Christmas Day — John 1:1-14

“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”  “The Word became flesh and made his home among us.” (John 1:1,14a, CEV)

“The Word” as used in the Gospel of John, refers to the way God “speaks,” but does not refer to either writing or audible voice. When God “speaks,” or “communicates” things happen. Writing does not appear, but worlds do. “God said, ‘let there be light.’ And so, light appeared.” (Genesis 1:3, CEV) “Word” refers to the activity of God. God reveals Himself through worlds created, nations created, people set free. The One who is cosmic and without boundaries reveals Himself through the concrete and the particular. This text reminds us that once upon a time all of God showed up in a very specific time in a very specific place in a very specific person:  over 2,000 years ago, at Bethlehem, in the Roman province of Judea, as a real human baby. The boundless activity of God became incarnate: took on flesh, took on our shape and form. As the Gospel of John goes on to state, “The Word became flesh and made his home among us.” (John 1:14a) The Message translates, “became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood”! The Word is still here among us. We have been taken into the creating activity and endless life of God, through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas!

Creating and saving God, on this special day, we pause before the Mystery that is both boundless creativity and suffering love. You made a world, and then appeared in that world as a baby; fully divine, yet fully human. Give us understanding of this with our hearts, even as our heads cannot fully understand it. As we are in Christ, the Word, may You be revealed through our lives in our time and place. Amen.

– Father Larry Parrish, St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Falls City