In the name of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen.
A
very Merry Christmas to each and every one of you. It is a joy and privilege to
spend Christmas morning with you all. Though you can probably still smell the
incense in here that was used at last night’s service, there is a noticeable
difference between our celebration of Christmas this morning and last night’s
liturgy. There is also a rather significant variance between the two gospel
texts that we read. Last night, we heard the story, as told by Luke, of Mary
and Joseph going to Bethlehem for a census and Jesus being born in a manger;
and we heard of angels announcing the birth to shepherds in a field. The image
last night was of an infant who had nowhere to lay his head.
Contrast
that image to this morning’s text from John. “In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… and the Word became flesh and
lived among us.” This is not a meek and mild baby, but rather part of the
Trinity that has always been a part of God coming to us in our flesh. John
presents us with a nativity story, just told from a cosmic perspective. Luke’s
account certainly has beauty in it, but John’s nativity is full of majesty.
Each
of the nativity stories has a central theme to it. As we heard last night, Luke
is interested in portraying a Messiah who comes to and through the lowly.
Matthew shows us a Messiah who comes and upsets the status quo. And John makes
it know that the Messiah is about a revelation of the very being of God.
Revelation is really what separates Christianity from all of the other world
religions. Sure, other faith systems have prophets who speak for God, they have
manifestations of deities, even visitations by gods to earth, but Christianity
is unique in its belief that God Almighty became incarnate in a human being.
The unknowable became known; the undefinable became defined; the limitless took
on limits.
This
notion of revelation really is crucial to our faith. No longer can we debate
what God is like – we have seen God in the face of Jesus. There are two aspects
to revelation: the content and the announcement. Today’s scripture readings
tell us something about the way the announcement is made. Isaiah and the Psalm
speak about the ways in which all of Creation participates in sharing this Good
News – the mountains carry the feet of the messengers, the seas makes a noise,
the rivers clap their hands, and the hills ring out with joy. One of the things
that we learn from Word becoming flesh is that things like flesh matter. The
earth itself praises God’s salvation. The Incarnation of Jesus Christ sends the
powerful message that stuff matters. The earth is not simply a stage, but
rather, in Jesus, it became the very home of God. Salvation is not something
that happens in some distant place in the heavens, but rather salvation is seen
right here, among the mountains and the seas. Given that God graced Creation by
entering into it, it means that things like flesh and dirt matter. The
Incarnation is a call to ensure that we treat all flesh as worthy of beholding
God’s being and it is a call to care for the environment as the location of
God’s salvation.
The
other aspect of revelation is the content. The Gospeller John records that John
the Baptist came to testify to this light; that is, he came to make sure that
we were prepared for the light. The metaphor of light is a major part of the
content of the revelation we have in Jesus. The light shines amidst the
darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it. We are all here because, for
one reason or another, we have seen this Light. Christmas morning worship
services are not very popular, but they are certainly holy. You don’t get up
early, get dressed, and prioritize getting to church over other obligations if
you haven’t seen this Light.
So
today, I invite you to spend some time contemplating where you see the light of
Christ. Perhaps in a loved one? Perhaps in the look of a child’s face? Perhaps
in the kindness of a stranger? Perhaps in the joy of this community? Where do
you see the Light shining?
Once
you have seen that light, you can then testify to it. The word “testify” though
really isn’t a great translation of this word in John. The word, in Greek, is martureo, which you’ll recognize is
where we get the word “martyr.” To testify is to be a martyr. If you follow the
story of John the Baptist, he both testified and was martyred. Jesus both
testified to the Light of God, and was martyred. The disciples both testified
to the salvation of Jesus, and they were martyred. Martyrs make sacrifices,
giving up their lives for the purposes of God. Not at all to diminish the
martyrs who die in the faith, but there are also those who live sacrificially
for God’s purposes. Jesus’ mother, Mary, I think, is a great example of this.
She trusted God and sacrificed a more normal life. Being an unwed mother in
those days was no easier than it is today. And through the generations, many
saints have devoted their lives to God and made sacrifices that testify to
God’s salvation. People like Saint Francis and Mother Teresa are just two
examples of people who have given up their lives for the Gospel.
This
Christmas, if we take it as our task to testify to the Light of God which has
come into the world, I wonder what sacrifices might need to be made? In what
ways will we need to die to self? How might we empty ourselves of pride, ego,
greed in order to make room for Christ to be born anew in our lives?
Let
us pray. Almighty God, we give you thanks for your revelation to us in Jesus.
Give us eyes to see your salvation all around us, granting us the will to care
for this world in which you came to bring salvation. Give us eyes to see your
Light shining in the darkness, granting us the strength to testify to that
Light, making sacrifices so that your Kingdom might come on earth as it is in
heaven. And may our celebration this Christmas give glory to you and bring us
closer to each other and your love for us. Amen.
