Word Made Flesh by Chris Shreve, http://www.chrisshreve.com 

The Story of Christmas
Day 9 Reading: John 1:1-18

He who is without flesh becomes incarnate; the Word puts on a body; the Invisible is seen; by whom no hand can touch is handled; the Timeless has a beginning; the Son of God becomes Son of Man – Jesus Christ, the same yesterday today and for ever. … O strange conjunction! The Self-existent comes into being; the Uncreated is created. He shares in the poverty of my flesh, that I may share in the riches of his Godhead.
–Gregory of Nazianzus

He was created of a mother whom He created.
He was carried by hands that He formed.
He cried in the manger in wordless infancy.
He, the Word, without whom all human eloquence is mute.
– Augustine of Hippo

Extended quote from Living Our Beliefs by Kenneth L. Carder
Central to the Christian Faith is the conviction that Jesus Christ is the supreme revelation of God. …

Jesus Christ is the very flesh and blood of God’s nature and God’s intention for all humanity. Jesus of Nazareth is the human face and action of the Father, and is Creator of the universe made known in history. John’s Gospel proclaims, “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. … From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (John 1:14, 16).

Charles Wesley’s beloved Christmas hymn expresses the Church’s understanding of Jesus Christ:
“Christ, by highest heaven adored;
Christ, the everlasting Lord,
late in time behold him come,
offspring of a virgin’s womb.

Veiled in flesh the God-head see;
hail, th’incarnate Deity,
pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.”

Prayer: Seeking Christ, the Word of God
ONE: Hear the Word of the Lord:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. – John 1:1-4 (NRSV)

ALL:
Speak Lord, your servant is listening.
I long for your words of light and life.

ONE:
Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word.
– Hebrews 1:1-3a (NRSV)

ALL:
Speak Lord, your servant is listening.
I want to know you. I need your word to sustain me.

ONE:
Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. – Colossians 1:15-18

ALL:
Speak Lord, your servant is listening.
Hold me together. Have first place in my life.

Time of silence

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Seeking Christ the Word of God: prayer and compilation © 2010 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia. You are welcome to use this work in a worship setting with proper attribution.
Please contact Lisa for information and permission to publish this work in any form.

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