John 1:1-18
In
many ways today feels like a starting point. We prepared for the birth
of Christ, celebrated the arrival of Christ and now we are ready to dive
into the story, beginning the journey of Christ again, the baby came-
now we figure out what this means, how to respond to it and what happens
next. And with the new year only a few days away, it feels like an
appropriate time for a fresh start.
The Gospel of John is unique in its approach to the beginning of the story. It is a commonly held belief among biblical scholars that Mark’s Gospel was written first, followed by Matthew and Luke and then finally John’s. Knowing that, it is interesting to look at how they start their stories. Mark, being the most to the point kind of writer and always in a hurry- cuts right to the chase. We get some words from Isaiah, a description of John the Baptist and then there he is, popping out of the wilderness as a grown man ready to begin his ministry- Jesus. Luke gives us some background about the birth of John and Mary’s reaction to the news of the child she will bear and then we hear the lovely birth story. Then, Matthew takes it back a few steps by tracing the genealogy of Jesus before we get to the birth. But John takes it back even further … much further, all the way back to the beginning of time. If there was a contest between the four Gospels as to which one had the best and oldest origin story, John’s would clearly win.
Perhaps John just told the story as he knew it and that meant starting all the way with the very beginning of time. Maybe John wants to be clear about the connection between the beginning of the Christ story and the beginning of the Genesis story. Maybe John’s community was being persecuted and chastised for their faith in this guy named Jesus who died on a cross and so it was necessary to show some weight to their claim of just how important Jesus really was. Maybe John read the other three Gospels and wanted to outshine them all by being more thorough, more poetic and more far-reaching in time. Or maybe John’s Gospel begins this way because it is information necessary for understanding the rest of the story, it is an important prologue for anyone who wants to read the story for all it is worth and truly grasp the power of the Word.
Either way, it takes us back, way back to the beginning. I have to be honest, I felt a little disappointed when I looked up the lectionary reading I would be preaching on today. I know that sounds crazy because John’s prologue is incredibly beautiful, dense, weighty, brilliant and important. But I tend to be more of a cut to the chase, Markan style person. We just spent all of Advent preparing, contemplating and waiting, Christ is here, let’s get to the action, the stories, parables and teachings. Sometimes it feels a little exhausting to start all over again. To realize that we have only just begun. We will again relive the life of Jesus through our Christian calendar and today we are at square one.
For me, all of this restarting may have brought up some of the feelings I had a few weeks after we found out we were pregnant again. When I first saw the test result I was elated. I just kept laughing and saying “oh my gosh!” I was on cloud nine, so excited to be pregnant again, so excited to have another baby. And then a few weeks later I remembered the more difficult parts of restarting this process of new life. The morning sickness, exhaustion and upcoming sleepless nights. I was still excited, but the idea of starting back at square one was exhausting. We are just now at a place where we can have conversations with our son, go out and do things more easily and perhaps someday soon we will even be free of diapers … and now we start back at the beginning. On the days when I felt sick I more easily recalled labor pains, crying all night and heavy infant car seats than sweet baby coos, snuggles and the amazing gift of watching a new life grow. Some days new beginnings seem tiring- like when you see the intimidating syllabus of a new class on the first day, or decide on yet another major home repair, or set about accomplishing a new life goal.
But, tired or not, here we are- at the beginning with John. The very beginning. Trying to figure out what exactly this birth of Christ means, how this story will unfold and what it means for our lives.
And the Gospel of John has something important for us to hear at the beginning of our journey. First, the Word is not just about Christmas day, the Word is before all things, with God, before creation, always was and always is. And creation comes through the Word. We, humankind are born of the Word. And here is John’s version of the Christmas story: the Word became flesh, Jesus Christ is God incarnate. Fully God and fully human. Jesus is the revelation of God in humanity. In the prologue in John it refers to “grace upon grace” that we were given the gift of the Law through Moses and upon that the truth and grace of Jesus Christ. And by receiving this grace, by believing in Christ we can be born of God, children of the Creator, we can live in the light of grace upon grace. Oh, and also a guy named John will preach about Jesus, but he himself is not the light, he will testify to the light. So if you got all of that then you are ready to begin the story again, ready to dive in, restart the journey and follow along the life of Christ.
It is a lot to take in, a lot of really important and profound information. In fact it is life-changing. If a new syllabus, task or even 9 months of pregnancy feels weighty, then hold on tight because we are about to contemplate the beginning of all time, the existence of God on earth, the identity of Christ, believing in him and the resulting life changes. We are talking life and death, heaven and earth stuff.
