Dec. 30 John 1:1-18

December 30    John 1:1-18      The Word Became Flesh

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. … And 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.”

Those words always stop me dead in my tracks.  The news that Jesus is the Word of God made flesh who makes the Creator known is not only Good News, I find it to be mind boggling.  It’s hard for me to absorb just exactly how completely the whole world changed in that moment.   Jesus as the Word of God clearly announced that he was to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captive, to give sight to the blind, to set the oppressed free.   And then Jesus as the Word of God acted to bring those at the margins in to the center as empowered and beloved children of god.  The Word challenged the systems and structures of the empires of his world in a way that threatened those in power enough to get him executed.  The universe stretched, and the impossible became possible.

Those words stop me dead in my tracks as this is the time of year when I am thinking about my New Years’ resolutions.  What should I be about this year to “make the Creator known?”  What can I commit to that will, in some way, enable those at the margins to be more visible, to find their voice, to take their rightful place as beloved children of God?  How can I work to make the systems and structures visible that keep folks marginalized, and what can I do to work for change?  What if, as a community, each of us committed to one ministry in our community that focused on the marginalized in our midst?  Would our universe stretch and our impossible become possible?