"And the Word became flesh and lived among us"

"And the Word became flesh and lived among us"

John 1: 1-18

Opening Prayer: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be always acceptable to you, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

Introduction: If you were here two nights ago on Christmas Eve, or yesterday, which was Christmas Day; you would have heard the Gospel according to Luke about the birth of Jesus. It is easy to picture it in our minds; after all, we have seen it re-enacted in Christmas pageants and Christmas presentations each year. It is very concrete. There is a donkey, Mary, Joseph, and a baby. There are shepherds and angels. Pictures. Pictures.

What a contrast to today's passage from the Gospel according to John! It is very abstract, and somewhat "foggy". However, the theology in it is very powerful! In addition, the hymn writers have "snuck" some of the theology into Christmas songs. An example is the hymn, 'O Come, all ye Faithful'; in the second verse, it mentions 'God from God, Light from Light eternal'. That is right out of the gospel passage for today.

I believe the placement in the lectionary is significant. When we hear the Christmas story, it is easy to keep thinking of Jesus as a little baby, or as a man that did everything right. By following up with this passage from John, we are reminded that 'The Word became flesh and lived among us.'

With today's passage, I feel the need to use more of a teaching style than I usually do when I preach.

As many of you are aware, the words we use are influenced a lot by the culture we are in, and the time period. The Gospel according to John was the last of the gospels written, and was influenced by the Greek culture of the day.

The Text: "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." In the Gospel according to John, the Greek word 'logos' is used for "the Word". Word refers to Christ (the second person of the Trinity). In the book of Genesis, we notice that God spoke and then something happened. In other words, the Word is a mixture of something heard and something observed.[1]

Previously, the Jewish Wisdom literature used the term 'sophia' (Wisdom) to describe the second person of the Trinity. Wisdom (sophia) is a feminine noun in Greek, and is often shown as a female character in the wisdom literature. It is thought that by using the term 'logos' instead of 'sophia', John was reshaping the tradition to reflect the historical reality of the incarnation; that is, that Jesus was a man.[2]

If we substitute 'Christ' for 'Word', it becomes easier to get a handle on the passage. "In the beginning was Christ, and Christ was with God, and Christ was God. Christ was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Christ, and without Christ not one thing came into being. What has come into being in Christ was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it....And Christ became flesh and lived among us as Jesus." Does that help the passage become clearer to you? It does to me.

All things come into being through Christ, and without Christ not one thing came into being. WHY?? would Christ give all of that up in order to come to earth in human form? I am sure a number of you have felt as I, and wished to have more than 24 hours in the day to get things done with, and more than 7 days in a week. What about needing to be in more than one place at a time? What about when your mind wanted to do something, but your body couldn't go on anymore? So why in the world would the second person of the Trinity choose to give all that up and come to earth as a human? That's a lot of power to give up! It is a tremendous sacrifice.

God has been reaching out to God's creation ever since we were created. God has and will continue to reach out to creation because God loves us. We cannot earn God's love; God freely gives us that love.

Christ has been part of God from before creation, therefore, if we have seen Jesus, we have seen God.

"And Christ became flesh and lived among us." so that we might see God.

We then need to be Jesus to others so that they may also see God.

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[1] Sydnor, William. More than Words.

[2] The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. IX, p. 519.

Emmanuel - "God is with us"

Emmanuel - "God is with us"

Matthew 1:18-25

Opening Prayer: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be always acceptable to you, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

Introduction: It is always interesting for me when I am preparing a sermon to get a balance between historical/cultural stuff that is good to know, versus, what will edify people spiritually.

First, I believe it is important to have some information about why it was a big deal for Mary to become pregnant while engaged. It was much more serious then than if a woman today is engaged, gets married, and has a "premature" birth, with a baby weighing 7 pounds. In the ancient Mediterranean world (as in a number of places today), marriages were arranged by the parents to join extended families. They did not wed out of love for each other, but for the political or economic advantage of their families. It was arranged by the parents, and was a legal contract.

