In the Name of One God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

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Amos Small
5 years ago
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1 The First Sunday after Christmas December 28, 2014 John 1: 1-18 In the Name of One God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. Last year I read a short article on ways to support loved ones through panic attacks, severe anxiety and PTSD. I think the article s advice could apply to a lot of people in distress and in need of a friend or loving gesture. The article was accompanied by a four-part illustration. I saw the illustration/cartoon and immediately thought of the Prologue to John s Gospel. In the first part, a cartoon figure is sitting on the ground hugging his knees. He is clearly upset. Another figure kneels down beside him and asks him, What s wrong? The one hugging his knees replies, I don t know. How can I help? I don t know. Often, when we find ourselves in deep darkness, pain or anxiety we have no idea how to crawl (or claw!) our way out of the situation. It takes a friend to show us the way. In the second frame of the illustration, the figure is still sitting hugging his knees. Now, the other figure is standing next to him. He says, Ok. I made you a nest. Do you want to come? The first figure replies, OK. Now, I don t know about you, but I love the idea of a nest a warm, nurturing, safe place. When I think of a nest, I think of a home. A perfect little nest has everything you need and nothing more; it is a simple, pure and comfortable sanctuary. 1

2 In the third frame of the illustration, the figure we usually see hugging his knees is now peeking through a pile of blankets. The other figure is sitting cross-legged beside him, with his hand resting on the nest. Does that help? he asks. Yes. Are you ever coming out? No. OK, the nest builder says, Hang on. The nest builder made a beautiful sanctuary for his friend. But it wasn t enough. We get to the final frame in this frame there are no words. There are two heads peeking out from under a pile of blankets, their heads and hands are touching. As I mentioned earlier, when I saw this cartoon last year, I immediately thought of the introduction to John s Gospel. The 14 th verse says, And the Word became flesh and lived among us. If anyone asks you what Christianity is all about, point them to this verse. You may need to summarize (briefly) the few preceding verses: The eternal Word - we often think of this as the second person of the trinity - was always with God. The eternal Word was, indeed, divine. All of creation came to be through the eternal Word. This creation was life and light. And then, the eternal creator Word became flesh: the life and light at the foundation of all creation. And this Word/flesh lived among us. 2

3 Now, the mystery of the Incarnation can t actually be summarized in sixty seven words probably not even in sixty seven thousand words! But I want us to spend just a moment dwelling in this rich text, as the Word dwells with us. We read, And the Word became flesh and lived among us. But if we want a closer more accurate - translation of the Greek, we might read, And the Word became flesh and pitched a tent among us. Having received this little tidbit of knowledge during my Greek class in seminary, when I read this article and looked at the accompanying illustration, I saw in the nest builder someone who came to one who was in distress and darkness, and pitched a tent, made a nest, and settled in to be with a person for as long as it took for that person to see the light. When I read this article and looked at the accompanying illustration, I saw Emmanuel God with us. When I saw this illustration about how to be a friend to someone suffering panic attacks I thought of Christmas! The illustration was about communion and fellowship, which is, fundamentally, what the Incarnation is about. When God pitches a tent with us, God comes to us for fellowship and communion. God has been doing this for a long, long time, but through the life of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, God is doing this in a new way. You may recall from your study of Exodus, that there is another tent that figures prominently in our faith tradition. As Moses leads his people to the Promised Land they are never far from the tent of meeting, from the tabernacle, a portable dwelling place for the divine presence. You may remember clouds covering the tabernacle and it being filled with the presence of God. The scenes as described in Exodus are beautiful and dramatic. The writer of John s Gospel was well acquainted with this Jewish tradition, with these stories that lay the foundation for our faith. So when he tells his 3

4 readers the incarnate Word dwelt among them, he is calling our attention here, says one scholar. John is telling us that the way Yahweh descended and dwelt among His people in the Tabernacle, and spoke with them and revealed Himself that very same thing is happening in Jesus Christ. In Jesus, the glory of Yahweh is descending and is pitching His tent to dwell among His people (Mike Riccardi ). You won t be surprised when I tell you the Greek word for living, dwelling, or pitching a tent shares the same root as the Hebrew for tabernacle. [It all fits together so neatly, doesn t it???] But what does the ancient tabernacle have to do with nest made of blankets? And how on earth did I find a Christmas message in this cartoon? When we celebrate Christmas, we celebrate the coming Emmanuel, the coming of God to be with us. God comes to us in our brokenness, darkness and our dying and bring us wholeness, light and life. In this cartoon I glimpsed a way we can be Christ for one another how we can be the light that dwells for a time with each other that dwells in the clouds and in the darkness for as long as it takes. There is no fixing things, covering things with a band-aid, removing pain or sorrow, there is simply fellowship and communion the saving grace we bid each Advent with the words: O come, O come, Emmanuel And ransom captive Israel That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer Our spirits by Thine advent here Disperse the gloomy clouds of night And death's dark shadows put to flight. 4

5 O come, O come, Thou Lord of might, Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height, In ancient times did'st give the Law, In cloud, and majesty and awe. Amen. Sources: 5

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. 1. Who is Emmanuel? 2. Who or what was Israel captive to? 3. When was the first time Jesus appeared?

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. 1. Who is Emmanuel? 2. Who or what was Israel captive to? 3. When was the first time Jesus appeared? Name: Author: Date: Original Language: 1. Who is Emmanuel? 2. Who or what was Israel captive to? 3. When was the first time Jesus appeared? 4. What is the ransom price Jesus pays? 5. When will Jesus appear