:00:32. > :00:39.It is an enormous pleasure to welcome you to Westminster Abbey.
:00:40. > :00:46.Here I am, a few yards away from the Palace of Westminster. In the place
:00:47. > :00:54.known as a place of coronations, what keeps us sane and to our task
:00:55. > :00:58.is the daily, weekly and annual round of worship. You join us for
:00:59. > :01:03.the Christmas morning Eucharist which has been fundamental to the
:01:04. > :01:08.life of the place. You join a conjugation of 2000 people from
:01:09. > :01:13.London, the UK and around the world, as we come to sing praise to God and
:01:14. > :01:19.celebrate the birth of our lord Jesus Christ, and to receive the
:01:20. > :01:22.Eucharist. And we hope you will enjoy joining us for this service,
:01:23. > :04:50.and we wish you a very happy Christmas.
:04:51. > :04:54.In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
:04:55. > :05:02.Hear the words of the Angel to Joseph.
:05:03. > :05:10."for he will save his people from their sins."
:05:11. > :05:12.As the Lord welcomes us into his presence,
:05:13. > :05:52.through Christ who is the Saviour of the World.
:05:53. > :05:56.Almighty God, who forgives all who truly repent,
:05:57. > :05:59.have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins.
:06:00. > :06:03.Confirm and strengthen you in all goodness,
:06:04. > :06:42.et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.
:06:43. > :07:22.gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam.
:07:23. > :09:08.Qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
:09:09. > :09:25.Qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostram.
:09:26. > :09:43.Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, miserere nobis.
:09:44. > :09:57.Quoniam tu solus Sanctus, tu solus Dominus.
:09:58. > :10:04.Cum Sancto Spiritu, in gloria Dei Patris.
:10:05. > :11:13.Almighty God, you have given us your only-begotten Son,
:11:14. > :11:21.and as at this time to be born of a pure virgin.
:11:22. > :11:27.Grant that we, who have been born again and made your children
:11:28. > :11:33.by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit.
:11:34. > :11:37.Through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,
:11:38. > :11:48.In the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
:11:49. > :12:13.How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger
:12:14. > :12:19.who brings good news, who announces salvation.
:12:20. > :12:23.Who says to Zion, "Your God reigns."
:12:24. > :12:31.Your sentinels lift up their voices, together they sing for joy.
:12:32. > :12:36.For in plain sight they see the return of the Lord to Zion.
:12:37. > :12:42.Break forth together into singing, you ruins of Jerusalem.
:12:43. > :12:48.For the Lord has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem.
:12:49. > :12:54.The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations.
:12:55. > :13:03.And all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
:13:04. > :15:44.A reading from the letter to Hebrews.
:15:45. > :15:49.Long ago, God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways
:15:50. > :15:56.But in these last days, he has spoken to us by a Son,
:15:57. > :15:59.whom he appointed heir of all things,
:16:00. > :16:03.through whom he also created the worlds.
:16:04. > :16:08.He is the reflection of God s glory and the exact imprint
:16:09. > :16:14.of God s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word.
:16:15. > :16:19.When he had made purification for sins, he sat down
:16:20. > :16:25.at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior
:16:26. > :16:28.to angels as the name he has inherited
:16:29. > :17:10.Hodie in terra canunt Angeli, laetantur Archangeli.
:17:11. > :17:39.Hodie in terra canunt Angeli, laetantur Archangeli.
:17:40. > :18:05.Hodie in terra canunt Angeli, laetantur Archangeli.
:18:06. > :19:00.Hear the Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ, according to St John.
:19:01. > :19:15.In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
:19:16. > :19:24.All things came into being through him,
:19:25. > :19:28.and without him not one thing came into being.
:19:29. > :19:32.What has come into being in him was life,
:19:33. > :19:35.and the life was the light of all people.
:19:36. > :19:41.and the darkness did not overcome it.
:19:42. > :19:45.There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
:19:46. > :19:48.He came as a witness to testify to the light,
:19:49. > :19:51.so that all might believe through him.
:19:52. > :19:55.He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.
:19:56. > :20:00.The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
:20:01. > :20:04.He was in the world, and the world came into being through him.
:20:05. > :20:12.He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.
:20:13. > :20:15.But to all who received him, who believed in his name,
:20:16. > :20:20.he gave power to become children of God, who were born,
:20:21. > :20:24.not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man,
:20:25. > :20:30.And the Word became flesh and lived among us,
:20:31. > :20:35.and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father s only son,
:20:36. > :21:09."O God, wherefore art thou absent from us so long?"
:21:10. > :21:14.You can hear the pain of the psalmist, in exile,
:21:15. > :21:20.distressed and angry that God seemed to have abandoned his people,
:21:21. > :21:25.who were far from home and under the control of the enemy.
:21:26. > :21:28.No doubt he remembered the old stories
:21:29. > :21:32.of how God had answered the call of his prophets.
:21:33. > :21:36.The false gods failed to answer their prophets call.
