The Rev. Paul J Cain
John 1:1-14 (15-18)
Became Flesh
The Nativity of Our Lord: Christmas Day, 25 December 2011
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, WY
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Today’s Gospel text from John was read last evening as the
ninth among nine lessons and carols for Christmas Eve. Only the Gospel accounts
according to Matthew and Luke specifically mention Christmas. St. John provides
insight into the mystery of the incarnation.
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 were made
through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was
life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and
the darkness has not overcome it.
Darkness cannot overcome the light of Christ. There are days
when all seems dark and dreary, when things aren’t going your way, when
finances fail, patience wears thin, and health is of concern.
The same God who created all things still oversees and
sustains all things. In Christ is your life, your Light.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came
as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through
him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
St. John the Evangelist writes to us about John the Baptist.
Both witness to the Light of Christ, but John the Baptist has prepared the way
for Jesus’ coming.
Time is a strange thing this time of year. The Church over
the centuries has been very creative in choosing Bible texts to be read to
prepare us for the birth and the return of Christ. We have the prophecies and
work of a very much grown-up John the Baptist announcing the coming of Christ.
We rewind to the prediction of John’s birth and of Jesus’ birth six months
later. We think of Jesus today as the babe lying in a manger. He is eight days
old next Sunday. By January 6th, Epiphany, Jesus could be as old as
two when He meets the Magi, and by the Sunday after the Epiphany, Jesus is
full-grown, thirty years old, being baptized by John in the Jordan.
The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming
into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet
the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive
him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the
right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of
the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Jesus Himself participated in creation. He is the Word who
was in the beginning with God, the Word who was and is God. He made everything
in all of the universe, and His own creation did not recognize Him. His own
people did not widely recognize His birth according to prophecy. Some did and
rejoiced at His coming. To them, Christ gave the right to become children of
God, some genetically of father Abraham, some not. These children of faith are
born of God, not merely of blood or the will of the flesh. John Chapter 1
focuses on God’s grace in calling and gathering a people—you—to Himself.
But today, Christmas Day, is all about John 1:14.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have
seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and
truth.
The meaning of Christmas is summarized in this one Bible
verse. Jesus, God Himself, took on your flesh and dwelt with us. His glory is
revealed in the angels’ announcement to the shepherds, the arrival of the wise
men, the persecution of Herod, and ultimately, in His Good Friday death and
Easter Resurrection.
We Praise You, Jesus, at Your Birth LSB 382
1 We praise
You, Jesus, at Your birth;
Clothed in flesh You came to earth.
The virgin bears a sinless boy
And all the angels sing for joy.
Alleluia!
Clothed in flesh You came to earth.
The virgin bears a sinless boy
And all the angels sing for joy.
Alleluia!
© 2006 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License .NET, no. 100013208.; © 1978 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License .NET, no. 100013208.
What is it like to be you? What is it like to wake up in the
morning in your house, get up out of your bed, get ready for the day with your
morning routine, put on your clothes, get in your car, and get your work
accomplished each day. What is it like to spend a day in your skin?
Your spouse may have the best picture of what it is like to
be you. After that, your children, best friends, and coworkers will probably
have the most realistic idea of who you are, what you do, and how you keep on
doing it. Only the Lord God Almighty has a better picture on what it is like to
be you. And it is not only because the good Lord knows all things and sees all
things.
Jesus took on human skin. He was conceived, He was born, He
was hungry and thirsty, He slept, He wept, He suffered, and He died. God is
spirit, Scripture says. Scripture also says that “the Word became flesh and
dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the
Father, full of grace and truth.”
As Hebrews says, we have a faithful High Priest who is able
to sympathize with our weaknesses, yet one who never sinned and never succumbed
to temptation. He is grace and truth in the flesh wrapped in swaddling clothes
and laid in a manger, grace and truth in the flesh wrapped in burial cloths and
laid in a new tomb. Because of Jesus’ victorious resurrection from the dead and
Ascension into heaven, you know for certain that our High Priest is your
advocate before the Father’s side. Human flesh has entered heaven itself, and
one day, you will also because of Jesus.
[(John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he
of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before
me.’ ”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the
law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one
has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him
known.]
We Praise You, Jesus, at Your Birth LSB 382
7 All this for
us our God has done
Granting love through His own Son.
Therefore, all Christendom, rejoice
And sing His praise with endless voice.
Alleluia!
Granting love through His own Son.
Therefore, all Christendom, rejoice
And sing His praise with endless voice.
Alleluia!
© 2006 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License .NET, no. 100013208.; © 1978 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License .NET, no. 100013208.
Amen.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
