For many of us the sights, sounds, and fragrance of family and friends gathered together may have quieted down. You may have left behind guests sleeping in– to come here to be together with God’s community. I welcome you to Christmas. Despite signs in the world, that the Christmas season is over, I am so grateful that here in the church, Christmas has just begun.
The prologue to the Gospel according to John begins–in the beginning.
” 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.”
This is John’s nativity story. It is not the shepherds and angels or a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths lying in a manger. In this nativity story, this Christmas story, John takes us back to the beginning by echoing the words found in the book of Genesis: “In the beginning God created; God moved over the chaos and darkness and said, “Let there be light.”
In John’s gospel, from the very beginning was the Word. The God who moved over the face of the deep, over the darkness, who spoke and said, “let there be light”, this same God who was from the beginning and spoke that Word, this same God, John says, became flesh and blood and dwelt among us–literally pitched his tent in our midst.
This message resonates more powerfully every time it is heard because it is a profound declaration of God’s incarnation–God becoming flesh and blood– that shapes the way we understand God, our relationship with God, and our relationship with one another.
Because we who are blest to have experienced God, we who have opened our minds and hearts to God; we who have said “yes”; we who come in faith to be in the presence of God, we have been welcomed under the terms as family— as God’s children.
How do we greet this revelation this morning? Since around mid October, the stores have been telling us that “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”
There is much wonderful about the season leading up to Christmas. There are lights, sweet smells of baking and pungent pine branches, and beautiful music. There are happy children and expectant hearts. People we meet, try to be extra generous and more cheerful. But for many this season can be a mixed bag. In a time of economic volatility there are many pressures of rising prices and unstable income. Many face daily job insecurities of unemployment or underemployment—leaving us unsure of what the future holds.
There are those living with illness or with profound grief at the death of a loved one–sorrow is intensified during this season of memories of Christmases past. There might be those who are just as happy to have survived intact—physically and emotionally– this season of cheer.
But for those of you who have found your way here this morning, The Gospel tells us that in the midst of all the things that call to us, pull at us, and disturb us, in these twelve days of Christmas, we are called back to where our center can be found, where our heart belongs–to celebrate the unending mystery of God becoming flesh. During these days we are called to reflect on the coming of Christ among us who brings life, light, and hope to all the people. This Gospel tells us that the almighty, powerful, Creator God loves us so much that he comes to be near us, to live with us –. to be with us when we are anxious, to hold us when we are in pain, to share our hopes and joys, and to deeply and constantly love us as beloved children.
In our reading from Galatians we hear that God has sent the Spirit of Jesus into our hearts so that we are able–we are bold—to call God “Abba” “Daddy” and that through Jesus, to be children, indeed heirs, of God. We like Jesus are drawn close to God’s heart because we are chosen, we are favored by God.
What does this mean for our understanding of God–our relationship with God? What does this mean for our relationship with each other?
Let us begin with words that can create something. Words like “You are loved.” “I love you completely—no conditions.” “I want to be with you and share life with you.” These words are ones that we have come to associate with lovers, yet if we can broaden that picture for a moment, we may find that these words are at the core of all of our human longing.
We long for unity and union at almost every level of our lives. How could the words “You are loved.” “I love you completely–no conditions.” “I want to be with you and share life with you.” change us if we heard them from:
A parent
A sibling
A friend
A partner
Our children
We long to be acknowledged. To have someone say “You are important to me.” “I care about you.” “What happens to you matters to me” It is those words that unlock the almost unlimited potential for the good, the true, and the beautiful that we long for and pursue with our lives. It is these words that lie at the heart of the Incarnation of God into our lives in Jesus.
We hear this affirmation, this unhindered love with Mary as she is told, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God (Luke 1:29-20 NRSV). Mary is incredulous. “But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.” As a young woman in a culture where women were viewed—if at all— as inferior and primarily worthy only as property, she would never have dreamed that she would find favor with God. But here in this moment in a young girl’s life, the culmination of the Incarnation can be seen. God wanted us all to know that we have found favor with God–that we are blessed and that we are beloved.
And not because of anything we have or have not done, but simply because we have found this truth that through Jesus, God’s only son, full of grace and truth, God’s love is here present for us all to experience. This favor is not restricted to any exterior images or categories such as our age, race, gender, nationality, who we love, or our physical characteristics, but simply by the gift of Jesus Christ who makes God known.
On this first Sunday after Christmas Day, we are invited to live fully into the truth that we are the beloved children of God and to let the light of the incarnate word shine forth in our lives. Theologian, Matthew Fox writes: “We enter a broken, torn and sinful world–that is for sure. But we do not enter as blotches on existence; we burst onto the scene as “original blessings.”
What welcome words these are! The incarnation, God becoming flesh, has shown us a different way of seeing life and living in the world–that creation is good, that our bodies are good, that we are “original blessings.”
As “original blessings” we are called to live in love and justice with all that is part of God’s creation. Matthew Fox goes on to say, “Being alive is not the same as going shopping or making a nest in which to escape the suffering of others. Living has to do with the love of life, and the love of others’ lives and the other’s right to life and dignity.”
As Beloved children of God we are called to share God’s love with others–with the world. We are called to proclaim the possibility of God’s righteousness and salvation for all. We are called to seek justice and dignity for every human being.
Henri Nouwen in his book The Life of the Beloved says, “Once we deeply trust that we ourselves are precious in God’s eyes, we are opened to recognize and reveal the preciousness of others and their unique places in God’s heart.” Our personal experience of God’s saving grace is always for the benefit of all of God’s children. What we receive in love and then give to others can become a “movement of love that ripples out in new and wider circles, just as a stone impacts a still pond. ” This can be a sign of hope for the world–a proclamation of the amazing power of God’s love for all the people.
The Incarnation is not only a moment in history. It is the start of an ongoing process, beginning with Jesus just “as the earth brings forth its shoots and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up” the Lord God causes the fruits of God’s love to grow in the hearts of all of God’s children. The Incarnation of the Word of God into human flesh happens first in Jesus and that is what we celebrate these days of Christmas. But The Incarnation does not end there. It is an ongoing transformation of our lives through the love, grace and truth of the Word incarnate abiding in us.
This text can be our companion as we watch and listen for the signs of life’s new meaning. Before the birth of Jesus we were not alone. We knew God and worshipped God. But now our knowing is different and our worship can never be the same. May your life and mine be transformed by God’s word, Jesus. And as the beloved children of God may we share that love created in the beginning to be the light God intends for all the people.
“O holy child of Bethlehem, be born in us today.”