John 1:10
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.
Can you hear the heartbreak in this verse?
Or maybe it’s less about hearing and more about feeling. Imagine coming home after a long journey and finding no one there. No lights in the house, no movement, no activity. What you’d imagined would be a joyful reunion is instead silence, emptiness, loneliness.
Except it’s not just that. This isn’t like coming home to an empty house. This is more like coming home (your home!) to a house (your house) that is filled with energy and activity, with people talking and bustling around, as if there’s a holiday party going on. But when you reach for the front door, you find the lock has been changed. And when you ring the bell, someone comes to the door and it’s someone you know and love. In fact, it’s someone you’ve known and loved for you years. And yet that person – imagine a beloved parent, child, friend, sibling, or spouse – doesn’t know you, doesn’t recognize you, and doesn’t acknowledge you. In fact, your very presence – and your insistence that you know this person deeply and want to come in – makes this person nervous.
That’s more the feeling John is describing.
John describes Jesus as God’s Word. The Word that was from the beginning a part of all things. The Word that was woven into the very fabric of creation and continues to pulse through the world giving it life and vitality. The Word that is part of everything and everyone, including each one of us. And yet when the Jesus the Word comes to the world to offer it’s light, the world does not recognize him, acknowledge him, or welcome him home. We don’t recognize him, acknowledge him, or welcome him home.
“He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.” That’s the heartache and tragedy that drives this story. The heartache and tragedy that God will go to any lengths to remediate, heal, and redeem.
Prayer: Dear God, we can get so caught in all those things we think constitute our “life” that we miss Life itself. Open our eyes to sense your presence, grace, light, and love around us that we may pause in wonder and joy and given thanks. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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