John 1:1-18

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 came to be through him,
        and without him nothing came to be.
    What came to be through him was life,
        and this life was the light of the human race;
    the light shines in the darkness,
        and the darkness has not overcome it.
A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light, 
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
but came to testify to the light.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
    He was in the world,
        and the world came to be through him,
        but the world did not know him.
    He came to what was his own,
        but his own people did not accept him.

But to those who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God, 
to those who believe in his name, 
who were born not by natural generation 
nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision 
but of God.
    And the Word became flesh
        and made his dwelling among us,
        and we saw his glory,
        the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
        full of grace and truth.
John testified to him and cried out, saying, 
“This was he of whom I said, 
‘The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me 
because he existed before me.’”
From his fullness we have all received,
grace in place of grace,
because while the law was given through Moses, 
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God.
The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, 
has revealed him.

Generosity

Generosity is one of the most amazing things we encounter. How is it thatpeople can give cheerfully and abundantly, going beyond the minimum? We see it every year at Christmas. Some people just feel like they need to share of themselves, their time, their money, or many other ways of reaching out.

We see it every year at the food bank where I help out. As we get near Christmas, people pitch in so many different ways:

• Businesses have their own food drives,
• Schools children bring in donations
• Families sponsor Christmas gifts and clothes for children in need
• Churches do Advent giving
• Shoppers buy bags of non-perishable food at the grocery store
• Organizations and individuals contribute money

All of it makes a difference for the families and other people in vulnerable situations.

What is this generosity based on? It represents a willingness not to judge people, recognizing instead that we are all broken in different ways. Generosity also says that we are drawn to make a difference in the lives of others, we know that we have the power to make positive change. Most mysteriously of all, perhaps our generosity helps us to recognize that we have a generous God, and that we are truly all his children.

God made everything and everyone, and he sustains us all in being. From each breath we take, to each wave on the ocean, to the light of distant stars, the whole universe tells out that it comes from a generous maker. God has no need of us, but his love overflows into us: he chooses us, each one.

Yet we may ask questions about how this world which is also full of pain, evil, and death can truly be created by a loving, generous God. Where is God when people suffer? How can we possibly live with the weight of pain that sometimes comes into our hearts?

“What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race.” Christmas is a celebration of something beyond even the generosity of creation, the goodness and beauty of the world which we can all see, feel and touch. Jesus is God’s ultimate generosity, his giving off his very self into our darkness. “And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”

This is unthinkable. No human mind could ever imagine or construct this possibility, that God himself would become one of us. Jesus was the very ordinary baby, son of an obscure mother, Mary, raised by her loving husband, Joseph. Yet this frail child, weak and helpless as any baby, is also one “with God”, and in fact, “was God”.

The true generosity of God is seen at Christmas, but really only fulfilled at Easter, on the cross. There his very life is taken from him, just as we all will lose our life. But the sadness of the cross, gives way to the joy of the resurrection. Jesus, who is life itself, cannot be held down by death. “The light shines in the darkness, the darkness has not overcome it.”

But even this is not enough generosity for God. “To those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God.” God desires that you too will accept the gift of Jesus, his son, so that you can share in his life, and his heart. Imagine would it would be like if we too could be generous as God is generous. This Christmas as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, let us be encouraged by every act of generosity we see, and let us be more and more open to that amazing impulse to give, cheerfully and abundantly.