So, maybe it’s good that we start again. It’s good to go over all of this stuff again. I think I need to hear the story one more time, well maybe many more times. I need time to contemplate, engage, discuss and pray with it. I need to wrap my mind around what it means to say “in the beginning was the Word” and to sort through my life and see if my life gives evidence to being a child of the light, if I am living as a child of God in the world. It will take work, it will take patience, it is a big task …
I remember many years ago when I began serving as a pastor I was having a conversation with a friend of mine who was also just starting out in pastoral ministry. We were sharing some of the things that surprised us about ministry and she said that she was shocked that the congregation depended on her to be the only person to visit those who were sick or homebound or struggling. She said “you would think after hearing the Gospel over and over again, they would know how to be Christians to each other.” I have thought of that comment from time to time over the years, like right after worship when someone would tell me mean and nasty things about another person. Or after a big congregational study on radical hospitality and evangelism I got an email from someone saying they didn’t want new people to come to the church, they wanted it to stay exactly as it was when they joined it. You can’t help but pause and think “how many times have we gone on this journey from birth, death and resurrection together and this is how they act?”
But before I go throwing stones, I look in the mirror at all the mean things I have said in my life, all the ways I participate in injustices, the times I have acted selfishly, the poor and needy I have neglected, the light of Christ I have hidden, the ways I have failed, not done God’s will, not loved my neighbor as myself and not heard the cry of the needy … even though I have walked this journey over and over again, read the stories over and over again, confessed over and over again.
So, even though it is hard, even though it takes work, even though it seems like a lot, I am glad to be restarting this journey. I am grateful to be back at the beginning. I am relieved to hear of “grace upon grace” that I am a child of God, that God is in the world, Christ is born, incarnate, taking on our flesh, walking the journey with us. I am thankful for these days of Christmas to reflect on new life, new beginning, hope born anew.
So as my body works to make room for the tiny baby within me, I am reflecting on the tiny baby born in a manger. The tiny baby that carries so much weight, the weight of the world, from the beginning of time and for all time. And together that tiny baby carries us all on this journey again, from the beginning, starting anew, ready to be changed by new life, ready to make big adjustments for the big news of Emmanuel, God with us.
Even on my most difficult days of pregnancy, right after I finish complaining to my husband about heartburn or hernias or headaches, at the end of every day I get on my knees and thank God for this amazing thing I am a part of. This incredible way that I can be part of this creative process with God. This remarkable and unique time in my life when I am joined with this new life that will never happen again. I mean, after all, you can’t expect to receive new life and remain unchanged. Amen.
The Gospel of John is unique in its approach to the beginning of the story. It is a commonly held belief among biblical scholars that Mark’s Gospel was written first, followed by Matthew and Luke and then finally John’s. Knowing that, it is interesting to look at how they start their stories. Mark, being the most to the point kind of writer and always in a hurry- cuts right to the chase. We get some words from Isaiah, a description of John the Baptist and then there he is, popping out of the wilderness as a grown man ready to begin his ministry- Jesus. Luke gives us some background about the birth of John and Mary’s reaction to the news of the child she will bear and then we hear the lovely birth story. Then, Matthew takes it back a few steps by tracing the genealogy of Jesus before we get to the birth. But John takes it back even further … much further, all the way back to the beginning of time. If there was a contest between the four Gospels as to which one had the best and oldest origin story, John’s would clearly win.
Perhaps John just told the story as he knew it and that meant starting all the way with the very beginning of time. Maybe John wants to be clear about the connection between the beginning of the Christ story and the beginning of the Genesis story. Maybe John’s community was being persecuted and chastised for their faith in this guy named Jesus who died on a cross and so it was necessary to show some weight to their claim of just how important Jesus really was. Maybe John read the other three Gospels and wanted to outshine them all by being more thorough, more poetic and more far-reaching in time. Or maybe John’s Gospel begins this way because it is information necessary for understanding the rest of the story, it is an important prologue for anyone who wants to read the story for all it is worth and truly grasp the power of the Word.
Either way, it takes us back, way back to the beginning. I have to be honest, I felt a little disappointed when I looked up the lectionary reading I would be preaching on today. I know that sounds crazy because John’s prologue is incredibly beautiful, dense, weighty, brilliant and important. But I tend to be more of a cut to the chase, Markan style person. We just spent all of Advent preparing, contemplating and waiting, Christ is here, let’s get to the action, the stories, parables and teachings. Sometimes it feels a little exhausting to start all over again. To realize that we have only just begun. We will again relive the life of Jesus through our Christian calendar and today we are at square one.
