And some of those having been sent,
were from the Pharisees.

And they asked him:
‘Then, why do you baptize,
if you are not the Christ, not Elijah, not the prophet?’
John answered them:
‘I am baptizing in water,
In your midst, stands one you do not know.
The one before me, is coming
I am not worthy
so that I may untie the straps of (his) sandals,

These things became in Bethany,
beyond the Jordan,
where John was baptizing.

Thank you, dear Jesus,
for all you have given me,
for all you have taken away from me,
for all you have left me.

Thomas More (c.1478-1535)

And this is the witness of John,
when the Judeans of Jerusalem sent
(to him)
priests and Levites to ask him:
‘Who are you?’
And he confessed
and did not deny
and he confessed :
‘I am not the Messiah.’

And they asked him:
‘What then? Are you Elijah?’
And John answered them:
‘I am not.’
‘Are you the prophet?’
and he answered
‘No’

So they said to him:
‘Who are you?
so that we might give an answer to those who sent us,
what do you say about yourself?’

He said
I am a voice of one crying out in the wilderness
Make straight the Lord’s Road. ¹
as the prophet Isaiah said.

1. Isaiah 40:3 ↩︎

Thank you, dear Jesus,
for all you have given me,
for all you have taken away from me,
for all you have left me.

Thomas More (c.1478-1535)

Because from his fulness
we all have received (a share)
namely grace
upon grace;
because the law was given
through Moses,
(but) grace and truth became
through Jesus Christ.
Nobody has ever seen God:
the only son,
God,
who is in the bosom of the Father,
that one has revealed him.

O Lord Jesus Christ,
stay beside me to defend me,
within me to guide me,
before me to lead me,
and above me to bless me,
that with you and in you,
I may live, and move and have my being,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

(unknown)

And the Word became flesh
and he lived among us,
and we looked at his glory:
glory as an only son of a father,
full of grace and truth.

John bears witness to him,
and cried out
“This is is the one I spoke about:
‘The one coming after me,
he became before me
because he was very first before me’”

Eternal God and Fatther,
you create us by your power,
and redeem us by your love,
guide and strengthen us by your Spirit,
that we may give ourselves in love and service
to one another and to you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

A man became,
having been sent from God,
his name was John,
-this one came as a witness
that is to bear witness to the L ight
so that all people might trust through him.

-That one was not the Light,
but he (came) to witness about the Light.

He was the true Light,
who gives light to everyone,
by his coming into the world.

He was in the world,
and the world through him
became
and the world did not recognise him.

To his own he came,
yet his own people did not receive him.

But to as many received him,
he gave to them
the right to become children of God,
to those who trust in his name.
Those,
not from blood,
not from the will of flesh
not from the will of man
but born from God.

O Lord, in whom is our hope,
remove far from us, we pray thee,
empty hopes and presumptuous confidence.
Make our hearts so right with thy most holy and loving heart,
that hoping in thee we may do good;
until that day when faith and hope
shall be abolished by sight and possession,
and love shall be all in all.

Christina Rossetti (1830-94)

This one
was in the beginning
with God.

All things
through him
became
and without him
became
not one thing which
became

In him
was life;
and the life
was the light of humankind;
and the light shines
in the darkness
and yet the darkness
did not master it

Keep us, O Lord, while we tarry on this earth,
in a serious seeking after thee,
and in an affectionate walking with thee,
every day of our lives;
that when thou comest,
we may be found not hiding our talent,
nor yet asleep with our lamp unfurnished,
but waiting and longing for our Lord,
our glorious King, for ever and ever.

Richard Baxter (1615-1691)

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and God – the Word was.

Lord God,
you feed us with the living bread from heaven;
you renew our faith,
increase our hope,
and strengthen our love.

Teach us to hunger
for Christ who is the true and living bread,
and to live by every word
that comes from your mouth,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.