A homily by Fr. Gene Tucker, given at
“BIG PICTURE, LITTLE PICTURE”
(Homily texts: Hebrews 1: 1 – 12 & John 1: 1 - 14)
“In
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 were made by him, and without him was not anything 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.” (John 1: 1 – 5)
“In
the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and the
darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over
the face of the waters. And God said,
‘Let there be light;’ and there was light.
And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from
the darkness.” (Genesis 1: 1 – 2)
Scholars
have long noticed the parallels between these two texts.
Some
common threads bind them together:
1. “In the beginning…”
2. Unity between God and God’s word
3. The creative power of God’s word
4. Light and darkness
When
applied to the “Word” as it is used in John’s gospel account, the person who is
referred to as the “Word” is Jesus Christ (we read a bit later on in the first
chapter of John…see verse 17).
So
it is Jesus Christ who is with God “in the beginning”.
We
could safely say that John is describing the “big picture”….Here is the creator
of the universe, the world, and everything that is in it, that is, Jesus
Christ. Our reading from the Letter to
the Hebrews affirms the same reality as it says that “God has spoken to us by a
Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom he also created the
world.” The writer of the Letter to the
Hebrews goes on to say that the Son “upholds the universe by his word of power.” (Notice the use of “word” again here.)
Theologians
have a term that is used to describe Jesus Christ’s unity with the Father, the
idea that Jesus Christ is fully God…they call this “High Christology”.[1]
Now
the awesome thing is this: That the
creator of the universe would come to take on our humanity, seeking each and
every one of us out, so that he can establish a relationship with you and me.
Wow!
It
might be easy to think that God would only care about the “big picture”, you
know, things like forming the world, making sure that everything worked
together well, etc.
He
is concerned about all that “big” stuff, true.
But
he’s also concerned with the “little” stuff, that is, you and me.
To
see how this is described, we need to return to John’s text….
“The
true light that enlightens every man (and woman) was coming into the world….But
to all who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God…”
(John 1: 9, 12)
Notice
the concern with “every man (and woman)”.
Notice
also that the initiative is entirely God’s….the text says that the Word “gave
power” to become children of God.
The
God who creates is also the God who seeks us out….“every man (and woman)”.
Big
picture, little picture.
It
should be obvious that each and every one of us is highly prized and highly
loved, for God seeks us out, shining the light of His love on us by the coming
of Jesus Christ.
Perhaps
by now, you’re wondering why the God who made everything that is would be
concerned with little-old-you-and-me. A
think a lot of people wonder why that is so.
To some degree or another, that reality is wrapped up in the mystery of
who God is.
But
the undeniable fact is that God continues to care for everything He has
created. Hebrews affirms this reality as
it says that Jesus Christ “upholds the universe by his word of power.” So, He upholds us, as part of the creation.
If
ever we are tempted to be a bit depressed, the reality of God’s love, concern
and care for us should lift us up out of the depths of our despair. For God loves us through His Son, Jesus Christ. He continues to love us, and nothing can
separate us from that love (see Romans 8: 39).
That is one inescapable conclusion that we can draw from Jesus Christ’s
death…that nothing, not even death, can separate us from God. Jesus Christ has conquered death, our
ultimate enemy. His power to create is
the power over death, as well.
Praised
be the God of all creation, whose eternal Word creates, enlightens and loves
us, both now in this mortal life, and in the life of the world to come.
AMEN.
[1] By contrast, “Low Christology” has to do with
Jesus Christ’s humanity. The Church’s
understanding is that Jesus Christ is fully divine and fully human. In the New Testament, the first three gospel
accounts (Matthew, Mark and Luke) emphasize Jesus Christ’s humanity, so they
exhibit a Low Christology”, while the Fourth Gospel exhibits a “High
Christology”, as does the Letter to the Hebrews.
