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“En Arche” (After Screen) If nothing else extraordinary happens this morning, you’ll be able to say you witnessed the creation of the universe. That’s definitely an unusual event! -That’s what we’re talking about this morning- unusual events… extraordinary events… every life is privileged to at least one or two. Perhaps it‘s the moment you succeed at something you thought was beyond you. Maybe it is the first look at your new child, or grandchild. Perhaps it is witnessing something that can’t be explained outside of God’s intervention.
Sometimes extraordinary things happen in a fraction of a second. -Sometimes over the course of a day, sometimes a year, or even a lifetime. Then someone asks what happened- and you have this overwhelming sense, “Where do I even begin?”
Imagine God taking on a human form. Imagine walking with Him for three years, day in and day out. Imagine hearing His wisdom and seeing Him do the impossible; even to the point of conquering death. Then imagine being given the task of conveying the whole experience to an unknowing world. Where would you start? Where would you begin?
There were four authors, God inspired to do that very thing. Three of the four start with a Christmas story in various forms. -Mark, the first of the accounts to be written, skips the Christmas story and quickly moves into the ministry of God as an adult.
Matthew borrows from Mark, but he begins through the bloodline, all the way back to Abraham and moves into a dramatic account of God’s human birth against a backdrop of savage politics, religion, and social landscape.
Luke borrows from Mark as well, but the approach is different yet again. He steps back to the birth of John the Baptist and moves into a very detailed account of Christ’s birth. Luke tells the Christmas story through the eyes of those who witnessed it. Before Jesus is ever born, John leaps in the womb of his mother, Elizabeth. There are the surprised shepherds. There is Simeon at the temple seeing whom he’s waited to see all his life. There is the prophetess, Anna, proclaiming the identity of the infant in Mary’s arms. There is an impression this baby is more than even His parents realize.
And then there’s the Gospel of John. John tells the Christmas story like no one else. -Because, John cannot tell the beginning of the God-child without telling the beginning of the universe.
Now use your imagination one more time, if you will. Imagine you’ve just heard something about a dramatic spiritual event in the Middle East and you want to know more. You hear of this man named John. He was involved and so you write a letter and ask- “John, would you mind telling me what happened over there in Israel? Thank you very much, sincerely, ‘Curious in America’.” Then one day, you receive this letter postmarked from western Turkey. You eagerly open it up and start reading- “Dear ‘Curious in America’ in the beginning…”
In just the first three words, the letter is already ominous. -The beginning of what? Well, John doesn’t speak English; the universal language he knows is Greek. And he began with the words, ‘En arche…’ So you pull out your trusty Greek lexicon and translate the words to find this: Arche- ar-khay' Meaning- “a beginning.” Primarily, what was of worth. “First fruits” “Before times eternal.” Applies to applications of order, time, place, or rank- power, principality, principle, [or] rule.
Then it dawns on you- John isn’t talking about the beginning of a ministry, or a life, or even an era- he is talking about the beginning of everything. Whatever John is about to tell you is as big as all reality… and so you read on.
1. “En arche en ho Logos…” “In the beginning was the Word…” with a capital ‘W’. Word? What does that mean? Does John mean the verbalization of a sound? Does he mean a combination of letters written down? Once again you turn to your lexicon: logos- log'-os Meaning- (I) "the expression of thought", (a) as embodying a conception or idea, e.g., (b) a statement, by God, … the revealed will of God… the personal manifestation, of the whole divine nature… also reasoning (the mental faculty) or motive; --account, or cause… ‘Logos’ had a deep meaning to the Greeks. In a culture based on rhetoric and philosophy, it was the reasoning, and defense for a given philosophy. So what John is talking about is the very reason for everything. He is talking about the ‘will’ that brought it all into existence. He’s saying the universe is merely a thought of God.
We’ve only read seven words, and already we’re beyond the scope of human comprehension. And this is just the beginning of John’s Christmas story! So we read on: 2. 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 were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. He? -Another revealed mystery. This power that made everything isn’t some kind of impersonal force. It is a personality. And this personality created everything on purpose. And by the third line, John answers one of the most basic questions of humanity- yes, life has a purpose. In fact, the entire universe has a purpose.
