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.
With this passage we get a whole new take on the story of
Christ’s entrance into the world. While
the Christmas stories Matthew and Luke describe the way Jesus came into the
world in traditional story form, the Gospel of John opens with soaring poetry and imagery. In this
reading, Jesus isn’t a baby.
Jesus is the Word, the creator, the light and the giver of life.
While this passage seems different from the other more
story-like Christmas gospels, there are a lot of similarities—they open with a
declaration of Jesus linage—who Jesus is. They all have images of light and
dark, they mention John the Baptist, they present the idea of God living among
us.
But in John, it’s harder to imagine ourselves in the middle
of what’s happening because everything is so ephemeral. The other gospels
offer us tangible details that reflect our own earthly experiences. We know
what a baby looks and feels like in our arms. We’ve touched the wool of sheep.
We even have images of angels that we can recall (whether or not they are
biblically accurate). We may know what it’s like to be a young and confused
parent.
But John’s opening is different. We know what light it, but
we also know we can’t grasp it. We know what words are but we also know that
they aren’t tangible. Words are vocal representatives of “real” things.
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.
Sometimes, it seems like the best thing we can do with a passage like this is to sit quietly and
let the words wash over us. Trusting the rhythm and the language carry us
to someplace new. Dropping our
preconceived notions of what the words already say and allowing them to say
something different.
As
Christians, we know the power of words—they
were important in creation. Words are important in salvation. They are
important in scripture. But so often we take words for granted. Our days are
filled with words on the TV, newspaper, Facebook and Twitter. Our phones, our
cars, our homes and even our church are word delivery systems—and they create realities for us as well. Something
is being created with these words that surround us every day.
Words from news stations teach us to be
afraid—convincing us that the world is full of violence and anger. Words from
the Hallmark store show us a rose-colored world where all is well and so we pretend all is well. Words on social media convince us that
everyone’s lives are adventurous and exciting (or depressing and stagnant
depending on the friend). Words from advertisers convince us that we are somehow lacking and must buy their products.
But these are new words, not the Eternal Word. These are the words that come into being when we reach and fight and strive. These are the words we blurt or shout. They are weapons that chip away at the richness of life. The Eternal Word is different. The Eternal Word gives life.
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..
Jesus
as the Word is inseparable from God. Each one infused into the other one. Each
one a reflection of the other. Our own words are a reflection of our hearts and
minds as individuals and as a group. Let us remember to speak words of
encouragement. Words of forgiveness. Words of love. The Word of God. Let us speak these words to ourselves and to those around us so that these words—this Word— can settle upon us and circulate among us and create a community of love and forgiveness. A community centered in the Word.
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.
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