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Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Proper III and First Sundayafter Christmas

John 1:1–14 (15–18)

Notes on This Reading

Christmas is more than a day. It’s a season of twelve days, so we get another Sunday to celebrate the nativity of our Lord. The church gives us a totally different way to tell the story of Jesus’s arrival, by directing our attention to the Gospel of John, which begins with a poetic prologue, much like an overture to a symphony. It will strike many of the themes of John’s gospel, themes of the story of Jesus, describing the word made flesh dwelling among us, bringing light and life, grace and truth, facing rejection. Note how the prologue begins with the words, “In the beginning.” Where else have you seen those words? It sounds like the author of this gospel wants to say that the story of Jesus is as significant as the story of Genesis. A new creation is happening.

Questions

1 What does it mean to you that Jesus is the word made flesh? In what sense is he the word?

2 How does he bring light? Have you ever experienced that enlightenment in your life?

3 What does it mean to be filled both with grace and truth? Do we need both those things?

4 What significance do you attach to the fact that this gospel begins with the words, “In the beginning”?