Advent #2 of 10:

In the beginning was the Word

(John 1:1)

That’s how the Gospel according to John begins. It’s the back story; or, the Advent part of the Christmas story that speaks of “the Word” that existed before the beginning began. Sometimes we wonder if our “handed down faith” can be “honest faith” (2Tm 1)? Maybe we were just born into it. How does our “handed down faith” become our own personal, real and authentic faith? For starters, it’s helpful to recall that our faith is in something bigger than our family, or clan, or church, or denomination. It’s not the invention of my parents or my parent’s parents or of Western Culture. The object of our faith is the Eternal Word before the beginning—before the origin of the universe, before the big bang put stuff in motion. Before the beginning began, there was the Eternal Word.

The creeds and the calendar help us recall the vastness of our faith—the trusted path of our faith in the Christ of Christmas.