In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen.
A
very Merry Christmas to all of you. It is a joy to spend Christmas morning with
you, singing songs of our Messiah’s birth and gathering around the altar to
share a Christmas meal in which Christ is present. This morning, I’d like to
briefly consider the idea of revelation, as both our readings from Hebrews and
John seem to focus on that element of Christmas. Scholars often speak of
Christmas in terms of the Incarnation- when God Almighty took on flesh and
blood and came to earth in the fullness of God’s being.
And
this is quite the claim. No other religion says that the Creator of the
Universe came to earth in our flesh. There are examples in other faiths of gods
making appearances, but not actually becoming human. As the author of Hebrews
writes, “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the
prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he
appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is
the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God's very being.” John
is perhaps more familiar when he says “And the Word became flesh and lived
among us.”
The doctrine of the
Incarnation is arguably the most important in Christianity. Without the
Incarnation, we could argue about what exactly godly living looks like. We
could debate which prophet had the most prophetic vision and should be
followed. We could, in effect, join whichever religious group felt the most
comfortable and come together to confirm our own suspicions about God. Without
the Incarnation, it would be rather easy to make up our own god. But in the
Incarnation, God got specific, really specific. We can’t really understand God
on God’s terms, so God came to us on our terms.
Pope
Pius XII called Swiss theologian Karl Barth “the most important theologian
since Thomas Aquinas.” Aquinas wrote in the 13th century, and Barth
in the 20th, so that is quite high praise. I mention Barth because he
is perhaps most well-known for his discussion about the importance of
revelation. He says that God is so much larger than our minds can ever
comprehend, and our sins prevent us from being able to figure God out through
our own logic. So, Barth says, the doctrine of the Incarnation, of divine revelation,
is central to us knowing anything about God. God has spoken to us and that word
is Jesus Christ. We can say with certainty that God is loving, that God is
just, that God is healing because Jesus was those things. For Barth, the
Incarnation of Jesus proclaims that God is with us and for us.
A
central part of this theology of revelation is that God comes to us, and not
that our understanding is elevated to God. As the well-known Christmas hymn
proclaims – “Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King.”
That word “receive” is crucial. I’m sure you’ve noticed, but there are actually
two Christmases that exist in our world. There is the religious Christmas that
focuses on Jesus and what he stood for. And then there is the secular
Christmas, which is about giving gifts and is fueled by companies trying to
finish the year with strong sales. Now sometimes secular Christmas ties in well
with the themes of religious Christmas. But there is a heresy in secular
Christmas, and it is that Christmas is a season of giving. To be clear,
Christmas is not a season of giving.
That is because Christmas
is a season of receiving. And when we confuse the two, we end up celebrating
and proclaiming the wrong message. Christmas isn’t about giving gifts, or even
giving to those in need. No, Christmas is about receiving the divine revelation
of God in Christ. Christmas is about receiving Jesus into our hearts. It has
nothing with our ability to buy gifts, but rather how we make space in our
calendars, in our budgets, and in our lives for Jesus to be manifest. And if we
can do that; if Jesus dwells in our hearts, then through the Spirit we will be
empowered and driven to give to others. But it is important to remember that our
receiving Jesus is what enables us to give. It’s not the other way around, if
we give in order that we might receive, well, then we’ve just turned God into
the elf on the shelf. The Incarnation reminds and teaches us that Christmas is,
first and foremost, a season about receiving. So I invite you to ponder this
week how you can more fully receive Jesus into your life.
Barth
says that the Incarnation is God’s decisive “yes” to the world. It is a “yes”
to salvation and love. That is the Good News of Christmas, that God comes to us, bringing the Light of the world into the darkness of the world. And so our Christmas
decision is this: What will you do with that light? Will you proudly display it
on your front lawn for a few weeks? Will you use it as a weapon to burn others
who aren’t keeping the Christ in Christmas? Will you pack it up and put in the
attic until next December? Or will you use that light to give hope to those who
live in the darknesses of this world? Will you instead allow its warmth to warm
your own heart? Will you use that light as your lantern as you walk through the
journey of life?
“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. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not
overcome it.” Thanks be to God, and Merry Christmas!