:21:37. > :21:44.answered Elijah s call immediately with fire from heaven.
:21:45. > :21:51.The question, why does God not prevent this or achieve that,
:21:52. > :21:56.why does he not destroy the wicked and protect the good,
:21:57. > :22:00.has been asked through the four millennia
:22:01. > :22:05.of Jewish and Christian history and answered in various ways.
:22:06. > :22:10.For some, the conclusion has been that there is no God,
:22:11. > :22:18.That everything is random and we have to make the best of it
:22:19. > :22:22.for ourselves, to make it up as we go along.
:22:23. > :22:26.For others, wanting to hold on to a belief in God
:22:27. > :22:32.in the face of the existence of evil, God is an absentee landlord.
:22:33. > :22:37.Or the almighty clockmaker who then lets it get on with itself.
:22:38. > :22:48.Or perhaps God is simply within us, our ultimate concern.
:22:49. > :22:54.The reading we have just heard, the Prologue to St John s Gospel,
:22:55. > :22:58.confronts the confusion with a bold assertion.
:22:59. > :23:04.There is reason and purpose in the universe and there always has been.
:23:05. > :23:09."In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
:23:10. > :23:18.And this Word of God means life and is light,
:23:19. > :23:27."What has come into being in him was life,
:23:28. > :23:31."and the life was the light of all people.
:23:32. > :23:38."and the darkness could not overcome it."
:23:39. > :23:43.And this Word of God has communicated in various ways
:23:44. > :23:49.from the very beginning of creation but not been readily heard.
:23:50. > :23:54."He was in the world, and the world came into being through him.
:23:55. > :24:04."He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him."
:24:05. > :24:08.So now, at the first Christmas, St John says,
:24:09. > :24:16.the Word becomes flesh and dwells among us.
:24:17. > :24:21."And we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father s only son,
:24:22. > :24:27.The coming of the baby Jesus at Bethlehem
:24:28. > :24:31.is the birth into flesh, the incarnation,
:24:32. > :24:37.of the Son of God, the Word of God, with God from the very beginning.
:24:38. > :24:42.The Second Person of the Holy Trinity, God, the Father,
:24:43. > :24:46.God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit,
:24:47. > :24:54.comes to live on earth not under human disguise but as a human being.
:24:55. > :25:00.So, Jesus, Son of God and Son of Mary, is God and Man,
:25:01. > :25:05.experiencing the poverty and deprivation of human life
:25:06. > :25:12.Born in a stable, to parents seeking refuge,
:25:13. > :25:18.he grows up to work for his living and then has nowhere to lay his head
:25:19. > :25:23.and ends his life on earth as a criminal hanging on a cross.
:25:24. > :25:29.He suffers in his own person the cruelty of man at his most inhuman.
:25:30. > :25:33.He bears the whole burden of the evil choices
:25:34. > :25:49.painted by the Venetian Lorenzo Lotto in 1523,
:25:50. > :25:55.can be seen in the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC.
:25:56. > :26:01.Mary and Joseph kneel by the crib adoring the baby Jesus,
:26:02. > :26:05.who has his hands outstretched to his mother.
:26:06. > :26:10.The ox and ass are in the stable behind and, on a hillside,
:26:11. > :26:23.But then you notice that by the crib lies a bag of money -
:26:24. > :26:37.Above the stable door are perched two pigeons,
:26:38. > :26:41.the animals of an atoning sacrifice.
:26:42. > :26:45.A ladder leads to what looks like a cross.
:26:46. > :26:53.On a shelf above the scene stands a crucifix.
:26:54. > :26:58.The stable and the cross are two aspects of the one story
:26:59. > :27:07.God s choice was to be born amongst the poor and marginalised.
:27:08. > :27:12."Christ Jesus emptied himself, taking the form of a slave.
:27:13. > :27:17."He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death,
:27:18. > :27:25.God s plan from the beginning was to be born as a human being,
:27:26. > :27:31.when the time had fully come, so that he could share his love,
:27:32. > :27:35.suffering and dying to redeem the world.
:27:36. > :27:45.No, he is with us in all the mess of our lives,
:27:46. > :27:54.working his transformations for good from within.
:27:55. > :27:59.This great truth is what gives meaning and purpose to life
:28:00. > :28:03.and should give joy to the world this Christmas
:28:04. > :30:24.Inspire us our church to open our hearts and minds to his self giving
:30:25. > :30:32.love, and to proclaim the good news of his birth to people everywhere.
:30:33. > :30:36.Lord, in your mercy. Hear our prayer. As we think about the
:30:37. > :30:41.message of the angels, of peace to God 's people on earth, we ask you
:30:42. > :30:47.to strengthen all who work for peace and justice in our world today.
:30:48. > :30:52.Protect and sustain innocent people caught up in war and conflict. And
:30:53. > :31:01.bless those seeking to bring them comfort and relief. Lord, in your
:31:02. > :31:06.mercy. Hear our prayer. As we contemplate the holy family
:31:07. > :31:12.sheltering in a stable, we pray for those who are homeless today.
