Henrietta United Church of Christ

Scripture: John 1:1-4, 9-14

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.

9The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 10He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. 11He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 12But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. 14And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.

Sermon:

What an incredible universe we live in. As cosmologist Brian Swimme says, “Take a big cloud of hydrogen gas and leave it alone, and it becomes roses, giraffes, and opera.” And I would add: This cloud of hydrogen gas becomes scientists and telescopes and microscopes probing the universe’s beginnings, its farthest reaches, and its intricate wonders hidden from the naked eye. This cloud of hydrogen becomes symphony orchestras and poets and painters seeking ways to express its manifold beauty and poignancy. It becomes Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, and the Dalai Lama pouring out their lives to bring healing, wisdom and compassion into the torn places in the world. This hydrogen cloud becomes us gathered here today, along with people of all religions everywhere seeking to connect with the Source of it all, to align our lives with eternal truths, and to express through our lives the power of our Maker’s love.

It’s incredible. Every atom in our bodies has been around since before the earth was formed (no wonder we wake up tired some days!). But they have all gotten organized into the living, loving, learning, self-reflecting, worshiping people that we are. Today’s scientists know a lot about the “what” of this incredible unfolding story of creation. But when it comes to the question of why the cosmic soup of the early universe has brought forth beauty, self awareness, creativity, faith, reverence, wisdom, altruism, selfless heroism, and compassion, the scientists fall mute, their computers stop whirring, and they lay their chalk down.

To begin to understand why physical entities like us have divine qualities, we have to turn to a different kind of book–a book that points us to the Eternal Power Who lies beyond time and space, but Who expresses Its divine nature in time and space. And the words I read from the Gospel of John are an illuminating place to start.

John is saying that in the beginning of time and space, God was already there. And with God, as a part of God, the Word–the Logos–began ordering the stuff of creation into a coherent, life-producing whole. And as we now know, it is continually creating higher and higher levels of order. All things that were created were created through this Logos–including you and me. That’s why there is beauty, self awareness, creativity, faith, wisdom, altruism, and compassion–these are all expressions of God’s own nature reflected in what God created. As Genesis puts it, we were created in the image and likeness of God.

Yes, there is ugliness, destruction and blindness, because God created all things with a combination of both order and freedom. Without that freedom, there would be no life, creativity, faith, self awareness, wisdom, or love. But the Logos is always active in the dark places, bringing new order out of destruction, new life out of deadness, awareness out of unconsciousness, community out of division. That’s why there is always hope. Hope is the constant drumbeat of the ongoing dance of all creation.

Now John goes on to say that the Word–this ordering, life-giving, light-shining Logos–“became flesh and lived among us.” Or as Eugene Peterson translates it, “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.”

It’s easy to see from this verse how a lot of Christians came to see Jesus as God kind of disguised as a human. If Jesus was God or the Logos of God in human form, he looked like a human, but they believe that he really had all of the knowledge and power of God, and knew everything that was happening in the world and that was going to happen in in the future.

But from the beginning of Christianity, wise church leaders have insisted that Jesus was fully human as well as fully divine. Jesus, as a real, down to earth flesh and blood human being, was chosen by God and filled with God and used by God like no other human before or since. This required Jesus the man’s total humility, self emptying, and yielding to God’s guiding will.

This helps us see why Jesus kept telling people, not to worship him, but to follow him. He knew that God was calling and empowering him to be the light of the world. But he also knew that God creates, calls and empowers everyone to join him in shining Truth’s light into the darkness of ignorance, join him in breathing new life where there is deadness, join him in creating wholeness where there is brokenness, join him in creating community where there is division.

That’s why John says in verses 12 and 13:

But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

Listen to the amazing thing this is saying to us about us right here. When we receive Christ and believe in his name, we receive and trust his liberating truth, his redeeming love, his healing touch, his guiding light, his life-giving power, and his vision of God’s new realm, and we let them go to work in the places that are blind or dead or wounded or estranged or out of joint. And when we do that, John says that we too are given the power to become the sons of God and daughters of God–we reflect God’s nature, we become “little Christs.” We too can see chaos and ugliness in the world around us, and create order and beauty. We can see places of fear and shine the light of hope. We can see wounds and suffering and bring the healing balm of compassion. We can see alienation and offer forgiveness. We can see division and create community through understanding. We can see the breakdown of the human order based on selfishness and envision the emergence of God’s realm. The Word becomes flesh and blood and moves into the neighborhood where we live, because we’re carrying it in us. Isn’t that amazing–plain old flesh and blood people like you and me can incarnate the same power that has been creating this amazing universe from the beginning of time, and be partners with God in creating a hopeful future for our world?

So here we are at the beginning of 2010. Where are the places of darkness, pain, conflict, and blindness that call to you? Our calling is not to save the whole world. Ours is simply to take our little candle and shine it where we live and work and worship and volunteer, so that others will see our light, and give thanks that God is still working to bring healing and hope to our world.

Some of you remember Chris Rice’s song, “Go Light Your World.” Its words are the best way I can think of to end this sermon and begin our year as God’s sons and daughters, God’s Word made flesh, the light of the world where we live.

There is a candle in every soul

Some brightly burning, some dark and cold

There is a Spirit who brings a fire

Ignites a candle and makes His home

Carry your candle, run to the darkness

Seek out the hopeless, confused and torn

Hold out your candle for all to see it

Take your candle, and go light your world

(You can hear Chris Rice sing it at www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtIIFJIxdUw)