My friend, I am delighted you chose to join me for today's reading.

The Daily Bible Refresh is completely listener supported.

Your gift goes a long way to getting the audible word of God from a progressive perspective into 2 million years, a million people by 2028.

I would be so grateful if you would go to voiceofgodddaily.com and share your gift of any amount.

Thanks much.

My name is Dr. Brad Miller and I'll be right here tomorrow with your Daily Bible Refresh.

Please subscribe and tag your friends until tomorrow.

Remember, God's loyal love doesn't run out.

His merciful love hasn't dried up, it's created new every morning.

Okay, here's our reading for the day.

From the Gospel of John, chapter 1, verses 10 through 18.

Reading from the Message the life light was the real thing.

Every person entering life he brings into light.

He was the world.

The world was there through him, and yet the world didn't even notice.

He came to his own people, but they didn't want him.

But whoever did want him and whoever believed he was who he claimed and would do what he said.

He made them to be their true selves, their child of God selves.

These are their these are the God begotten.

Not blood begotten.

Not flesh begotten, not sex begotten.

The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood.

We saw the glory of our eyes, the one of a kind glory, the like father, like son, generous inside and out.

True from start to finish.

John pointed to him out and called this is the one, the one I told you who was coming after me, but in fact was ahead of me.

He has always been ahead of me.

He's always had the first word.

We all lived off this generous abundance.

Gift after gift after gift.

We got the basics from Moses and then his exuberant giving and receiving, this endless knowing and understanding.

Then along came Jesus, the Messiah.

No one has ever seen God, no, not so much as even a glimpse.

This one of a kind God expression who exists at the very heart of the Father has made him plain as day.

That ends the reading.

And I just want to thank you for sitting down with me for a few minutes to discuss this passage here.

We're in the Gospel of John, first chapter in the message and there's this gorgeous kind of riff are going to take off on Jesus as the life and the light of the world who became flesh and moved into the neighborhood.

It's kind of an abstract, abstract imagery here, but if ever faith ever fully abstract.

John smuggles it back into the real streets, real faces, real lives.

Let's consider three points to Ponder Incarnation means God chooses bodies and neighborhoods.

Moved into the neighborhood isn't just poetry, it's a claim about solidarity.

God doesn't hover above pain or beauty.

God shows up in our neighborhoods, in our zip codes.

Progressive faith allows follow suit.

We center the vulnerable, honor our bodies, and show up where people are belonging and hurting.

I sometimes think about my weekly podcast I do called Cancer and Comedy about helping people with cancer to cope with it.

And it's about dealing with the hard places in life, disease and so on with love.

What can you do about that?

How can you check on a neighbor with chemo or bring soup to someone who needs a little something to eat?

Another point to ponder is Becoming our true selves is an inclusive, liberating gift.

John said we're made into our child of God selves, not blood begotten, flesh begotten, or sex begotten.

In other words, divine belonging isn't gated by ancestry, biology or status.

It's a gift after gift after gift.

And progressive faith resists narrow identity boxes and embraces people as they are across race, gender, sexual orientation, ability and story.

I'm a grandfather of two giggling little granddaughters and they love to tell me dumb jokes and things like that.

But I, you know, my one.

My main thing is I want to see them grow up in a world where every person's dignity is not negotiable.

Another point to ponder is this Grace Is abundance meant for sharing.

Justice is what it looks like in public.

We all live off this generous abundance.

Gift after gift is what it says here in the Scripture.

Grace fills the table and justice pulls up more chairs.

That includes policies and practices having to do with health care, access, creation care, and communities where everyone can finish, including immigrants and refugees.

That's grace, what we're talking about here and the cheer for those who are the underdogs.

Let's talk about an action step that you can take.

It's called moving to the neighborhood.

Love.

Pick one concrete act of embodied solidarity that is Text somebody who's going through a bad time.

Ask them how you can be helpful and bring a meal to a caregiver.

Introduce yourself to a new neighbor.

Attend a local meeting about your school board or something like about that especially it might have something to do with the health of your community or stewardship of the parks, or donate to some Noble fund or refugee resettlement group.

Keep it simple, local and real.

Grace that you can see.

I just want to invite you to do that.

I'm reminded every day that the Word still moves into our neighborhoods.

One small act of love at a time.

I see that my spouse, my kids, my grandkids, the people.

I know.

I know you do too.

We're come back and have a prayer.

But before we do, just a quick word that we have a great resource for you.

It's called the ABC123 Bible Study Method.

You can get it over it voiceofgod daily.com let's pray.

God who moved into our neighborhood.

Help us notice that you are ordinary.

You're ordinary right there in our communities, in our neighborhoods and hospital rooms and living room sidewalks and trails.

Make our heads gentle and our courage steady.

Grow us into our child of God selves, Free, beloved and brave.

Turn your abundance into our generosity.

Meals shared, calls made, justice pursued.

Be those Be close to those facing illness and long nights and let hope arrive through presence with a little humor perhaps.

And when the laughter comes, even at a bad joke, let it be a sign that grace is near.

Amen.

My friend, I am delighted you chose to join me for today's reading.

The Daily Bible Refresh is completely listener supported.

Your gift goes a long way to getting the audible word of God from a progressive perspective into 2 million years, a million people by 2028.

I would be so grateful if you would go to voiceofgodddaily.com and share your gift of any amount.

Thanks much.

My name is Dr. Brad Miller and I'll be right here tomorrow with your Daily Bible Refresh.

Please subscribe and tag your friends until tomorrow.

Remember, God's loyal love doesn't run out.

His merciful love hasn't dried up, it's created new every morning.