The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son,
who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
[John 1: 14]
For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed –
a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,
just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
[Romans 1: 17]
There are more revelations of God within holy scripture. The Bible tells us a lot about God; God is revealed in the words, in the images the stories provoke, and in the experiences of the people in the text.
Our God is a God of words: creation is spoken into existence – God said “Let there be light”, and there was light [Genesis 1: 3]; God speaks to Adam, to Abraham, and to Moses; God speaks through Elijah and Isaiah. God’s Word is one way in which God reveals Godself. Then God’s Word takes on physical form in Jesus: the Word becomes a human being, and God reveals even more by taking on flesh and living in the world.
The written words of the Bible are a revelation of God, whether you believe the text is the literal Word of God written down or that God inspired those who wrote it; either way, God is revealed in the text. Through the words we see a God who cares, a God of love, compassion and kindness. We also see a God who gets angry at injustice, a God who wants to forgive, and a God who is merciful to us. God can be seen within the words of the Bible.
Holy God,
The Word of scripture reveals your nature;
Your words to and through others reveal who you are.
When your Word became human
We saw you even more clearly.
We thank you for revealing yourself to us
Through words and through the Word;
Help us to listen to what you are telling us,
And to act on your Word.
Amen
Download a pdf of this Prayer for the Week here.
Prayer for the Week for August 2020 written by Revd Claire Rawlinson
Image: Bible, photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
