Words Matter – my first blog post

Second Sunday of Christmas
January 5, 2020
John 1:1-18
(For this blog I will be following the Revised Common Lectionary)

“Begin at the beginning,” the King said, very gravely, “and go on till you come to the end: then stop.” ― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

I suppose for my first blog post there is no better place to begin than at the beginning. And there is no better beginning than these well-known words from the first chapter of John’s gospel which are appointed for this coming Sunday

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Where Matthew and Luke begin their gospels with infancy narratives, and Mark begins his gospel with an adult Jesus, John reaches back before angels and shepherds to the very act of creation itself. Speaking of Jesus John writes –

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.

Genesis tells us that God spoke creation into existence. “God said let there be…” and it came into being. Jesus is the divine Word through whom all things were spoken into being.

There is perhaps no clearer example than this that words have power, power to create or destroy. As I was thinking about this passage, I had to consider my own words. Do my words create or destroy? Do they build up or do they tear down? Too often it’s the latter.

We currently find ourselves in the middle of a political war of words being played out primarily on social media. I limit my time on Facebook because of the hateful rhetoric I encounter there. It’s no longer enough to disagree with other people, we have to shame and degrade them. We no longer engage in dialogue, but instead choose to shout over one another. We have created a toxic environment with our use of language. Words have power. Words can hurt.

Words can hurt, but they can do so much more. I think it might be instructive to look at the way God uses language.

God used the Word to bring all things into existence. Jesus used his words to heal, to teach, to include and to forgive. What if we did the same?

As the Christmas season winds down, what if we took to heart the great mystery that is Christmas: This divine, eternal Word took on our flesh, emptied himself of power, and took on the mantle of humility, service and sacrifice.

In just a matter of days we will begin a new year and it promises to be even more contentious than the last one. What if we resolved in 2020 to actually listen to one another? What if we resolved to love and serve everyone, regardless of their beliefs?

What if we proclaimed the message of Christmas all year long?

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth… 16From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

May God bless you abundantly in 2020 and make us all dispensers of grace.