Word Became Flesh

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.'") From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known. John 1:1-18 

I am stuck here at home, since flights were cancelled and rearranged. I will fly to Montana later this week when a seat is finally available. This present world in Northern most Massachusetts is covered in white fluffy snow, piled eight and ten feet high, and crystals blowing in the bitter wind. Living in the flesh means living within the circumstances that are dealt us, surviving with the challenges we face, whether from weather, circumstances or illness. And John's Gospel reminds us that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, living our challenges and weather, struggling against circumstances and illness.

John's Gospel begins, not with the story of Jesus' birth, but of the beginning of time, where the word was embedded in the Creator and then released for a time to bring us grace upon grace and make us children of God. Remarkable words, simple but powerful. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ - the ability to be part of the living family of God, fully human and yet completely a part of the heart of God. What a creation story, that from the beginning of time, God's activity was always to bring us home, to welcome the travelers, the outsiders, the pilgrims, the broken, a home in the heart of God.

Today I ask God to help me live with the gifts I have been given. May we all receive grace upon grace today, and in the midst of challenges this winter brings, remember that we have been sought out by God since the beginning of time.