JOHN 1:1-14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
REFLECTION
The Gospel of John begins with language about light and darkness, and Word and flesh, and the beginning of all things. It is beautiful poetry, but it can feel really conceptual, too, unlike other Gospels where there is a real person to know. That is why I appreciate that John the Baptist makes an appearance in the middle of it all. John, a man sent from God, is there to point us in the right direction. He is clear that he himself is not the Messiah, but the one who helps us recognize him.
Over the desk of the late Reformed theologian Karl Barth, there was a triptych that included a portrait of John. He draws no attention to himself. Rather, he can always be identified as the one in the scene who is pointing to Jesus, urging our focus on the One whom John calls “the true light” and “the Word made flesh.” Barth wanted his writing to do likewise — to point people, always, to Jesus. That can be our posture, too, I think. We can be people intent on pointing away from ourselves and toward Jesus. This Advent, how might you use your gifts to draw attention to the gift of the Christ-child?
WRITTEN BY
Rev. Anna Dickson