The day the earth stood still (John 1)

We finally watched a video of the 1950 classic The Day the Earth Stood Still. It's a black and white movie, with cheesy special effects, and lousy lighting. Often, as a character walks across the screen, his shadow appears first on the left wall, then on the right. As an American, I found it fascinating to see what a different world our parents inhabited a half-century ago. Men wore hats, some even when indoors, broadcasting. People took pleasure in smoking. A mother could hand the care of her 10-year-old son over to a stranger.

The screenwriter drew much of his inspiration from the Christian gospels. The central character went by the name of Carpenter. He was an ambassador from a heavenly realm, with a message of peace. He suffered unprovoked murder, then rose from the dead to deliver his ultimatum to the world. He then returned to his off-planet home.

Yet the contrasts are even stronger. As Yuhanna (John) reports,

Joh 1:9 Dünyaya gelen, her insanı aydınlatan gerçek ışık vardı. Joh 1:10 O, dünyadaydı, dünya O'nun aracılığıyla var oldu, ama dünya O'nu tanımadı. Joh 1:11 Kendi yurduna geldi, ama kendi halkı O'nu kabul etmedi. Joh 1:12 Kendisini kabul edip adına iman edenlerin hepsine Tanrı'nın çocukları olma hakkını verdi. Joh 1:13 Onlar ne kandan, ne beden ne de insan isteğinden doğdular; tersine, Tanrı'dan doğdular.

And, a few words:

• Kendi -- self, own. Kendisini -- to his own.
  
• kabul etmek -- to welcome, to receive. kabul etmedi -- did not receive.
  
• dün -- the world
  
• dünyaya -- to the world
  
• dünyadaydı -- he was in the world
  

He was in the world, and the world was made by him, but the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. When Jesus arrived, it was not in a spaceship visible around the world, but quietly, in an obscure stable. We know practically nothing of his life before age 30, because, apparently, very little happened that was remarkable.

However, for those with eyes to see, a new world opens up. As John carefully explains, we become sons of the Living God in a metaphorical way, rather than by biological activity. We inherit from God's marvelous provision. We start looking and acting like the God who "adopts" us.