Live from Westminster Abbey Christmas Day Eucharist

It is an enormous pleasure to welcome you to Westminster Abbey.

Here I am, a few yards away from the Palace of Westminster. In the place

known as a place of coronations, what keeps us sane and to our task

is the daily, weekly and annual round of worship. You join us for

the Christmas morning Eucharist which has been fundamental to the

life of the place. You join a conjugation of 2000 people from

London, the UK and around the world, as we come to sing praise to God and

celebrate the birth of our lord Jesus Christ, and to receive the

Eucharist. And we hope you will enjoy joining us for this service,

and we wish you a very happy Christmas.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Hear the words of the Angel to Joseph.

"for he will save his people from their sins."

As the Lord welcomes us into his presence,

through Christ who is the Saviour of the World.

Almighty God, who forgives all who truly repent,

have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins.

Confirm and strengthen you in all goodness,

et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.

gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam.

Qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.

Qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostram.

Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, miserere nobis.

Quoniam tu solus Sanctus, tu solus Dominus.

Cum Sancto Spiritu, in gloria Dei Patris.

Almighty God, you have given us your only-begotten Son,

and as at this time to be born of a pure virgin.

Grant that we, who have been born again and made your children

by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit.

Through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,

In the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger

who brings good news, who announces salvation.

Who says to Zion, "Your God reigns."

Your sentinels lift up their voices, together they sing for joy.

For in plain sight they see the return of the Lord to Zion.

Break forth together into singing, you ruins of Jerusalem.

For the Lord has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem.

The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations.

And all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

A reading from the letter to Hebrews.

Long ago, God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways

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

Hodie in terra canunt Angeli, laetantur Archangeli.

Hodie in terra canunt Angeli, laetantur Archangeli.

Hodie in terra canunt Angeli, laetantur Archangeli.

Hear the Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ, according to St John.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was 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.

and the darkness did not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

He came as a witness to testify to the light,

so that all might believe through him.

He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.

The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him.

He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.

But to all who received him, who believed in his name,

he gave power to become children of God, who were born,

not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man,

And the Word became flesh and lived among us,

and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father s only son,

"O God, wherefore art thou absent from us so long?"

You can hear the pain of the psalmist, in exile,

distressed and angry that God seemed to have abandoned his people,

who were far from home and under the control of the enemy.

No doubt he remembered the old stories

of how God had answered the call of his prophets.

The false gods failed to answer their prophets call.

answered Elijah s call immediately with fire from heaven.

The question, why does God not prevent this or achieve that,

why does he not destroy the wicked and protect the good,

has been asked through the four millennia

of Jewish and Christian history and answered in various ways.

For some, the conclusion has been that there is no God,

That everything is random and we have to make the best of it

for ourselves, to make it up as we go along.

For others, wanting to hold on to a belief in God

in the face of the existence of evil, God is an absentee landlord.

Or the almighty clockmaker who then lets it get on with itself.

Or perhaps God is simply within us, our ultimate concern.

The reading we have just heard, the Prologue to St John s Gospel,

confronts the confusion with a bold assertion.

There is reason and purpose in the universe and there always has been.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,

And this Word of God means life and is light,

"What has come into being in him was life,

"and the life was the light of all people.

"and the darkness could not overcome it."

And this Word of God has communicated in various ways

from the very beginning of creation but not been readily heard.

"He was in the world, and the world came into being through him.

"He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him."

So now, at the first Christmas, St John says,

the Word becomes flesh and dwells among us.

"And we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father s only son,

The coming of the baby Jesus at Bethlehem

is the birth into flesh, the incarnation,

of the Son of God, the Word of God, with God from the very beginning.

The Second Person of the Holy Trinity, God, the Father,

God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit,

comes to live on earth not under human disguise but as a human being.

So, Jesus, Son of God and Son of Mary, is God and Man,

experiencing the poverty and deprivation of human life

Born in a stable, to parents seeking refuge,

he grows up to work for his living and then has nowhere to lay his head

and ends his life on earth as a criminal hanging on a cross.

He suffers in his own person the cruelty of man at his most inhuman.

He bears the whole burden of the evil choices

painted by the Venetian Lorenzo Lotto in 1523,

can be seen in the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC.

Mary and Joseph kneel by the crib adoring the baby Jesus,

who has his hands outstretched to his mother.

