The Gospel for The First Sunday after Christmas (December 26, 2004)
John 1:1-18
In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things came into being, not one thing came into being except through him. What has come into being in him was life, life that was the light of men; and light shines in darkness, and darkness could not overpower it. A man came, sent by God. His name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness to the light, so that everyone might believe through him. He was not the light, he was to bear witness to the light. The Word was the real light that gives light to everyone; he was coming into the world. He was in the world that had come into being through him, and the world did not recognise him. He came to his own and his own people did not accept him. But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believed in his name who were born not from human stock or human desire or human will but from God himself. The Word became flesh, he lived among us, and we saw his glory, the glory that he has from the Father as only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. John witnesses to him. He proclaims: ‘This is the one of whom I said: He who comes after me has passed ahead of me because he existed before me.’ Indeed, from his fullness we have, all of us, received—one gift replacing another, for the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; it is the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. -- The New Jerusalem Bible. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1995, c1985
A Study
The Word became the light of humans, and shined into our darkness, making the grace and truth of God known to us.
A Reflection
My first memories of church involve the altar in my hometown, a solid granite-like affair at the end of a little brick building. Across the front of the table, normally hidden by a frontal, are engraved the words, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us."
Last night I wondered at all the people I had never seen before who packed into our little makeshift church here in suburban Maryland, northwest of DC. Did we give them enough of the light to get them to return? Did we give them enough to take the Bible from the library shelf and read something that will change them forever? We Episcopalians largely are a formal bunch, and that's about as far as most evangelism will go from us.
Today I went to visit another congregation who have to borrow a church. They are messianic Jews. There were about a hundred of them at their Shabbat service, and then about half of them got in their cars and trekked over to a not-very-nice-part of suburban Maryland. They had collected several hundred pounds of food and clothing and toys -- which they do EVERY week -- and chosen a place to distribute them. About 20 trucks and vans made the half-hour journey from middle-class to near-indigent neighborhood.
People came streaming out of the project-like buildings, most wearing very light clothing, few speaking English very well. Those of us conversant in Spanish translated.
And none of the messianic Jews thought that this was a particularly big deal. They do it because Jesus said than when we do it for the least, we have done it for Him.
Shall we, then, Pentecostal and Methodist, Roman Catholic and Baptist, shall we penetrate some more of the darkness? Shall Episcopalian and Lutheran and Mennonite join hands to bring the Light of the World to those who live in darkness?
The Collect
Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Fr. John Wilkins' sermon for Christmas offers hope where little has been, before.
5:30:36 PM 
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