As a pastor and preacher, I will never be able to disentangle this passage in John 1 from Christmas liturgies in my first call. The lights had been dimmed, the sun had set, and as candles were lit throughout the church, sections of this passage were read aloud. It was a stunning visual: to look out at all these little twinkling lights and hear those poetic words of the light coming into the world. In this season when Christ is made known, preachers may continue to explore the identity of this Jesus who is born into our midst.
The Eternal Word
On one hand, this passage from John reminds us that Christ is eternal. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Jesus is present from the beginning. Jesus is integral to the work of creation. Jesus is divinely eternal. Jesus is the true light, given for the enlightenment and salvation of the whole created cosmos. Jesus, this passage from John reminds us, is the eternal bringer of light, of life, of grace, and of salvation.
"Jesus is present from the beginning. Jesus is integral to the work of creation."
The Incarnate Word
At the same time, John reminds us that Christ is incarnate. “The Word became flesh and lived among us.” The incarnation of Jesus enables and empowers us to perceive and experience the light, the life, the grace, and the salvation that is given to us in Christ Jesus. Through belief, through trust in the name of Jesus, we are given the “…power to become children of God.” It is Christ who brings “grace and truth” to us and bears them into our world.
Making the Word Known
So, as preachers seek to explore and proclaim the eternal and incarnate Jesus, John’s Gospel offers an invitation for its hearers: to testify to the incarnate and eternal Word in their own lives and in the worlds in which they live. In issuing this invitation to witness, John offers the example of St. John the Baptist, sent from God to testify to the light of Christ. John witnesses and testifies to Christ, saying “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’” I am taken back to all those little candles twinkling on Christmas Eve, imagining (as each worshiper left for the night) that they were bearing that little light of theirs out into the wide world, bearing witness to the presence of Jesus whose birth we had celebrated that night.
A word of caution: this act of bearing witness and testifying to Jesus is not a saving work. While we are invited, encouraged, and empowered to follow the example of John to testify to the light - to proclaim the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation found in Jesus Christ - preachers might remind their congregations of the words that John 1 proclaims: “It is the only Son, himself God, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.”
On this day - as the season of Christ’s birth draws to a close - we rejoice that we can testify to the eternal and incarnate Word: Jesus Christ.
PASTOR DOMINIC GUIDO is a graduate of Indiana University and the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. He is passionate about worship and preaching, and has served congregations in Wisconsin and Kentucky. He currently serves as the president of the annual Lutheran Association of Larger Churches conference. In his free time, Pastor Guido enjoys tabletop gaming; spending time in nature with his family and loyal hound, Zuko; as well as following open-wheel auto racing, Australian Rules football, and sumo wrestling.
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