The First Sunday after Christmas Day, Year B
27 December 2020
The New Light
The Collect: Almighty God, You have poured upon us the new light of Your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Reflection: In the 1700s, there was a period of religious revival in the English Colonies of America, called the Great Awakening. This was a revival of the church and religious consciousness that emerged because of the increasing loss of religious zeal and the increase in secular thought. There were those who accepted the ideologies of the revival and others who were not so enthused. Out of this emerged the terms “new light” and “old light” referring to those who embraced the revival and those who did not, respectively.
The Collect for today reminds us that God has poured new light on us, in and through His Son, Jesus Christ. This new light which has been poured upon us, like the church in the time of the Great Awakening, revives us and renews us and gives us life!
In the gospel reading for today, we are reminded that “what has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.” (John 1:4). This new light will enable us to see the path of life from a different perspective; a more hopeful perspective.
The new light of the Incarnate Word gives us a renewed understanding of life and God’s plan and will for us. And so, may God in Christ Jesus pour this new light into our personal lives, our homes, our places of work, our country, and in our church so that we may each be renewed and revived. As we continue our Christmas journey and look forward to a new year, let us continue to walk in the path of this new light.
Meditation: New Light. Revival. Renewal. Life. Incarnate Word. Awakening.
Prayer: Light-giving God, we thank You for giving us new light in Your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. May we ever live in this new light so that we see the beauty in ashes, the peace in turmoil and the hope in disappointments. May this new light be our guide in the new year that is to come. Thank You, Lord, for giving us new light! Amen.
St. Jude’s Church
Stony Hill
Anglican Diocese of Jamaica and The Cayman Islands
27 December 2020
