Last Day of Christmas Wonderings: Word Incarnate When?
Circles in a Circle, Kandinsky, 1932 John’s Gospel begins with the poetic description of God’s eternal Word that becomes flesh in Jesus and brings new life to the world. It’s a mysterious, beautiful, and profound beginning to John’s story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. There are many surprising things going on in John’s Gospel that we might not notice if we don’t read it carefully. We need to set aside all the things we assume John is saying and how the other three Gospels tell the story in order to hear what John is actually saying. And one thing that may surprise us is this: John does not tell us when the incarnation, the Word made flesh, actually happens. Most of us read the first chapter of John and assume John is talking about Jesus’ birth. But unlike Matthew and Luke, and like Mark, John never mentions Jesus’ birth. John mostly uses the words “birth” and “born” to talk about people becoming children of God through Christ, as when he says: But to all who received h...
