The St. John's Bible -- Prologue to John's Gospel
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.
John 1:1-5 (NRSV)
In some Christian traditions the opening passage of John's Gospel is read on the first day of a new year, or on the first Sunday. These words are alive, poetic, although as Diana Butler Bass noted a few days ago they were essentially ruined for her in her youth because of their rigid use. In a series of tweets she writes about reclaiming them:
In effect, John is telling a very old Jewish story anew, this time through the experience of Christ. In Genesis, God creates by breathing -- the ruach -- the spirit. God breathes. The cosmos comes to be. In John, the ruach is the Word, the Logos, truth & wisdom.
That truth, wisdom & light has been embodied in Jesus, "the Word became flesh and pitched a tent among us." This is mystical poetry, but mystical poetry that points us to the reality of the world, that the new creation is here, right now. And we can live, dwell, with the Word.
The Word isn't the Bible, or some static thing. The Word is the very embodiment of God. John's book is an invitation to see the cosmos differently. Thru the Light -- the same blazing light of the Christmas Eve sky.
I like this, every word/Word of it. Happy New Year, y'all
We don't have to believe in Climate Change in 2019 and I'll tell you why in my Groundling blog today
https://groundlingearthyheavenly.blogspot.com/2019/01/belief-in-climate-change-in-2019.html
The St. John's Bible -- Creation
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