I love the opening chapter of the Gospel of John; it lays the foundation for the rest of the Gospel. But the theme that really gets me today is the image of ‘the Word became flesh’.

Let me explain.

I have been actively involved with the Christian Church for twenty two years. It has been in this context that I have enjoyed preaching from texts like this. The relative safety of Christian fellowship and church tradition has acted like a hedge around sermon development and delivery. But now, I find myself outside of formal church ministry (as a chaplain in the NZ Army) where I can’t rely on any shared presupposition about the text or about Jesus, let alone ideas of God.

So what does the ‘Word became flesh’ mean in the 21st century? (more…)