Christmas Day Hymn (Carol)
O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant!
O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem
Come and behold Him
Born the King of Angels
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
Christ the Lord!
God of God, Light of Light
Lo, He abhors not the Virgin's womb
Very God, Begotten, not created
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
Christ the Lord!
Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God, glory in the highest
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
Christ the Lord!
Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning
Jesus, to Thee be glory given
Word of the Father
Now in flesh appearing
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
Christ the Lord!
The Collect for Christmas Day
(The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ)
Almighty God, Who has given us Your Only Begotten Son to take our nature upon Him and on this Christmas Day to be born of a pure Virgin; Grant the we being regenerate, and made Your Children by adoption and Grace, may daily be renewed by Your Holy Spirit; through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit ever one God, for evermore. Amen.
The Epistle, Hebrews 1:1-12
1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.
3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
“5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,
“You are my Son;
today I have become your Father”?
Or again,
“I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son”?
6 And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,
“Let all God’s angels worship him.”
7 In speaking of the angels he says,
“He makes his angels spirits,
and his servants flames of fire.”
8 But about the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
a sceptre of justice will be the sceptre of your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy.”
10 He also says,
“In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
11 They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
12 You will roll them up like a robe;
like a garment they will be changed.
But you remain the same,
and your years will never end.”
The Holy Gospel of St John 1:1-14
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the only begotten Son, of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Bishop Ian’s Thoughts
Today’s Epistle Reading is taken from the Epistle to the Hebrews Chapter 1, Verses 1-12.
The authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews is not known for certain. Some scholars believe it was St Paul, who wrote the majority of the New Testament Epistles.
Other scholars argue that the style of Greek and the overall “feel” of the Epistle is not that of St Paul. Also St Paul’s ministry was to the Gentiles (non-Jewish Christians) not to the Hebrews (Jews).
Still other scholars believe that St Paul had much input into the Epistle, though it was written by an unknown author.
While we will never be certain of the author, this side of Heaven, the message, and teaching of the Epistle, is abundantly clear and indispensable to all who faithfully read and study it.
The Epistle to the Hebrews has the thrust of confronting the Jews, and the Jewish Faith, with its reliance on the Law of Moses, and the traditions of the Rabbis (Elders).
The Epistle to the Hebrews conclusively proves that the Lord Jesus Christ is The Messiah, and God, so He is infinitely greater than the Old Testament Patriarchs, the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the teaching of the Rabbis.
In the opening verse of this portion of the Epistle, the author compares God’s Revelation of Himself to His people in the Old Testament and New Testament eras:
“1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe”.
The writer then stresses that the Lord Jesus is God, and is identical in person and substance with the Father, and has the identical radiance as God.
“3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.”
The Radiance and Glory of God is known, by Theologians, as the “Effulgence” of God.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Effulgence of God, possessing and commanding identical power with God, in ruling and sustaining all things:
We are then told of the completion of the Lord Jesus’ Holy Mission:
"After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in Heaven."
When the Lord Jesus was crucified, the sins of all those who believe in Him, and His Words, were washed away by His Precious Blood, shed on the Cross of Calvary.
God had promised that His Faithful Servant would not be held by the grave, and undergo corruption, as recorded, by the St Luke, in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles Chapter 2, Verses 24-27:
“24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25 David said about him:
“I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest in hope,
27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
you will not let your holy one see decay.”
St Luke is quoting from Psalm 16, Verses 8-11:
“8 I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
11 You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”
The Lord Jesus rose from the dead to Glorious Life Everlasting, and after forty days during which He appeared, and showed Himself, Alive, to His Disciples, and His other followers, He Ascended back to to His Father In Heaven.
He then sat down at the Right Hand of His Father.
The Father then delivered all Might, Majesty, Dominion and Power to His only Begotten and Beloved Son.
Through The Lord Jesus’ Mighty Work of His Death and Resurrection, the Holy Gospel was wrought, to save all those who believe and, by faith, accept it.
The Epistle writer then proves that the Lord Jesus Christ was infinitely superior to any of God’s Holy Angels, who were created beings.
This was to counter, and eliminate any instances of Angel Worship, which was prominent feature in some Jewish sects, and even in some of the early Christian Churches of that era:
“4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,
“You are my Son;
today I have become your Father”?
Or again,
“I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son”?
6 And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,
“Let all God’s angels worship him.”
7 In speaking of the angels he says,
“He makes his angels spirits,
and his servants flames of fire.”
8 But about the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
a sceptre of justice will be the sceptre of your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy.”
10 He also says,
“In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
11 They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
12 You will roll them up like a robe;
like a garment they will be changed.
But you remain the same,
and your years will never end.”
This passage of Scripture provides a very powerful counter thrust to any group, seeking to render service to God, by the worship of His Holy Angels.
Angel Worship is idolatry, and breaks the second of God’s Ten Commandments.
Angels are part of God’s Creation, as were the Seraphim and Cherubim (special Angels serving God). They had no sin, but they did not, apart from God’s Grace and Favour, possess immortality as a part of their being.
God alone, (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) possesses immortality as an Intrinsic Feature of His Being.
