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GATHERING HYMN:  "Come Praise and Glorify"
This evening we will celebrate Holy Communion.  
During the gathering hymn, please find a bit of bread, a cracker, 
even a cookie and something you like to drink (we suggest juice or water) 
and have those at hand for the service.  
We will consecrate those elements as part of the Communion liturgy for this evening.  
The United Church of Christ celebrates an open table.  
That means that anyone wishing to take part in the celebration of Communion 
is welcome to do so!
ANNOUNCEMENTS (Please feel free to type a brief announcement of 
    interest to our community in Nearby Chat.)

WELCOME

Welcome to First United Church of Christ and Conference Center, Second Life
a church with real life standing in the Eastern Association of the
Southern California Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ. 
It is truly good to be real in Second Life!
And please always know that,
"No matter who you are, 
or where you are on life's journey, 
you are welcome here."

You may spot someone other than me with a tag including the word
"minister"   That person is ordained UCC clergy in real life.

Before or after worship please feel welcome to invite friends, 
who hopefully will become our friends! 
If you're not familiar with our two-island campus, 
ask one of our Guides to show you around. 
We have several fun and interesting places to visit here at First UCC. 
Need some chill time?  This is a great place for that too.

If you would like a bulletin notecard/copy of the service, 
please click the red book on the stand near the sanctuary door.

If you would like to become an official member of this church, 
please let any clergy, staff, or a present member know!

Our church is connected to the wider church and the world.  
That means we support the UCC financially as do all our churches.
If you would like to help, there is a donation bowl at the rear of the sanctuary.
If you are thinking of a donation you would rather do in real life currency,
you are welcome to use the Donation page on our website. http://www.firstuccsl.com 
Since we are an IRS 501(c)(3) public charity, US donations are deductible.
And we thank you!

SCRIPTURE:

SERMON:  "Word of God Took Human Form"

