In a perilous world, consider that the famous first lines of the Gospel of John, those traditional Christmas verses, can offer something important to all of us, Christians and non-Christians alike.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God…. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
The rest of the Gospel quickly and abundantly makes clear that the “Word” is Jesus of Nazareth, who Christians revere as their savior, the Christ. Christians cherish and understand the poetry in the passage, and they understand its deep significance. On the simplest level, the double meaning of “The Word” is obvious: Jesus himself is the “expression” of God made manifest, the incarnation of God’s thought and purpose.
Yet, and this observation is hardly new or revelatory, but it is still important, the original word “logos” in Greek, from which “the word” is translated, contains multiple connotations. It is in those connotations and in the particular context where they were written that the universality of at least part of the message can be discerned.
The two most important other meanings or connotations of “logos” are, first, something in the realm between “reason” and “wisdom” and, second, something involved in creative order, as in a good thought put into factual existence.
The physical author of the Gospel, whether it was the apostle John or a close associate writing in his name, almost surely spoke primarily in an Aramaic language rather than Greek. Yet the Gospel was written in Greek, and the broader philosophical concepts inherent in the Greek word “logos” were, even then, of largely Greek origin (although they also were somewhat consonant with Hebrew traditions). The reason the Gospel’s author wrote in Greek was that Greek was the most common language at the time in the eastern half of the Roman empire.
Toward the end of the First Century A.D., the author and his compatriots evangelized the new religion, spreading their “testament” well beyond the Jewish “people of the Book” and beyond the Levant. They did so by invoking concepts rooted and prevalent in Greek philosophy central to the empire’s cultural backdrop. The goal was to broaden the reach of the message, and the message itself was intended to be universal.
The primary message was that the way to salvation ran through belief in the divine person of Jesus himself. The other message, though, one that was revolutionary and meant for all times and peoples, was that God’s word and works were ones not just of wonder, not just of earthly and supernatural power, but also of wisdom — a loving wisdom — of the profoundest sort. It was a wisdom that could be imbued, fathomed, lived within, and celebrated by every human being regardless of power and without regard to political authority or armed might. It was a wisdom of the soul that politics and might could not alter.
In the Word of wisdom, there is light, and the light is the light of all men. The light is such that the darkness cannot overcome it.
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This Christmas, then, and throughout the coming new year, let us all set aside divisions, embrace loving wisdom, and celebrate the great gifts made manifest in this free world we enjoy.
Go forth, and spread the word.