Author: Daniel Westfall

Ep.452: John 1: Blood Sacrifice.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

Have you seen a lamb slaughtered as a sacrifice? 

It was common practice in the Old Testament. When the Israelites prepared to escape Egypt, each family killed a lamb, painted some of its blood on their doorposts, and had roast lamb for dinner (Exo 12:6-7). 

Under the Levitical system, Israelites used a sin-offering lamb to ask God for forgiveness. The priest poured the blood under the altar, burned parts of the lamb on the altar, and God forgave their sins (Lev 4:32-35).

Dead lambs, blood on doorposts and under the altar, forgiveness of sins. Not like our worship services today.

When John the Baptist saw Jesus, he said, “Look! The lamb of God, the one who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). 

Ouch. Doesn’t sound like good news for the lamb of God, does it? 

It’s a spoiler in John’s story. John’s not planning a surprise ending. He’s telling us up front what Jesus will do. 

So far in his gospel, John has said Jesus was in the beginning with God, that Jesus created the world, that Jesus came to earth, that he was God living among us. John adds that Jesus is the lamb of God who takes away sin. Is John hinting that Jesus will become a blood sacrifice like the sin-offering lamb in the Old Testament? 

We moderns find blood sacrifice cringy. Still, we celebrate Remembrance Day to honor soldiers who fought bloody wars and died bloody deaths to save civilization. 

Jesus, the lamb of God, a sacrifice for sin. Does John think that’s what humanity needs? Where will John take this story?

Let’s pray. 

Our father, we begin John’s gospel heartened that you sent  your son to experience life on earth. That he invites us to be his brothers and sisters, your children. 

But now we hear John call him the lamb of God, predicting he will be sacrificed to take away sin. Are our doorposts so dirty that only blood can cleanse them? Are our thoughts so wayward that only a sacrifice can heal them? Are our sins so awful they require blood? 

O father, lead us to the truth. Teach us to know you, to know ourselves, to know sin and righteousness. May we know your son, Jesus, in all his truth and grace.

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.  

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Ep.451: John 1: Glory.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

When Jesus showed up in a human body, there was much confusion. No one recognized their creator. Darkness didn’t understand the light. The nation he was born into didn’t think he was legit. 

What did John, the gospel writer, think of this? 

He didn’t see confusion. He saw glory. He says, “The Word [that’s Jesus] became flesh, and lived among humans, and we have seen his glory” (John 1:14). 

Glory? In a human Jesus trudging around backwater Palestine?
Glory? As Jesus argued with Pharisees and told stories to confused disciples?
Glory? On a cross between criminals?In two nights in a borrowed grave?

Do you understand what glory is? I find it a difficult concept. 

In Homer’s writings, the Odyssey and the Iliad, when soldiers fought bravely and honorably, they covered themselves with glory, even if they died. Or maybe especially if they died. 

When I worked in computing and someone made a programming error that crashed the system, my boss would say, “He didn’t cover himself with glory.” 

It’s difficult to define. Think about basketball. It’s a game where people throw a ball around, try to keep it from the other team and throw it through a high-hung steel hoop. But that doesn’t give you the real sense of the game? You only understand the essence of the game by watching it, by feeling the drama as two teams play for a championship. dr 

Similarly with glory. You can say it’s a heroic death for a soldier, a successful software install for a computer programmer, or the light of God showing up when Solomon dedicated the temple. But those meager descriptions miss the tension, the excitement, the drama that gives the story glory. 

The word gospel is old English for “God’s spell”, or “God’s story.” Jesus is the action hero in the biblical drama. His glory was to play the game of life, to reveal God to the world, to subvert the forces of evil, to build his kingdom on earth. 

Let’s pray. 

O father, we prepare ourselves to see Jesus’ glory in John’s gospel. To cheer his battle against darkness and disease. To see his truth exposing lies. To watch his power defeat the devil. To experience the failure of his cross turned into the victory of eternal life.

We have seen his glory, glory as of the only begotten son of God, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). As we study John’s telling of Jesus, open our hearts to his grace, our minds to his truth, our lives to his presence. 

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.  

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Ep.450: John 1: Three Strikes.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

What’s the biggest problem Jesus faced? 

John hints at it when he says, “[Jesus] made the world, then he came into the world, but the world did not recognize him” (John 1:10).

The problem is, How can people recognize the creator of the world when he shows up with sawdust on his elbows and splinters in his fingers?

The religious people were certain that if God showed up, he’d approve their religion. But Jesus sure didn’t. The disciples saw his miracles for three years, but never clued in to who he was. And we, his modern disciples, have a wide range of beliefs and practices. 

John points out a second problem. Jesus was the light that “shone in the darkness, and the darkness did not understand it” (John 1:5). Here’s another question: How would you recognize the light if it showed up in your darkness? Would you be one of those who loves darkness rather than light?

John also says, “[Jesus] came to his own people, but they didn’t receive him” (John 1:11). 

Jesus showed up with three strikes against him:
– Humans didn’t recognize their maker
– The darkness couldn’t understand the light
– His own people rejected him outright

What a great start for the gospel of John! It’s like, three strikes and you’re out. But John doesn’t call Jesus “out”. Not yet. Stay tuned to see where John takes the story from here. 

