This morning, we continue our prayer with the beginning words of the Gospel of John: John 1:1-18.
The beginning words of John may be almost too familiar:
“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 into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”
But have you ever wondered, What word? What word is it that could have been with God in the beginning? Before the beginning. Before creation. Before language.
This morning, I invite us to imagine that the word is simply this: Love.
And then, in prayer, let us read the text like this:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was Love. Love was with God. God is Love. Love was in the beginning with God. In the beginning, all things were created in Love, and nothing was created without Love. What has come into being in Love is life. This Love – this life – is light for all people. Love shines like a light in the darkness, and the darkness has never overcome it.
How do you respond – body, mind, heart – to reading the text like that? To reading scripture in the light of love? What draws you in? Does anything startle or make you draw back?
Carry this word – Love – with you into the day in prayer.
