Christmastide

January 1, 2022

Scripture Reading: John 1:(1-9), 10-18

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 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. –John 1:1-9

In my college Spanish course, my class was given the assignment to write a poem in Spanish. I was barely adequate at Spanish. I could read it but never was good at understanding it when spoken to me. I did fancy myself as a bit of a poet, so the assignment was, I thought, perfectly designed for me. I wrote my poem in English and very carefully translated it into Spanish. The professor collected our poems and then handed them back randomly to members of the class and asked us to translate them back into English.  The poem I wrote was full of allegory and loaded with deeper meaning. The poor guy who got my poem did not get far in translating it much less understanding it. The words he chose were correct, their application made little sense. The poem I was assigned was simple and straightforward. Even I could translate its meaning even if I could not make it rhyme. I recall that experience when I try to make sense of various parts of the Bible where deeper meanings are harder to discern. John writes beautifully but I am glad I did not have to translate his work into English for all to understand.

What are we to make of “the Word” in the above scripture? It is derived from the Greek word légō and it is complicated:

3056 lógos (from 3004 /légō, “speaking to a conclusion”) – a word, being the expression of a thought; a saying. 3056 /lógos (“word”) is preeminently used of Christ (Jn 1:1), expressing the thoughts of the Father through the Spirit*.

The Word made flesh is the coming of the Christ as Jesus to express the thoughts of the Father through the Spirit. I take that to mean that Jesus came to demonstrate in person God’s love and plan for God’s creation. It is rather like watching a YouTube demonstration rather than simply reading the instructions that came with a new piece of equipment. And I pray that God gets a laugh out of that analogy rather than considering it blasphemy.

John, I think, was also saying that our history of God, from the beginning of time, has been filtered through the thoughts and circumstances of the people who wrote it. That makes it no less true or false; it just colors it in the shades of the writer. Admittedly, our history of Jesus and his actions come to us through the filters of others. Thus, we must not only study the whole wealth of information about Jesus that is available, but we must also seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in understanding what we read.

Prayer: God, open our hearts and mind to knowing you more nearly as we strive to serve you. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/3056.htm

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.