Logos; the Embodiment of God
SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 52:7-10, Hebrews 1:1-4 & John 1:1-14
FOR ANYONE WHO IS CLOSE TO THE HEARTBEAT OF THE NAURAUSHAUN COMMUNITY, YOU WILL KNOW THAT WE HAVE HAD A TRUE ADVENT EXPERIENCE THIS YEAR; SOMETHING WAY ABOVE AND BEYOND HEARING THE WORDS AND SLIDING OUR WAY THROUGH TO THE CELEBRATION OF A NEWBORN BABE.
YOU SEE, BECAUSE OF THE CAPRICIOUS NATURE OF THE WEATHER DURING DECEMBER THIS YEAR, WE HAVE BEEN GIVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO GROW ACCUSTOMED TO EXPECTING THE UNEXPECTED. OUR WELL-PLANNED-FOR WORSHIP EXPERIENCE OF PRAISING GOD THROUGH THE ARTS WAS INTERRUPTED, NOT ONCE, BUT TWICE BECAUSE OF ICY, SNOWY ROADS. THEN TORRENTIAL RAINS ON CHRISTMAS EVE LEFT ME FEELING MORE LIKE BUILDING AN ARK THAN APPROACHING THE MANGER. BUT AREN'T WE ALL DELIGHTED ABOUT THE MONEY WE JUST SPENT TO FIX THE ROOF? AT LEAST THE FLOOD WAS OUTSIDE, IN THE NAURAUSHAUN BROOK, RATHER THAN INSIDE THE SANCTUARY THIS TIME!
YES, IF WE WERE REALLY PAYING ATTENTION WE RECEIVED A GOOD LESSON IN HOW TO EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED. WE LEARNED THAT THE IMPORTANT PART OF LIFE HAPPENS IN THE PRESENT MOMENT. THERE IS NOTHING TO BE GAINED BY BROODING OVER THE PAST OR ANXIOUSLY LOOKING TOWARDS THE FUTURE. LITURGICAL DANCERS AREN'T ALWAYS THE LAST WORD WHEN IT COMES TO WORSHIP. ORGANISTS/CHOIR DIRECTORS MAY COME AND GO, BUT THE MINISTRY OF NAURAUSHAUN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH CONTINUES! AND NOTHING BRINGS US CLOSER TO GOD'S INTENTION FOR HUMAN LIVING THAN GOING WITH THE FLOW AND LEANING INTO WHATEVER LIFE PRESENTS US. MY FRIENDS, LIVING THROUGH THE EXISTENTIAL TRUTH OF THIS IS THE ULTIMATE ADVENT EXPERIENCE AND WE HAVE MADE IT TO THE OTHER SIDE!
NOW I'M NOT SURE THE HEBREW PEOPLE EVER GOT THE POINT OF AN ADVENT EXPERIENCE. THEY EXPECTED THE MESSIAH TO BE ANOTHER KING LIKE DAVID, AND WHAT GOD SENT WAS A TINY LITTLE, VULNERABLE NEWBORN BABY. A LOT OF THEM EXPECTED THE EXPECTED, AND THE MESSIANIC MOMENT PASSED THEM BY. ACTUALLY, IT SEEMS TO ME TO BE A SMALL WONDER THAT SOME PEOPLE MISS THE OPPORTUNITY TO KNOW THE MESSIAH. EVEN TODAY WE EXPECT THE BIRTH OF CHRIST TO MEAN SOMETHING OTHER THAN WHAT IT REALLY MEANS. WE CELEBRATE THE BIRTH OF THE PRINCE OF PEACE, EVEN AS WE WILDLY CELEBRATE THE CAPTURE OF SADDAM HUSSEIN AND TRY NOT TO HEAR AS THE DEATH-LIST FROM IRAQ INCREASES ON A DAILY BASIS.
NOW THE OTHER REALLY GOOD ADVENT EXPERIENCE WE HAD HERE AT NAURAUSHAUN WAS A LESSON IN WAITING. WE WAITED FOR THE BIRTH OF LITTLE STEPHANIE JOSEPHINE VIEITEZ. FROM DECEMBER 14TH ON, WE WAITED - EVERY DAY - TO HEAR THE GOOD NEWS OF THE BABY'S SAFE ARRIVAL. AND FINALLY SHE CAME.
