Blog: December 2022 - In the beginning was the Word

This phrase begins John’s Gospel and is well known from the last Reading at Carol Services, and the Gospel for Christmas Day read at Midnight Communion Services and on Christmas Morning.

I don’t often shout at the Radio (I was at least alone in the car!), but a few weeks ago someone quoted this phrase completely out of context saying the Bible is wrong as in the beginning was the image not the word! But if he’d have read the whole passage, he’d have read this. The wonder of Christmas is that God’s words and promises come true in not just an image - but in a real person. John’s Gospel continues ‘the Word became flesh (in Jesus) and lived among us’. That’s what we celebrate at Christmas. God loved the world so much that he didn’t just stay in heaven and send messages via His prophets, but He came Himself in His Son Jesus Christ to be born as a baby in Bethlehem, to grow up to teach us and show us the way to be right with God, to take our sins and failings to the cross and conquer death in His resurrection so that we might have eternal life because of Jesus. No wonder we celebrate Christmas!

As the song runs ‘and we can live for evermore because of Christmas Day’.

But we do need words to tell us the full story, and our Carols and Readings with words from the Prophets re-tell again the familiar story to us and pass it on to the next generation. It’s a wonderful true story as we look back to what God has done in sending Jesus on that first Christmas, that can give us peace and re-assurance in our daily lives as we believe and trust in God through Jesus. And most importantly give us hope in this uncertain world for a secure future even when this life is ended.

So please do come and join with us at some of our many Christmas services and events this month – all the details, dates and times for what’s going on in December and January are in this Newsletter which takes us into January 2023.

And a final reminder as we shared in the last 2 Newsletters that this is the last Newsletter that will be delivered to every house in Wilden, Colmworth and Ravensden. So please do sign up to receive it by e mail or see it on our Website every month.

There will continue to be paper copies available at all our 5 churches and if you would like to continue to have it delivered to you, please ask your local deliverer.

And I wish all our readers and very happy and joyful Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year for 2023.

Timothy Wilson