In the Beginning . . .

John 1:1-18

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

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. (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.” ’) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

***

Alleluia! Christ is risen.

Well, friends, we have reached our destination, and the destination is a beginning. For six weeks, we have, with some level of success, kept an holy Lent. We have walked with Christ from the Mount of Olives with Palms in our hands shouting “Hosanna” to the stony slopes of Golgotha shouting “Crucify him.” This morning, we stand before the empty tomb in “shouting” silence. It all begins again. “In the beginning . . .”

Today’s office reading comes at the beginning of John’s account of the Gospel as we begin a new season of the Church year – Easter. While these verses from John’s Gospel (1:1-18) are regularly experienced at Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Jesus, it is proper that we think of these words again at the resurrection: “In the beginning . . .”

With a little pondering on these words, the mind will likely enter into a moment of de ja vu. I’ve heard them before. Where have I heard that phrase? Of course I’ve heard it read here, but somewhere else . . .. Before long, our mental faculties will lead us to another book of the bible – one all the way at the beginning: Genesis. Do you recall the beginning of Gensis? בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית This one Hebrew word (pronounced bear-a-sheet) is translated “In (or ‘at’) the beginning”. The beginning of the Gospel according to John draws our attention back to the beginning of creation – back to a time when all things were new. “In the beginning . . .”

As you reflect upon the Resurrection of Jesus Christ this day, think of how the Resurrection serves as a new beginning in your life. After a period of self-examination and self-evaluation, what new beginning awaits you? What part of your life will begin anew in the light of Jesus Christ’s Resurrection? “In the beginning . . .”

The Lord is Risen indeed, Alleluia!