He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being.
And the Word was God
What a double whammy this morning. We have some great incarnational theology, or how to think about God in human form. It’s a concept that’s at the same time pretty tough for me to understand, and the foundation of my faith in Jesus. It’s another one of my ironic struggles in my faith. And one I enjoy to struggle with.
Starting with the Gospel of John, this is the very familiar nativity narrative, written in John’s ethereal, poetic way. There is no manger or magi. Instead, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. This is frequently the prescribed reading for the Sunday after Christmas, after the stories of shepherds and stars. We believe Jesus was both fully human and fully divine. The stories we read up until Christmas focus on the fully human side of the equation, and this origin story focuses on the fully divine.
In the beginning. This harkens back to the opening of the entire faith narrative, with the poem we hear in Genesis. In the beginning, God created heaven and the earth. This cosmic birth narrative is designed to bring to mind heavens, stars, light, darkness, all beings. From Genesis, we hear that in the beginning, God created all that. Now in John, we hear that in the beginning, God created the Word. I liken this to a genie and a bottle, except the genie isn’t being let out. It’s being put in. All the stars, heavens, light, water, galaxies are sucked together, and put in the form a tiny human baby. In the beginning was the Word. And that Word was God. Wow.
Paul echoes this in his letter to the Hebrews, when he writes that Jesus is both a reflection of God’s glory, and an exact imprint of Gods very being. So, whether you’re looking at Jesus the miracle worker, or Jesus who flipped the tables in the temple, Jesus was fully human, and fully divine. What this means to me this morning is that I have a real live human model, to pattern my life around. A person who had ups and downs, sadness and grief. And a person who at the same time created the heavens. Who embodied the heavens and earth. An exact imprint of God, reflecting God’s glory.
How much can I live today, both fully human, and serving as a reflection of God’s glory?
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