May the God of peace hold me by my right hand and guide me, Who is a Shepherd to shepherds and a Guide to guides; In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Good evening/morning and Merry First Sunday after Christmas! As many hip and smug Episcopalians on the internet have made abundantly clear, our tradition is among several that still get to say Merry Christmas this Sunday because of our use of a Liturgical Calendar. I have yet to add my voice to the chorus of web-based snark, but I have been focus grouping some bumper sticker theology.
Examples include the slogan: “Keep the mass in Christmas at Redeemer Sarasota.”
or
Some kind of play on words involving Christmas Presents with an ENTS and Christmas Presence with an ENCE.
or
I break for Fraction Anthems
Needless to say, response has been mixed: mostly groans mixed with eye rolls.
Now, in general I think that slogans on stickers are not necessarily the best foundations for Christian reflection and certainly not healthy fodder for a sermon. But you can’t help but admit the power of a short burst of message, of a compelling piece of copy, to make something complex immediately understandable, even personal.
During Christmas, we reflect on God’s ultimate act of messaging: the Incarnation. John begins his account of Jesus’ ministry by describing the primordial relationship between the Word and God. Now allow me a moment to clarify: sometimes there can be a little confusion when we talk about the Word of God. Just a moment ago, for example, someone said “the word of the Lord” and you all responded: “Thanks be to God.” In that case, the word of the Lord referred to the Bible. That makes sense, doesn’t it? A scripture reading is made up of words and they are inspired by and pertaining to the Lord. That’s not exactly what John was writing about. Rather, he was using an idea from ancient philosophy, the idea of the “logos,” which we translate as “word” to describe Jesus’ relationship with God before He became flesh and dwelt among us. So in this case, when we read Word, we should be thinking “Jesus.”
So let’s play with this a little, shall we? In ancient Greek philosophy and rhetoric, the word “logos” did not refer to individual terms like “kitty,” “puppy,” “bear,” or “dolphin.” Rather, “logos” tended to mean reasoned discourse or argument, like when we have a reasoned discussion about the relative cuteness and fluffiness of kitties and puppies or who wins in a fight between a bear and a dolphin. John, therefore, is making a statement that the God who in the beginning created all things, in order to show forth the fullness of light and life, had a discussion with us when Jesus came. John the Baptist would testify to it, and Jesus would become the ultimate conversation piece.
When Jesus came, when the Word was dwelling among us, God was telling us about himself. And in doing so, inaugurated our salvation. If there was any doubt as to why the Universal Church gets so excited about Christmas, let that doubt melt away. We are celebrating the birth of our salvation in Christ. Looking back to the scriptures, in just a few scant chapters from where we left off today, we will read a verse that truly clarifies the purpose of The Word becoming flesh, John’s testimony to that fact, and the relationships that are now possible. When we read John 3:16, know that this is part of the Christmas story too:
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Without neglecting the importance of Lent and Easter in Christ’s saving us, let’s focus on some ways we can wrap our minds around some of the saving implications of an incarnate Lord.
In taking on the flesh of a human being, the God who is infinite and omnipotent and according to the Old Testament, actually kind of terrifying and even dangerous to behold became recognizable and even relatable. Jesus was Mary and Joseph’s boy. He had friends. He went to parties like that wedding in Cana. That was a rager for sure. He taught people, he argued with them too. People loved him and hated him. But in all these things, Jesus was and is God reaching out. It’s God using something that all humanity would understand, itself, in order to bring humanity back to Himself.
In taking on the flesh of a human being, the God who made us in his image began to put to rights all the messes that we made for ourselves. He was and is correcting the result of Adam and Eve’s out of turn taste of that prohibited fruit. God was not satisfied to let us, the crown jewel of creation, continue to avoid him and walk around destroying each other. Rather, by becoming human, he took upon him all those things that are of us, and made them His again. Through Jesus’ humanity, all of humanity is lifted up again from it’s lowly estate, and we can now re-enter full relationship with God and with our neighbor.
In taking on the flesh of a human being, God made a firm statement about the goodness of His creation. When he said what he made was good, he meant it. It means that through the incarnation, all things (not just God’s people) are being renewed and brought back into their full purpose which is to glorify God. That is why, by the way, in our Church’s tradition we take so much care of the beauty of our building and in our liturgy. These things, given to us from creation and wrought by our hands, are meant to be given over to the worship of God, who is reconciling all things back to Him through Jesus Christ.
These are just a few ways the incarnation of the Word affects not only our lives, but in the end, all things. Some of you know that my shorthand for the incarnation is the title: Best thing ever. As far as gifts come, the gift of God as himself is astonishing. He did that because he loves us and wants to be with us.
Not only does he want to be with us, he wants to be close like family. It’s right there in John’s prologue, in verse 12.
But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God
Brothers and sisters, by God’s becoming a man, God’s gift is also an invitation into a life with him. In baptism, we receive him and in belief we acknowledge him and with those things, he helps us to participate in his life. As the very body of Christ, we work with him to tell the world about the gift of his coming, giving our testimony like John did, to the light that could not be overcome by darkness. We are invited to worship him in spirit and truth, and not simply by raising our voices, but by joining with him in full presence at the altar. In meeting with Jesus, we take him into the world that needs him, working together to preach good news to the poor, that the bondage of sin is no longer a deadly snare when we repent and believe. Our God does not save us to sit and wait, but rather to join a constant movable wedding feast, building people up and breaking walls down so that all might come to know God’s saving embrace in arms of his son Jesus.
So. Merry Christmas, enjoy the gift of God freely given in his Son sent to save us.
Happy New Year, may it bring a renewal of faith and peace in our Lord.
Keep each other in your prayers.
Amen.
Sermon preached by the Revd. David S. Bumsted
The Church of the Redeemer
Sarasota, FL
1st Sunday after Christmas Day
29 December, 2013