Light has come - do we understand it?

Read this week's text, John 1:1-18.

There aren't many times where we share what God is doing in our lives, or where we share what we are learning or where we share our joys or concerns at any length publicly. Except this Sunday, Epiphany Sunday. Last year, we each received an "epiphany star" - a star cut out of cardstock with a random word written on it. The instructions that go along with the star is fairly simple - live with this word for the year and see what God might teach you through it.

John 1 is a poetic telling of God's revelation, God's coming out into the world. "The word was made flesh."" That first word of creation, the creative force of the universe as the Greek's would've understood it, wrapped flesh around itself and publicly entered the world. Light came into the world and "the darkness did not overcome it" or in some translations the "darkness did not comprehend it". Well of course it wasn't understood! It's incredibly difficult to discern what God is doing in our world. We all lack understanding when it comes to parsing God's work and action in the world around us, in our human world!

"This light was in the world, and the world came into being through it; yet the world did not know it. It came to what was its own, and its own people did not accept it.  (verse 10-11)" Light, epiphany, understanding, wisdom comes to us all the time and so often we do not understand it, accept it, see it, or know it.

On this second and final Sunday of Christmastide, we realize that finding the light of the world - in our world - is not as easy as the quaint story of shepherds responding to the call of angels or magi following the star to find a toddler named Jesus. . Finding the light of the world takes practice, and more importantly practicing with others. Finding the light of the world in the world requires focus and reflection, time and imagination. The light has come - now we are to look for its the that which it illuminates and find that on which it casts shadows.

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