"... and the darkness did not overcome it."

     This is indeed Sunday morning, and it is also Christmas morning. We, who are gathered here today, have taken a few brief moments from our time of celebrations with our families and friends to pause and worship God. We have come to praise God and to thank God for sending Jesus to be among us for a while.

     Those who were gathered last night, heard once again the story of the birt of Jesus as found in the Gospel of Luke.  But this morning, our Gospel reading was from the Gospel of John (1:1-14), and it appears to not have much to say about the Nativity Scene. However, we should be very careful about judging John’s Gospel so quickly. The first words in John’s Gospel inform us that"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." ¹ These words and thoughts of John have given some people trouble in understanding what John is writing about. One of the simplest ways to express what John is writing is to say that Jesus was one with God, and that God was one with Jesus since the very beginning.

     We, as United Methodist, are called to believe that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are one. Some individuals would claim that this is not possible. Since Jesus prays to God and talks of God in the third person, they would claim that God and Jesus have to be two totally different individuals. However, we know that even for simple, normal, humans it is possible to be two or three different persons. If you are having difficultity with these thoughts, it might help you to imagine your pastor having a conversation with his mother, his wife, and one of his daughters … all at the same time. Yes, I do know what it is like to be a son, a husband, and a father all at the same moment in time. Could it be possible for God the Creator, the Son, and the Holy Spirit to exist at the same time? Yes! This is the answer that John is writing about. This is one of the corner stones of our Christian Faith.

      John is also writing about the Light of God coming into the world. I’m not sure about you, but to be honest it has taken me a very long time to be even "comfortable" in the dark. Actually, I’m not a true fan of absolute darkness; I mean I don’t mind dim light, especially when trying to go to sleep, and even the occasional "darkness" … but I do like being able to see what is around me. But we should also consider that John might be talking about a different kind of darkness; the darkness of the soul, the desire to not be in the presence of God – the one who can see the truth within the soul of each and every individual. And so John is telling us that Jesus came into this world to share the true light with everyone who is willing to be in a true relationship with God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

     That’s right, the choice is ours, and John is making it clear at the very opening of his Gospel …"But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God." ² God gives us the power to become members of the household of God, but God also gives us the freedom to refuse this offer. If we do not want to live in the light of God’s world where everything we do, say, or feel will be visible for all to see, then we can choose to turn our back upon this offer … and head into the darkness.

     Now there are some individuals who have asked, "If the offer of living in the light is given by God to the chosen, then why are we called to reach out to everyone?" I believe that the answer is simple. God continues to call each and every one of us to actively reach out to every one of our brothers and sisters. It’s not our job to judge them … rather it is our job to bring the light of God into the lives of all of those that we meet. Remember, we have been told by Isaiah that, "all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God."³