Today’s scripture: John 1:1-9 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Keith Phillips):
I walked into the home of a newly admitted hospice patient and was directed to the dying family member in a small, dark, back bedroom. The patient didn’t choose to be there; it had been a granddaughter’s room before she went off to college. The family thought it best to tuck their loved one away, away from the hustle and bustle of their daily life. I was saddened.
When I’m dying, I want to have a bed out in the middle of the biggest, brightest room in the house. As my body dies, I want to be in the midst of all the activity, readily available to family and friends who visit. I want to enjoy the smells of dinner cooking and the sounds, even the commotion, of daily life. But most of all, I want to be enveloped in light. And it’s not because I seek one last grasp of this world. Quite to the contrary, I’m seeking my transition from life to Life.
The gospel according to John is very different from Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Each of the other three gospels have their own emphases, but each is also a pretty straight forward story of Jesus’ life and ministry in first century Palestine. Someone once described those gospels to me as travelogues.
John, on the other hand, is from a completely different perspective. Until you get to the crucifixion, the chronology in John’s gospel is all wrong. There’s no Christmas story at all. The account of the Last Supper, which takes five chapters rather than about ten verses, has no communion. And then there’s all those “I am…” passages: I am the door, I am the good shepherd, I am the vine, I am the bread of life, and others. What’s that about?
John’s perspective sees the spiritual in this world. Sure, eternal life is yet to come, but at the same time eternity has begun, and John shows us the eternal here now. But it’s the emphasis on light and life that I like in this passage. John’s no fool; he recognizes the existence of darkness, but the darkness has been conquered. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” As a priest proclaimed at a funeral I attended, “Christ made death holy when he passed through it.” The last enemy has already been defeated!
Throughout his gospel, John is telling us, “Jesus is Light and Life. Because of him, we have light and life now, and forever. Start living like it! Amen.”
Thought for the day: Because of Jesus, you are the light of the world. It’s better to let your light shine than to curse the darkness.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.
A message from Pastor Jeff for those who live far from our Church