My text for this evening is one of my favorite passages in all of scripture.
It is also one of the most confounding.  
For years there has been a debate among scholars the Prologue that begins John’s gospel.
Many think it derived from an ancient hymn, perhaps from the Gnostic tradition.
Most everyone agrees that verses 6-8 and verse 15 were likely not part of the original.
They may have been added later, but they make an important contribution.
As I mentioned, the Prologue is among my favorite passages.  I have long been intrigued by it.
While I was in seminary, I wrote a paper exegeting, that is interpreting, the prologue.  
It was not too well received as I recall.  
The doctoral student who graded it thought me a bit radical.
My interest was sparked by two things.  
First, I was interested in the notion of Jesus as pre-existent.
Put another way, the notion of Jesus as the force that God used to create 
is a far different story than the stories we associate with the Christmas season.
It bears no resemblance to the birth narratives of Luke and Matthew.
It does not resemble Mark’s detailed beginning account of John the Baptist either.
The prologue introduces a theology that is so different from Matthew, Mark and Luke
that we give those gospels the collective name of Synoptics.  
That word means “seen together.”
John stands apart.  The Gospel of John doesn’t even get a year in the lectionary calendar.
Instead, John shows up in the lectionary at special times in the Christian year.
So, let’s do a little exegetical exploring.  It will be fun!  I hope.
Let’s start with the word “Word.”  
I mentioned there has been a lot of debate about the Prologue, 
but there is agreement sometimes.
One area of agreement is that the Jewish wisdom tradition, both biblical and extra-biblical,
is the provenance – the place of origin – of the language of the Prologue.  
The “Word” and Jewish tradition, that sparked my interest.
The “Word” has long been associated with Jesus, of course.  But it had a much longer history.
Before it appeared in the Fourth Gospel, the Logos – Word in Greek – was a term used 
by the Stoics, ancient Greek philosophers, to refer to 
the principle of reason that governs the universe.
Philo, a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher, spoke of its creative power (named God)
and its Royal power (named Lord).
The creation accounts in Genesis are governed by God’s spoken word.
God spoke through the law at Sinai (Moses and the 10 Commandments) 
and through the prophets.
The Word encompasses both word and deed, and that fits well with the image in the Prologue.
The rabbis of antiquity related logos to Torah, and logos also became associated with Wisdom,
Sophia in Greek.  Sophia.  Wisdom. Word.  
Digging a bit deeper takes us into the Old Testament book Proverbs.
Remember in Genesis God speaks and creation happens.  Same thing in Proverbs at 8:22.
“The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old.”
Our text for this evening says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.”  See the connection?
Present at the beginning of everything is the connecting idea. 
So, just for fun, let’s try something else.  Let’s take out John’s “Word” and substitute the
Greek word for wisdom, “Sophia.”  We get this:
In the beginning was the Sophia, and the Sophia was with God, and the Sophia was God.
Seems to me that John used the Jewish idea of wisdom, and the Greek feminine noun Sophia, 
wisdom in Greek, as a basis for the prologue.  
The Sophia/Wisdom figure shows up often, clearly depicted in Proverbs – 
some of which we heard read this evening – and in Sirach as well.
To summarize a bit, Wisdom (Sophia) has been God’s companion 
“before the beginning of the earth,”
working alongside God to accomplish God’s plan for humanity.  
And for John that is exactly what Jesus role has been.
John has cleverly chosen a term familiar to both Jews and Greeks, but has used it in a 
new context with fresh new meanings.  John reshapes the wisdom tradition to reflect
the historical reality we call the incarnation, God living among us.  No birth narrative is needed.
John uses the rich symbolism of the “Word” as the lens through which to view 
the coming of Jesus into the world.  
The varieties of religious speculations from the Hellenistic world – expressed in the “Word” –
are incorporated by John into the revelation of God in Jesus.
John 1:1 stresses the external existence of the Word with God, an existence that is
outside the bounds of time and history.  The very first words of John 1:1, “in the beginning…”
recall the first words in Genesis 1:1, but they point to a time before the creation of the world.
The creation isn’t even mentioned in John’s Prologue until verse 3.
But John does something wonderful as the Prologue unfolds.  
The external Word will not stay outside time and history.  
Instead, it will enter the time-bound world.
John lets the images flow between light and word.  But that is beyond the scope of this sermon.
What is important is that Jesus has arrived in the creation that he witnessed being made.
It is a beautiful beginning, I think.
But I should speak a bit about an important actor in the Prologue, 
albeit perhaps not in the original.
John’s function in the Fourth Gospel is a bit different than in the other Gospels.
For one thing he is never identified as “the Baptist.”  
He is also not declared to be the forerunner.
Instead, John has one function in the Gospel: to witness to Jesus.
The witness of John to the light – the other major image for Jesus – is full of promise.
It contains the seeds of faith at verse 7, “He came as a witness to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.”  
The description of John also makes it clear that John was not the light, nor was he a
messianic figure.  His role was that of witness.  So, we have done our exegesis. 
We have really just scratched the surface of this incredibly rich text, but it is enough, I think.
The notion of being a witness is a good one for me to wrap up with.
A good witness is kind of like an advance man for a political candidate.  It’s an important job.
I like the advance man description suggested by Alex Stevenson.
Once upon a time there was a politician who was running in a very close election. 
He had a firm grasp of the issues and many good ideas. 
The problem was he had no name recognition. 
The voters simply did not know who he was or what he stood for. 
To make up for this handicap he had to get out and meet the voters. 
He needed to advertise and get the word out. He had to shake every hand and kiss every baby he could.
To handle this most important public relations part of the campaign he had a very good friend.  
The problem was his friend wasn't very good. 
Often times the advertisements were muddled and even wrong. 
Once during a whistle stop tour no one showed up, 
not even the mayor of the town they were in 
and the mayor was a supporter. 
The problem was that this advance man had failed to tell anyone 
that the candidate was coming. 
The others who worked for the candidate began to wonder why he kept this guy around. 
In the last days of the campaign it all fell apart. 
In the end the candidate lost the election by a very slim margin. 
If his advance man had not been so incompetent they would have won. 
We are supposed to be advance people for Jesus.  Sometimes I wonder why he doesn't fire us.
Witnessing isn’t simple.  Being a Christian isn’t simple.
Some Christians make their faith sound so simple. 
Find Jesus, they assert, be saved, and that will take care of everything. 
All will be finished, done, complete, settled. 
But to embrace the light and love of Christ is just the beginning. 
It is a significant step, but only a beginning. 
We must then struggle with the presence of darkness, even as we affirm God's gift of light. 
We must then grapple with the challenge to be co-creators with God 
as we anticipate that new creation.
If John's Gospel were the only one we had, there would be no little town of Bethlehem. 
There'd be no shepherds out in their fields. There would be no manger and no virgin birth. 
No north star and no creche. 
If John is all we had here is all that we would know about Jesus' birth:
before his name was Jesus, his name was the Word, 
and he was with God from the very beginning of creation, bringing things into being, 
making things happen, shining light into the darkness. 
He was God's self, God's soul, God's life force in the world. 
He was the breath inside all living things. 
He was the electric spark that charged peoples' hearts. He was the fire inside the sun. 
He was the space between the stars. He was the axis around which the galaxies spin.
John goes on to say that not everyone got that message. 
Many were blinded by this light and preferred the darkness they knew 
to the light which they did not know. 
The Word sidled up to them and hummed life into their ears, 
but they cleared their throats and walked away. 
So God decided to speak in a new way. God decided to speak body language. 
"And the Word became flesh and lived among us full of grace and truth." 
This is John's Christmas story in a nutshell. 
Like Luke, John is telling us about an encounter with the Holy One. 
God's Word was translated into a human being. 
God's self, soul, and life force were concentrated into one mortal life on earth, 
and as a result, nothing would ever be the same again. 
Not because everyone listened, because everyone does not, 
but because the eternal Word of God took human form. 
And the people of God said…

