"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1.1).
This year, I had the arduous task of trying to find just the right Christmas card for my beloved. Have you ever tried searching through the card aisle in the stores prior to Christmas? Particularly looking for that one card -- though mass-produced (oh, the irony!) -- that will say just what you want it to say? It's a veritable Christmas miracle if you actually locate said card. (For the record, I did.)
Words are such ordinary things. We say so many of them every day. Around 15,000 if the scholars of words are to be trusted.
But the Word God speaks, at the beginning, isn't like that. It's not just intended to communicate factual information like a history or a science book exactly. And it's not a Word of warning; not a "You better be good for goodness sake ..." (although perhaps too often religious people make it seem that way). And it's most certainly not a fairy tale -- at least not in the way Star Wars franchise movies are fairy tales. Because these words are not meant to take us far, far away in a galaxy and time long forgotten.
Words are hard, and words fall short, and sometimes words even offend. We have to be so careful. Think of how measured our words are this time of year, particularly at family gatherings. There's a whole internet industry built around how to talk to family members of the opposite political or social party. We may be happy to be together, but we feel pressure, too. We know that what we say can be taken the wrong way, and that people may just say things, intended or not, that can wound us, during all that together time. It's a risky season. And how hard it is to take back those unintended barbs, or how hard it is to recover from a barb aimed at us. Whoever said "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me" has not taken the power of words seriously enough and most certainly never tried going to grandma's for Christmas dinner with Uncle Bob the Tea Party-er.
The Word God speaks isn't like this. The Word God speaks he means, and it's one and the same with who God is. God isn't like me, walking up and down the aisles at the store looking for the right card. God knows just what to say and how to say it. And what God says doesn't make it seem like God is coming to town like Santa Claus. God isn't out to make judgments about the moral character of this or that Timmy or Sandy. God knows the lot we're in. The lot we're all in. And God isn't willing to let us stay in that muck and mire alone. The Word God speaks is a well-thought-out and well-articulated word. Clear. Precise. Unambiguous. It's as orderly and cogent as any rational thought might ever be. That's why, I think, John uses the word he uses for this Word. This Logos -- this logic.
The order spoken at the very moment of creation is the same word we speak each Christmas. As gentle and beautiful as a newborn baby.
The word that is spoken is not a shout, or a slogan, or a manifesto. The word is instead a child. Fragile as our own words, and as vulnerable to misunderstanding by us. Like the "I love you" written in a Christmas card between lovers. This is the Word that we celebrate at Christmas. It is a Word by which God has said with grace and truth in Jesus Christ: "I am with you". "I have been with you since the beginning and I'm with you now -- because I love you."
We all receive good news from the speaking of this word. There's not a soul left in the cold, dark unloved and unloveable world. Each and every one hears this word spoken by God in a way that is as clear and articulate as any word God might speak.
In the beginning was the Word ...
... and that Word is Love.
This year, I had the arduous task of trying to find just the right Christmas card for my beloved. Have you ever tried searching through the card aisle in the stores prior to Christmas? Particularly looking for that one card -- though mass-produced (oh, the irony!) -- that will say just what you want it to say? It's a veritable Christmas miracle if you actually locate said card. (For the record, I did.)
Words are such ordinary things. We say so many of them every day. Around 15,000 if the scholars of words are to be trusted.
But the Word God speaks, at the beginning, isn't like that. It's not just intended to communicate factual information like a history or a science book exactly. And it's not a Word of warning; not a "You better be good for goodness sake ..." (although perhaps too often religious people make it seem that way). And it's most certainly not a fairy tale -- at least not in the way Star Wars franchise movies are fairy tales. Because these words are not meant to take us far, far away in a galaxy and time long forgotten.
Words are hard, and words fall short, and sometimes words even offend. We have to be so careful. Think of how measured our words are this time of year, particularly at family gatherings. There's a whole internet industry built around how to talk to family members of the opposite political or social party. We may be happy to be together, but we feel pressure, too. We know that what we say can be taken the wrong way, and that people may just say things, intended or not, that can wound us, during all that together time. It's a risky season. And how hard it is to take back those unintended barbs, or how hard it is to recover from a barb aimed at us. Whoever said "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me" has not taken the power of words seriously enough and most certainly never tried going to grandma's for Christmas dinner with Uncle Bob the Tea Party-er.
The Word God speaks isn't like this. The Word God speaks he means, and it's one and the same with who God is. God isn't like me, walking up and down the aisles at the store looking for the right card. God knows just what to say and how to say it. And what God says doesn't make it seem like God is coming to town like Santa Claus. God isn't out to make judgments about the moral character of this or that Timmy or Sandy. God knows the lot we're in. The lot we're all in. And God isn't willing to let us stay in that muck and mire alone. The Word God speaks is a well-thought-out and well-articulated word. Clear. Precise. Unambiguous. It's as orderly and cogent as any rational thought might ever be. That's why, I think, John uses the word he uses for this Word. This Logos -- this logic.
The order spoken at the very moment of creation is the same word we speak each Christmas. As gentle and beautiful as a newborn baby.
The word that is spoken is not a shout, or a slogan, or a manifesto. The word is instead a child. Fragile as our own words, and as vulnerable to misunderstanding by us. Like the "I love you" written in a Christmas card between lovers. This is the Word that we celebrate at Christmas. It is a Word by which God has said with grace and truth in Jesus Christ: "I am with you". "I have been with you since the beginning and I'm with you now -- because I love you."
We all receive good news from the speaking of this word. There's not a soul left in the cold, dark unloved and unloveable world. Each and every one hears this word spoken by God in a way that is as clear and articulate as any word God might speak.
In the beginning was the Word ...
... and that Word is Love.