John 1:1-14
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.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.
You can read my sermon below or listen to it at this link.
Let us pray. God of light and life, be with us on this Christmas morning as we remember the ridiculousness of your love and our part in this story. Amen.
The story of Christmas doesn’t make any sense. I think we have become quite immune to the ridiculousness of this story because we hear it every year. We know this story by heart. It is at the core of who we are as Christians. In fact, we probably know it better and can picture it in our minds more completely than even Holy Week and Easter morning. After all, the birth of Jesus is the beginning of time as we understand it. And the more familiar we are with a story, the more normal it becomes to us.
But this story is anything but normal. The way that John tells it in his gospel account is much more like poetry than the narrative we hear in Luke about shepherds and Mary and Joseph… 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, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.
This story is ridiculous. That God— almighty and all-powerful God would give up God’s mortality to become human. And not JUST human, but a human baby, into a family of a virgin young woman and her fiancé. It doesn’t make any logical sense. And yet… here we are, 2021 years later, telling this story again. And here we are… hearing this story again, in a new year, with fresh ears. But the same story.
It makes little sense that after all that had happened in the history of creation and God’s people that God would still choose to become a human and live among us. I mean, God had sent prophets and kings and all sorts of incredible people to To us, the incarnation seems illogical and impractical. Who are we to deserve our God come walk among us, wash our feet, and dine with us?
The story is almost as unbelievable as some of the others we tell around Christmas time.
If you know anything about our family, you will know that we watch a lot of children’s movies. This season, we have watched the new animated movie Dr. Seuss’s The Grinch over and over again. It’s worth it— it’s hilarious— so I highly recommend it.
I would imagine that most of us know the story of The Grinch— it, too, is a story that has been told over and over again. The story of a fuzzy green grump who lives up on top of a mountain all by himself. He hates Christmas and steals the gifts and trees and everything on Christmas Eve from the Whos down in Whoville. But instead of ruining Christmas, the Grinch learns that the Whos don’t need presents and trees to celebrate what Christmas is really about.
At the end of the movie, a little girl named Cindy Lou goes up the Grinch’s mountain and invites him to Christmas dinner. He is surprised. After everything he has done, why would he be invited?
“What? Me?” He asks. “But I took your gifts.”
“Yeah I know” Cindy Lou replies.
“And your trees,” the Grinch protests.
“Yup”
“I stole your whole Christmas,” he says, as if she would have forgotten what he had done to her whole town.
“I know you did. But we’re inviting you anyway.”
“But why?” He asks.
“Because. You’ve been alone long enough. Dinner's at six”
Beloved friends, we have been alone long enough. This is what God says to us on this Christmas morning. That God invites us in not because of us but in spite of us. In spite of all of the messiness of the world. In spite of all of the things we have stolen and ruined and been grumpy about, God comes to us. God comes to us as an innocent child. As the very light of the world. As the Word of God broken in to this place. Why? Why would God come all the way here to earth to be among us? Why would the creator of all life and earth want to become one of us? Because we’ve been alone long enough. And God wants to invite us to dinner. Amen.
