“In the beginning was the Word…”

(John 1:1-18)

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 into the darkness, and the light 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.  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 humanity, 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.  (John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘The One who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’)  From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.  The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  No one has ever seen God.  It is the only Son, himself God, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

What you just heard from the beginning of the Gospel of John ought to let you know that this Gospel is quite different from Matthew, Mark and Luke.  Luke’s story of the birth of Jesus is the gold standard for our beloved picture of the Nativity.  It’s what we hear on Christmas Eve.  It’s the tableau that the children create for us in their pageant.  “There was no room at the inn so the young couple resorted to staying in a stable.  There the baby was born surrounded by animals.  Then the angels came to the shepherds and announced the birth of our Lord.”

            Matthew’s Gospel brings us Joseph’s story and that of the Wise Men.  Mark, the oldest of the four, doesn’t have a birth narrative, but, rather, begins with Jesus’ baptism.  Matthew and Luke, which we love, have told us the birth of a tiny, helpless, humble child who is to become the Savior of the world.

            John, in stark contrast, begins his Gospel with a magnificent cosmic presentation of the Word (clearly, with that language, he’s talking about the Christ).  This Word (in Greek it is logos)—this Word was present with God from the very beginning—before creation.  The Word being with God—the Word being God.  John’s beginning, called the prologue to the Gospel, is glorious and mighty and powerful with fireworks and whistles and bells and dogs and ponies.

            The other gospels portray a more ordinary setting with more humble surroundings.  And that paradox, the contrast between the humility of the baby Jesus and his poor surroundings AND the amazing picture of “God with us” that the synoptic Gospels present, John manages in a much different way.  He begins with the cosmic, timeless presentation of the Christ, and then, pulls it all back and tells us about how the Word became flesh and lived among us.

            Compare the difference in worship areas in Christian churches.  Our down to earth, simple, intimate setting here has a different feeling from, say, the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.  Both of these are sacred and tell the Gospel story in different ways. 

            All churches, if the architecture is well done, have their own meaning as well as their function.  Most are helping people come together and experience God in their lives.  One is not right and the others wrong.  One is not the only place God can be found.  Houses of worship provide us seekers sacred places to support a closer walk with God. 

            And, so it is with the different ways of telling us about the life of Christ.  All four Gospels have enabled us through the years to delight in God’s presence with us.  They all have enriched our lives.  Their differences are important in helping us define who we are as followers of Jesus.  Each helps us to imagine and to more deeply know God in our lives….

            January 6^th is the Day of Epiphany, the 13^th day after Christmas.  It is actually the day when Orthodox Christians celebrate Christ’s birth.  Our British heritage gives us the season of Christmastide and the song, “The 12 Days of Christmas.” Day one is Christmas day, and the 11 days following constitute the Christmas season.  This all culminates in the celebration of Epiphany—so this is a big deal, folks!

            In America we pretty much have Christmas over with after December 25^th.  Have you noticed?  Personally I think we miss out on some of the joy and meaning by cutting it off so quickly.  It seems like we lose some of the sacredness as we head for the day of Epiphany.

            Now, the word Epiphany means the manifestation of the light.  It is a time of celebrating the light coming into our dark worlds, a time of talking about the God who comes to us in majesty and in great array, and that, no matter how dark and difficult our lives have been, there is no darkness that can overcome the majestic light of God.

            For me, the Gospel-writer John’s prologue is a wonderful Epiphany text.  It reminds us of the power that we have in our God—the God who came to earth to dwell among us, and from that fullness, that richness, the beauty of that image, we have all received grace upon grace.

            Having a God who comes to live among us communicates to me that there is nothing in my life that can discourage God from coming close; this God tells me that my behavior CANNOT extinguish the mighty flame that is God, and that I will continue to receive this amazing grace—this forgiveness and mercy that is the light of Christ. 

            And I can be lit from within; I can be illuminated by this light that is the light of all people.

            …The thing is, we as a nation have been in a very dark place over the past little while.  And even as individuals we have been in dark places, either darkness of our own making or darkness caused by external circumstances or darkness caused by the worry and anxiety that creeps into our lives.  We can get so far into the darkness that we can go to the place of helplessness and hopelessness, even despair.  Then we don’t know where to turn.

            Well, where to turn is to these scriptural words: “The light shines in the deepest night, and the night has not overcome it.”  Many of us have known what our deepest night can look like.

            …Author Elie Wiesel knew about darkness.  He wrote an account of his family’s arrest by the Nazis and the subsequent death of his mother and sister who were exterminated in the ovens.  His father died from injuries and starvation in the concentration camp.  The title of his book that details this time in his life is Night.

            He recounted seeing the smoke from the ovens where the bodies of his mother and little sister would soon be thrown.  He writes, “Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night….”

            I believe that even in times as dark as those, darker than I can even begin to imagine, darker than most of us can bear to hear—even in times this dark, John tells us that the light shines in the deepest night, and the night has not overcome it.  Wiesel has written that his God was murdered on that night, yet he went on writing and searching.  He continued to debate with that God whom the night was not able to overcome.

            You might say, “Well, if Wiesel had had Christ in his life, then he could have been better sustained through all this.”  I say to you that the text you have heard this morning is precisely the rejoinder to that comment.  The Word was with God from the beginning, and the Word was God.  What has come to being in the Word was life, and the life was the light of ALL people.  Our God encompasses all that we can consider (even a night so dark as Wiesel’s).  And our God encompasses all that we need.  Our God has seen that we need him to dwell among us and so, God does.

            Yet, I know there are those of us who are Christians who also still struggle with getting through our pain and sorrow.  Some situations are just so unbearable that people spend their whole lives trying to find a way through them, Christian and Jew, Buddhist and Muslim, atheist and believer.  Yet, the reality of the light overcomes all darkness whether we can feel it to be so or not.

            The power that we receive from this light can be a foundation for us amidst whatever comes our way.  We know the light will not protect us from hardship and misery, but we can be assured that the inevitable pain, loneliness or despair will not overcome the light.

            Having that light within us is one way that we experience God in our lives, one way that we can talk about how our lives have meaning and purpose.  Because God is at the very core of our being: behind us, before us, above us, below us, and within us.

            Hearing John’s gospel today allows us a window into our souls as we acknowledge the darkness within ourselves and our surroundings.  It allows us an opportunity to give thanks to God for the life that is the light for all people.

            Epiphany is a way and a time to celebrate the light that shines into and through our darknesses.  It allows us to open ourselves to the light that illuminates our paths and gives us the courage to move on, to praise God, to be grateful and to show love for one another.

            So, my Epiphany wish for you is that God will be with you in times of darkness and of light, in times of feeling close to God, in times when we cannot seem to feel God’s presence, in times of needing God’s forgiveness, in times of feeling lost and alone, in times of feeling full of God’s love and of the love of all those around—in these times and in all times.  That is the message of Epiphany and of the Gospel.  Amen.