light that shines in the dark, a light that darkness could not overpower.
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A man came, sent by God. His name was John. He came as a witness to speak for the light to that everyone might believe through him. He was not the light, only a witness to speak for the light.
The Word was the true light that enlightens all men; and he was coming into the world. He was in the world that had its being through him, and the world did not know him. He came to his own domain and his own people did not accept him. But to all who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to all who believe in the name of him who was born not out of human stock or urge of the flesh or will of man but of God himself. The Word was made flesh, he lived among us, and we saw his glory, the glory that is his as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John appears as his witness. He proclaims: ‘This is the one of whom I said: He who comes after me ranks before me because he existed before me’.
Indeed, from his fullness we have, all of us, received – yes, grace in return for grace, since, though the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; it is the only Son, who is nearest to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.
REFLECTIONS
Here I go again.
Seventy year old violinist Mischa Elman was accompanied by his many fans to the airport to bid him goodbye for another concert tour in Europe. He thanked his well-wishes before he checked in with an interesting observation: “Friends, when I made my debut as a twelve year old violinist in Berlin, he recalled, “people said; ‘Isn’t he just wonderful for his age?’ Well, they are beginning to say the same thing about me now.”
This last day of the year ushers us into frenzied preparations for another year. It is good to keep in our heart the words of God today. “From the fullness of his grace we have all received; one blessing after another.” As we cross into 2011 it can be tempting to carry the setbacks and failures of 2010. We can worry about the ways we failed, the opportunities we wasted. This only leads us to look into the future with anxiety. Today we must have a special place in our heart for thanksgiving for “grace and truth has come through Jesus Christ,” he, who is at the father’s side, is with us to reveal more of God in our life.
As the New Year dawns, fill your heart with gratitude. God loves you deeply, passionately. He gave us his only son. This New Year will be a year of grace and marvelous blessings. Be a witness of what it means to live in confidence that God is with you and with joy. Only the calendar is discarded and thrown away today, not our years. Who is he who said, “Age does not matter as long as what matters does not age? If like Mischa, the prodigy, we continue to play the music from our heart, at 12 or at 70 life is wonderful.
Thank you, for all that was. Yes, for all that will be.
PRAYER
May each day in your year be a good day. May each dawn find you happy and blest. May all days in your year be all lovely. And God bless.
The Word Luke 2:36-40 – There was a prophetess also, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well on in years. Her days of girlhood over, she had been married for seven years before becoming a widow. She was now eighty-four years old and never left the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer. She came by just at that moment and began to praise God; and she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.
When they had done everything the Law of the Lord required, they went back to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. Meanwhile the child grew to maturity, and he was filled with wisdom; and God’s favour was with him.
REFLECTIONS
Look hard enough you will see
A man stopped in front of a stone full of eggs. The owner asked him; “Want any eggs?” The man told him, “Tell me first what I have in my hands.” And the man extended his hands with his fists closed. “Give me a clue,” demanded the storeowner. ‘I will give you some,” the man answered. “These have the shape of eggs; taste like eggs; smell like eggs. And they are liquid before they are cooked; they became thick when heated. They were laid by a hen.”