Finding time for the cosmic
Albert Bogle
December 28, 2022
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John 1: 1-14 (NRSVA)
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, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome 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.
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, 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, full of grace and truth.
Chris de Burgh in his song ‘A Spaceman Came Travelling’ explores the idea of a mysterious time traveller joining the heavenly choir. I know it’s not biblical but the song opens you up to thinking beyond the limits of our time, context and spacial awareness. Imagination rooted in scripture can be a profitable exercise.
I want you to try and imagine poetry in motion, for that is what the first five verses of John’s gospel are — theological poetry. John is trying to describe what happened 13.7 billion years ago when God set the universe in motion, saying “Let there be light” This is how John in his gospel introduces Jesus, no manger, no shepherds, no Mary; for John, Jesus existed before everything that ever was — he is the eternal Son of God. John’s gospel speaks of God’s eternal plan.
In the beginning God was preparing to become a time traveller, a flesh and blood human, a crucified man, a Saviour of that which he was creating. He was making the preparations to move from an eternal dimension of Love, with a triune identity of Godness, Father, Son and Holy Spirit — a complete unity — to allow his personhood of Sonship to become a time traveller. To become the spoken Word ringing out across the universe, bringing life as we know it into being. John says “In him was life and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness but the darkness has never understood it”. In other words God came among us and we didn’t recognise him. He came to the poorest and the vulnerable, he came to right wrongs and and reconcile to himself that which he was creating. Christmas celebrates his mission completed — hallelujah.
Cosmic Creator and Saviour
Father, Son and Holy Spirit
God
Of Thought
Of Word
Of Action
What a magnificent universe You have created
What an unimaginable gesture of Love
To become one of us
To travel from a triune God dimension
Breaking into time
Re-formed as a man
unrecognised
Rejected
To reform mankind into your God image
You are truly our cosmic Saviour
We stand in awe
For we cannot grasp
What in reality
You have given us
So we sing a hallelujah
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