John 1: 1-14
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.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He
came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through
him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. 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.
We have just
heard the introductory verses of the Gospel According to Saint John.
This remarkable poetry is an interpretation of all the events and folklore
related to the birth of Jesus. My words to you this Christmas morning are
offered as a commentary on this reading.
Once upon a
time, perhaps ten to twenty billion years ago, our universe was compressed and
dense beyond measure. With a massive explosion the Creator brought our universe
into being. In this beginning God began to form our cosmos in accordance with
divine purposes. Everything made is evolving according to Godly intentions, and
nothing unsuitable is made.
Who knows
whether there are other universes emerging at God's direction? Who knows
whether among the billions of galaxies in our own universe God has been
self-disclosing in more than one place? For reasons known only to the Almighty,
in an insignificant part of the Milky Way Galaxy our solar system's obscure
planet Earth was to become much more than cold rock or hot gas. Within the
Creator's design for Earth is the wonder of human life, vibrant with God's own
light.
Remarkably,
God's light shines even in the presence of darkness. Wicked human choices shall
never overcome his radiance. Ultimately God's Will shall be done; it is the
Lord God who is the Sovereign maker of all universes.
About two
thousand years ago there appeared on the scene a man named John, a prophet
inspired by God. He came as a witness to testify to God's light to the nations,
so that everyone might believe through him. John himself was not the light, but
came to bear witness to the light.
The true
light, which enlightens every willing person, was coming into the world in a
new and different way. Right from the beginning, God's light had permeated the
universe, yet humanity did not see it. God's radiance had shone among the
Hebrew People, and even they did not fully perceive it. But to all who beheld
the light, who believed in its power, they were given power to become true
children of God. These children of God are neither creatures evolving randomly
in nature nor conceived only by human desire, but are instead wonderful human
beings emerging as a result of God's specific intent.
In the
course of time, two thousand years ago, the Creator's purpose for human
history, God's very Word, was personified in Someone who made his home with
us. In Him we witness the glory of God's light and plan for us all. In
actual human history we have experienced God's Incarnate Word as a father's
only son, a son full of redeeming love, a son faithful and true. For two
millennia we Christians have confessed that Jesus the Messiah is the only
exemplary image of the Father, a son who has uniquely disclosed God's personal
and active Will of love.
As you and I
worship together this Christmas Day we need no greater precision, definitions,
or formulations; for, with the illuminating Gospel According to John we
are gathered, not in a laboratory or library, but here in prayer. With the Word
Made Flesh nurturing us this hour you and I may discover the dynamic light and
love of God. Moreover, we may comprehend more fully our own shared identity as
daughters and sons of God, children created in the very image of God, a new
people called to become more and more like their Lord Jesus Christ. Day after
day in this assembly of God we are nurtured as our Heavenly Father's own family
as we listen to his Word, share the Eucharistic bread and wine, and reflect
carefully on the Gospel's meanings for our daily lives. No abstract idea this
Word; rather, if willing, we experience here the living presence of
God-With-Us.
Wonderful!
Marvelous! Awe-inspiring! You and I have not been left just to circle our solar
system at 67,000 miles per hour; we do not have to be frightened by our own
galaxy's 1.3 million mile-per-hour travel into a vast, expanding universe. We
need not quake at our own mortality. The Creator has provided humanity with the
clue to true life, the everlasting light on which to focus: "the Word of the
Father now in flesh appearing." As we celebrate Christmastide, as we hear and
respond to the extraordinary stories of Jesus' nativity, we give profound
thanks to the Creator for all that has been fulfilled and shown to us in Jesus
the Christ. All glory be to God on high, and on earth peace to everyone of good
will!