John 1:1-14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.

There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 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.

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.
— John 1:1-14 (NRSV)
 

The greatest gift I received from the confluence of retirement and COVID-19 was the invitation to join special friends in a daily, chronological reading of the Bible that organizes books and verses in the order that historical events occurred. Having grown up in a fundamentalist Baptist church, early on I had begun to memorize lots of scripture and often won our Sunday School “sword drills” (ask me if this is foreign to you). I thought I knew the Bible pretty well, but then came January 1 and the beginning of our reading journey. From that very first day, I realized how little I actually knew and how much I assumed. It was an overwhelming, but also exciting discovery.

Until that first day of reading, I hadn’t even considered that I would find Jesus in the Old Testament, much less in Genesis! And there He was, “In the beginning.” He was with God before and during the creation of the world! I marveled as I continued to find examples of Jesus’ presence such as the Angel of the Lord in Genesis and Exodus, the Passover Lamb in Exodus, the great high priest in Leviticus, and the commander of the Lord’s army in Joshua, to name a few. I slowly began to grasp the knowledge and anticipation of His full appearance the more I crossed centuries in my reading, nearing the end of the OT. I was anxious, I was ready. “Come, Thou long expected Jesus.”

And He came. The Word that was “in the beginning,” that was “with God,” and that “was God” “became flesh,” born into a broken, hopeless world in desperate need of the long-awaited Messiah. I would never again contemplate Jesus’ birth as I had my whole life, the story of the Nativity that I had loved and celebrated year after year. It was no longer just a story, but my awakening to the understanding of the fulfillment of God’s promise to save a fallen world from sin and death. I am forever drawn into the long history of God’s Chosen People and their imperfect relationship with Him. I now recall that desperation and misery I often felt as I neared the end of the OT while at the same time experiencing the fast-growing, overwhelming anticipation of the promise of the Messiah as I journey through Advent. I remember how I sometimes felt like I was on a fast-moving train, building speed as I moved toward my “destination” of the New Testament.

The page turned and finally “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14a). That promised child, born in the most humble of circumstances, changed the world forever.

And me.

In preparing this Advent entry, I was searching for a work of art that could possibly represent the depth and breadth of wonder, awe, and overwhelming gratitude for this promise of salvation fulfilled through this lowliest of births in the most difficult of human conditions. I discovered Gari Melchers’ The Nativity that I share with you in hope that you will have a moment to contemplate it with me.

Gari Melchers, The Nativity, circa 1891, GMHS

What do you see in Melchers’ painting as you study it closely? How is this work of art different from others representing the nativity? What are you feeling as you study it? Will those thoughts and feelings color the way you move through this evening, tomorrow, and perhaps beyond?

Yes! God’s perfect plan “became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14b). Perfect love. The Savior of the world, of us.

Will you join me in this prayer? “Oh for grace to trust him more.”

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Luke 2:1-20