To worship Angels is to worship part of the creation, and not the Creator.
May God give us thankfulness in our hearts for His Gift of the Epistle to the Hebrews, and the Glory it gives to the Lord Jesus Christ.
May we always confess, with St Thomas the Apostle, who doubted reports of the Lord Jesus’ Resurrection without seeing specific proof, and who, on seeing the Risen Lord Jesus and receiving the Lord’s offer to allow him to inspect and touch His Wounds, then solemnly declared:
“My Lord and My God.”
Amen.
Today’s Holy Gospel Reading is taken from the Holy Gospel of St John Chapter 1, Verses 19-28.
In this beginning of his Holy Gospel, St John records the Great and Glorious Creation of all things, by the Holy Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ:
“1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”
St John, in opening his Holy Gospel, declares to us at the very beginning that the Lord Jesus Christ is God Almighty.
The Lord Jesus is the second person of the Holy Trinity, and as the Gospel unfolds the Holy Spirit is revealed as the Third Person.
The Lord Jesus is revealed as the Divine Creator, through whom all things in creation came into being and existence.
A very great Truth of God is confirmed in the opening three verses, that Truth being that the Lord Jesus existed as a Spiritual Being, with The Father and the Holy Spirit, before His Holy Incarnation (taking on flesh, as a human being) through His conception by the Holy Spirit “overshadowing” the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Lord Jesus Christ was subsequently born as the one and only Perfect Human Being,
The Lord Jesus had no inherited sin as God was His Father, not Adam.
The Holy Gospel of St Luke Chapter 1, Verses 26-38 tells us of this Holy Miracle:
“26 God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.”
St John then testifies to the Infinite, Eternal, and Glorious Life that the Lord Jesus possesses within His Being, and the Brilliant Radiance that His Presence imparts.
“4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it”.
The theological term for the brilliant, dazzling light emanating from, and surrounding the Lord Jesus, is the “Effulgence”
Where the Divine Eternal Life and Effulgence of Lord Jesus is present, no evil or darkness can exist.
The Effulgence of God, in the Lord Jesus had been seen prior to the time of the Epistle to the Hebrews, however there are three occasions that stand out.
The first manifestation of God’s Effulgence is recorded in Exodus Chapter 34 Verses 25-34 and describes Moses’ face reflecting the Effulgence of the Most Holy God, after he came down from the Mount Sinai on which God gave him the tablets containing the Ten Commandments:
“29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.
33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord.”
The second instance of the Effulgence of God being manifested occurred when the Lord Jesus took Peter, James, and John up onto a high mountain as recorded in the Holy Gospel of St Matthew Chapter 17, Verses 1-13
1 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
“4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
6 When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
10 The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”
11 Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.”
The third instance of the Effulgence of God being made manifest is recorded in The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 9, Verses 9-19, when Saul was confronted by the Risen, and Glorified, Lord Jesus, on the road to Damascus:
9 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.
11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”
13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.”
St John then bears testimony to the Life and Ministry of John the Baptist:
“6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.”
John the Baptist came in the power and spirit of the great Old Testament Prophet Elijah, and he was the mysterious Mighty Prophet promised, by God to Moses, in the Old Testament Book of Deuteronomy Chapter 18, Verses 17-19, whose appearance heralded the coming of God’s Messiah:
“17 The Lord said to me: “What they (the Jewish people) say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. 19 I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.”
St John then declares the Mission of the Lord Jesus, the Holy Word Of God:
“9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
‘14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the only begotten Son, of the Father, full of grace and truth”.
St John concludes this portion of his Holy Gospel by declaring that the Lord Jesus Christ is God, and that for the Salvation of His people He came down from Heaven, to be born as the Perfect Human.
The Jews rejected the Lord Jesus Christ as God’s Messiah, and had Him Crucified.
God had a much greater purpose for all his Chosen People, both Jews and Gentiles, in His Precious Gift of the Lord Jesus.
That greater purpose was for the Lord Jesus to work the Miracle of His Holy Gospel.
The Lord Jesus worked the Miracle of the Holy Gospel to achieve what no other human could ever do, to provide the Perfect Sacrifice, demanded by God’s Holy Law, through His Death on the Cross, as payment for the sins of all God’s faithful people.
God accepted the Lord Jesus’ Perfect Sacrifice as payment for all the sins of all His chosen people, and provided proof of His acceptance by raising the Lord Jesus from death and exalting Him back to Heaven, to sit at God’s Right Hand, as Ruler and Judge of all things, for evermore.
Let us all rejoice, with thankful hearts, whenever we sing these words from the great, and much loved, Christmas Carol, “O Come All Ye Faithful", which opened today’s Christmas Day Worship:
“Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing;
O Come let us Adore Him; O Come let us Adore Him;
O Come let us Adore Him;
Christ the Lord”
May God Bless each and every one of us, giving us a Happy and Joyous Christmas, as we celebrate the coming into the world of the Lord Jesus Christ, to begin of His journey to Calvary, where He would provide the Great Gift of Salvation, to all believers, through faith in His Holy Gospel.
Bishop Ian