The Word Made
Flesh = Good News
Reading for Christmas
1C: John 1:1-18
December 28, 2003
The
Rev. Karen Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God...And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory."
[Jn.1]
No one has ever seen God. Even though God is the creator and sustainer of all
life and available to those who have faith, knowledge of God does not come by
observation or by the accumulation of proofs. However, God does reveal God's
self in various ways. The prologue of John (which means the introduction to
the Gospel of John) tells of how God fully revealed God's self in the person
of Jesus. Let's take a closer look at today's gospel, which contains one of
the most well known and theologically profound passages in the Bible, and see
if we can incorporate its "good news" into our lives.
There are three different Christmas stories in the Bible (i.e. Matthew, Luke,
and John). Matthew's Christmas story includes a dream, angels, Mary, Joseph,
magi, King Herod, and the shining star. He traces Jesus' genealogy back to the
person of Abraham. Luke takes Jesus' genealogy one step further and traces it
back to Adam (or to the beginning of humanity). Luke's gospel includes the annunciation,
the holy family's trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the inn, the manger scene,
the shepherds and their flocks, and a few angels. However, in the Christmas
story according to John, there are no angels, no manger, no magi, no virginal
conception, no Mary. In order to tell his story on how God became incarnate
in the person of Jesus, John borrows from the Greek and Jewish wisdom culture.
He uses the word Logos to describe the indwelling of God in the person of Jesus.
Logos can be translated as the Word, eternal wisdom, the mind of God, or the
creative plan of God that governs the world. John traces Jesus' genealogy back
to God at the very beginning. John does not exactly say how this Logos came
to dwell in the person of Jesus. He simply declares it to be a fact based on
the testimony of those whose lives have been changed by the incarnation. Let
me summarize the implications of John's Christmas story, which some people prefer
over the birth narratives of Matthew and Luke.
- Because Jesus shares the most intimate relationship with God and has the
nature of God within his personhood, we can now know and have access to God
in ways that beforehand were impossible. The words and works of Jesus are
identical to the words and works of God. If we want to know God's will for
humanity, all we have to do is look at Jesus. He is the way, the truth, and
the life.
- Jesus is the Word of God, not the Bible. While the Bible contains
the word of God, it is not equal to God. So the next time someone hits you
over the head with the Bible to coerce you into following the law, you might
gently remind your attacker of this fact. The Word or Logos
did not become a book, or an idea, or a dogma. The Logos became a person.
The law was given through Moses. But grace and truth came through Jesus. It
is through this relationship that we can have life, and have it more abundantly.
- How much did God reveal in the person of Jesus? God revealed all that was
necessary and relevant for humanity's well being. We call this movement towards
well-being, salvation. In a nutshell, God revealed what it means to
love one another.
- Since the Word of God existed from the beginning and is eternal, God has
not and does not confine God's communication to the 33 years of Jesus' ministry
on earth. God does not limited God's communication only to Christians. This
has ecumenical and interfaith implications. For instance, God chooses to speak
through non-Christians and to many different cultures. One can see profound
and consistent truths in many of the world's religions. We must celebrate
these consistent truths as we try to live in a very pluralistic society. William
Temple, a famous 20th century Anglican theologian once said: "All that is
noble in the non-Christian systems of thought, or conduct, or worship, is
the work of Jesus Christ upon them and within them. By the Word of God-that
is to say, by Jesus Christ- Isaiah and Plato and Zoroaster and Buddha and
Confucius conceived and uttered such truths as they declared. There is only
one divine light; and every person in his measure is enlightened by it." Last
month, we had a rabbi who visited St. Jude's. She spoke of how Jesus had a
lot in common with other Jewish prophets. This should be of no surprise. God
has been speaking God's word through the Jewish prophets, through dreams,
& through creation for years. What is unique about Jesus, is that the full
revelation of God came through him. He is the measuring rod against which
we test other religions' so-called truths.
- A relationship with the Word of God is the most incredible gift that one
can ever have. It is the difference between living life in black and white
and living life in full color. John describes it as "grace after grace"- a
superabundance of gifts. You don't have to understand the full mystery of
God in order to have a relationship with Christ. Jesus is offered to us, not
as a problem to solve, but as a solution. He is the direction in which history
should move.
- Because God came to dwell in human flesh, this means that God views the
human body and the material world as being good and holy. We must celebrate
the body, the physical world, and the environment in which we live. This means
that we take care of our bodies and the environment and view them as containers
for God. There are many religions out there which claim that the mind is better
than the body; that the body is something to shed for something greater. But
John said: "The word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his
glory."
Finally, I want to say that not everyone who met Jesus experienced God in him.
To many of those in power in 1st century Palestine, Jesus was viewed as a heretic,
a scandal, a nutcase, and a real threat. The same goes for today. There are
some who choose to ignore the Light and there are others who try to extinguish
the Light. This has caused great suffering over the centuries. The good news
is, that the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome
it. This is what we base our hope on.
While today, we can not meet Jesus in the flesh, the Spirit of Christ (i.e.
the Holy Spirit) continues to reveal grace and truth to us. If we open our heart,
mind, and body to this Spirit of Christ, our lives can be transformed. This
is what is means to become a child of God, to be born again, to be a light shining
in the darkness.
"The true light which enlightens everyone, [has come] into the world."
