The Vigil of the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord
Posted on December 24, 2024 by under
Scripture and Devotion for the Vigil of the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord. Tuesday, December 24th, 2024.
Scripture: St. John 1:1-7 (NKJV)
1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shined in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.
Devotion
There are no “normal” days this week—it is full of festivals and commemorations! Even supposing that you are reading this early in the day, you know that at sunset this weekday in Advent is transformed into the Eve of the Nativity of our Lord! Yet, even if we esteemed every day the same (Rom. 14:5-6), none of them are mundane (literally: “worldly”) for the Christian, because each one is lived in the light of the eyewitness testimony of those who saw God the Son establishing fellowship between us and the Triune God, offering His blood for us to cleanse us from all sin!
St. John says he writes so that there may be fullness of joy in this fellowship, that the bearers of the Word may rejoice in the hearers receiving it and walking in Christ’s light. There is joy in letting the joy of God’s salvation (Ps. 51:12) light every facet of our lives, that He may shine through each one. This penitential season is brought to its full and proper conclusion by rejoicing in the truth Paul Gerhardt reveals already in the first stanza of his great Advent hymn, “O Lord, How Shall I Meet Thee,” and elaborates throughout: the Lord we need to be prepared to meet is the very One who Himself kindles His lamp of holiness within our breast and stands at the door to help and cheer us, and to safely guide us home.
Collect: Stir up, O Lord, we beseech Thee, Thy power, and come, and with great might succor us, that by the help of Thy grace whatsoever is hindered by our sins may be speedily accomplished through Thy mercy and satisfaction; Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for the season of Advent
Stir up, we beseech Thee, Thy power, O Lord, and come, that by Thy protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins, and saved by Thy mighty deliverance; Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for the Vigil of the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord
O God, Who has made this most holy night to shine with the brightness of the true Light: Grant, we beseech Thee, that as we have known on earth the mysteries of that Light, we may also come to the fullness of His joys in heaven; 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.
