Christmas 2
Devotional
Water From the Rock
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle C
Object:
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.
-- John 1:10
After celebrating the greatest gift that God could bestow on humanity, the next few Sundays following Christmas usually have low attendance at worship, which frustrates most pastors. It is almost as if we cannot fully comprehend what we have just celebrated, and it is easier to turn to more mundane areas of life.
Try to comprehend what it means to say that the God of the creation story recorded in Genesis came to this world in the form of a single human being. In Genesis, in the face of absolute chaos, God merely spoke a word and order was formed out of chaos. "Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light... and God separated the light from the darkness" (Genesis 1:3-4). We are saying this word that God spoke has now found expression in this person we call Jesus. "What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of people." This was the light that split the darkness and brought order out of chaos.
In a few brief words, we have moved from the cosmic creation of the entire universe to the life of one person on one planet in one moment of time within that universe. "And the Word became flesh, and lived among us... full of grace and truth." Is it any wonder that "the world did not know him"? Jesus is only comprehensible if there are those who will bear witness to this truth in a way that we can comprehend. That was John's task before Jesus' birth and is now the task of the church if Jesus is to be present in our own world.
In being able to overcome total chaos by simply speaking a word, God demonstrated absolute power. Now, in Jesus, God is expressed in loving, healing, forgiving, and grace. This is a power that the world has difficulty in trusting. It is as the pastor and church bear fruits of this expression of grace seen in Jesus, people begin to comprehend that something new has been introduced into this world.
As we move beyond the experience of Christmas, which despite skepticism captures the world's imagination, it is the task of the church to so demonstrate the fruits of the Spirit that the world will begin to comprehend this new reality. It may seem incredible to believe what we do in a single church can affect the whole world, but as the angel said to Mary in Luke 1:37, "Nothing will be impossible with God."
-- John 1:10
After celebrating the greatest gift that God could bestow on humanity, the next few Sundays following Christmas usually have low attendance at worship, which frustrates most pastors. It is almost as if we cannot fully comprehend what we have just celebrated, and it is easier to turn to more mundane areas of life.
Try to comprehend what it means to say that the God of the creation story recorded in Genesis came to this world in the form of a single human being. In Genesis, in the face of absolute chaos, God merely spoke a word and order was formed out of chaos. "Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light... and God separated the light from the darkness" (Genesis 1:3-4). We are saying this word that God spoke has now found expression in this person we call Jesus. "What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of people." This was the light that split the darkness and brought order out of chaos.
In a few brief words, we have moved from the cosmic creation of the entire universe to the life of one person on one planet in one moment of time within that universe. "And the Word became flesh, and lived among us... full of grace and truth." Is it any wonder that "the world did not know him"? Jesus is only comprehensible if there are those who will bear witness to this truth in a way that we can comprehend. That was John's task before Jesus' birth and is now the task of the church if Jesus is to be present in our own world.
In being able to overcome total chaos by simply speaking a word, God demonstrated absolute power. Now, in Jesus, God is expressed in loving, healing, forgiving, and grace. This is a power that the world has difficulty in trusting. It is as the pastor and church bear fruits of this expression of grace seen in Jesus, people begin to comprehend that something new has been introduced into this world.
As we move beyond the experience of Christmas, which despite skepticism captures the world's imagination, it is the task of the church to so demonstrate the fruits of the Spirit that the world will begin to comprehend this new reality. It may seem incredible to believe what we do in a single church can affect the whole world, but as the angel said to Mary in Luke 1:37, "Nothing will be impossible with God."
