John 1:1-14 NRSVue
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 overtake it.
6There 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.,
10He 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.
14And 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.
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Some thoughts on this scripture
Reflection
I pray for families today: may all who celebrate together grow in love and may those who are apart be comforted by growing in the awareness of God's love for them.
Reflection
This introduction to St John’s Gospel probably incorporated an ancient hymn
about Christ. It is dense and wonderful; each phrase can be mined for
treasures. /All things were made through him, and without him was not
anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of
men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it./
Reflection
Lord, give me a glimpse of how you infuse all things. Gerald Manley Hopkins,
who meditated on these phrases, wrote:
for Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men’s faces.
Reflection
The Word lives among us. I let this truth sink in more deeply, giving time to
allow joy and gratitude to be my response to God's act of faith in me.
Reflection
Among all the lights of this Christmas, I cherish the light that prayer
brings to me. I am reassured by the assertion that darkness does not overcome
the light and pray that all who celebrate this feast may experience light and
joy.
Reflection
I pray for families today: may all who celebrate together grow in love and
may those who are apart be comforted by growing in awareness of God’s love
for them.