STEPHANIE WAS BORN ON MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2003 AT 4:07 PM IN THE AFTERNOON. SHE WEIGHED IN AT 9 LBS. AND MEASURED OUT TO BE 22 INCHES LONG. AND I VISITED IN THE HOSPITAL THE VERY NEXT DAY! AS I TOOK THAT BABY IN MY ARMS AND BEHELD HER IN ALL OF HER PERFECT BEAUTY, I KNEW THAT SHE HAD BEEN WELL WORTH WAITING FOR. AND IT WAS THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING WITH HER WHEN SHE WAS LESS THAN 24 HOURS OLD THAT BROUGHT IT ALL HOME FOR ME. AS I HELD THAT TINY LITTLE PIECE OF ETERNITY IN MY ARMS AND THOUGHT ABOUT MARY, IN A STABLE, TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO, HOLDING THE NEWBORN BABY JESUS, I UNDERSTOOD THE TREMENDOUS GIFT OF GOD ALLOWING GODSELF TO BE EMBODIED IN A MINISCULE, VULNERABLE HUMAN BEING.
THIS CHRISTMAS HAS BEEN VERY SPECIAL FOR ME. I CAN CLAIM A NEW AND DEEPENED APPRECIATION FOR THE WONDER OF THE MIRACLE, CAN YOU? "THE WORD BECAME FLESH AND LIVED AMONG US…FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH." THE MESSIAH IS BORN, HISTORICALLY AND ETERNALLY.
AND IT IS THE MYSTERY OF THIS TRUTH THAT MAKES CHRISTMAS SUCH A SPECIAL MOMENT WHEN, FOR A CHRISTIAN PERSON, THE ENTIRE WORLD SEEMS TO CATCH ITS BREATH IN ORDER TO BREATHE IN THE VERY SPIRIT OF GOD, IF ONLY FOR ONE MOMENT.
I LOVE THE FIRST CHAPTER OF JOHN'S GOSPEL. I DON'T TOTALLY UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING THE EVANGELIST IS SAYING. AND, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I THINK THIS IS THE GREATEST REASON WHY I LOVE THESE VERSES SO MUCH. JOHN HAS DONE A FABULOUS JOB OF PUTTING THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST INTO WORDS THAT DO NOT COMPROMISE THE WONDER AND THE AWE ONE LITTLE BIT.
"IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD, AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD AND THE WORD WAS GOD." THERE IS A COMPLETE UNFOLDING OF THE MYSTERY OF THE LOGOS IN JUST THIS ONE SIMPLE SENTENCE. THE EXISTENCE OF THE WORD IS RECOGNIZED - "IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD." THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE WORD AND GOD IS DESCRIBED - "AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD." AND THE FINAL TRUTH IS THAT THE WORD AND GOD ARE ONE - "AND THE WORD WAS GOD."
HAVE YOU EVER STOPPED TO THINK ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT LOGOS IS TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF GOD? LOGOS, THE GREEK WORD FOR "THE WORD" IS BASIC TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF GOD. THINK ABOUT HOW ALL OF CREATION WAS CALLED INTO BEING THROUGH THE WORD OF GOD.
THINK ABOUT THE LAW BEING GIVEN TO MOSES THROUGH THE WORD OF GOD. THINK OF THE PROPHETS SPEAKING THE WORD OF GOD TO TRY TO GET OUR ATTENTION. THINK ABOUT THE WORD BEING BORN INTO OUR HUMAN EXISTENCE IN JESUS THE CHRIST. LOGOS MOVED CLOSER AND CLOSER TO US UNTIL IT LIVED AMONG US FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH. AND TO A CERTAIN EXTENT WE NEVER UNDERSTAND THE FULLNESS OF THIS CLOSENESS, EVEN AS WE SEEK TO EMBRACE IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
I AM ALWAYS FASCINATED BY THE CONSTANT INTERACTION BETWEEN ETERNAL TIME AND HISTORICAL TIME IN THIS PASSAGE. THERE IS A WONDERFUL MARRIAGE OF CHRONOS (CHRONOLOGICAL TIME) AND KAIROS (GOD'S TIME) AS WE READ THROUGH THESE 14 VERSES AT THE BEGINNING OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN. "IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD" HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE ETERNAL NATURE OF LOGOS AND THIS IS WHERE THE PERICOPE BEGINS. LIKE GOD, THE WORD WAS, IT IS AND IT SHALL BE. SOME PEOPLE EVEN BELIEVE LOGOS, A MASCULINE NOUN IS A REPLACEMENT FOR SOPHIA, A FEMININE NOUN USED THROUGHOUT THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES TO NAME THE ETERNAL EMBODIMENT OF THE DIVINE WITHIN CREATION. FOR INSTANCE, IN PROVERBS 8:22-31 WISDOM IS SPEAKING AND SHE SAYS, "THE LORD CREATED ME AT THE BEGINNING OF HIS WORK, THE FIRST OF HIS ACTS OF LONG AGO." AS WE READ THE VERSES FOLLOWING WE BECOME CLEAR THAT WISDOM HAS BEEN GOD'S COMPANION BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF THE EARTH.
