CAMINANDO WITH JESUS: Children of Light

Brendan Murphy on December 22, 2021

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. (John testified to him and cried out,This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

– John 1:1-18

Today’s gospel reading from John is unique. Often called the Prologue—literally, the “word before”—it sets the stage for the coming of Emmanuel, “God with us.” Indeed, it is a dramatic proclamation of who God is and what God causes to be.

Unlike the opening verses of the other gospels, John’s Prologue immediately brings to mind the opening words of the Genesis creation story: “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth”(Genesis 1:1, NRSV). But alongside the Genesis creation story that announces God as creator of mountains and seas, birds and creeping things, and even humankind, John testifies to God’s spirit itself. John calls it “logos” (a Greek word translated as “word”).

And so, at God’s Word all things came to be, beginning with the light—light not only to distinguish day from night, but also the light of grace and truth to overcome this world’s spiritual darkness: ignorance, fear, hate and distrust. God’s light was intended to be life-giving, and it became the source of life for all people. And during this season of Christmas, we celebrate God’s light incarnated in Jesus, a light that burst into the darkness of this world, became flesh and lived among us.

The Word, we are told, started with God and was in God. So that Word of God sent into the world was God himself. God’s plan from the very beginning was to bring his Word, God’s very spirit, into the world as enduring and eternal, a light that would shine in darkness and could not be overcome by it. And through that Word, we experienced God’s light as grace and truth.

Centered in God’s grace and truth is love—love that was revealed to us through Jesus’ life as unconditional love, as forgiveness, as healing and as reconciliation. God’s love is the light the gospel writer talks about: a love that is incomprehensible to this world. Love that cannot be overcome by hate, fear or deceit. Love that is so insistent and persistent that the forces of darkness cannot prevail against it.

And the Good News is that through Jesus we received the power to become Children of God—Children of Light. Those who believe in him and choose to receive God’s love in their hearts are transformed by God’s spirit into living inheritors of God’s light.

This year 2021 has brought more than its share of trials and tribulations. It is hard to see instances of God’s light in a world that appears to be shrouded in darkness. COVID-19 has seemingly induced and enhanced among us a nagging anxiety and self-preoccupation that leaves little room for concern for our neighbors. In the very shielding of ourselves from the dangers of COVID-19, we also seem to be trying to shield ourselves from one another. The deep racial, cultural and political divides among us stand as testimony to our deepest fears of losing everything we have wrongly put our trust in. Helplessness has led to hopelessness, leaving many to despair and doubt whether there is any Balm in Gilead that might heal our sin-sick souls. Sadly, we have lost faith not only in our leaders and government but also in ourselves and, most tragically, in God.

But John’s gospel harkens us back to our roots, reminding us of the one who came from God “full of grace and truth.” Those words carry a promise from the Word who creates, reveals and brings light, and further Good News that through the Incarnate One we have been given the power to overcome our own hopelessness and helplessness. We are Children of Light. Not by virtue of our earthly existence but through the spiritual light we have received from Jesus. We are now Children of God—his Children of Light—because we believe in the Word and are faithful to its light.

And our light shines on even in our darkest hours, even in the depths of our hopelessness, despair and fear. God’s light shines on within each of us. God penetrates our hearts with a light—a love—that will never be extinguished and that, most importantly, in this dark hour will never abandon us. The things we thought would make us feel safe and secure have proved illusory, but God’s light is real and will keep us safe.

So, John’s Prologue takes us back to the beginning when the Word was God and with God. The Word that brought life to this world continues to be the light that shines in the darkness, and the world has not overcome it. In turn, we have received God’s grace and truth—light and logos—through Jesus Christ. And in Him and in Him alone, will we put our hope and trust. May your own light so shine that others may see and feel your light and give thanks to God (Matthew 5:16, NRSV). Shine on, Children of Light. Shine on.

The Rev. Canon Gregory A. Jacobs, retired, was formerly canon to the ordinary and chief of staff in the Diocese of Newark.