Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
The Word Made Flesh (Epiphany)

The Word Made Flesh (Epiphany)

Last updated on: January 6, 2019 at 10:01 am by John Mark N. Reynolds

The Word Made Flesh (Epiphany) 2019-01-06T10:01:54-04:00 John Mark N. Reynolds

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

And the Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Plato had a problem. A prior philosopher had presented a puzzle that had brought philosophy to an end. Science had seemed possible, after Parmenides?

No.

Plato solved the problem by discovering the Good God. He had always been there, of course, but Plato bumped into God and was relieved. There could be divine order, a way of reason.

Yet not once, for a single passage, did Plato imagine that God, the divine Word, would reach down to us in any way. How could that be? God was where we should wish to be. God saw what everyone should see: goodness, truth, and beauty. Humans could never ask any being, let alone God, to turn from such a beautiful vision. This would be an unjust request.

Plato had solved the problem of the ideal and the material. Both existed. He could not decide how they could relate. Both were: pure Being and mere becoming, but surely never the two would meet! Yet if the idea and the material could not meet, then the division would leave humankind forever in an awkward situation.

We are animals with eternity in our hearts.

What can we do?

Plato did not know. The best he could imagine was a man coming back from the dead and reporting that God was there, that this God was just, and so there was hope. Nobody had ever managed this feat, but that was Plato’s only hope.

Christmas came and Plato’s problem was resolved. An event Plato never imagined happened. Love motivated God to turn to us. He came and lived our pain. Plato’s pain, the pain of a young man seeing his mentor killed, found an eternal solution. The world order, the tyrants, killed Socrates and drove philosophy underground. They killed Jesus too, but Jesus did not stay underground. He rose and the tyrants trembled.

The power of the world order could not defeat the power of the Creator God when he came. The deeper defeated the shallow. Thanks be to God!

This should make us happy, but often it does not. Why? Truth is hard. I am not good and God is. Knowing the truth makes me sad, even crazy with grief, as I see what I have done. This is why love matters: truth came with grace. God knows. He forgives. Mercy and grace are no place in the philosophers, but central to the hope God revealed to us.

We thought our way to an impasse. Plato dreamed his way to a hope. Jesus came and gave us reality: a path to salvation. We are now broken, but God neither pretends we are whole nor damns us immediately. He came and provided us a way forward.

There are few days when some piece of this Truth does not run through my mind. This is Christmas grace meeting truth in joy forever.

Christ is revealed to us.

Worship 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).

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14.

Spiritual Reflections

Previous Post

January 5, 2019

Born By God’s Will (Twelfth Night- Last Day of Christmas)

Next Post

January 7, 2019 A New Journal for Constantinean Techies

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Apologetics Art Culture Education On Books On Education Philosophy Politics Pop Culture Spiritual Reflections Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 July 2025 June 2025 September 2024 July 2024 June 2024 December 2023 June 2023 September 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"

Select your answer to see how you score.

Mary The father of a sick boy Thomas Peter

Books by This Author John Mark Reynolds

See All Titles »