:31:13. > :31:18.For all who live in poverty, for those affected by the bad weather,
:31:19. > :31:25.and for those who are lonely or isolated. We thank you for our own
:31:26. > :31:28.homes, and the people we love. And remember all who are separated from
:31:29. > :31:38.their families and friends at this time. Lord, in your mercy. Hear our
:31:39. > :31:43.prayer. As we think of Mary in the pain of childbirth, we ask you to
:31:44. > :31:48.comfort all those who are in pain or distress today.
:31:49. > :31:56.In the silence of our own hearts, we pray for those known to us, and all
:31:57. > :32:01.who care for them. Lord, in your mercy. Hear our
:32:02. > :32:06.prayer. Father, as we celebrate the uniting
:32:07. > :32:12.of heaven and earth, in the birth of your son, we pray that you will keep
:32:13. > :32:18.in your care all who have died, and bring comfort to those who mourn
:32:19. > :32:26.their loss. We pray for the recently departed, for those who have died
:32:27. > :32:30.tragically, alone or unprepared. We remember those whose anniversaries
:32:31. > :32:38.fall at this time, and pray for all whom we love but see no longer. May
:32:39. > :32:42.we come to share with them, with Blessed Mary, Saint Joseph, St
:32:43. > :32:45.Peter, Saint Edward and all of your Saints, in your eternal kingdom.
:32:46. > :36:39.Merciful Father. Let us give thanks to the Lord,
:36:40. > :37:03.our God. It is right to give thanks
:37:04. > :37:09.and praise. All glory and honour be yours
:37:10. > :37:14.always and ev'rywhere. We give you thanks
:37:15. > :37:23.and praise for your Son. Who, for love of our fallen race,
:37:24. > :37:31.humbled himself. In this mystery of the Word
:37:32. > :37:45.made flesh. You have caused his light
:37:46. > :37:49.to shine in our hearts. To give knowledge of your glory
:37:50. > :37:54.in the face of Jesus Christ. And so are caught up in the love
:37:55. > :38:04.of the God we cannot see. Therefore,
:38:05. > :38:09.with all the angels of heaven. We lift our voices to proclaim
:38:10. > :38:14.the glory of your name. # Pleni sunt caeli
:38:15. > :39:31.et terra gloria tua # Pleni sunt caeli
:39:32. > :40:25.et terra gloria tua Lord, you are holy indeed,
:40:26. > :41:01.the source of all holiness. Grant that by the power
:41:02. > :41:06.of your Holy Spirit, and according to your holy will,
:41:07. > :41:11.these gifts of bread and wine may be to us the body
:41:12. > :41:15.and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, in the same night
:41:16. > :41:19.that he was betrayed, He broke it and gave it
:41:20. > :41:26.to his disciples, "This is my body
:41:27. > :41:31.which is given for you. In the same way, after supper,
:41:32. > :41:47.he took the cup and gave you thanks. He gave it to them, saying,
:41:48. > :41:52."Drink this, all of you. "This is my blood
:41:53. > :41:55.of the new covenant "which is shed for you and for many
:41:56. > :42:01.for the forgiveness of sins. "Do this, as often as you drink it,
:42:02. > :42:14.in remembrance of me." And so, Father, calling to mind
:42:15. > :42:32.his death on the cross, His perfect sacrifice made once
:42:33. > :42:37.for the sins of the whole world. Rejoicing in his mighty resurrection
:42:38. > :42:41.and glorious ascension, we celebrate this memorial
:42:42. > :42:48.of our redemption. As we offer you this, our sacrifice
:42:49. > :42:52.of praise and thanksgiving, we bring before you this bread
:42:53. > :42:56.and this cup. And we thank you
:42:57. > :42:59.for counting us worthy. To stand in your presence
:43:00. > :43:04.and serve you. Send the Holy Spirit on your people
:43:05. > :43:10.and gather into one in your kingdom. All who share this one bread
:43:11. > :43:14.and one cup. So that we, in the company of all
:43:15. > :43:17.the saints By whom, and with whom, and in whom
:43:18. > :43:31.in the unity of the Holy Spirit. All honour and glory be yours,
:43:32. > :43:35.almighty Father. As we join our prayers with those
:43:36. > :43:47.of the Church Universal, so we say, each in our own language, the prayer
:43:48. > :44:19.that Jesus Christ has taught us. We break this bread to share
:44:20. > :44:24.in the body of Christ. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes
:44:25. > :44:36.away the sin of the world. Blessed are those
:44:37. > :44:42.who are called to his supper. Lord, I am not
:44:43. > :44:45.worthy to receive you. But only say the word,
:44:46. > :45:10.and I shall be healed. gathered into one
:45:11. > :58:06.things earthly and heavenly, and make you partakers
:58:07. > :58:12.of the divine nature be among you
:58:13. > :58:22.and remain with you always.