Second Sunday After Christmas

January 5, 1997

Where In The World Is God?

John 1:10-18

In these powerful passages John proclaims to the world the vision and purpose of God. Nowhere in scripture is the case of God's intentions regarding the world more boldly or beautifully expressed than in these passages. The context for the pericope under consideration is God's original activity as creator, redeemer, and sustainer. The first ten verses of this passage identify who God is and what God has done, is doing, and will do in relationship with the world. The drama captures with all honesty the God who loves, who is at work, and who seeks to establish a relationship of love with God's people.

The author does not shy away from the reality of sin and the brokenness of God's people. What is thematic in these passages is the covenant love of God that continues to be alive and lived out regardless and sometimes even in spite of who the world chooses to be and how the world chooses to respond.

On the heels of the Christmas proclamation we now hear John as he seeks to identify for us who this Jesus is. In the process he also helps us to see who we are and invites us to a new way of living and relating by receiving and accepting this Word that saves, empowers, forgives, and heals us. John helps us to see in these passages that Jesus has a claim on us. Through our acceptance of His acceptance of us we have the right to become the children of God. In Christ we come not only to be offered acceptance and a birthright, we come to see what God is like.

In these passages we hear the reality of a new Kingdom being introduced and offered to a broken and fragmented world.

There's a story about two young men on a battlefield in World War II. They have made it to the safety of a foxhole in the midst of enemy fire. As they look out before them across the battlefield they perceive the horror of dead and dying men. Twisted barbed wire, the earth scarred with deep holes left by cannon fire. Men lifeless, others crying out for help. Finally one of the men cries out, "where in the hell is God?" As they continue to watch and listen soon they notice two medics, identified by the red cross on their arms and their helmets, carefully making their way across that perilous scene. As they watch, the medics stop and begin to load a wounded soldier on to their stretcher. Once loaded they begin to work their way to safety. As the scene unfolds before them, the other soldier now boldly answers the honest, but piercing question of his friend, "There is God! There is God!"

The church needs to be reminded, on the heels of Christmas, that the baby became a man who has come to save us from the loneliness and horror of a world gone mad. On this second Sunday of Christmas we continue boldly to proclaim that God is here, that the best news of all is not only that the Word was in the world, the Word is here and the Word is now! Popular author, Thomas Moore, identifies our culture as a soulless society. John seeks to offer to such a society the opportunity to be born of God. (v. 13) That birth is possible because the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.