Today is the Seventh Day of Christmas.
Eucharistic Readings for the First Sunday after Christmas Day: All Years
Isaiah 61:10-62:3; Psalm 147 or 147:13-21; Galatians 3:23-25; 4:4-7; John 1:1-18
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)
These words are the beginning to what we call the Prologue to the Gospel according to John. It does my heart and faith good to stop and read these words (John 1: 1 to 118) regularly.
It was a clergy person of another denomination who made my Episcopal Seminary class slow down and hear what was not being said. In the beginning was the Word, not the book. The book, and that means the Bible, like our houses of prayer, are man-made. While the greatest of human effort was made to ensure all glory is attributed To God, the Bible and our Churches, Mosques, Synagogues, and Temples are imperfectly human made.
The One Who has no beginning created our beginning. This opening of John is reminiscent of the opening of Genesis. Perhaps this was John’s intent. In this opening of John we also have a creation story, “All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being” (John 1:3). From this I gather that the Word proclaimed, and life, all life, came into being.
Then, in all unassuming nature, the Creating Word walked among us as one of us and we did not see that there was something different about this Person. But when we listen to the words of the Eternal, Creating Word,we are awakened into an everlasting light; the light of love, both for God and for one another.
It does us good to read the first 18 verses of John from time to time. Merry Christmas: Day 7
Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, and our schools.
As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and serve, and to teach others to love and serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John
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