“In the Beginning …”

Scripture: John 1:1-14

As we enter this season of Advent, it seemed appropriate that we should start at the Beginning. I mean the “real” beginning – the time when EVERYTHING began. At that Beginning, there was only God. There was no order, no substance, no joy, no pain, no hope, no reason to hope, no one to even have hope. There was only God, and Him alone.

It was God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. Period. At that time, whatever time was then, God had a plan – he would make something new – he would call it “Creation”. But his Plan would be more than just creating and then stepping back – he would put his Plan into motion and it would continue to move and work as long as creation lasted.

Yes, he knew that there would be problems cropping up from time to time, but the Plan would care for that, too.

Read John 1:1-5

The beginning of John’s Gospel can almost be described as a Hymn of Praise. And why not! Throughout scripture, we read of songs being raised up to the Almighty – even in the laments of the Psalms we read of those who sang praises to God. So it is only right that this Book of Good News should begin with a hymn that is lifted up to the One and True Glory!

This hymn is a Christian praise, written, I believe, for the people of Israel. The Jews fully acknowledged that God had been since before the Beginning, but they had never seen God as Trinity – only as a solitary and singular Being. But John says that the One Being – the Father God – was not solitary, but that there was more to Him than was readily known.
Without actually mentioning the name of Jesus, he says that this other Person had been present before creation. Not that he alone was God, but that he was both part of God and, in the fullest sense, was God. He wasn’t an addendum to their God, he wasn’t a supplement to God, he wasn’t an afterthought to God – he was and is God. And in this thought, he says that Jesus was the Word of God.
So what is the significance of this term? “Word” doesn’t just signify that he is a prophet, or a holy and righteous man, or even one who has had a marvelous and interactive experience with God. It tells us that he is so intimate with Father God that his words and his life and his complete being can relate God’s thoughts to us perfectly. He doesn’t just bring the Lord’s message to our lives, Jesus is the message for our lives.

Then the Gospel goes on to explain three unique things about Jesus.
1. Jesus wasn’t just a part of creation, he wasn’t even part of the Creator - he was Creator. It was Father – Son – Spirit who created. The Creative Being was complex, and in Genesis 1:26 we further read “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image …’ (emphasis added) - but not for just any purpose - we received his breath and image so that we can do his work on earth.
Jesus was at creation – not as a created being, but as Creator.
2. Jesus is life. In Genesis 2:7, we read that God breathed life into the man. That life-breath was in God, and therefore also came from Jesus. But I believe that John is carrying this image of life even further. He isn’t referring simply to the life we currently have, but to the Life Eternal. Jesus is the double life giver. He breathes life into us at both our first birth and our second birth. And within this life is a light that also fills us.
3. The light of Christ, that light that fills us, is also the light that dispels the darkness. In the Creation Story, we read that on the first day (Genesis 1:2-4), the Lord brought light into existence, and wherever it was placed, it destroyed the darkness. Light would become a sign of “goodness”, and darkness, a sign of “evil”. Not only does the light of day overcome the darkness that we call “night”, but the light of Christ‘s life overcomes the darkness of Evil’s death.

John wants us to understand that Christ is not only the author of life at creation, but that he is also the author of life eternal.

Read John 1:6-9

John the Baptist was an example of how God’s Light begins to work in our lives. “He came as a witness to testify concerning the Light, so that through him, all might believe.” John had a unique witness for us – that the Light of God had finally come into the world. Others had foretold that Messiah would one day come, but John was the first who showed that he had come, and he would not be the last to tell.
This is the same witness that all who have received the Light of Christ must share with anyone who will listen. We are the ones who must now carry the Word of God to the towns and villages and cities and nations of the world, for without our testimony, the Life and Light and Word of God may be silenced, and if that happens, the darkness will win. But our witness is a little different than John’s was – ours is that the Light of God has come into the world, and was hated, and was killed, but is on his way to come once more, to bring the light of eternal life to all who will believe in him,

Those who claim Christ as their Lord and Savior become carriers of the Word, reflectors of the Light, witnesses to the saving grace of Jesus. Once, it was John who sown the light, then it was Jesus who brought the light, and now it is we who lead others into the blessed light of God, and unless each and every person receives that light for themselves, they will continue to stumble around in the darkness of this world. But this opportunity for the Church must never be seen as an obligation, but rather as a privilege given to all who walk with him.

Read John 1:10-14

The Word of God put on flesh and became fully human for us. If folks had trouble believing in a God who they couldn’t see, then God would become visible to them. But it had to be in a way that they could see and understand. Remember the cautions that the Lord had to take in the Old Testament? Every time he appeared to someone, it had to be in an incomplete way. For Abraham, it was a flaming pot; for Moses, first a bush that could not be burned and later as the back of God; for the people of Israel, two pillars – one of fire and another of cloud.
Visibility only happens when the light is turned on, and when it comes to God, it can never reveal the fullness of his Glory. But in Christ, the light shone brightly, God became fully visible to the world, and yet, they still refuse to believe. The Word became real, it has been proclaimed loudly and clearly for 2,000 years, and still, it has been perverted and modified to suit personal interests, and people still won't accept his truth.

God created a Plan, and no matter how hard the people of earth try, they will never cause it to fail! And try, they do. And that is the constant conflict between the darkness and the light. But within that context, there is a lesson for us. Darkness is always surrounding us, and at times, it nearly overwhelms us. But when the Light is revealed, the darkness is forced back, and everything that it tries to hide is revealed. Truth comes to “light” and evil flees! Life comes in the light and death is no more! Hope appears in the light and despair becomes a thing of the past! The Word brings true relationship and the fear of loneliness vaporizes.

And it all begins with the Light that all followers of Christ are called to reflect into this dark and hurting world. There are many beginnings for our lives – the beginning of creation, the beginning of Christ’s humanity, the beginning of our humanity, the beginning of our faith in Jesus Christ, the beginning of our shining the Light of Christ for others.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, [and] the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” This statement is the beginning of our Advent – our preparation to receive the Light and Word of God for our lives. And it is the beginning of our living a life that testifies to the truth of God and reflects his glorious Light on those who have yet to know all that the Lord would have them know.

This is our joy - this is our blessing. And it will only get better!