January 3, 2021
“Pass it On”
Jeremiah 31:7-14
Ephesians 1:3-14
John 1:1-18
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.
So, how appropriate is it that as we begin a brand-new year, our Gospel lesson for today starts with the words, “In the beginning…”
This is the beginning of a new year – a fresh start after a year like no other, and I, for one, feel hopeful that there are better days ahead.
As you just heard me mention during the greeting, one thing I will personally be experiencing as we begin the new year is a new hip. I will be having hip replacement surgery on January 8.
And so, in preparation, a few days ago I went to see my doctor for the standard “pre-admission” testing – an EKG and bloodwork, etc…prior to the surgery.
I arrived at my appointment and was greeted and taken to an exam room by a young nurse I’d never met before. And I was immediately drawn to her very pleasant and upbeat personality.
This young nurse began chatting with me as if we were old friends. And within moments she shared with me that she had a 6-month-old daughter at home – and as I asked more about her daughter, she paused for just a moment and said, “Do you want to see a photo?”
I said, “Sure, I’d love to see a photo” and with that she grabbed her phone and proudly showed me an adorable photo of her chubby, smiling baby.
She lamented that since her baby had been born during the pandemic, she has not had the opportunity to really show off her baby to very many people – and it struck me that at that moment in time, she and I were sharing in something very sacred.
Here we were, two complete strangers – and yet in the midst of what has to be an extremely stressful job as a nurse, this young woman gave me the gift of sharing what is clearly the light and joy in her life – her precious baby daughter. What a privilege to be the recipient of that gift.
Our Gospel lesson for today from John also feels like a gift for all of us. A gift of light and hope as we head into a brand-new year. The passage from John contains what I feel are some of the most beautiful and powerful words in the entire Bible.
The Gospel of John begins with the words, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
In the beginning, God spoke the world into being – and the love that is God – the love that became flesh and lived among us in the person of Jesus Christ – has been here with us from the very beginning and it is here with us in all our beginnings.
Beginning a new year, of course, doesn’t magically solve all the world’s problems.
We all know that it’s not going to be sunshine and rainbows from here on.
But the Scripture from the Gospel of John goes on to say this:
“What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”
Those of you who know me well, know one of my favorite songs is a song I learned at church camp back when I was a teen – the song “Pass it On.”
The opening verse of the song is this:
“It only takes a spark to get a fire going. And soon all those around can warm up in its glowing. That’s how it is with God’s love – once you’ve experienced it. You spread God’s love, to everyone – you want to pass it on.”
The last thing I expected when I went for my pre-op doctor’s appointment last week was for a total stranger to share the light and love of her life with me.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”
Wishing you all love and light in 2021.
Pass it on.
AMEN