The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Plaque with Saint John the Evangelist, German, ca. 1175-1200. The Latin inscriptions name John and the opening words of his Gospel: “In the beginning was the Word.” OA, Public Domain.

RCL, Christmas 1
Isaiah 61:10—62:3; Psalm 147:13-21; Galatians 3:23-25 and 4:4-7; Saint John 1:1-18

Over twenty years ago, during a snowstorm, I curled up and read The da Vinci Code, one of the best thrillers I’ve ever read, which uses codes to lead a group of people to discover several secrets. The da Vinci Code was tremendously popular, and it is a powerful book. I began to see codes where I didn’t expect them, including the Gospel today.

Those first three words are a code. “In the beginning” refers us back to the beginning of the Scriptures when in Genesis 1:1 we read, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Saint John is using those same first three words to tell us that Christ’s coming into the world begins creation all over again. Saint John compares Christ’s presence in the flesh to creation because of Christ’s ministry to reconcile us to God. Through the prophets and through redemption after redemption, God had called his people back. But they, but we, didn’t listen. But the birth of Christ marks the beginning of God’s definitive act to bring us back to him. That’s why Saint John begins his Gospel with those three words. And that’s the purpose of his Gospel: to make us see what God is doing among us by the birth of Jesus.

When Jesus came, all his work of teaching, preaching, and healing, all the miracles, everything that he did in his earthly ministry was related to the kingdom of God. The kingdom is that place, that condition, where God reigns, where God’s will is done. He described that reign in healings and in parables, he called people to become part of God’s reign, and he confronted them in an unavoidable way with their decision for or against God’s reign. The reign of God is a new thing brought by God into this world, whose presence is a transformation which makes all things new. The birth of Christ is a new beginning. It’s the beginning of the reign of truth, righteousness, justice, and love revealed in power and fullness rather than in hints and glimpses. The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us.

If you see the world as God’s creation, and if you see Christ’s ministry to reconcile the world to God, and finally if you see yourself and your abilities as part of that creation, then you will use your abilities and join with Christ to reconcile the world to God. That’s a tall order, I know. But each of us has been given plenty to use toward that end. We’re here not just to adore a baby, but we’re here to do what that baby does: to give of ourselves completely and totally to reconcile the world to God. We’re not here to enjoy it all, like one unending holiday; we’re here to give it back to God. We’re here to find ways daily and hourly to bring our world back to God. The Scriptures, the prayers, the services themselves all mean just that. They are a code to encourage us to do nothing less than what Christ would do, to be nothing less than children of God.