1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life,[a] and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. 9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.[b]
10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to what was his own,[c] and his own people did not accept him. 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son,[d] full of grace and truth.
These are high holy words in this passage, themselves full of grace and truth. One may well tremble as one reads them – I often do.
It is well to heartfully reflect this passage on a day of triumph and celebration, like today, the Feast of the Incarnation of God. Yet it is also a passage to draw strength from, in times of gloom and darkness, of despair and crushed hopes. Over and over again in our life, we must be reminded and we must remember that The Light Shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not, does not, and never will overtake it. This is the Great Truth of God, the insight of faith. The true light, that Light whose smile kindles the Universe, which enlightens everyone – it has come into the world and it is all around us, dancing in every atom, shining in every star.
Hail the Sun of Righteousness! May we who walk in darkness be a Moon, reflecting His Holy Light.
Merry Christmas to all of you.
Christmas is Today and Every Day
At the heart of everything is one love;
the love that gave birth to all of creation
is the same love that was born on that
first Christmas morning, in Bethlehem,
the light that shone in the darkness.
That same love is the light being born
in you each day, without ceasing.
So, open yourself to this light, and
celebrate the coming of God into
this world in your darkness—for
Christmas is not long ago and far away,
but here and now, today and every day.
– Meister Eckhart
Offered by Michael Giordano, in whom God delights.