John goes on to paint a picture of this personality: 3. “En autoo' zooee'ee'n,” In Him was …’life’? What does that mean? We look it up: LIFE; zoe-- dzo-ay' Meaning- " life as a principle, life in the absolute sense, life … which the Father has in Himself, … This life is not merely a principle of power and mobility… for it has moral associations which are inseparable from it, …holiness and righteousness.
So the life we’re talking about is more than just breathing and taking up space. It’s experiencing life through a system of moral convictions. Whatever God has in Himself- it is living with the same stuff in you. It is life in ‘the absolute sense.’ 4. 4. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
No, wait a minute… ‘overcome’ isn’t quite the right word. We look it up: katalambano: kat-al-am-ban'-o -to APPREHEND Meaning "to lay hold of"; then, "to lay hold of so as to possess as one's own, to appropriate." … (b) "to lay hold of" with the mind, to understand, perceive, … to (over-)take. So this ‘Logos’, which is described as light, came into a world that is described as ‘darkness’. And the darkness tried to understand it. The darkness tried to possess it. The darkness tried to turn it into its own thing; but it couldn’t do it!
Doesn’t that sound like the Christmas story? The world has tried to define Christmas as human kindness. It has tried to describe it as a jolly old elf that comes down chimneys. It has tried to understand it as an ideal. It has tried to understand it in terms of family traditions and human customs. It has tried to possess it in plastic nativity scenes and a once-a-year pilgrimage to church. And for a few, have tried to grasp it as a mild-mannered infant in a trough of hay. But John says, “No! You don’t understand. ‘En arche…’ In the beginning of everything, that’s where the Christmas story starts.’
The beginning is described as ‘The Word’, and the ‘The Word’ is described as ‘Life’, and then ‘Life’ is described as light. This light comes into the world, and it …does something to mankind. What’s that word John writes? Photizo; it translates ENLIGHTEN It means ‘making one to see’ or “full of light.” 5. 9. The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world. Photizo means empowering people to see. But not by illuminating the path in front of them, but by illuminating them- by “filling them with light.” -By filling them with the reason and cause for everything. -By God filling them with Himself.
What an incredible thing! Surely this Christmas story is pure happiness, so we read on: 6. 10. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not. 11. He came to his own home, and his own people received him not. There must be some mistake! How could the world not know their –own- reason for being? How could people not receive life? What a fatal tragedy!
But it’s against this dark backdrop; the story goes on to the best part of all: 7. 12. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave… …He gives something. We’re not sure what, so we pull out our lexicon one more time and see: Excusia- it means power, it means the right, capacity or choice to do something. Power… power to do what? 7. … power to become children of God; 13. who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. So the Christmas story is all about a choice. It’s about the capacity to become the very offspring of God. But how? According to the letter: We can’t do it through sheer will. We can’t do it by any works of our bodies. We can’t do it by being kind enough, or noble enough, or by helping enough people. …Only God can do it. That means there is only one thing we can do- accept it. Of course! That’s what you do with a gift!
Then John takes us right back to where he started- ‘The Word’- 8. 14. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.
Somehow, this ‘Word’… this reason, motive, and creative authority behind everything- took on a form of human flesh. Infinity took on a tiny human form. And this little human form that was a bundle in an animal trough was also ‘the only Son of the Father.” This little human form that was so new and average was also the ageless power of “The beginning.” He is our re-beginning. On that night, the world saw only the ordinary when the extraordinary was born among us. Understanding this is so important that John takes the first 14 lines of our letter to drive it home. It is so important that he divulges all these profound mysteries before he’ll even give a name. The Christmas story is of that magnitude!
