Monday 9 January 2023

Today is Monday the 9th of January, in the first week of Ordinary Time.

The monks of Pluscarden Abbey sing the Benedictus: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel! He has visited his people and redeemed them. He has raised up for us a mighty saviour in the house of David his servant, as he promised by the lips of holy men, those who were his prophets from of old. A saviour who would free us from our foes, from the hands of all who hate us.
So his love for our ancestors is fulfilled and his holy covenant remembered. He swore to Abraham our father to grant us, that free from fear, and saved from the hands of our foes, we might serve him in holiness and justice all the days of our life in his presence.”

Today’s reading is from the letter to the Hebrews.

Hebrews 1:1-6
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.

Christmas is over now, and we peer blearily through the grey to see what might lie ahead after all that celebration. For us, the task is to establish just who this Jesus is, whom we think that we follow.

Today’s reading offers us a way into the mystery. It comes from a profound thinker, whose name we don’t know, but who wants to get us to think about Jesus, as he reaches for language to capture the mystery.

“In these last days he has spoken to us by a Son”. What do these words mean to you? How has this “Son” spoken to you?

“He is the reflection of God’s glory, the exact imprint of God’s very being”. How do you imagine this in your mind’s eye?
Now listen to the reading again, and ask yourself, “what is it saying about Jesus?”

Finally, is there some way in which you might sum up your prayer today? Say something to God in your own words.

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.