In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.
Life and light are one.
If there were not light, there would be no life. Light is energy. That is true of physical light, but also of metaphysical light.
Physical things make other physical things, but Mind cannot come from matter. We have consciousness to grasp the stuff and do something with it. We need reason, love, passions in order to be creative agents. We are animals, but not merely animals. Our minds exist: mind from Mind. There is eternity in our hearts and this brings life . . .
Life needs light. We wish to see and there is no seeing in the dark.
None.
The miracle of having eyes is not so great as the miracle of having eyes when there is light. If the cosmos has a Mind standing behind creation, then eyes, in the body and the soul, are ready and able. We see and we see because there is life and a light that allows the life to see.
Things are just so.
Christmas reminds us that life finds light and light makes life: we being the divine light and find the divine light to see. This creative process is continuous.
This is amazing. Perhaps in the material world, this could happen by chance. Physical light exists and so when some physical structure could use that light, then a corresponding structure would come into being.
Maybe, yet consciousness, the inner life, defies this already implausible tale.
What of the inner eye of the soul? Why do we have insight? There is an uncreated light that shines and gives purpose to our hope for insights. We hope to see, because we can see.
This inner light is the light that makes us men. We are animals. Nobody denies this truth. We eat, sleep, copulate. We are meat-men, yet so much more. We dream of eternity and discover the ideal. Every mathematician that discovers an idea shows this truth. We are physical with the ability to see the ideal.
It is good to be human.
Thank God for your humanity: you can feast and think. That’s rare. We know of no other creature with such mad skills!
Still all of this is us-ward and we must be Him-ward.
Why?
In Him is life and light, not in us. He is not for us, but we are because of Him.
I make a mistake often. I matter to me as I should. This is good, but it can lead to a stupid mistake: I am of first importance.
No.
Of course, I matter to me, just as you matter to you. How not?
Yet I know that I am not such a much in the cosmic perspective. This is God’s world, not a world God made for me. I matter, because, blessed miracle, God loves me, otherwise who am I?
Christmas is God coming and saying that every person counts to God, because God loves us. It is all God. He made us, God loves us, God became us, and so we can become as He is. Every Sunday I can see the True Light in the gifts of God to us. This True Light brings true life to me.
Christ is born, Light from Light!
Glorify Him!
————————————
A Christmas series on John 1: 1-14 (Links will not be active until the piece is published. All active by January 5, 2019).
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In