For me, all of this restarting may have brought up some of the feelings I had a few weeks after we found out we were pregnant again. When I first saw the test result I was elated. I just kept laughing and saying “oh my gosh!” I was on cloud nine, so excited to be pregnant again, so excited to have another baby. And then a few weeks later I remembered the more difficult parts of restarting this process of new life. The morning sickness, exhaustion and upcoming sleepless nights. I was still excited, but the idea of starting back at square one was exhausting. We are just now at a place where we can have conversations with our son, go out and do things more easily and perhaps someday soon we will even be free of diapers … and now we start back at the beginning. On the days when I felt sick I more easily recalled labor pains, crying all night and heavy infant car seats than sweet baby coos, snuggles and the amazing gift of watching a new life grow. Some days new beginnings seem tiring- like when you see the intimidating syllabus of a new class on the first day, or decide on yet another major home repair, or set about accomplishing a new life goal.
But, tired or not, here we are- at the beginning with John. The very beginning. Trying to figure out what exactly this birth of Christ means, how this story will unfold and what it means for our lives.
And the Gospel of John has something important for us to hear at the beginning of our journey. First, the Word is not just about Christmas day, the Word is before all things, with God, before creation, always was and always is. And creation comes through the Word. We, humankind are born of the Word. And here is John’s version of the Christmas story: the Word became flesh, Jesus Christ is God incarnate. Fully God and fully human. Jesus is the revelation of God in humanity. In the prologue in John it refers to “grace upon grace” that we were given the gift of the Law through Moses and upon that the truth and grace of Jesus Christ. And by receiving this grace, by believing in Christ we can be born of God, children of the Creator, we can live in the light of grace upon grace. Oh, and also a guy named John will preach about Jesus, but he himself is not the light, he will testify to the light. So if you got all of that then you are ready to begin the story again, ready to dive in, restart the journey and follow along the life of Christ.
It is a lot to take in, a lot of really important and profound information. In fact it is life-changing. If a new syllabus, task or even 9 months of pregnancy feels weighty, then hold on tight because we are about to contemplate the beginning of all time, the existence of God on earth, the identity of Christ, believing in him and the resulting life changes. We are talking life and death, heaven and earth stuff.
So, maybe it’s good that we start again. It’s good to go over all of this stuff again. I think I need to hear the story one more time, well maybe many more times. I need time to contemplate, engage, discuss and pray with it. I need to wrap my mind around what it means to say “in the beginning was the Word” and to sort through my life and see if my life gives evidence to being a child of the light, if I am living as a child of God in the world. It will take work, it will take patience, it is a big task …
I remember many years ago when I began serving as a pastor I was having a conversation with a friend of mine who was also just starting out in pastoral ministry. We were sharing some of the things that surprised us about ministry and she said that she was shocked that the congregation depended on her to be the only person to visit those who were sick or homebound or struggling. She said “you would think after hearing the Gospel over and over again, they would know how to be Christians to each other.” I have thought of that comment from time to time over the years, like right after worship when someone would tell me mean and nasty things about another person. Or after a big congregational study on radical hospitality and evangelism I got an email from someone saying they didn’t want new people to come to the church, they wanted it to stay exactly as it was when they joined it. You can’t help but pause and think “how many times have we gone on this journey from birth, death and resurrection together and this is how they act?”
But before I go throwing stones, I look in the mirror at all the mean things I have said in my life, all the ways I participate in injustices, the times I have acted selfishly, the poor and needy I have neglected, the light of Christ I have hidden, the ways I have failed, not done God’s will, not loved my neighbor as myself and not heard the cry of the needy … even though I have walked this journey over and over again, read the stories over and over again, confessed over and over again.
So, even though it is hard, even though it takes work, even though it seems like a lot, I am glad to be restarting this journey. I am grateful to be back at the beginning. I am relieved to hear of “grace upon grace” that I am a child of God, that God is in the world, Christ is born, incarnate, taking on our flesh, walking the journey with us. I am thankful for these days of Christmas to reflect on new life, new beginning, hope born anew.
So as my body works to make room for the tiny baby within me, I am reflecting on the tiny baby born in a manger. The tiny baby that carries so much weight, the weight of the world, from the beginning of time and for all time. And together that tiny baby carries us all on this journey again, from the beginning, starting anew, ready to be changed by new life, ready to make big adjustments for the big news of Emmanuel, God with us.
Even on my most difficult days of pregnancy, right after I finish complaining to my husband about heartburn or hernias or headaches, at the end of every day I get on my knees and thank God for this amazing thing I am a part of. This incredible way that I can be part of this creative process with God. This remarkable and unique time in my life when I am joined with this new life that will never happen again. I mean, after all, you can’t expect to receive new life and remain unchanged. Amen.
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