IN THE BEGINNING WAS SOPHIA…
IN THE BEGINNING WAS LOGOS…
LOGOS ALLOWS FOR THE MASCULINE EMBODIMENT OF GOD IN THE SAME WAY THAT SOPHIA ALLOWED THE HEBREW PEOPLE TO ENVISION WISDOM AS "A WOMAN STANDING BESIDE GOD, OVER AGAINST BUT NOT UNCONCERNED WITH THE CREATED PHYSICAL WORLD" (NIB). LOGOS ALLOWS FOR THE INCARNATION IN A LITTLE BABY BOY, AND SO WE SEE A SHIFT IN TERMINOLOGY.
AT THE END OF THIS PERICOPE WE HEAR, "THE WORD BECAME FLESH AND LIVED AMONG US." WE ARE TALKING ABOUT AN HISTORICAL MOMENT HERE. THIS IS WHERE THE TEMPORAL AND THE ETERNAL HAPPEN TOGETHER; THE CHRONOS AND THE KAIROS ARE ONE, AND IT IS COMPLETELY A MYSTERY TO ME HOW THAT HAPPENS, BUT I LOVE THE MYSTERY! I KIND OF ENJOY THE MENTAL SWIRL THAT BETRAYS MY LOGICAL THOUGHT PROCESS AS I TRY TO MAKE SENSE OUT OF AN IDEA, EVEN AS IT REFUSES TO BE MADE SENSE OUT OF. THERE REALLY AND TRULY IS A GOD WHO REFUSES TO BE BOUND BY THE LIMITATIONS OF THE HUMAN MIND! ALLELUIA! AMEN! AND THEREIN LAYS THE BEST UNDERSTANDING OF THE INCARNATION THERE CAN BE.
FLANNERY O'CONNOR CALLS THE INCARNATION EMOTIONALLY UNSATISFYING TO THOSE OF US BROUGHT UP IN A SOCIETY OF LOGICAL AND SCIENTIFIC THINKING. BUT SHE GOES ON TO SAY, "THE TRUTH DOES NOT CHANGE ACCORDING TO OUR ABILITY TO STOMACH IT EMOTIONALLY.
A HIGHER PARADOX CONFOUNDS EMOTION AS WELL AS REASON AND THERE ARE LONG PERIODS IN THE LIVES OF ALL OF US, AND OF THE SAINTS, WHEN THE TRUTH AS REVEALED BY FAITH IS HIDEOUS, EMOTIONALLY DISTURBING, DOWNRIGHT REPULSIVE." (Seeing Christ as God and Human ALIVE NOW - Nov/Dec 2003)
IN OTHER WORDS, FAITH DOES NOT ALWAYS MAKE SENSE - NOR SHOULD IT. FAITH IS A LEAP INTO THE UNKNOWN AND THE INDEFINABLE.
FAITH CAN GIVE US A STOMACH ACHE OF ANXIETY IF WE WORK AT IT TOO HARD! SO MUCH FOR PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE ALL OF THE PROBLEMS OF LIFE WILL FADE AWAY WITH A COMMITMENT TO GOD THROUGH JESUS THE CHRIST!
