advent thoughts

It's Christmas eve and I'm about to head to Nashville to spend Christ's Mass with family and friends back home. Before I left, I wanted to share an advental thought (is that a word?) with all of you. For Christmas we always turn to Matthew or Luke, especially, to tell the Christmas story. I want to do it a bit different. Here the Christmas story from the Apostle John:

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made though him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not recieve him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among US, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.

The Gospel of John 1: 1-5, 9-14; 1 John 4:9

Merry Christmas, everyone. May Christ shine bright to us and through us as we reflect on Christ and His incarnation this season.

until Christ is formed in us...

--mike