John - Apostle and Evangelist
God in heaven,
we join with the angels and shepherds
in giving you thanks and praise for the birth of Jesus,
and for all that Jesus means to us.
In the midst of our joy
we remember those for whom Christmas is tinged with sadness and pain.
Comfort them with your healing Spirit.
This we ask in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
Canon Robert Townsend
John - Apostle and Evangelist
Merciful Lord,
cast your bright beams of light upon the Church;
that, being enlightened by the teaching
of your blessed apostle and evangelist Saint John,
we may so walk in the light of your truth
that we may at last attain to the light
of everlasting life;
through Jesus Christ
your incarnate Son our Lord,
whom by the power of the Spirit
you raised to live with you,
his God and Father,
for ever and ever.
Christmas One
Almighty God,
who wonderfully created us in your own image
and yet more wonderfully restored us
through your Son Jesus Christ:
grant that, as he came to share in our humanity,
so we may share the life of his divinity;
who is alive and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
*Sunday 27 December 2020
Principal Service:
Whether or not John the Apostle and John the Evangelist are one and the same, the Church honours on this day the one who proclaims Jesus as the Word made flesh and who is ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved’. John was one of the sons of Zebedee, along with James and Peter, who followed Jesus. John was there at the Transfiguration of Jesus on the holy mountain; he was there with Jesus at the last supper; he was there with Jesus in his agony in the garden; he was there with Jesus and his mother, standing at the foot of the cross; he was there with Jesus as a witness of his resurrection and ‘he saw and believed’. John was a witness to the Word, he proclaimed the Word and he lived and died witnessing to the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, who loved him and whom he loved.
Hagiography from Exciting Holiness by Brother Tristam SSF
*Christmas One can be celebrated today; if it is then move John to Tuesday 29 December 2020.
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