In the <a title="De-harmonizing Christmas – Part 1: Mark" href="http://provoketive.com/2011/11/29/de-harmonizing-christmas-part-1-mark/">first post</a> of this Advent series, I introduced the idea that we have 'harmonized' Christmas, combining the different voices and stories of the Gospel writers. I think this homogenized story loses some of its rawness and punch. By 'de-harmonizing' we start to hear the voices more distinctly and recognize the melodies that each one is singing as special in their own right. While <a title="De-harmonizing Christmas – Part 1: Mark" href="http://provoketive.com/2011/11/29/de-harmonizing-christmas-part-1-mark/">Mark</a> might be the least likely gospel to be chosen to read during Advent (though I've discovered that it may be in your lectionary for the second Sunday in Advent, it's still a tough one to choose!), John is often read in the traditional 'Nine Lessons' services of Christmas.

Like Mark, John does not narrate the details of Jesus' birth in the way we are accustomed to - donkey, stable, angels and so on. He chooses a much more philosophical approach, exploring who Jesus is at the beginning, the first 18 verses, then showing his working through the rest of the book.

John a couple of big ideas - <em>logos</em> or 'word', borrowing and expanding on an idea from Greek philosophy, and the familiar Christmas image of light.