CONCLUSION It’s only the opening paragraph and we’ve been exposed to the answer of the universe… who created it, and why… What does a person do with this kind of information? Allow me to offer a few suggestions:
And I offer them in the form of a few do’s and don’ts: v Don’t be robbed. The birth of Christ is where ageless eternity-past intersects ageless eternity-future. It is where timelessness intersects in a fixed point in time. Or to put it another way- it is where the book of Genesis meets the book of Revelation. And in this mind-bending reality, there are two treasures of insight that are in danger of being robbed:
Against the first, we must always remember that the birth of Christ and ‘Christmas’ are not the same thing. The birth of Christ was a spiritual and physical reality. Regardless of what you do with it –ignore it/ accept it- it has no bearing on the fact that it happened.
On the other hand, ‘Christmas’ is quite different. Remember the definition from last week? Christ- mas; Christ, the Messiah, anointed one. Mas- a specified festival or celebration. Hence, Christmas- a specified celebration of the anointed Messiah. In other words, Christmas is our response to the reality. It is our response to Christ’s birth.
To explain this first robbery let me paint a mental picture. Last year I tried to communicate something spectacular I witnessed. In West Virginia I stepped out on an observation deck over the New River Gorge. It was the peek of fall and it was 1000 feet down and a mile across. It seemed the canyon held the sky, and wrapped it in every vibrant color of life. It was an experience of breath-taking immensity!
The birth of Christ is beyond immensity, it is the grandeur of infinity. Even at the limits of our minds we scarcely scratch the surface. So in your Christmas, in your human response- don’t be robbed of the view. Reducing Christmas to ‘Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer’, or even the excitement of a few gifts is like driving all the way to New River Gorge to witness the magnificence and satisfying yourself with the sight of a drainage ditch on the side of the road. (Imagine coming back with a picture of that!) On one particular night, infinity entered the human world… your world, for you. Don’t be robbed of the grandeur.
Secondly, don’t be robbed of the urgency. From beyond the bounds of time, of eternity-past; Jesus Christ was preparing something. Do you know what it was? It was a way for you and me to survive into eternity-future. The preparation was that immense; the stakes are that high. But for all that eternity- the plan was set in motion in a fixed point in time. At just the right hour, God entered humanity. And every time a person makes a decision for Christ, the same miracle happens all over again. But eternal concerns are hinging on the limits of time. Do you see the implications here? There is an urgency to time.
As I stand here and speak. -As you interact with others, later. –As you go to Sunday School. As you go home from church and wave to your neighbor. Even as our choir brings an uplifting Christmas production to the community this evening- people are dying! There is only so much time for the eternal Christ to be born in them. There is danger of an eternal preparation being wasted. There is danger of an eternal future being lost.
Life gives us a certain window of opportunity- so much time to accept Christ …so much time to grow in our faith …just so much time to share that faith. For the reason we are here… there is only so much time. God gives us time to enjoy life in Him. He gives us time to rest. He doesn’t call us to be frantic, but there is only so much time, and we never get to reclaim it. Enjoy life in Christ… enjoy Christmas- But don’t be robbed of the urgency!
v Don’t be distressed or discouraged that the world doesn’t see Christmas in this way- it can’t. Scripture itself, tells us. God entering our world is so incomprehensible that the world cannot ‘apprehend’ it. It was never meant to. The majesty and wonder is for those who would believe, to those given the power to become the sons and daughters of God.
Do celebrate! As we celebrate the reality God loved us enough to leave this world in resurrected glory, let us also revel in the fact He loved us enough to humbly come in the first place.
Do share. Share what? -The ‘excusia’, the capacity to become the children of God. Let us live out the power we have. Let us be ‘full of light.’ How? -Through example, by explaining, by encouraging, by intervening in prayer- share the power by revealing Christ to others.
… You have received a Christmas letter from John. But his greeting to you is not ‘Merry Christmas’, it is ‘En arche!’ In the beginning… before time was fabricated… Love designed a place for you. He was preparing a way for you to experience life in ‘the absolute sense.’ He was setting the stage to pour Himself out for you. -And to pour Himself into you. And through all of this; you will have an unfading purpose of spreading life.
In the beginning… that is what Christ was doing in response to you. This Christmas, what are you doing in response to Christ?’
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