The Thursday after the Sunday within the Octave of the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord
Posted on January 2, 2025 by under
Scripture: Hebrews 1:1-12 (NKJV)
1:1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
5 For to which of the angels did He ever say:
“You are My Son, today I have begotten You”?
And again:
“I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son”?
6 But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says:
“Let all the angels of God worship Him.”
7 And of the angels He says:
“Who makes His angels spirits and His ministers a flame of fire.”
8 But to the Son He says:
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”
10 And:
“You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
11 They will perish, but You remain; and they will all grow old like a garment;
12 Like a cloak You will fold them up, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not fail.”
Devotion
The prophets of old never saw the Lord Jesus. We too, have never seen the Lord Jesus in the flesh. But, the Lord God did speak to the prophets “at various times and in various ways” in order that He might reveal through them the coming of the Savior and Redeemer of the world. Though neither the prophets, nor we, have seen the Son of God, at His coming He revealed Himself in our flesh at His birth.
St. Paul writes to the Hebrews that “in these last days” God has “spoken to us by His Son.” Our Lord Jesus came in our flesh to fulfill the Law of God and endure our punishment on the tree of the cross. The prophets foretold His coming so that all those who believed on the coming Messiah would be saved by such faith. The apostles and New Testament ministers preach to us that the Lord Jesus has come. He has come and fulfilled all things necessary for our salvation.
We now await His return on the Last Day. He sits at the right hand of God the Father and will come again to judge both the quick and the dead. On that day we will enjoy for all eternity the things that were spoken by Him in these last days about our glorious home with Him. For He has redeemed us by His blood, and gathered us into His Church to receive His gifts.
Collect: Almighty and Everlasting God, direct our actions according to Thy good pleasure, that in the Name of Thy beloved Son, we may be made to abound in good works; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
