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In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it. (John 1:1-5)
Good coffee brings people to this busy suburban corner. But
most are looking for something more, as am I.
I didn’t get my favorite seat in the southeast corner of
the café, today. Two elderly Japanese men occupy that space, chatting amicably in
their native tongue.
To my right, a gravel-voiced businessman, white wires dangling
from his ears, gazes into his laptop, speaking with an associate, chuckling at
what he hears. ‘You make this fun,’ I hear him say.
Behind me, a high school girl studies her notes, as
another girl stretches her legs on the chair in front of her and sinks into her
book. All the while, steam hisses from an espresso machine as the barista, who
called me by name, prepares the next drink.
Nothing unusual here; it’s like this most days. But don’t
imagine it’s not special. It’s extraordinary, provided you have eyes to see and
ears to hear.
Each of these lives—and all the rest you care to
name—came to be in the Word Christ is, their souls imbued with his life and
light. They are graced with the Joyful Love who willed each of them into
existence, whether they know it or not.
Just look closely, the English mystic, Julian of Norwich,
suggests, and you can see it. ‘God is everything that is good,’ she wrote, ‘and
the goodness that everything has is God.’
Goodness is not hard to find in this place. It’s so plentiful
it is nearly impossible to name it all. Students studying, a man enjoying work
that appears natural for him, while two friends chat the afternoon away in the language
in which they first heard words of love and care.
Christ’s light gets so buried in some lives and places it
can disappear from our sight. But the light remains, however hidden, even in
hard-bitten hearts and in the worst of circumstances.
But on days like today … and moments like this … the created
goodness and beauty of human souls whispers the great truth our hearts most
need to hear.
We live in a Christ-soaked world. The Incarnate Word of
God, our beloved Christ, is born into a world where he has always been and will
always be.
His appearance in human flesh, full of grace and truth,
opens our eyes to see him in all that is good, feel him in all that is love, and
savor his touch in the simple joy of being alive in a place like this … where
you can hear his love chatting away in a language you can’t begin to
understand.
Except, you actually understand quite well … that this is
far better than your coffee.
