Today’s scripture: John 1:1-9 and Proverbs 8:23-31 (NRSV) (The Message)
As you read, consider these questions: What might God be saying to me in this passage? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two before reading on.
My thoughts on this passage (Tyler Connoley):
Most people don’t realize there are several biblical accounts of Creation. Of course, there’s the one that starts, “In the beginning . . .” And then there’s a slightly different account in Genesis 2.
However, there’s also Proverbs 8, where Wisdom says she was with God as the world was being created, “beside God like a master worker.” (Some translations say, “like a child.” The Hebrew is ambiguous.) In Proverbs 3:19, the author also says, “The Lord founded the earth by means of Wisdom; by means of Understanding God affixed the heavens” (my translation).
I think the beloved disciple was thinking of the creation accounts in Proverbs when he wrote the first few verses of his Gospel: “All things came into being through the Word, and without him not one thing came into being.”
Jesus incarnated Sacred Wisdom to his followers. To walk with Jesus, talk with him, and listen to him was to walk with, talk with, and listen to God’s wisdom. So, it made sense to think that the Spirit at work in Jesus was the same Spirit by which God created the world.
These days, we have a tendency to limit the Word of God to the words of the Bible. But, at the beginning of his Gospel, the beloved disciple reminds us that God’s Word is the Spirit of Wisdom that spoke through Jesus. It is also the means by which God created the world, and the means by which God creates us anew.
Thought for the day: As we begin this study of John, listen to the Spirit of Wisdom speaking through Jesus in this Gospel. Then listen to Wisdom speaking in your own heart. For, by that means, God will continue the creation of you.
Today, let’s join together in prayer for: everyone who is reading Be Still today. By our best estimates, between 150 and 200 people use this resource. As we begin this new study of the gospel of John, pray for them, and know that you’re being lifted in someone else’s prayers, too.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. Use the item above as a starting point, or consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.