In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1: 1)
In his first sermon of 2017, Father Tom preached on the Jewish respect and reverence for the Name of God. He said that for Jews a name “...is not just a way of telling people apart in a classroom or at a factory...” (or on line for a bag of groceries from the OBX food pantry, or a night’s sleep in our church). Names have power, he bellowed. “...To know the name of something was to know the full character of that person, place, or thing,” he whispered. The biblical story of Adam naming animals at the dawn of creation conveyed the Jewish belief that a name provides an “...outward sign of that being.” Finally, we were reminded that Jews hold names so sacred they formulated a commandment prohibiting the taking of God’s name in vain.Truth be known: Jewish believers hold ALL words as commanding respect.
We humans have not always spoken as eloquently as we do in 2017. We have not always spoken in words; gesture and grunting preceded the first utterances that we have come to call words. The evolution of language is a long, fascinating and mysterious one.
Words provide humans with a power far greater than gesture, and for that reason they can be more dangerous or more curative. Words distinguish one thing from another: “vase,” “pitcher,” “basin,” “bishop,” “priest,” “deacon,” “layperson.” Words mark out distance and space: “mile,” “town,” “neighborhood,” “acre,” gated community.” Words structure time: “second,” “minute,” “hour,” “day,” “month,” “year,” “century,” “millennium,” “forever;” they denote possession: “mine,” “yours,” “ours,” “theirs.” A single word can determine a career: “Deplorables.” Words in tandem can create and unite: “Let us...” “I now pronounce you....” They can also divide: “You don’t belong...;” “Get out of here....” Words construct realities: “Will you marry me?” Launch spiritual journeys, “It’s cancer;” remind, encourage, and build up: “Body of Christ; Saving Cup; Take, Eat, Drink.”
If our Christian tradition is correct, ALL originates in God; including words. Our tradition proclaims that the good news for humans, our singular gospel is, that God is Word: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God...” These first words of John’s Gospel proclaim that THE WORD – Jesus – was with God in the beginning...before the discovery of the United States, before any European explorer set sail for a New World, before a Jewish baby was born in Bethlehem, before words spoken to Moses on Sinai, before Adam named the first flea.
The remainder of John’s gospel, and his 3 letters, reveal that Word as LOVE.
“Living/Loving God, before we bring thought or feeling to word, help us bring it to you, so that all our thoughts and feelings might issue forth in words and actions of love.”
Wayne Barry