HYMN FOR PREPARING FOR COMMUNION and COMMUNITY PRAYER: "Light of the World" 

If you have not already done so, and wish to participate in Holy Communion, 
please get a bit of bread, or a cracker and some juice or water
during this song.  You may also wish to think about your prayers for
our time of Community Prayer following Holy Communion.

CELEBRATION OF HOLY COMMUNION

This table is open to all who seek nourishment for the soul.
You do not need to be a member here, or anywhere else for that matter.
Participate in this celebration not because you must, but simply because you may.
Participate not because you are fulfilled, but because you are empty
and in need of God's mercy and assurance.
Participate not to express an opinion,
but to seek a presence and to pray for a spirit.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Pray with me.
O Holy One, we call to you and name you as eternal, ever-present, and boundless in love. 
Yet there are times, O God, when we fail to recognize you in the dailyness of our lives.
Sometimes shame clenches tightly around our hearts, 
and we hide our true feelings. 
Sometimes fear makes us small, and we miss the chance to speak from our strength.
Sometimes doubt invades our hopefulness, and we degrade our own wisdom.
In these times forgive us and by your boundless grace renew our resolve.
We pray in the Savior's name.
Amen.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

God has no pleasure in the death of sinners,
but would rather they should turn from their wickedness and live.
God has given authority to God's ministers to declare to God's people, when they repent,
the forgiveness of their sins.
God pardons and absolves all who truly repent and believe the holy gospel.
So we ask God to grant us true repentance and the abiding Holy Spirit,
that what we do now may please God
and that the rest of our life may be pure and holy,
so that at the last we may come to eternal joy;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen.

PLEASE PICK UP AND HOLD THE ELEMENTS THAT YOU HAVE GATHERED.

We remember that on the night 
of betrayal and desertion,
Jesus took bread, gave you thanks,
broke the bread, and gave it to the disciples, saying:
"This is my body which is broken for you.
Do this in remembrance of me."
In the same way, Jesus also took the cup, after supper, saying:
"This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me"

Breathe deeply.  Take the elements you gathered and eat and drink.

Let us pray.
In the strength Christ gives us,
we offer ourselves to you, eternal God,
and give thanks that you have called us to serve you.
Amen.

You are invited to type your joys and your concerns in nearby chat at this time.
We will lift them to God together as a community of faith. 

COMMUNITY PRAYER and PASTORAL PRAYER

MOMENT OF SILENCE

PASTORAL PRAYER

Simple expressions
word
light
and yet so full of meaning.
Attempts to use human language
to define
explain
make clear
identify.
Some understood.
Some understand.
And we pray, O God, that we might be gifted
with understanding
confidence
and faith
as a new year unfolds.
May it be so in Christ's name,
the Word made flesh who lived among us.
Amen.

LORD'S PRAYER

Indwelling God,
infused throughout all existence,
we honor you with many names.
Your realm is within the human heart.
We accept life for all that it can be,
on earth as throughout all creation.
May we continue to draw sustenance from this earth,
and may we receive forgiveness equal to our own.
May we ever move from separation toward union,
to live in grace, with love in our hearts,
forever and ever.  
Amen.

BENEDICTION
I extinguish our candles; the light goes now with each of you.
Depart fed and nourished and ready for the journey
in whatever world you sojourn.
You will travel not alone
but with Spirit company.
Return when you feel empty and in need.
You journey just exactly as you were created to be
the beloved of God.
Amen.
CLOSING SONG:  "God, the Uncreated One"