El Verbo vs. La Palabra

We went back to the house church this past Sunday. It is more like a bible study. Makes me think of what church must have been like when Christianity first began. In the sense that it was grass roots, but also in the sense that it would have been inter- generational, informal, people noticed if you didn't show, church actually bled into how you lived... we have invited a group of roommates that go to the church over next Sunday for "almuerzo." I feel like in the states we can go to a church for a year before we even think about dining with the person sitting next to us. I say that to our fault, more so than to point out others.

All this to say, we are studying the book of John at church. We took time pulling apart the first handful of verses and we shared what stuck out to us. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God..." We collectively concluded that "the Word" was metaphorical for Jesus. An introductory foreshadow, of what was/is to come in the life of John...the prophet's life was spent proclaiming the coming of a King, who would save Israel. In fact, by the end of chapter 2, you almost forget John exists and the book completely flips to Jesus. That is just how smooth the baton is passed between the 2.

There was something that really stuck out to me during the study/discussion. I shared it with the group...again, I sweated my way through sharing it Spanish...In my Spanish text, the phrase for "The Word" is "El Verbo." This is interesting for 2 main reasons. 1. The word "La Palabra" is the actual exact translation for the English word, "The Word". Why not use that? 2. The definition of "El Verbo" in Spanish is the same as in English- Verb. Or an action word. Both translations come to the same conclusion, but how beautiful that Spanish scholars would choose (in their liberty to translate directly from original Arab text) to emphasize that Jesus is the active expression of God. God manifest in the flesh. Jesus, the only way to finitely ACT out (or express) the infinite love, grace, patience, forgiveness and justice of God.

I imagine (along with the Spirit of CS Lewis in "The Great Divorce") that this world cannot handle God coming in his infinite, spirit state. Or more so, we cannot handle seeing or being in the raw presence of God in His fullness and perfection. In the same way wax can only be so close to fire before it melts. If we were, I am sure we would find ourselves like the prophet Isaiah "speechless and undone" if not dead. If we cannot handle being in His fullness, to stand before him, then the only way is for him to somehow contain his fullness into a capacity that we can handle. I think a very gracious God would find a way to do it this way. Maybe just simply become human ;) In some twisted away, I imagine God putting himself in a compression bag the way we did to pack for this trip. Nonetheless, the idea that God came, that He made himself available to me in a way that wouldn't melt me or kill me, it makes me happy. And it makes sense. I remember a day when it didn't make sense to me, but now it does. And I am thankful for that.