FORMATION
FORMATION 1997
THEME NO. 2
The Incarnation of the Son of
God; Jesus Christ
1. Formation Prayer
(To be recited by all present).
In the name of the Father …
Heavenly Father, as we commence this session
of the Formation Programme, help us to believe you are near to us and that you care for
each one of us every day of our lives. Send the Holy Spirit to be our helper and our
guide, enlightening our minds, giving us the grace to serve you with generous hearts and
inspiring us to stand firm as Christians in your love. We ask this through Christ our
Lord. Amen.
2. Scripture Reading - John
1:1–5, 9–14
(Read by the discussion leader or the
member nominated by him.)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into
being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being
in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the
darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. … The true light, which enlightens
everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being
through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own
people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave
power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood, or of the will of the flesh
or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we
have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
3. The Message
(Read by the discussion leader or the
member nominated by him.)
After decades of reflection on the mystery of
Jesus, the writer of the Fourth Gospel, John, at the end of the first century, summarised
the life and the death of Jesus as the full revelation of God’s love. The passage
which we have read gives a clue to the various signs which the Gospel of John records.
There is ample evidence of the rejection of Jesus by the forces of darkness. Yet there
were some who did believe in Jesus whom he enabled to become the children of God. The Son
would breathe his Spirit of new life on these just as God breathed the spirit of life on
Adam. Belief in the fact that the Son of God did take to himself our human condition
(Incarnation) is the distinctive element of our Christian faith. The teachings of Jesus
have a unique authority and give us certainty about the nature of God when human effort
would only provide us with mere probabilities. Above all else, Jesus has assured us that
God is the source of all that is good and true and that God has a personal interest in
every person born into this world. Moreover, Jesus assures us that God is a God of
forgiveness and compassion.
4. The Exercise
(Five minutes of reflection by all
members.)
How relevant is the passage from John’s
Gospel to the world in which we live?
What are the elements of darkness in our
society at the present time?
What difference does the teaching of Jesus
make to my own idea of God?
5. The Sharing
(Members share aspects of their personal
faith and its place in their lives that have come to them through the Exercise.)
6. The Word
(The basis of meditation and reflection
for the ensuing month given by the discussion leader.)
"And the Word became flesh and lived
among us" (John 1:14).
7. Closing Prayer
(Recited by all members)
God of love, Father of all, the darkness that
covered the earth has given way to the bright dawn of your Word made flesh. Make us a
people of this light. Make us faithful to your Word that we may bring your life to the
waiting world. Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