Honor is a very important code in the Mediterranean culture, and it demands that no one take what properly belongs to someone else. When Joseph found out that Mary was pregnant, he knew the child was not his. In addition, the husband was expected to display publicly the "tokens of virginity" on his wedding night (Deut. 22:13-21). The "token of virginity" consisted of spreading out the bloodstained wedding garment. If the husband found out she was not a virgin, she was to be taken to the door of her father's house and stoned to death.[1]

Unfortunately, "honor killings" are still going on in some Arab countries. If a woman has been raped, often it is the male family members that she has to fear the most, because the family honor has been affected, and the only way to save the family honor is to kill her.

There are a number of theologians that do not believe Mary was a virgin when Jesus was born, and do not think it is important. Some believe that Joseph was the biological father, and others believe that she was probably raped by a Roman soldier. However, I believe Mary was impregnated by the Holy Spirit, and that it is important theologically. In addition, today's gospel refutes the Roman Catholic belief that Mary remained a virgin. In the last verse, "he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus."

In today's gospel, it is stated that "they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, "God is with us." Over the centuries, the nature of Jesus has been debated, and where it currently stands is that Jesus was fully human, and fully divine. From a biology point view; how could he be full divine, if both parents were human?

I started thinking about what it means that "God is with us." The idea will have different connotations for different people. The first thought that came to my mind was the poem called 'Footprints'.

Footprints in the Sand

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.

Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.

Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,

other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed

that during the low periods of my life,

when I was suffering from

anguish, sorrow or defeat,

I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,

"You promised me Lord,

that if I followed you,

you would walk with me always.

But I have noticed that during

the most trying periods of my life

there have only been one

set of footprints in the sand.

Why, when I needed you most,

you have not been there for me?"

The Lord replied,

"The times when you have

seen only one set of footprints,

is when I carried you."

Mary Stevenson[2]

Because God is with us, God bears witness to our suffering. There are times when others cannot "fix" a situation, such as when a loved one dies, but it sure makes a difference when we know that we are not alone, that others are walking with us during that time as best as they can.

Nothing is hidden from God. If I am by myself, and have an accident; or if (God forbid) I am assaulted by someone; God still knows about it. It is not hidden from God. God is with us every minute.

The other thought that came to me when I thought about what it means that God is with us, is that "God has our back." I had not realized until recently, but apparently, that phrase is a jailhouse slang expression. (It shows who I hang out.) If I am on guard against danger, God is keeping alert at my back (where I am not looking), and will warn me if danger is starting to come at me from another direction.

We see in scripture that from the very beginning, God has been reaching out to God's creation. However, often people saw God as a real scary, harsh judge that was unreachable. Or else, God was seen as something that only "special" people could have contact with. And yet, when we read in the Hebrew scriptures (i.e. Old Testament) all of the "special" people also had "feet of clay".

The Incarnation is about God reaching out to us by coming to earth as a human baby, and born in a manger. Now That Is Being Vulnerable! Communication systems being what they were in that time period, when Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem to register for the census, they were not able to make reservations in advance at the Hilton, or Comfort Inn; not even Super 8. It is likely that someone took pity on Mary and let them stay with the animals, where at least they would have shelter and have the warmth from the animals. Probably there were a lot more people sleeping on the streets.

It has been said that Jesus is "God with skin on." I believe the Incarnation continues today. Even though Jesus is not physically here on earth, I believe that God still reaches out to us through other human beings. We are God's hands and feet. We are the Body of Christ; and that is an awesome responsibility. We can draw people toward God, or drive them away.

When Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts-Schori was here in September, she talked about the Theology of Risk. She said that there is a difference between 'reckless' and 'risk'. When we take a risk, we do our homework and prepare. She also said that discipleship does not promise a safe harbor; and that God has never been one to play it safe. After all, God created the human race. Relationships are the riskiest thing to do. We were also challenged with the question of "What would I do in response to God's call if I was not afraid to risk?"[3]

So, remember, "God is with us". Knowing that God "has your back"; what would you do in response to God's call if you were not afraid to risk.

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[1] Pilch, John J. (1995). The Cultural World of Jesus: Sunday by Sunday, Year A. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press.

[2] Stevenson, Mary. (1984) Footprints in the Sand. Located in www.footprints-inthe-sand.com.

[3] Clergy Gathering at St. Mary's Episcopal in Anchorage, AK. September 3, 2010.