Tuesday, December 27, 2022

 

Tuesday, December 27, 2022


Psalm 140

Isaiah 29:13-24

John 1:1-18


Observance: John, apostle and evangelist


And the Word became flesh, and pitched His tent amongst us.


Yesterday, we heard deacon Stephen interpret the Old Testament Christologically. Today, we read a passage which is explicitly Christological: one of the greatest Christological passages of the Bible, in fact. John, an eyewitness who beheld the glory of Christ, spent a lot of time and effort putting these words together for us, and the result is some of the most beautiful koine Greek ever committed to papyrus.


John begins his Gospel with the loaded phrase “in the beginning”. Just as Stephen showed us how Christ is revealed in the Old Testament, so too does John. He uses the Greek word “logos”, which translates literally to “word”, because it means so much to the ancient Greek world. A “logos” is a word, and it is also the act of speaking that word, and it is also a total knowledge and understanding of what that word describes. Effectively, the logos is the totality of something. So, when in Genesis, God spoke and the world came into being, John elaborates on this and teaches that God’s active work of creation was held in totality in the Person of Jesus Christ. Therefore, through Christ all things were made; and without Him, not one thing came into being. Christ is the creator God.


The grand sweep of Old Testament narrative history into which John has embedded Christ includes this curious phrase which is our memory verse for today. It is not how the NRSV translates verse 14, but it is as close to a literal translation as we can get.


We can imagine being with the freed Hebrew slaves, camping out in the desert under Mount Sinai. Almighty God, the great Jehovah, is on top of that mountain, with fire, smoke and thunder pouring from its peak because of the awesome presence of God. Moses, who gave us the Law, says that anyone who even comes within cooee of this mountain is to be stoned to death, because of the vast gulf between God’s holiness and our sinfulness.


But God, having taught us this difference between us, is not happy with leaving the situation as it is. We cannot ascend the mountain; so He descends to us, crossing the boundary between the spiritual and material realms. He condescends to leave His home of glory, peace, and unstained love. He takes on human flesh. And He pitches His tent amongst us. This is the great love God has for us, to come and be with us, warts and all, so that He can purify us into holy creatures, and take us back up the mountain to His and our true home, where we will no longer live in tents, but in the Father’s mansion of many rooms.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Monday, September 12, 2022

  Monday, September 12, 2022 Psalm 33 Habakkuk 1:1-11 Ephesians 1:1-14 In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. The lectionary has taken us from the beloved disciple to one of the most beloved of Paul's epistles: Ephesians. Paul must have loved this church very much: we get a sense of his fondness for them and their shared sense of purpose and worship just from the introduction. In what is likely just an introduction to a letter in the style of the ancient Roman world, Paul has managed to squeeze in the entire, wondrous story of God's work of redemption. Paul has framed it the way it ought to be framed: in a pastoral, encouraging tone. He has three main points here (remember, Paul proceeds logically to build up an argument, unlike John who circles around his main point). First: God intended to save us before the world was formed. Think back to the first l
Read more

“Short time or long – I pray to God not only you but all who are listening become like I am, except for these chains.”

  Monday, September 11, 2023 Psalms 28; 29 1 Kings 7:51-8:21 Acts 26:19-32 Observance: Deiniol, bishop (d. 384) “ Short time or long – I pray to God not only you but all who are listening become like I am, except for these chains.” The great many blessings of being under the protection of the blood of the Lamb fill our hearts with joy and peace. To have the Almighty Creator of the universe, the One who sits above the flood, filling the temple of our being with the cloud of His presence is what it truly means to be human. Every day is filled with adventure; every night turns to the rest of the victor. Certainly there are chains: sometimes they are physical chains, the suffering of being a Christian among people who do not love the Lord. Sometimes they are spiritual; the attacks of the powers of the air who try to distract us from the One we love. But they always fall away. Our Rock of Ages always frees us; always brings us out of the pit of despair. A won
Read more

Monday, September 19

  Monday, September 19 Psalm 45 Nahum 1:15-2:9 Ephesians 4:17-28 ...be renewed in the spirit of your minds... It is far too easy to read some of these Pauline lists of virtues and vices and feel like we have gone back to the dark days before the Reformation. The idea that if we behave ourselves then we can call ourselves “good people” is pagan, not Christian. Paul feels very strongly about how Christians behave, he “affirms and insists” upon it. But it is because of what has already happened that we should mind our step, not because of where we are going. Christ's resurrection is many things, but one aspect relevant for Paul's teaching this morning is that it demonstrates to us the radical new reality in which we now live. We too have passed (spiritually) from death to life; therefore, we experience a “renewal of our minds”. Instead of treading water until we die, we live lives. Everything now makes sense: God has spoken, so we have logic. God made us in His im
Read more