Light and Life Coming into The World and Our Lives

John 1:1-18 will be read from CEV

This is one of those readings where there is so much to say, and yet it is a reading we need to feel, to experience, more than understand.

I wonder if we listened to it being read a few times with different voices, if that would give us a greater sense of what John is speaking about.

There are images of

Light

Creation

Kindness

Grace

Word made flesh

You may be more familiar with this version:

 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1 NRSV

We could write this as:

In the beginning was Jesus, and Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God. Jesus was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without Jesus not one thing came into being. [1:1]

Everything that was created received its life from him,

and his life gave light to everyone. [1:3b-4]

Wow! What an image. Isn’t that mind-blowing?

Everything that was created received its life from him,

and his life gave light to everyone. [1:3b-4]

In Genesis we heard of God speaking the creation into being,

And here, John tells us that the Word of God, is Jesus.

And not only is the Word, Jesus, involved in creation,

Jesus also brings light,

Not like carrying a candle or a torch,

Jesus is the Light

John’s gospel begins with this poem or hymn. No word of Mary or Joseph, no shepherds or travellers from the east. John begins with an image of experiencing who Jesus is, and spends the rest of the gospel filling in some of the details.

This passage has been described as cosmic birth story, it harks back to the beginning of Genesis, and links Jesus with the story of the beginning of creation.

This all sounds wonderful, this close relationship between God and Jesus, and the close relationship between the life and light of Jesus and our own lives, yet … there is a downside[i]. Jesus being light, and dwelling with us, means we can’t hide.

We can’t pretend with God.

We can put on our ‘everything is going OK’ mask and go out into the world, where most people won’t suspect a thing.

But you can’t do that with Jesus.

And Jesus won’t let you lie to yourself.

Jesus comes bringing

life,

light,

grace

and kindness.

In the coming of Jesus, we “celebrate that God thought we were worth coming to earth for.”[ii]

Isn’t that totally awesome?!!

Here are some of the verses from a modern paraphrase:  

John 1:1-18 selected verses

The Word was first,
the Word present to God,
    God present to the Word.
The Word was God,
    in readiness for God from day one.

Everything was created through him;
    nothing—not one thing! —
    came into being without him.
What came into existence was Life,
    and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
    the darkness couldn’t put it out.

…..

The Word became flesh and blood,
    and moved into the neighbourhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes,
    the one-of-a-kind glory,
    like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out,
    true from start to finish.

.....

We all live off his generous bounty,
        gift after gift after gift.
    We got the basics from Moses,
        and then this exuberant giving and receiving,
    This endless knowing and understanding—
        all this came through Jesus, the Messiah.
    No one has ever seen God,
        not so much as a glimpse.
    This one-of-a-kind God-Expression,
        who exists at the very heart of the Father,
        has made him plain as day.

The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

What does it mean to you that “God thought we were worth coming to earth for.”[iii]

---

[i] Working on the sermon on John 1 and I had the thought, "Doesn't God dwelling so close to us suck? Because with the light living so close I can't overlook my faults." Caleb Suydam Facebook

[ii] https://revgalblogpals.org/2017/12/22/11th-hour-preacher-party-the-incarnation/

[iii] https://revgalblogpals.org/2017/12/22/11th-hour-preacher-party-the-incarnation/