Gospel: John 1:1-18
Think about the opening statement of nearly every fairytale you heard when you were young, four words that were a standard and familiar introduction. Do you remember them? Once upon a time. (As a fan of the “Star Wars” saga allow me to offer for your consideration a more modern substitute: A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…)
Whether it’s the brothers Grimm, or Hans Christian Anderson, or Joseph Jacobs, or even George Lucas, nearly all fairytale authors begin with a brief opening statement: a prologue to help set the stage. That’s what we have here, in today’s Gospel reading. The first 18 verses of John are our “Once upon a time,” albeit with a much deeper theological meaning and more significant back story.
This Prologue binds together what’s already taken place and what’s to come. I’m sure you’ve already picked up on the similarities with an earlier book, with the first three words – In the beginning – tying John to Genesis. There’s a lot that we see in both, the themes of creation, light, and darkness. But there are also a few slight but significant differences. In Genesis, the word “beginning” refers to the point in time marking the start of creation; here in John, however, the word refers to the period before creation – a time outside and beyond time. Perhaps more notably, Genesis deals with natural life; this Prologue deals with eternal life.
We must also consider the second role of this passage: outlining what’s to come in the remainder of the Gospel. In the Greek rhetorical style of that time in history, a prologue was – in a summary by Craig Keener – used to state “facts concisely so that the jury will understand them, including arguments which anticipate the main arguments of the speech. Yet such an introduction does not expound the main points; it merely introduces them.” Like a good attorney or rhetorician, that’s exactly what the writer of John is doing in these 18 verses: introducing and laying out the key points of the case, specifically the case for Jesus.
Once upon a time, there dwelled on the outskirts of a large forest a poor woodcutter with his wife and two children. This is the introduction of the coming adventures of those two children, Hansel and Gretel.
Once upon a time there lived a poor widow who had an only son named Jack. Soon, we’ll learn that young man would climb a great beanstalk.
Once upon a time there was a poor miller who had a very beautiful daughter. Now it happened one day that he had an audience with the King, and in order to appear a person of some importance he told him that he had a daughter who could spin straw into gold. These are the opening words preparing us for the appearance of Rumpelstiltskin.
And here, in today’s reading? In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. This is the introduction of what came before and what’s to come – not the “earthly origins of Jesus but … the heavenly existence of the Word.” It’s not the Word of creation, but rather the Word preceding creation. It’s the Word that had no beginning; the Word was. It’s the Word revealed in the incarnate Son. This Prologue introduces the Word; it lays out the significance of the Word.
Like a good legal or rhetorical argument, this Prologue also fulfills a second role of outlining for us what’s to come. Look for instance at verse 11: He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. This one statement is a summary of what we’ll discover in the first 12 chapters of John, the section named the Book of Signs that reveals both the ministry of Jesus and the rejection he faced. Then we have verse 12: But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God. This is a summary of what we’re to see in chapters 13-20, the so-called Book of Glory that covers Jesus’ words and promises to those who did accept him.
When I was much younger, I struggled with this passage, one that while having a lot of words didn’t seem to be saying anything. With its traditional placement just after Christmas and all we heard previously about angels and shepherds and a newborn child whose life among humanity began at the margins (“We’ve got no room for you here; take the stable.”), John didn’t seem to be saying anything about Jesus. Now, all these years later, I see that in these 18 verses John is saying everything about Jesus. I only had to look under the surface to discover what was beneath. I had to not simply stop at the door in front of me but instead open it to discover what was beyond.
As we move from the prologue of Christmas – and of John’s Gospel – into the church year and story ahead, that’s my admonition to you. Don’t be content just with the surface; dive into what’s beneath. Don’t just take the readings each Sunday as stories where others are being impacted; put yourselves into them and discover how you are being impacted. Take the words of scripture out of a third-person context of they and them and shift them to the first person, to I and me. In doing that, see how much more meaningful they become – how much more of what’s in them is revealed.
Dwell in what takes place here, in this Prologue: a shift of the Word from something that was to something that is, something that was with God to something that is with us – with you. When you do that, when you dwell in the Word, then the Word dwells in you. When you discover the creative power of the Word, the Word creates through you. When you learn what the Word means to you, then you can share that meaning with the world.
Amen.