Dear All,
The Institution of Revd. Meurig Williams will take place on Wednesday 6th Jan 2020, the Feast of the Epiphany, via webcam from St Fin Barre’s Cathedral at 7.00pm [details will follow]
That means this Sunday is the last when Rev Tony and myself will be ‘among you’ –[ Tony’s reflection for tomorrow is attached.]
We simply wanted to thank you for you support, co-operation and understanding during the vacancy; it has been a privilege to be with you in these strange times.
Be assured of or prayers, now and in the future, as you commence this new phase of ministry under the leadership of Rev. Meurig.
May God bless you and keep you and may His face shine upon you
Alan & Tony
The Second Sunday of Christmas 3rd January 2021
Collect ,Psalm and Readings
Collect:
Almighty God, in the birth of your Son you have poured on us the new light of your incarnate Word, and shown us the fullness of your love:
Help us to walk in this light and dwell in his love that we may know the fullness of his joy; who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Jeremiah 31 : 7-14
7 For thus says the LORD: Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
‘Save, O LORD, your people, the remnant of Israel.’
8 See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north,
and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,
among them the blind and the lame, those with child and those in labour, together; a great company, they shall return here.
9 With weeping they shall come, and with consolations I will lead them back,
I will let them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble; for I have become a father to Israel,
and Ephraim is my firstborn.
10 Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, and declare it in the coastlands far away; say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him,
and will keep him as a shepherd a flock.’
11 For the LORD has ransomed Jacob, and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
12 They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the LORD, over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall become like a watered garden, and they shall never languish again.
13 Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
14 I will give the priests their fill of fatness,
and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty,
says the LORD.
Psalm 147 13-21
13 Sing praise to the Lord, O Jerusalem; 
praise your God, O Zion;
praise your God, O Zion;14 For he has strengthened the bars of your gates and has blest your children within you.
and has blest your children within you.15 He has established peace in your borders and satisfies you with the finest wheat.
and satisfies you with the finest wheat.16 He sends forth his command to the earth and his word runs very swiftly.
and his word runs very swiftly.17 He gives snow like wool and scatters the hoarfrost like ashes.
and scatters the hoarfrost like ashes.18 He casts down his hailstones like morsels of bread; who can endure his frost?
who can endure his frost?19 He sends forth his word and melts them; he blows with his wind and the waters flow.
he blows with his wind and the waters flow.20 He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and judgements to Israel.
his statutes and judgements to Israel.21 He has not dealt so with any other nation; they do not know his laws. Alleluia.
they do not know his laws. Alleluia.Ephesians 1 : 3-14
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.
5He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight 9he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
11In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory.
13In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14this is the pledge of our inheritance towards redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.
John 1: (1-9) 10-18
(1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. 9The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world).
10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. 11He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 12But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
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. 15(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.” ’) 16From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.
Today is the 10th of the 12 Days of Christmas .
Even in good times –after festivities greetings and welcoming a New Year -we would have some opportunity to reflect on the events of Christmas before the final festival the Epiphany which occurs on the 12th Day or as it is known for different reasons in ireland Nollag na mBan (Women’s Christmas).
In a moment of reflection –and as this is my final reflection as we welcome Meurig on the Feast of Epiphany on Wednesday- – I thought it might be interesting to look at how each of the 4 Evangelists covered the Birth of Jesus and how they understood its meaning.
Of the 4 Evangelist Mark had a simple perspective. He does not mention it, his focus was solely on Jesus Mission and has reached the beginning of Jesus Ministry by the 9th verse of his first chapter.
Matthew believed that the Genealogy of Jesus was important for his Jewish readers and covered 42 generations from Abraham through David to the Messiah. Thereafter his main focus was on Joseph and the visit of the Wise Men to Bethlehem.(More of a male perspective)
Luke is the Evangelist in relation to the story of the Nativity giving us all the coloring and human details that bring this story to life and in a way with which we can identify. Luke gives us the story of Zechariah, the birth of John (the Baptiser), The Annunciation, the visit of Mary to her cousin giving us the Magnificat, the Nativity Story, the Angels, the Shepherds finishing with the baby being brought to the temple and Simeon’s prayer the Nunc Dimittis (“Now Lord you let your servant go in peace”).
Despite the colouring and the human stories the current practice of celebrating the crib did not occur until 1223 when St Francis of Assisi commenced this practice. Ironically Francis started this focus on the crib in an attempt to place the emphasis upon the worship of Christ rather than upon the secular materialism and gift giving which dominated at that time. It is ironic that even with the crib we seem again to be back to that situation and possibly a worse situation – “plus ca change plus la meme chose “.
This brings us to todays Gospel Reading from John. Last Sunday, being the feast day of Saint John the Evangelist, Canon Alan offered a major exposition on this Saint and the symbolism of his writing.
In our reading today we are offered the option of excluding the first 9 verses of Chapter 1 and focusing on the next 9 verses. This is because the first 9 were read on Christmas day. Personally I believe this is a foolish option as they contain the most majestic sentiments in spelling out to us what Christmas, the Nativity and this mystery of God becoming Man — which we call the Incarnation –is all about.
The man who wrote this has been described as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” and possibly was the one who best recognised the Divinity of Jesus. His Gospel endeavors to convey the mystery of this person –True Man and True God– to us,not by focusing on his genealogy, or the details of his birth but by attempting to describe the indescribable.
It is in this context that we need to meditate on the words of the Gospel passage today.
Can I suggest some pointers to lead a meditation
A: The Bible opens in Genesis with the words
In the Beginning when God created the heavens and the earth
John opens the story of Jesus by placing it in an eternal context
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.
B: At a time when the Jewish people were oppressed and awaiting a Messiah John describes Jesus as the Light, a light that would never be overcome by the darkness
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
An important message at any time but surely one that strongly resonates with us in the midst of a plague when we see the selflessness of people who literally are taking risks with their own health in order to look after those with the Coved and others maintaining our social fabric.
C: John spells out the eternal truth that God the creator of the Universe came among us as a human being. Admittedly without the details of Luke but focusing on the central truth
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.
D: John addresses the central mystery of the Incarnation and the unique privilege of our Faith that we can identify with God through the life of his Son
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.
E: John explains to his followers how Jesus is a radical departure from Moses
The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
F: John writing after the Crucifixion , the Resurrection, the Ascension and the Descent of the Holy Spirit accepts that Jesus had not been accepted in his own country (He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him) but concludes with a resonating Act of Faith that those who did accept him received power to become Children of God.
But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
As we come towards the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas and are dealing with a Third Wave let us remember the words of John and let us ensure in 2021 that this Jesus who gives the Light to the World is welcomed in our hearts, that we accept the “grace upon grace” and that in this generation we can say that through our lives and actions the world will know him.
Slán agus Beannacht -Thank you and God Bless
TM