Be for us a living hope

Be for us a living hope

Hope is one of the mainstays of Christianity. Consider the last verse of one of the better-known Biblical readings, and one of my favourites, 1 Corinthians 13:

And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:14

“Hope” may not be the greatest of the three mainstays, that honour is reserved for “love”, but it’s still pretty important. But what is this hope that we Christians have?

The Christian hope is a confident expectation and desire for something good in the future. Our Christian hope should be a cause of great joy and happiness! As we consider and look forward to our future with Christ, our hearts will become very excited — thus giving us joy and happiness during our stay upon the earth.

It seems to me that Christmas Eve, when “we prepare with joy to celebrate the gift of the Christ-child”, is a day when our hearts will get very excited indeed. In this Christmas Eve Collect we’re praying for that feeling, that hope, to live in us, not just for today, or tomorrow, but for ever.

I pray that that will be the case for you and those you love this Christmas time.

Almighty God,
as we prepare with joy
to celebrate the gift of the Christ-child,
embrace the earth with your glory
and be for us a living hope
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Additional Collect for Christmas Eve
is Copyright © The Archbishops Council