Christmas Day: Light of the World

ahhh ... breathe in the gentle presence of God and know that you are loved!
Come and read the text with the "ear of your heart" using Lectio Divina ...

1.    Read the text slowly.  Breathe and listen deeply to the words.  Focus your attention on the sense of the passage.   What word or phrase is most full of meaning for you?  Repeat your word or phrase several times, don’t project meaning now.  Chew on it and let it sink into your soul.   Take a deep breath and move on when you are ready ... Movement 1 (Read)

John 1:1-14 The Message (MSG)
The Life-Light

The Word was first, the Word present to God, God present to the Word.
The Word was God, in readiness for God from day one.
Everything was created through him;
    nothing—not one thing! — came into being without him.
What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn’t put it out.
 
There once was a man, his name John, sent by God to point out the way to the Life-Light. He came to show everyone where to look, who to believe in. John was not himself the Light; he was there to show the way to the Light.

The Life-Light was the real thing:
    Every person entering Life he brings into Light.
He was in the world, the world was there through him,
    and yet the world didn’t even notice.
He came to his own people, but they didn’t want him.
But whoever did want him, who believed he was who he claimed
    and would do what he said,
He made to be their true selves, their child-of-God selves.
These are the God-begotten,
    not blood-begotten, not flesh-begotten, not sex-begotten.

The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory,
    like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.


After your first reading ... What word or phrase is most full of meaning for you?

2.    Read the text slowly again ... Reflect on your word or phrase as you pay attention to the still small voice of the text whispering to you, “Here I am, where are you?”  How does this “meaning-full” word touch your life today?   Take a deep breath and move on when you are ready ...

Movement 2 (Reflect)  How does this “meaning-ful” word touch your life today?

3.    Read the text slowly again.  How do you offer your prayers and your life to God today?  Respond to God with prayers of ... praise, confession, gratitude, discernment, commitment ... whatever emerges from within you as you consider your desires and your needs.   Take a deep breath and move on when you are ready …

Movement 3 (Respond)  How do you offer your prayers and your life to God today?

4.    Rest in the gentle silence of God's presence.  Breathe in the love of God.  As you move on, breathe out the love of God upon the world!

Movement 4 (Rest) Breathe … Breathe … Breathe … Amen

If music is a pathway to God for you, listen to this song called Light in the Darkness (A Christmas Song) written and performed by David Harsh.  In this original Christmas song, David sings about the various forms of light found throughout the Christmas story and beyond.

If sacred art is a pathway to God for you, contemplate this stained glass window art and consider what we mean when let the warmth and the light of the sun shine upon us as we sing and pray Christ be our Light ...

“Christ be our light” The east window of Teampall Mholuaidh. The stained glass window panel showing the Grass of Parnassus (St Moluag's flower) was designed by Gail Steele of Half-a-Moon Glass and installed in 2005.  Photo taken by James Yardley [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], shared via Wikimedia Commons. 

May the Light of Christ fill you with peace, joy, and love!  Cindy

Part 2 Christmas Day: In the Beginning was the Word!

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 overcome 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. 

Context: John's gospel was written long after the Synoptic (a word which means "same") gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, some time perhaps in the 80s or 90s CE.  He spoke into an increasingly fractured community.  As one reads the gospel of John, one can see the deteriorating relationship between the Jewish Christians who believed in Jesus as Messiah and the Jewish community which did not.  John is a theological, mystical, and mature writer.  As he writes, we learn more about who Jesus is rather than what Jesus did ... yet how does one explain "who God is?"   John uses beautifully rich imagery and imaginative language.  He begins in poetic song ... In the beginning was the Word.  Logos is the Greek word that is translated Word.  Logos simply translated means "reason" and follows in the Old Testament tradition of "wisdom."  John is referring to Jesus as the Word ... In this context, Word can be thought of as "God-consciousness" or the "image of God." 

When we move from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day, we move from "birth" to "incarnation."  The Word became flesh and lived among us.   Jesus embodies the creative power of God and the deep joy of the Christmas story is that, through this creative power, we too can embody the loving presence of God to others in just the same way Christ did.  As we engage this creative spiritual power we begin to answer the call of God to follow Christ this day and move deeper every day forever more!

Going Deeper:  Engage in Praying the Scriptures (Lectio Divina).  Before you begin your reading take the time to come fully into this moment.  Know that you are sitting in the presence of God and center yourself with calm and even breathing. 

1.    READ  If you have not yet read the passage, take the time to read through it at your own pace.  As you begin your second reading, read slowly and read aloud if it is comfortable for you.  Savor the poetic words of John.  What word or words attract you?   As your word or phrase emerges, repeat it over and over in your mind and memorize the words to take with you through your Christmas Day.                       

   

2.    REFLECT  As you read the passage a third time ask yourself, “How is my life touched by this word, phrase, or passage?”    As you sit in silence, consider all possibilities that emerge regardless of how impossible your thoughts seem to you.  Simply receive and notice any sensory impressions during your time of silence. 

3.    RESPOND  As you read the passage a fourth time ask yourself, “Is there an invitation here (for me)?   Seek with an open heart to discover a possible invitation relevant to your journey of faith.  Ponder this invitation during several minutes of silence.  You may want to spend some time writing down your thoughts.

4.    REST  In the silence, allow your mind to move to a place without words as you allow God to empower you ... rest in this time of silence for as long as it is comfortable and even into a time of discomfort knowing God is with you.   

Pondering:  How has Jesus the Word entered into your life calling you to follow?  How is God calling you to change in order to answer the new/renewed call upon your life?  What sense do you have of the direction you are moving toward God's invitation to deeper living? 

Prayer:  Rest in the silence for just a short time more ... Living Word and Light of the World, I am your humble servant.  Here I am.  Lead me and give me power to live the life I have been chosen to live and to serve you as you call me.  Amen.