Christmas Eve- God takes on flesh and lives among us
Christmas Eve is a magical evening. Even those of us who aren’t usually into tradition will find ourselves caught up in the nostalgia of this evening. The Christmas Tree. Christmas carols. The lights. … And at the center of it all is the nativity scene- Mary, Joseph, and the baby, surrounded by a shepherd or two, along with a few animals. … And all of it bathed in a warm glow, perhaps with the faint smell of peppermint in the air.
Often, on Christmas Eve, we tell the Gospel story of Joseph and a very pregnant Mary journeying to Joseph’s hometown of Bethlehem because of a Roman census that required people to register in the place of their birth. It seems that Bethlehem was a bit crowded when they got there, and there was no room for them in the inn, or in the spare room (depending on how you read it). While visiting Bethlehem, Mary gives birth to Jesus, and without a crib to put him in, she swaddles him and places him in an animal’s feeding trough.
An angel appears to shepherds who are watching their flocks that night. No one really paid much attention to shepherds, and they weren’t thought of as particularly holy. So, the fact that they would appear to shepherds, rather than the chief priests in the Temple, is a bit topsy-turvy. Nonetheless, they are told the news that in the city of the great King David a saviour has been born. He is the messiah, and this is good news for all the people. They are told how to find the child, and suddenly a multitude of angels appear praising God. … When the angels leave, the shepherds go to see the child that the angels told them about (see Luke 2).
Tonight, we didn’t hear that story. Instead, our gospel reading gave us a peak behind the curtain. On the surface, what we see is a child laid in a manger, whose family is visiting a small town because of an oppressive government’s requirement. … But in our reading from John, we see beyond those surface realities. …
John describes the “logos”. Scholars translate that Greek word “Logos” into the English word “Word”, but logos is a complex word. “Logos” was the word that Greco-Roman philosophers used to describe the organizing, rational, integrating principle that permeated the universe. The logos is the power that gives shape and form to the universe. The logos leads the universe to its purpose. The Logos is the principle that organized the universe into planets, and solar systems, and galaxies, and molecules, and living beings. We might think of the Logos as the author of the physical laws of the universe, and the author of biological systems, and DNA.
In the Greek version of the Old Testament (LXX), which the New Testament authors seems to be very familiar with, the logos is “the word of the Lord”. We read over and over again that “The Word of the Lord” comes to people like Abraham, Samuel, Elijah and the other prophets. This Logos speaks throughout the Old Testament Scriptures, and is related to wisdom and the Law that orders life. This Word spoke throughout the Old Testament to make God known and to give God’s people direction.
John is happily allowing these senses of the word “Logos” to drift together and intermingle in the minds of his original readers. He says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” He starts by saying, “In the beginning”, and so he is drawing our minds back to Genesis and the story of creation. The Word was there at the beginning. And the Word is both God and with God.
And this Word isn’t some impersonal force. John describes the ‘Word’ as a person (He is not a human being at this point, but still a person). John continues, “He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being”. All of creation owes its existence to the Word- this person, who is both mysteriously God and with God.
John says that this Logos, this Word, became human. He says,
“And the Word became flesh and lived among us”.
This is the Incarnation. “Incarnation” comes from two words meaning “in” and “flesh”. So, “Incarnation” means something like “in the flesh”. The “Word” became ‘God with flesh on’. God became flesh and lived among us. Or, as the author Eugene Peterson interprets it in his version of the Bible,
“The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood” (John 1:14 The Message).
This is what is happening behind the scenes- on the surface we see a baby laying in an animal’s feeding trough. He entered so fully into our human reality, that it was possible to miss what was really going on. We could miss him in the crowd. Behind that surface image, though, God has mysteriously come to be among us, as one of us.
Why would God do such a thing? … John says,
“…to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God”.
… One very good response to the question “what is the good news of Christianity?” is ‘God became a human being so that human beings might become children of God’. … To be a child of God, is to (somehow) resemble God. … We read in the original creation story that human beings are made in the image of God- God says,
“Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion…” (Gen 1:26).
This image (imprinted into humanity) has been obscured by the mess of sin that we live in. How can we become like God if we have a muddy image of God? … The coming of the Word in the flesh has come to make that image known to us in its most clear presentation. The letter to the Colossians says that Jesus
“is the image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15).
If we want to know what the invisible God is like, we look at Jesus.
And what do we see when we look at Jesus?
In Jesus we see God’s love for those who have lost their way and made bad decision after bad decision. In Jesus we see God’s willingness to be with those who have been rejected. When asked who the greatest in the kingdom of heaven was, he pointed to a little child. In Jesus’ healings and teachings, we see God’s compassion and desire to teach his people a better way of life- one that would heal our souls and our relationships. Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, even Judas (who would betray him). Jesus lived a life of service for others, and so in him we see a God who desires to help us- to rescue us. Jesus wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus, and so we see the compassion of God as we mourn the loss of those we love. In Jesus we see a God who is willing to endure the excruciating pain of the cross to help us- to save us. In Jesus we see a willingness to forgive enemies as he forgives those who nailed him to the cross. … If we want to know what God is like, we look to Jesus. And the God we see there is a God who is full of love, mercy, and a desire to help us. We see a God who is for us and not against us. We see a God who wants to live with us, and be a part of our lives. He wants to move into our neighbourhood.
Jesus invites us to live his way. He sets up his tent among us to show us how to live. If we let him, he protects us from all that would ruin our souls (that doesn't mean we are protected from having to deal with hard things). If we let him, he provides us with everything we need to become radiant beings made in the image of God. If we let him, he holds us to himself, ensuring that we are secure in his Kingdom, eternally growing into his likeness as we are bathed in his presence.
On the surface, we see a baby in a manger, but behind that image is God-with-us. AMEN
And what do we see when we look at Jesus?
In Jesus we see God’s love for those who have lost their way and made bad decision after bad decision. In Jesus we see God’s willingness to be with those who have been rejected. When asked who the greatest in the kingdom of heaven was, he pointed to a little child. In Jesus’ healings and teachings, we see God’s compassion and desire to teach his people a better way of life- one that would heal our souls and our relationships. Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, even Judas (who would betray him). Jesus lived a life of service for others, and so in him we see a God who desires to help us- to rescue us. Jesus wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus, and so we see the compassion of God as we mourn the loss of those we love. In Jesus we see a God who is willing to endure the excruciating pain of the cross to help us- to save us. In Jesus we see a willingness to forgive enemies as he forgives those who nailed him to the cross. … If we want to know what God is like, we look to Jesus. And the God we see there is a God who is full of love, mercy, and a desire to help us. We see a God who is for us and not against us. We see a God who wants to live with us, and be a part of our lives. He wants to move into our neighbourhood.
Jesus invites us to live his way. He sets up his tent among us to show us how to live. If we let him, he protects us from all that would ruin our souls (that doesn't mean we are protected from having to deal with hard things). If we let him, he provides us with everything we need to become radiant beings made in the image of God. If we let him, he holds us to himself, ensuring that we are secure in his Kingdom, eternally growing into his likeness as we are bathed in his presence.
On the surface, we see a baby in a manger, but behind that image is God-with-us. AMEN
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