Jesus, Before ‘Time’ and In ’Time’

Leave it to the poet John to contemplate the life of Jesus before time. It is not like the Apostle John didn’t have an appreciation for angels, wisemen, shepherds, and stars; it’s just that John is a poet, and he sees the same things the other gospel writers saw, yet writes about it in a totally different voice. I was talking to Will Weir about this, about how different John was from the other gospel writers, and he said, “Yes, and without his voice and vision we would be somewhat bereft, don’t you think?”So, John starts off his gospel with poetry. Four verses in which children can play and elephants can swim. Dense, thick prose that feel almost like poetry and which make your imagination soar. Words so memorable you can recite with ease, even if you don’t know what they mean: “In the beginning was the Word.” On my, where do you start? I feel like a mosquito in a nudist colony! This is so huge. This is a well without a bottom. The implication of God taking flesh and more—what we know of Jesus before time, in relationship with the Father—shapes everything we think about what it means to be human and how we approach living in a material world.Where do you start? Sunday we will ponder how the Incarnation in John’s prologue answers all the great questions of life: “Who am I? Where did I come from? Do I have a purpose?” We will look at the backstory of God before time began and see that so much of what it means to be human is found in the inner life of the Holy Trinity. The very fact that God is one but exists as different persons means that the center of the universe is ‘love.’ We talk a lot at St. Patrick about community, about knowing and being known, about the need for intimacy with God and with people, and that to not have that is to be less than human. Every bit of that thinking is found in the delight, joy, intimacy, and mutual love found in the Trinity before time even existed.But, wonder of wonder, the God who didn’t need us and was complete in love and happiness before time, out of that same overflowing love, does step into “time and space.” What a story! This story is the mother of all great stories. It is the foundation of all fairy tales and all the great stories that we want to be true and that really heal our hearts. And the good news—it is true. This week we will look at the life of God before there was time and space. While that may sound esoteric, I assure you, it is the most practical thing in the world. Join me on Sunday, and I will prove it.Blessings,Jim