The ox and ass are in the stable behind and, on a hillside,

But then you notice that by the crib lies a bag of money -

Above the stable door are perched two pigeons,

the animals of an atoning sacrifice.

A ladder leads to what looks like a cross.

On a shelf above the scene stands a crucifix.

The stable and the cross are two aspects of the one story

God s choice was to be born amongst the poor and marginalised.

"Christ Jesus emptied himself, taking the form of a slave.

"He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death,

God s plan from the beginning was to be born as a human being,

when the time had fully come, so that he could share his love,

suffering and dying to redeem the world.

No, he is with us in all the mess of our lives,

working his transformations for good from within.

This great truth is what gives meaning and purpose to life

and should give joy to the world this Christmas

Inspire us our church to open our hearts and minds to his self giving

love, and to proclaim the good news of his birth to people everywhere.

Lord, in your mercy. Hear our prayer. As we think about the

message of the angels, of peace to God 's people on earth, we ask you

to strengthen all who work for peace and justice in our world today.

Protect and sustain innocent people caught up in war and conflict. And

bless those seeking to bring them comfort and relief. Lord, in your

mercy. Hear our prayer. As we contemplate the holy family

sheltering in a stable, we pray for those who are homeless today.

For all who live in poverty, for those affected by the bad weather,

and for those who are lonely or isolated. We thank you for our own

homes, and the people we love. And remember all who are separated from

their families and friends at this time. Lord, in your mercy. Hear our

prayer. As we think of Mary in the pain of childbirth, we ask you to

comfort all those who are in pain or distress today.

In the silence of our own hearts, we pray for those known to us, and all

who care for them. Lord, in your mercy. Hear our

prayer. Father, as we celebrate the uniting

of heaven and earth, in the birth of your son, we pray that you will keep

in your care all who have died, and bring comfort to those who mourn

their loss. We pray for the recently departed, for those who have died

tragically, alone or unprepared. We remember those whose anniversaries

fall at this time, and pray for all whom we love but see no longer. May

we come to share with them, with Blessed Mary, Saint Joseph, St

Peter, Saint Edward and all of your Saints, in your eternal kingdom.

Merciful Father. Let us give thanks to the Lord,

our God. It is right to give thanks

and praise. All glory and honour be yours

always and ev'rywhere. We give you thanks

and praise for your Son. Who, for love of our fallen race,

humbled himself. In this mystery of the Word

made flesh. You have caused his light

to shine in our hearts. To give knowledge of your glory

in the face of Jesus Christ. And so are caught up in the love

of the God we cannot see. Therefore,

with all the angels of heaven. We lift our voices to proclaim

the glory of your name. # Pleni sunt caeli

et terra gloria tua # Pleni sunt caeli

et terra gloria tua Lord, you are holy indeed,

the source of all holiness. Grant that by the power

of your Holy Spirit, and according to your holy will,

these gifts of bread and wine may be to us the body

and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, in the same night

that he was betrayed, He broke it and gave it

to his disciples, "This is my body

which is given for you. In the same way, after supper,

he took the cup and gave you thanks. He gave it to them, saying,

"Drink this, all of you. "This is my blood

of the new covenant "which is shed for you and for many

for the forgiveness of sins. "Do this, as often as you drink it,

in remembrance of me." And so, Father, calling to mind

his death on the cross, His perfect sacrifice made once

for the sins of the whole world. Rejoicing in his mighty resurrection

and glorious ascension, we celebrate this memorial

of our redemption. As we offer you this, our sacrifice

of praise and thanksgiving, we bring before you this bread

and this cup. And we thank you

for counting us worthy. To stand in your presence

and serve you. Send the Holy Spirit on your people

and gather into one in your kingdom. All who share this one bread

and one cup. So that we, in the company of all

the saints By whom, and with whom, and in whom

in the unity of the Holy Spirit. All honour and glory be yours,

almighty Father. As we join our prayers with those

of the Church Universal, so we say, each in our own language, the prayer

that Jesus Christ has taught us. We break this bread to share

in the body of Christ. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes

away the sin of the world. Blessed are those

who are called to his supper. Lord, I am not

worthy to receive you. But only say the word,

and I shall be healed. gathered into one

things earthly and heavenly, and make you partakers

of the divine nature be among you

and remain with you always.