A Christmas message from the Vicar

So, are you ready for Christmas? Well, after all the watching and waiting of Advent, the ‘big day’ is finally here.

After our service here in church last Sunday, a couple of us got talking about this popular idea of ‘being ready for Christmas’. We wondered what this idea, which is often posed as a question, really means. Does it refer, we wondered, to shopping, or perhaps, come to think of it, to decorating the house, writing cards, preparing the vegetables… the list goes on.

Or does it refer to ‘being ready’ in a different way?

Might it refer instead to being ready to listen attentively to the story of the birth of Jesus, the light of the world, who calls us still to follow him and to shine as lights in the world.

This Christmas, we have an opportunity to take to our hearts the prayer that we will offer as we light the remaining candle on our Advent Wreath. As we share in the words, which are printed below, may we declare that we are ready to welcome the Light of light and to live by this light and shine as lights in the world.

Wishing you all a very happy and blessed Christmas,

Adrian

Lord Jesus, Light of light,
you have come among us.
Help us who live by your light
to shine as lights in your world.
Glory to God in the highest. Amen.

Common Worship: Times and Seasons
© The Archbishops’ Council 2006.