John 1:[1-9] 10-18 (NRSV)
Read John 1:[1-9] 10-18 on biblegateway.com
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Chapter 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Verse 2He was in the beginning with God. Verse 3All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being Verse 4in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
Verse 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. Verse 6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. Verse 7He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. Verse 8He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. Verse 9The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.] Verse 10He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. Verse 11He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. Verse 12But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, Verse 13who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. Verse 14And 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.
Verse 15(John testified to him and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.'") Verse 16From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. Verse 17The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Verse 18No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.
Devotion
On this first day of the New Year, however much we might try to avoid it, our thoughts naturally turn to “beginnings.” How fitting to ponder the good news that already at the “beginning” God’s Word in Jesus Christ was there. The witness of John is that just as that Word of creation gathers up “all things” into the fullness of God’s creation, so it is God’s will that “all people” should receive this Word as their light and their life. There is a dark underside in this witness, the recognition that not all have received this light, and even among those who should have been most welcoming, the Word of creation did not find a home.
Prayer
O God of new beginnings, from creation on your Word of promise has opened the eyes of all people to the light of your glory. In this New Year we pray that you will also open our hearts to receive the Christ child, that we, too, may become your children and witness to your mercy and grace. Amen.