I have always loved the Gospel of John; it seemed to get to the point of Jesus’ life story in a way I could feel. As a girl, I loved John 3:16, one of the only verses I could memorize and hold both my heart and mind. Then, it became my way back to Jesus when I had run so far away I couldn’t feel anything. The Message Bible paraphrase had just been published and the words felt healing to me as I read them again. Now, decades later, as I have experienced the usual highs and lows of life; such as the joy of grandkids and the anguish of grief, I find hope and peace that bring me to a place of worship.
It’s Christmas 2023, and Jesus still speaks to each of us through John. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1).
These words take us all the way back to the ordering of the cosmos in Genesis. John reminds us that the same Creator of all in existence gave up everything to actually be WITH us. To recreate in us what we were meant to be. To reorder our lives to bring us peace. And the Glory of God has done it all since the first day of creation, sitting with the Father. Jesus is the powerful Word of God. He is the Word that became flesh, He is Immanuel, the only unique one, the firstborn of new creation, the one we celebrate today. It is with this restoration of all of creation that John begins his gospel.
God’s Word became human to heal the broken world and set us back in order so we can all live as one together with him forever. His love is a deep, rich, and extravagant love. The kind of love that knows when you are hurting, even before you can express it yourself. The kind of love that provides for you, especially when you can never repay the kindness. Yes, the kind of love that really knows how messy, stubborn, and selfish you can be – yet he still chooses you.
This is the love of God. This is the real gift of Christmas!