Beginning at the Beginning

John 1:1-18New International Version (NIV)

The Word Became Flesh

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life,and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) 16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

When I saw this scripture was in the lectionary for today, I was pumped.  Theologically, there is so much in this scripture.  It is kind of a blessing and curse because it made me wonder how I should preach it: should I summarize all 18 verses or just pick a couple?  My excitement eventually gave way to anxiety as I couldn’t quite figure out what to do with the scripture.  Even within the last couple days I was still not quite sure as to how I was going to approach the scripture.  It seemed like too much to try to cram it into one sermon if I were to tackle it all at once.  Then, I came across this great article that gave me the direction I was looking for.  There is one more piece of information that helped form this weeks thought: the negativity that seems to be ever present in today’s world.  And not just negativity but also this desire that we have to see others fail.  This is probably more of an issue in what I would call the “social media generation” because our newsfeeds are filled up by #fails, short video clips of people falling down and it has become very easy to drown in the negativity that is so easy to spread by simply clicking the “share” button.  We are probably not aware of this feeling we have unless we have taken the time to notice it.  Only recently have I noticed this about myself and I hate it.  I don’t want to go through life hoping someone else screws up so I can get a laugh out of it.  For the most part this is all well and good until the laughs come at our expense.  Steve Harvey made a huge mistake in the Miss Universe pageant when he announced the wrong winner.  I feel terrible for him and Miss Columbia who thought she had won the honor that she had probably dreamed about since she was a child.  And now he has to live with knowing that he made her feel that way.  He doesn’t need us to keep pointing it out.  Are things like this kind of funny?  Of course they are and I am not saying we have to turn into a bunch of fun hating fuddy-duddies but we ought to be careful where we get these laughs from and try to not seek out the misfortunes of others for our benefit.  

“In the beginning was the Word...” Even the most casual Christian may know the greek word for “word” is logos.  Logos means word, spirit and mind.  A more technical definition is “the divine reason implicit in the cosmos, ordering it, giving it form and meaning.”  In relation to Christianity, Jesus is the logos which means God ordered him, gave him form and meaning.  A few weeks ago I said that a relationship with God helps us find meaning but to expand that thought: a relationship with God gives us order, form, and meaning.  We sometimes question one or all three of these, and I have at some point, but I stand by my thought on this.  I believe a relationship with God not only allows us to worship Him through eternity but it also gives us meaning, form and direction while we are here on earth.      

(Verse 4&5) “In him [Christ] was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”  Are any of you like me in thinking that 2015 was a terrible year as far as the violence and pure hatred we saw on a nearly daily basis?  Are any of you like me in thinking that it seems like the world is heading down the drain?  Are any of you like me in thinking that the world we live in today is more filled with violence, hate and skepticism than it has ever been before?  Do any of you feel sorry for what the future generations may have to deal with?  I was headed down that path until I came across that article I talked about earlier.  

The article was written by Jesse Carey who is an editor at Relevant Magazine.  He points to the headlines and how easy it is to be pessimistic about the direction of world affairs but he also reminds us of our calling as Christians: hope.  And hope means recognizing the bad news and celebrating the good news.  He said, “Yes, we should stay vigilant, fight injustice and seek new ways to serve those in need in help. But fear, pessimism and misplaced outrage are the wrong approach to taking action. Instead, we are called to have “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”  He then goes on to give nine statistics that show why we should be optimistic about 2016:

1. We are living in the most peaceful time in history -- even though the global population is higher, we are statistically less likely to die from an act of violence than any other time in history
2. Global hunger is on the decline because 200 million fewer people currently go malnourished than 25 years ago
3. In many parts of the world, infant mortality rate has never been lower and the WHO reported that infant mortality has fallen 49% from 1990-2013
4. The global literacy rate is 84% as compared to 66% in 1957
5. The bible is more accessible -- translated into more than 2,900 languages and free mobile apps
6. The abortion rate in America is at an all-time low
7. Life expectancy in the last century and a half has doubled
8. 90% of the global population has access to clean water -- since 1990 2.6 billion more people have access to clean water and since 2000 the number of children dying from waterborne illnesses has been cut in half
9. The possibility exists that future generations may never have to experience extreme poverty -- in the last 35 years, the number of people living on less than $1.25 (adjusted for inflation) has fallen from 42% of the population to 16.9%

All that being said, it does not give us an excuse or reason to be less vigilant in continuing those efforts nor does it mean we stop taking care of the crises that we are still facing.  However, it does give us hope.  Our efforts are working.  Our prayers are being answered because light shines into the darkness and the darkness can neither overcome or understand it.  

For me, it was verses 16 and 17 that really hit home for me.  “Out of the fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.  For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”  Verse 16 stuck with me mostly because I am not sure I totally understand what John was trying to say here but biblical commentator William Barclay does a great job clearing it up:

[John] meant that in Jesus there dwelt the totality of wisdom, the power, the love of God.... A person can go to Jesus with any need and find that need supplied.  A person can go to Jesus with any ideal and find that ideal realized.... In Jesus the person who needs courage will find the pattern and secret to being brave.  In Jesus the person who feels that they cannot cope with life will find the Master of life and the power to live.  In Jesus a person who is aware of their sin will find the forgiveness for their sin and the strength to be a good person.  In Jesus, the fullness of God, all that is God, becomes available to us.”

And then the rest of verse 16 was not that clear either “....we have all received grace in place of grace already given.”  Some translations say “grace upon grace already given” and a literal translation says “grace instead of grace already given.”  Barclay goes on to offer two different meanings of this phrase. First, he says it could be one wonder leading to another.  For example, the amazing love shared between my wife and I led to the wonderful children we have.  One amazing thing leading to another amazing thing.  Barclay says, “It may be [John’s] way of saying that a person who companies with Christ will find new wonders dawning upon his soul and enlightening his mind and enchanting his heart every day.”  Second, Barclay encourages Christians to take this phrase quite literally.  Perhaps, in Christ, we find grace instead of grace, depending on the time and situation.  [Quote] “We need one grace in the days of prosperity and another in the days of adversity.  The church needs one grace in the days of persecution and another when the days of acceptance have come.  We need one grace when we feel that we are on top of things and another when we are depressed and discouraged and near to despair.”  In other words, different situations in life may call on different types of grace.  Grace is not some static, inanimate object.  It is dynamic, constantly flowing and ever changing.  And to finish my thought: verse 17 was interesting because it perfectly summed up the role of the Old Testament as the law given through Moses and the role of the New Testament as grace and truth that comes through Jesus Christ.

In closing, Let’s take this hope and a better understood idea of grace into 2016.  We are the church.  We are called to be a light upon a hill.  You are the light shining into the darkness.  Be hopeful and full of grace this year.  Stop relying on the failures of others to bring you joy.  Use your relationship with God and one another to help give you order, form and meaning.  Start relying on the love, grace and mercy of God to shine your light brightly into 2016.  Amen.