The lengths Jesus went to to reach “all people”
Daily Scripture
John 1:1-4, 11-14, 18
1 In the beginning was the Word
and the Word was with God
and the Word was God.
2 The Word was with God in the beginning.
3 Everything came into being through the Word,
and without the Word
nothing came into being.
What came into being
4 through the Word was life,
and the life was the light for all people.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light.
11 The light came to his own people,
and his own people didn’t welcome him.
12 But those who did welcome him,
those who believed in his name,
he authorized to become God’s children,
13 born not from blood
nor from human desire or passion,
but born from God.
14 The Word became flesh
and made his home among us.
We have seen his glory,
glory like that of a father’s only son,
full of grace and truth.
18 No one has ever seen God.
God the only Son,
who is at the Father’s side,
has made God known.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Like a great musical overture, the prelude to John’s gospel was built around key themes. The first three words— “In the beginning”—were the first of the gospel ‘s many allusions to Genesis 1-2. John vividly taught his readers that Jesus the creator was creating anew. But then, in its middle verses, the prelude showed the great distance the creator traversed to reach human beings. In John’s day, most Greek and Roman thinkers claimed “the logos” (Greek for “the word”) couldn’t connect at all with the corrupt material world. It’s no wonder the gods the Greeks and Romans imagined usually showed little interest in human beings’ day-to-day concerns. But John boldly wrote, “The Word became flesh”—neither Greeks nor Jews believed God could bridge a gap that wide. But John said Jesus became one of us, and by so doing gave all who believed in him the right to become children of God.
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Another key theme in John’s prologue was that “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light” (verse 5). So many types of darkness try to block the light in our lives—the death of someone we love, a broken relationship, unfair or abusive treatment, financial uncertainty, fear, and many more. What does it mean to you that Jesus’ light keeps shining even at those times? John 1:18 stated a given to Hebrews: “No one has ever seen God” (cf. Exodus 33:18-20). Then John calmly asserted that “God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has made God known.” And that wasn’t John’s idea—it was what Jesus taught. On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus told his disciples, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). How does it shape your perception of your value to the creator of the universe that he “became flesh” rather than keeping a safe distance from this messy, broken world?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, like all great leaders, you do not call me to do something you were unwilling to do. You bridged the great chasm between your eternal existence and my lostness. Keep me willing to learn what it takes to reach others with the good news of your love. Amen.
GPS Insights
Carol Cartmill
Carol Cartmill serves as Lead Director of Mission Ministries for Resurrection, A United Methodist Church. She provides leadership to mission programs that maximize the congregation’s involvement in life-changing ministry beyond the walls of the church, locally and across the globe. Carol applies her passion for equipping people for ministry, practical experience from working in a multi-location church setting, and an educational background in organizational management and leadership. She is married to Jim, mom to daughters Lauren and Kristin, and “Grammy” to Hayley, Eloise, and (newly arrived) Taylor James. In her free time, Carol enjoys traveling, spending time outdoors golfing or gardening, or indoors looking for inspiration on the Food Network.
The text today will be familiar if you’ve attended Candlelight Christmas Eve services at Resurrection. Near the end of the service, every light in the Sanctuary is extinguished. The words from John 1 are read as the light from a single candle enters the pitch-dark space from the back of the room. We’re visibly reminded of the significance of Jesus taking on flesh to enter into a dark world and the power of Christ’s light to overcome darkness. The passing of the light to everyone gathered further illustrates the impact the light of Christ can have when we choose to be bearers of light to the community and world around us. The entire room is illuminated with the light of three thousand candles and the hushed darkness turns to pure joy!
The world today can indeed seem dark in ways that overwhelm us. We may wonder at times why God feels so distant. Perhaps some even fall into the trap of thinking God’s back is turned against us because we aren’t living up to some lofty set of standards as individuals or a society. At times I have to discipline myself to take a break from watching and reading the news. It can get so depressing!
This passage provides the antidote to our negative thinking. Jesus was born into a messy world at a very challenging moment in human history. God didn’t sit back and wait for the world to clean up its act. Jesus made his home among us, mess and all, and went to unimaginable lengths to demonstrate profound truths–we are loved, and no one is outside of God’s reach or grace.
We first need to remind ourselves individually of this truth. We are God’s creation, wholly and dearly loved. God reaches out to us in our darkest moments with grace, compassion, and healing. We also are tasked with taking God’s light to people and places in need of hearing the good news that God’s love is for all. Jesus walked this earth like one of us and he understood pain and darkness and messiness. Jesus wasn’t distant. He welcomed all, accepted all, and loved all. The fruit of God’s spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Yes, please, more of that!
On the brightest of notes, I end with the love you share as you respond to the needs of people, here in Kansas City and around the world. Through your prayers, volunteer service and generosity, you are bringing hope to those impacted by hunger and poverty, addiction and grief, natural disasters and wars. I hear stories every day about people in our congregation shining the light of Christ in places in need of the reminder that God is with us all, at all times and in all places. That’s the power of light.
