Monday 13 January 2025

Today is Monday the 13th of January in the 1st week of Ordinary Time. Tenebrae, directed by Nigel Short, sing 'Joyful Light' from Rachmaninoff’s Vespers. “Joyful light of the holy glory of the immortal one.” As I look around me now, can I sense that light, that holy presence here, and invite God’s joyful light into my life? Svete tikhyi svyatyya slavy, Bezsmertnago, Otsa Nebesnago, Svyatago Blazhennago, Iisuse Khriste! Prishedshe na zapad solntsa, videvshe svet vechernii, poyem Otsa, Syna i Svyatago Dukha, Boga! Dostoin esi vo vsya vremena pet byti glasi prepodobnymi, Syne Bozhii, zhivot dayai, temzhe mir Tya slavit. Gladsome light of the holy glory of the Immortal One, the Heavenly Father, holy and blessed, O Jesus Christ. Now that we have come to the setting of the sun and behold the light of evening, we praise the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, God. Thou art worthy at every moment to be praised in hymns by reverent voices. O Son of God, thou art the giver of life; therefore all the world glorifies thee. Today’s reading is from the Letter to the Hebrews. Hebrews 1:1-4 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. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. People tend to panic a bit when they have the Letter to the Hebrews read to them; it can seem rather heavy theology (as indeed it is). But what this extraordinary document is trying to do is to reflect upon the difficult issue of how to talk about Jesus. The Letter begins by reminding us that is God speaking to us “through a Son”. Take this moment to reflect on what this means to you… What do you think the author means by “the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being”? Pause with these words and savour what stays with you… “He sustains all things by his powerful word.” How do these words help form your picture of Jesus? Now listen as the passage is read again. What really strikes you about the way that he understands Jesus? From all you have prayed with today, what would you like to say to God? Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.