Let’s pray.

Our father, Jesus’ problems at his coming are still problems for us today. Yes, our religion worships God, but is Jesus the one who inspires our lives and churches? Or have we strayed far from our maker? 

Jesus was the light, but the darkness didn’t understand him. For years, we have studied  scripture, but our lives and world are still dark places. Help us receive his light, his spirit, his truth. 

With John as our guide, we follow Jesus once more. We believe he is our maker. We believe he makes us children of God. We receive his light and his way of life. We are his brothers and sisters. 

Thank you for the life of Jesus. Thank you for his life in us. 

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.  

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Ep.449: John 1: In the Beginning.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

What do you think of John’s gospel? Some like it because it’s more philosophical than Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Others prefer Mark’s style: short and fast-moving stories with little commentary. 

Back when I was middle aged, John’s was my favorite gospel. I fancied myself as philosophically and spiritually sophisticated; John appeared to ride the same wave. Alas! Life burst my bubble and I discovered I’m just a simple man who understands little philosophy and only basic spirituality.

But guess what? Now, at the beginning of 2026, John’s gospel calls me. Not sure what it’s saying. But maybe if I reflect and pray on John’s message, my hearing will sharpen and my understanding will deepen. 

Let’s try listening together.

The start of John’s gospel says, “In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1). 

John must have read Genesis. It also starts, “In the beginning” (Gen 1:1). That points to God creating the heavens and earth. How did he do that? By speaking. That’s all: by speaking! To an empty universe, God’s first word was, “Let there be light ” (Gen 1:3). 

John’s beginning is also about speech, about words. He says, “In the beginning was the Word . . . All things were made through him” (John 1:1,3). The Word. A new name for Jesus, not found in the other gospels. Only in John.

I see three parallels between Genesis and John. 

First, where Genesis says, “In the beginning GOD”, John says, “In the beginning was the WORD.” God was there and the Word was there, in the beginning. 

Second, in Genesis, God is the creator. In John, all things were made through Jesus, the Word. So who is the creator? God? Jesus? Maybe both?

A third parallel is light. God’s first words in Genesis are, “Let there be light.” John says, “In Jesus was life, and that life was the light of human kind” (John 1:4). 

Something momentous is happening here. Something bigger than creation. God, who created the world with his word is speaking again, sending his Word (Jesus!) into the world. He is sending light to everyone.

Are we ready for this? Are we listening to the word? Are we looking for that light?

Let’s pray. 

O father, we hear John say, “In the beginning was the Word.” Help us hear the word you spoke at the beginning. Help us hear the word you spoke in Jesus. Help us hear the words you speak to us.

We worship you who said, “Let there be light.” We worship you for sending Jesus, the light of the world. 

In our winter-dark northern January, we need more of the sunlight you created. In our sin-darkened world, we need more of Christ’s light. May he shine in our hearts, may he shine in the world, driving away sin’s night. 

Walk with us as we read John’s gospel. Stir our minds to contemplate the Jesus who John knew and loved. Stir our hearts to believe in the Christ John preached. Stir our lives to follow the savior John followed. 

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.  

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Ep.448: Between Christmas and New Years.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

Christmas is past. Used wrapping paper recycled, used ribbon trashed, presents stashed away. Turkey has been digested, its bones boiled for broth. And the fruitcake is waiting your opinion: Is it your favorite snack? Or an abomination to be thrown away?

After Christmas, it’s jigsaw puzzle time, with nuts for cracking and eggnog for sipping and leftover turkey for dinner.

At church there’s a feeling of letdown. We built up to Christmas with four Sundays of Advent, followed by midnight mass on Christmas Eve.

Now begins the long haul to spring. T.S. Eliot called April the cruellest month, but for me, January and February are worse. Daylight and warmth don’t bless Canadian winters. As I shovel snow and spread sand, winter’s cold invades my soul and darkness clouds my mind. 

And to top it off, this Sunday we remember the Holy Innocents, the children King Herod killed when he unsuccessfully tried to assassinate Jesus. Winter and King Herod leave me cold!

So, how to survive winter, especially January and February? 

I like Plan A. An invitation to stay warm, curled up with a blanket, watching TV,  reading fantasy novels, hibernating until Spring. But Plan B is better for my soul. I can face dark days by getting out to meet friends over coffee, going to church on wind-chilly Sundays, and offering daily prayers to God. 

Another helpful practice is patience. Patience with myself when I’m not cheerful or productive. Patience with others who experience depression and pain all winter. Patience with creation as it hunkers down and slouches toward spring.   

Plan B includes winter walks, often short and chilly. But the views are better than YouTube: I see live winter sunsets of rose and orange and blues and purples. I see white snow on green evergreens. And I sympathize with deciduous trees shivering naked in the north wind. 

Let’s pray. 

Our father, don’t leave us standing naked in these winter winds. Dress us in the warmth of your love. Clothe us with Christ’s righteousness. Speak warm words to our hearts. Shine Christ’s light on our darkness.  

Herod’s attack didn’t kill the child Jesus. His parents found refuge in Egypt. As winter dark and cold attack our souls, give us refuge in you. Teach us to drink the wine you offer, to eat the bread of life, to nourish our souls with friends and music and patient waiting for spring. 

Amen

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.  

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube