or Wisdom of Solomon 10:15-21
Old Testament: Jeremiah 31:7-14
or Sirach 24:1-12
Gospel: John 1:1-9, 10-18
Epistle: Ephesians 1:3-14
Happy New Year to all! But despite it being 2016 on the calendar, we are still in the Christmas season in the church calendar. It is interesting that we read the beginning of John during the Christmas season but also appropriate since this is the "Christmas story" according to John. John does not give us any type of birth narrative as we imagine it at Christmas time, but he does give us an "origin" story if we can call it that for God-One without beginning. John starts his Gospel by saying "in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God." John doesn't start with Elizabeth or Joseph and Mary, he starts at the Beginning, capital B. In these words he is of course echoing Genesis 1. And we understand also that by "beginning," he means the beginning of time, since God has no beginning.
So John starts at Jesus' eternal existence and his divinity, jumps forward straight to John the Baptist for one verse (6), then goes straight back to declaring the greatness of who Jesus is. Finally, in verse 14 John gets to what we might call the "birth story." He writes, "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory." That is all we get because the narrative turns back to John the Baptist and his eventual baptism of Jesus, and then on to Jesus' ministry. John isn't concerned with the virgin birth, any fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, or Jesus' lineage from David, Abraham, or even Adam. According to his Gospel, we can understand who Jesus is and his work for humanity and creation without knowing anything about Jesus' birth. That the fact that he came is of most importance, and John's Gospel shows to remind us that Jesus' birth is not the most important thing about Jesus, as much as we like to celebrate Christmas!
John actually tells us what is the most important thing about Jesus in the first chapter, much earlier and clearer than the 3 Synoptic Gospels do. He says, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (vs. 29) Wrapped up in this sentence, which comes out of the mouth of John the Baptist, are the ideas of sacrifice, Jesus' death, and salvation. All of Jesus' life, according to John, has to be understood in light of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.
So I would encourage you to read John 1 as a part of your Christmas readings and reflect on who John is saying Jesus is. It may not be a traditional Christmas reading, but read along side something like the first few chapters of Luke we really get the idea of the Incarnation that Jesus is both fully God and fully man.
We move into Epiphany this week so this is the last Sunday of the Christmas season. I hope you have a meaningful time and have grown in your relationship to God and your understanding of the mystery of the Incarnation.
Grace and Peace.
So John starts at Jesus' eternal existence and his divinity, jumps forward straight to John the Baptist for one verse (6), then goes straight back to declaring the greatness of who Jesus is. Finally, in verse 14 John gets to what we might call the "birth story." He writes, "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory." That is all we get because the narrative turns back to John the Baptist and his eventual baptism of Jesus, and then on to Jesus' ministry. John isn't concerned with the virgin birth, any fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, or Jesus' lineage from David, Abraham, or even Adam. According to his Gospel, we can understand who Jesus is and his work for humanity and creation without knowing anything about Jesus' birth. That the fact that he came is of most importance, and John's Gospel shows to remind us that Jesus' birth is not the most important thing about Jesus, as much as we like to celebrate Christmas!
John actually tells us what is the most important thing about Jesus in the first chapter, much earlier and clearer than the 3 Synoptic Gospels do. He says, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (vs. 29) Wrapped up in this sentence, which comes out of the mouth of John the Baptist, are the ideas of sacrifice, Jesus' death, and salvation. All of Jesus' life, according to John, has to be understood in light of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.
So I would encourage you to read John 1 as a part of your Christmas readings and reflect on who John is saying Jesus is. It may not be a traditional Christmas reading, but read along side something like the first few chapters of Luke we really get the idea of the Incarnation that Jesus is both fully God and fully man.
We move into Epiphany this week so this is the last Sunday of the Christmas season. I hope you have a meaningful time and have grown in your relationship to God and your understanding of the mystery of the Incarnation.
Grace and Peace.
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