"What came to be in it [the Word] was Life, and the Life was the light of men, and the light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness did not absorb it" (John 1:4-5)
Today, the Daily Office Lectionary begins to take us through the Gospel of John. As we read through John's Gospel, I'm going to offer the thoughts of William Temple, who was the Archbishop of Canterbury during the Second World War. He wrote my favorite commentary on John's Gospel. Unfortunately, it appears to be out of print. But I'm glad to share at least a few of his insights. Here's some of what he wrote on the verses quoted above.
"Imagine yourself standing on some headland in a dark night. At the foot of the headland is a lighthouse or beacon, not casting rays on every side, but throwing one bar of light through the darkness…The divine light shines through the darkness of the world, cleaving it, but neither dispelling it nor quenched by it…The darkness in no sense at all received the light; yet the light shone still undimmed…Take any moment of history and you find light piercing unillumined darkness…The company of those who stand in the beam of light by which the path of true progress for that time is discerned is always small."
Small? Perhaps. But if you're reading this today, then we stand together.
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