Lectionary: Christmas 2(A)
Text: John 1:10-18
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| Christ Our Light |
The Prologue of the gospel according to John provides
a sweeping overview of the remainder of the gospel. It introduces key themes
that will repeatedly appear. It offers a broad sweep of the types of people and
their relationships to Jesus that will be seen.
In the middle of this section, we encounter a tragedy:
although the Light was in the world, his own people failed to recognize him.
His own people rejected him.
It is tempting and easy to read “his own people” and
conclude that this means the Jews of the time. Maybe you’ve heard this
interpretation before. However, this kind of reading has led to antisemitism
and anti-Judaism. Instead, we should look at the literary structure to find a
better interpretation.
First point to note is that the Prologue casts a very
universal vision. It uses the word “world” and the phrase “all people” multiples
times to refer to the subjects of God’s activity. The default scope of
interpretation is universal.
Now, let’s re-read verses 9-11.
9 The true light that
shines on all people was coming into the world. 10 The light was in
the world, and the world came into being through the light, but the world
didn’t recognize the light. 11 The light came to his own people, and
his own people didn’t welcome him. (John 1:9-11 CEB)
What is found here is a series of poetic parallelisms. “The
world” and “his people” can be interpreted as referring to the same thing. When
read and interpreted this way, no single people group can be held responsible for
rejecting Christ. Instead, all humanity has rejected him. We all have
participated in rejecting Christ.
But that is not the end of the story for us and for the rest
of humanity. Verses 12-13 offers the Christmas hope:
2 But those who did
welcome him, those who believed in his name, he authorized to become God’s
children, 13 born not from blood nor from human desire or passion,
but born from God. (John 1:12-13 CEB)
Many preferred darkness and refused to recognize the Light.
But some chose to come out of the darkness and into the Light.
Now, for us in these norther latitudes in the winter, where
a large portion of each day is in darkness, we might wonder why someone would
refuse to come to the light. We string up lights all around town to illuminate
the area and to brighten our senses and feelings.
But if we consider that there exist many organisms—animals,
plants, and fungi—that are adapted to darkness, which may be harmed by the
light, we can begin to understand the metaphor that is used in the Prologue.
We might also think about those who act against the norms of society—criminals—who
do their nefarious deeds under the cover of both literal and metaphorical
darkness.
The two phrases “Those who welcomed him” and “those who
believed in his name” are also literary parallels. Welcoming and believing
are synonymous here, or it could be interpreted to mean that welcoming the
Light necessarily includes believing in his name.
To our modern ears, when we hear “believe” we typically
think about mental and intellectual assent to propositions, principles, and
doctrines. We think of believing in terms of agreement with something that can
be written down and explained. The two creeds that we frequently recite, the
Nicene and the Apostles, begin with the phrase “We believe” and “I believe”.
They go on to describe various -ologies that constitute Christian
beliefs.
However, the idea of believing as agreeing with a
static set of propositions would have sounded foreign to the author of John and
his audience. For them the word meant “entrusting”. This meaning pairs much
better with welcoming.
With this we can now read that these people entrusted
or committed themselves to “his name”. Most of us in modern Western
society regard names as identifiers to distinguish between individuals. We
rarely consider that names can have meanings. When we do, it is often a matter
of curiosity and nothing more. An instance in which we do pay attention is when
a new pope is elected and he chooses a new name for himself. In that instance,
the choice is deliberate and considered, his new name revealing something about
his character and how the future papacy might unfold.
Ancient societies placed great deal of meaning into names. We
see this in stories throughout the Bible. What is more significant is when a
person is given a name by God. In the Christmas story, God gives Zechariah the
name “John” to give to his son, and God gives Mary the name “Jesus” to give to
her son. For them a name was not just an identifier, but a representation of
the entirety of a person: their character, their values, their actions, and
their relationships. Thus, when the John writes that “those who believed in his
name”, it is telling us that these people entrusted their whole selves to the
character, values, activity, and relationships that Jesus lived. And more than
that the final poetic verse of the Prologue tells us that the entirety
of Jesus is a perfect reflection of God.
18 No one has ever seen
God. God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has made God known. (John
1:18 CEB)
The remainder of John offers a series of sign events
that Jesus manifests. After each, people who witness it either entrust
themselves to him or reject him. The crucifixion is a culmination of this
smaller series of rejections that has already been decided.
It has been noted that the creeds go straight from the
Nativity to the crucifixion and resurrection, skipping Jesus’ life without
which the others have little meaning. The absence of the Beatitudes and the
Sermon[1]
from so many creeds and confessions of faith is striking.
To welcome Christ and entrust oneself to his name is to live
as Christ did, embodying the message of the Sermon. The Sermon and Jesus’ life
is a rejection of power and privilege, a rejection of force and violence, a
rejection of nationalism and racism, a rejection of wealth and comfort. It is a
welcoming of the poor and marginalized, a lifting up of women and children, a
proclamation of freedom to those oppressed and fearful, a welcoming of
foreigners and slaves. It is welcoming and entering a new community and
relationships of love and equality.
This is the light that is Christ. This is the gospel that he
embodied and proclaimed. The things that he rejected are the darkness. Humanity
is well adapted to this darkness. And too many, yes those who benefit from it,
but also those who aspire to experience the powers and privileges of this world
prefer to continue in darkness. This is why Jesus was crucified: because the
powers of structures of this world cannot tolerate the Light that would tear it
down.
When I look around the world, I see different versions of
Christianity. But what John’s gospel makes clear is that either one belongs to
the darkness or one belongs to the light. There is no in-between. When we
evaluate and consider messages and actions that claim to be Christian, the criterion
for judging is whether it conforms to the life of Christ or not. A mere
profession that “Jesus is Lord” is not sufficient.
For each of us individually and collectively, in our daily
encounters we are compelled by Christ to decide. Do we decide to entrust and
follow world, or do we decide to entrust ourselves to him and his way? It will
not always be easy, going against societal traditions and expectations. But it
is the Way that is Life and Light, in which those who enter it can experience
genuine and lasting peace and joy. We were created to be in the light, but over
the course of our lives we have adapted to the darkness. Our encounter with
Christ calls us to return to who we were created to be.
In the name of God who Creates,
In the name of God who Illuminates,
And in the name of God who bring to light our attraction to darkness,
Amen.
Bibliography
Garcia Bashaw, J. (2023). John for Normal People.
Harleysville, PA: The Bible for Normal People.
Jarvis, C. A., & Johnson, E. E. (2015). Feasting
on the Gospels: John, Volume 1. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox
Press.
Levine, A.-J., & Brettler, M. Z. (2011, 2017). The
Jewish Annotated New Testament, 2nd ed. Oxford, NY: Oxford University
Press.
Talbert, C. H. (2005). Reading John: A Literary
and Theological Commentary on the Fourth Gospel and the Johannine Epistles
(Reading the New Testament Commentary). Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys.
Van De Laar, J. (2025, December 28). Lectionary
Reflection for Christmas 2A on John 1:(1-9), 10-18. Retrieved from
Sacredise Your Life!:
https://sacredise.substack.com/p/lectionary-reflection-for-christmas
William B. Eerdmans. (2003). Eerdman's Commentary
on the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans.
[1]
I use the singular “Sermon” to refer to both the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew
and the Sermon on the Plain in Luke.
