First Week of Advent

I am attending a bible study during Advent this year. We are studying the Gospel of John, most likely written in the 90s of the first century. By this time, John may have thought, Matthew, Mark and Luke each have written a book about Jesus so why repeat stories besides I have a lot to tell of my own. In doing so, John’s gospel is very different. We are told his book is very literary and symbolic. John wants to show us, the reader how Jesus God is madly in love with each of us.

John’s Gospel has four parts:

1. Prologue
2. The Book of Signs
3. The Book of Glory
4. Epilogue: The Resurrection Appearance in Galilee

We read the Prologue and I have heard it even read it before but last night it sounded like music to me:

 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 to be through him,

and without him nothing came to be.

What came to be through him was life,

and this life was the light of the human race,

the light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness has not overcome it.

I repeated it over and over:

Jesus is with God,

came from God and

is God.

Jesus was before time.

Jesus is the Light of the Mankind.

We could have stopped right there because I needed time to absorb how much God loves me. Jesus is not just nice guy, not just a rabbi, not just a miracle worker, not just a prophet; Jesus Christ is so much more. Jesus Christ is the One True God. God who took on flesh like us and became one of us out of pure love.

Thought for Week One:

Thank you Jesus for taking on human flesh.

Help me accept your invitation to open the door to my heart and let You in.

Let my words be; “Welcome come in and live in me.