In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

This ancient poem seems to come from the center of all that is, seen and unseen (as the creed puts it). The other three Gospels are anthropocentric, they focus on human ancestry, history and events. The prologue of John’s Gospel, which we hear on Sunday, is a song or more like a philosophical point of departure. The divine “logos” or word lives in, through and under all that is, seen and unseen.

It’s fashionable in church circles these days to talk about being disciples of Jesus. I affirm this fashion. However, there is a spiritual environment, which the Christian heart senses, that the world is known whether we are following Jesus or not. We don’t know all about the world–clever as we are–and we don’t always love it–as shown in our neglect of the natural world–but it is known and loved. With faith we are free to explore the world–through disciplines like science and history–and drawn to take care of it as stewards of the world.

At the center of everything that is–of everything that can be imagined and everything yet to be imagined–there is this life-force which is, according to John, a creative force, a word. That “word” becomes present in time and space–where history and science pay attention. It’s a perfect line of thinking on a cold, snowy day in the Christmas season.

The choir meets at 8:45 am Sunday.

We have the tree up for one more Sunday. We’ll sing Christmas songs. Most of the world is done with Christmas, but we’re not. I’ve often thought that we should be a little bolder about singing Christmas carols out of season, many of the traditional ones are classically fine examples of Christian doctrine.