Br. Josép Martinez-Cubero, OHC
The First Sunday after Christmas Day - December 29, 2019
Isaiah 61:10-62:3
Galatians 3:23-25; 4:4-7
John 1:1-18
Click here for an audio version of this sermon.
Paul, the earliest of New Testament writers, in his earlier writings, speaks of Jesus as becoming the Son of God in his resurrection. For Mark, writing about twenty years after Paul, Jesus is revealed as the Son of God at his baptism. Matthew and Luke, writing about ten to fifteen years after Mark, describe Jesus as the Son of God at his birth. Just after Matthew and Luke, Paul’s thinking about Christ has evolved and writing to the Colossians, speaks of Christ as the "first-born of all creation." But in the fourth gospel Christ is not born at all. The Word was always with God even before creation began.
John’s Prologue is one of the most beautiful scripture passages. It’s poetic form, however, can sound somewhat cryptic. And, so, my preparation for this sermon led me to the original Greek language of the text and to checking the accuracy of the translation. It is one of my favorite exercises when studying scripture, thanks to our Brother Roy, who, when I was a novice, would always come to our Bible Studies with his Greek New Testament and Greek Lexicon.
"In the beginning was the Word." The Greek word is Logos and varies in meaning depending on what period in history it is being used. By the time of John’s writing, logos had come to mean the creative power of God and the kingship of God over all things. Philo, a first century philosopher, saw logos as flowing from God, and as the mechanism through which God created the universe. Logos combines the concepts of thought, deed, and power. For the author of the fourth gospel, logos is an expression of God's innermost nature which is present in the world.
John’s threefold claim, “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” reveals the origin of Jesus, his relationship with God, and his identity as God. These truths about Jesus are essential to John’s portrait of Jesus, the meaning of the incarnation, and also signify that which describes our own humanity. We make sense of our humanity through these categories of origin, relationship, and identity, and now God has chosen to live these truths.
The God who spoke and said, "let there be light," became flesh and lived among us. The Greek phrase translated as “lived among us” has really to do with indwelling. That is a significant difference. For John, the Word became flesh and indwells us. It was not a temporary event that happened in the first century. If we recognize it, the Word indwells us today, and every day.
John says, "What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.” The light and life is intended for all people. The author has chosen words and symbols that not only the Jewish community can understand, but with which the Greek community would also resonate. Jews would be reminded of the Creation of world in Genesis and the Wisdom of God active in Creation in Proverbs. Greeks would understand the creative principle of order in the universe understood as the Logos. The Word made flesh is a gift intended for everyone, not just for some.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it." Darkness in the gospel of John is depicted as light's adversary. Since light manifests the power and presence of God, the darkness refers to the powers that oppose God: sin and evil. In John's Gospel, sin is human rebellion against God. Sin and evil are formidable foes to be sure, but ultimately cannot overcome the light of God's Word. Light, you see, can warm the bones, yes, but can also burn like a laser. Light shines into our relationships and communities when we welcome it into our lives to heal, yes, but also to expose; to warm, yes, but also to burn away evil.
“[T]o all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God". The word translated as “believe,” really means "radical trust," an orientation of one's entire self, and not just the intellect as the word "believe" would imply. The status of "children of God" has completely to do with trust, and is certainly "not of blood." The Greek word is actually a Hebrew idiom for "bloodshed" or violence. Children of God do not attain their status through violence or war. Nor are children of God born out of "the will of the flesh," in other words, through the established ways of the world- superficial satisfaction, and greed. Nor are children of God formed "out of the will of man." In a gospel that, amazingly, repeatedly uses the inclusive word anthropos to refer to human beings in general, here, the author uses a word that specifically relates to men, andros. I can’t help but to conclude that the gospel makes it clear that children of God are not formed by male headship but by God alone.
The incarnation shows us a different way of seeing life and living in the world. We are called to let the light of the incarnate Word, enkindled in our hearts, shine forth in our lives. We are called to be blessings. We are called to follow the way of Love. We are called to be fully alive. We are called to be holy, not as an achievement on our own but as a gift of God. Through faith we have been given the power to become children of God.
A Jewish friend once told me that she knew a rabbi who told a story about each person having a procession of angels going before them and crying out, “Make way for the image of God.” Can you imagine living with this as our reality and the truth that guides our lives? The implications are profound. It changes how we see one another and ourselves. Perhaps that is the truth for this first Sunday after Christmas Day for us. And the Word became flesh and indwells us. Are you recognizing the Word become flesh in your own life and in the lives of others? Do you see the procession of angels and hear their voices? And the Word became flesh and indwells us today, this very present moment. So make way for the image of God, and may the light of the incarnate Word, enkindled in our hearts, shine forth in our lives. ¡Que así sea en el nombre del Padre, del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo! ~Amen+
No comments:
Post a Comment