IN THE SAME ARTICLE FLANNERY O'CONNOR SAYS, "TO SEE CHRIST AS GOD AND MAN IS PROBABLY NO MORE DIFFICULT TODAY THAN IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN, EVEN IF TODAY THERE SEEM TO BE MORE REASONS TO DOUBT. FOR YOU IT MAY BE A MATTER OF NOT BEING ABLE TO ACCEPT WHAT YOU CALL A SUSPENSION OF THE LAWS OF THE FLESH AND THE PHYSICAL, BUT FOR MY PART I THINK THAT WHEN I KNOW WHAT THE LAWS OF THE FLESH AND THE PHYSICAL REALLY ARE, THEN I WILL KNOW WHAT GOD IS. WE KNOW THEM AS WE SEE THEM, NOT AS GOD SEES THEM. FOR ME, IT IS THE VIRGIN BIRTH, THE INCARNATION, THE RESURRECTION WHICH ARE THE TRUE LAWS OF THE FLESH AND THE PHYSICAL." (Same article as mentioned before.)
NOW I CANNOT TALK ABOUT THE PROLOGUE TO THE GOSPEL OF JOHN WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT HOPE, AS WELL AS FAITH. OF COURSE THERE IS A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF LOVE THAT COMES THROUGH THESE WORDS, AS WELL, BUT THIS YEAR THE OUTSTANDING WORD FOR ME IS "HOPE." OUR WORLD IS IN DESPERATE NEED OF HOPE, AND NOTHING BRINGS MORE WONDROUS HOPE THAN BELIEVING THAT GOD HAS A WISDOM AND A WORD THAT FAR EXCEEDS OUR HUMAN MENTAL CAPABILITIES.
THE REV. DR. JOHN CLAYPOOL HAS A NEW BOOK OUT, ENTIRELY DEVOTED TO THE ISSUE OF FINDING HOPE IN THESE DARK AND TURBULENT TIMES. AND IT IS STRIKING TO ME THAT HE HAS GIVEN AN ENTIRE CHAPTER OVER TO THE IDEA OF WHAT WE CAN EXPECT FROM GOD.
CLAYPOOL SAYS THERE ARE THREE THINGS WE CAN EXPECT FROM GOD THAT WILL LEAD US TO A PLACE OF HOPE. HE SAYS WE CAN EXPECT MIRACLES, COLLABORATION, AND ENDURANCE, BUT WE NEVER KNOW EXACTLY WHEN GOD WILL GIVE US WHICH. IN HIS EXACT WORDS CLAYPOOL SAYS, "THERE ARE TIMES WHEN, FOR INSCRUTABLE REASONS, GOD CHOOSES TO SOLVE OUR PROBLEMS FOR US. THERE ARE OTHER OCCASIONS WHEN THE HOLY ONE OFFERS TO SOLVE OUR PROBLEMS WITH US, AND THEN THERE ARE THOSE TIMES WHEN GOD SEEMS TO BE SAYING, 'THERE WILL BE NO SOLVING OF THE PROBLEM, BUT I WILL GIVE YOU THE STRENGTH TO ENDURE THE UNCHANGEABLE AND TO EXPERIENCE REAL GROWTH IN THE PROCESS.'" (THE HOPEFUL HEART PG. 53)
MY FRIENDS, THE MYSTERY OF CHRISTMAS THAT IS SO VERY ENGAGING TO THE ENTIRE WORLD IS THAT IT IS ONE HISTORICAL MOMENT IN WHICH GOD HAS CHOSEN TO SOLVE OUR PROBLEMS FOR US. AND THIS CHRISTMAS SEEMS TO ME TO BE ABOUT THE BIRTH OF HOPE, AS WELL AS THE MYSTERIOUS PRESENCE OF HOPE MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE. DON'T TRY TO UNDERSTAND IT, JUST EXPERIENCE IT!
IN CLOSING I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE THE POETRY OF ANN WEEMS ONE MORE TIME. THIS POEM IS ENTITLED IT IS NOT OVER.
IT IS NOT OVER,
THIS BIRTHING.
THERE ARE ALWAYS NEWER SKIES
INTO WHICH
GOD CAN THROW STARS.
WHEN WE BEGIN TO THINK
THAT WE CAN PREDICT THE ADVENT OF GOD,
THAT WE CAN BOX THE CHRIST
IN A STABLE IN BETHLEHEM,
THAT'S JUST THE TIME
THAT GOD WILL BE BORN
IN A PLACE WE CAN'T IMAGINE AND WON'T BELIEVE.
THOSE WHO WAIT FOR GOD
WATCH WITH THEIR HEARTS AND NOT THEIR EYES,
LISTENING
ALWAYS LISTENING
FOR ANGEL WORDS.
ALLELUIA! AMEN!