Joseph and his visitations from angels telling him Mary would bear a son, and then telling him the baby was in danger. As Olaf noted last week Joseph was a man of strong faith who accepted what God told him without question.
But this week our gospel seems to go in an entirely different direction. John 1: 1-18 is the prologue to the book of John. John’s gospel is a little different than the other three. His book appeared in about 90 AD and focused on the divinity of Christ. This prologue seems like a bit of a history lesson. We are taken back to the beginning of time. In the beginning was the word, John tells us. Certainly if you read Genesis what John says is true. In Genesis 1: 3, God says “Let there be light” and this commandment took place. A series of similar commandments over the next five biblical days created the earth and all that dwell in it.
None of us can underestimate the importance of words. From our earliest times on this planet we learned to speak and developed language finding a much more appropriate method of communication than hieroglyphics. It seems that both John and Genesis are suggesting God was no different. But verse two tells us Jesus was there at the beginning with the word. I find this a little hard to understand. Does this suggest God knew from the onset that he would have to come down to earth to communicate his word? If that is the case why were there centuries when God tried other methods to try to get humans to obey him? The Old Testament is full of stories of God sending floods, fire, pestilence and other dire means to bring humans to obey him, starting with Eve’s disobedience and its consequences. It begs the question, why did God wait so long to give us Jesus to atone for our sins? Only God know the answer to that one. But perhaps we might gain some understanding if we consider the context of the times. John is very quick to point out in verse 10 and 11 that the world did not know or accept Jesus. Again John’s purpose is to write about the divinity of Christ. I wonder if perhaps his message is also intended for Jews? Historically it was the Jews who rejected Jesus and it isn’t a big reach to imagine that John isn’t saying in a subtle way: “God’s word was manifested through Christ since the beginning of time and Jesus is the son of God”, hoping to bring these Jews to Christ.
The parenthesis of our Celebrate bulletin certain underscores the difficulty in quite comprehending what John is telling us here. But as our bulletin suggests, understanding isn’t as important as celebrating, especially at Christmas, that God did come amongst us and that Christ is still with us as when we come to Communion , Sunday worship or indeed in our daily faith walk.
We may try to dismiss John by saying his word was only for the Jews. Yet these words are rich in meaning for our own time. Do we know Jesus and accept him? You might say “I come to church regularly and faithfully place my envelope in the collection plate. Doesn’t that show my devotion to Jesus?” Knowing and accepting Christ is much more than this. We need to find a place for Jesus every day of our life. As Paul notes in his letter to the Ephesians through Christ, God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Paying only lip service to Jesus doesn’t not repay God for all the wonderful things He has bestowed upon us.
John tells us that God came through Christ into this world but God’s own people did not know him. There are different views on why God did just that. Olaf and I had a chat about this same subject after worship last Sunday. Some maintain Christ came so God could sacrifice his only son to atone for our sins. Remember in Genesis when God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. At the last moment God intervenes and spares Isaac. But God does not spare his only begotten son “in whom I am well pleased.” We are told in John 3:16: God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” God shows his love by making a greater sacrifice than he ever asked of humans.
As I talked to Olaf , I asked aloud “is there more to it than that?” Was our loving God only sacrificing his son just to atone for our sins? Replacing him with the lambs and other animals slaughtered as a blood sacrifice? Or did he not understand the human condition? These humans, who were disobedient children, had greatly disappointed him. He tried cajoling them and punishing them but to no avail. Coming amongst us might give him a better understanding of the human condition. One sermon I read on the Internet likened it to a young minister who had not been touched by death consoling a family by saying “I understand exactly how you feel.”
But God knows. Not just from his heavenly perspective. He has walked amongst us. Olaf mentioned last week about the fear Mary and Joseph must have felt fleeing from Herod, then being told to return a different way because their child was still in danger. In our time we can scarcely imagine the perils of the trip to Egypt this couple made. But God knows. He was there seeing firsthand the fears of the young parents as they tried to protect their special young son. God was there as well as Jesus healed the sick and the lame, and agonized with Mary as Jesus died on the cross.
We don’t know if his experience on this earthy changed God’s compassion and understanding of our condition, but it did change. True God is never changing in the manifestation of his love but like all things God does grow. The New Covenant set out a new path. God no longer throws thunderbolts or turns people into pillars of salt. God is all compassion and all loving. We are saved not by any good deeds but by his grace. Be it through sacrifice or greater understanding, as Paul writes to the Ephesians “ Christ is the pledge of our inheritance towards redemption as God’s own people to the praise of his glory.”
But again it doesn’t really matter why God came to dwell upon us. What is important is that God understands our suffering. He walks with us on our daily journey. He feels our pain when we suffer loss or worry over our children, our loved ones who are ill or in difficulty. But it doesn’t end there. Part of our mission as Christians is to minister to others as Jesus would were he still amongst us. I know when you are visiting a sick person or one who is going through a rough patch, it is difficult to find the right words. As I sit at my computer typing my sermons I sometimes have that same difficulty. But somehow God finds the appropriate things to say. Sometimes when you visit someone in the hospital it is not what you say that matters. It’s that you showed love and concern just to offer a smile, and be there for that person. No wonder John puts so much emphasis on the word.
Yes the Christmas season has passed. My mother-in-law had a superstition that it’s bad luck to keep the Christmas tree up past Little Christmas. Soon we will be taking down all our lights and decorations, packing them away for another season. But let’s not forget why we put the tree and the lights up in the first place. Jesus is the light of the world and as John reminds us: “Christ, the true light which enlightens everyone” came into the world. As the Ghost of Christmas Present told Scrooge, that light lives in the heart of good spirited men not just one day but 365 days of the year. Our mission as Christians is to share that light by our acts of love to all not just at Christmas but all year long.
