SERMON: CHRISTMAS 1 GOSPEL OF JOHN 1:1-18 BY: REV. KAREN KENNEDY DECEMBER 30, 2018 WITNESS: ALMIGHTY AND EVERLASTING GOD, WHOSE SERVANT AND PROPHET JOHN THE BAPTIST, BORE WITNESS TO THE TRUTH AS A BURNING AND SHINNING LAMP; REJOICE US IN HIS LIGHT AND LEAD US TO WITNESS TO YOUR SON, WHO IS THE ETERNAL LIGHT AND TRUTH. 1 During the Christmas Season, we are especially aware of how the holidays can be a very difficult time for some people. But for others, the days following Christmas can be just as difficult. The lights are dimmed, trees come down, days become shorter and winter sets in. For me, I am always a little bit sad when the Christmas Season is over. The Season of Advent offers such beauty and grace, especially when we take time to just sit in quiet moments when we can be still and feel the presence of that tiny little baby lying in a manger, a baby who would become the light of all people. On Christmas Eve, our church was filled with many visitors. One of the visitors was a tiny baby girl named Julia, not quite four months old. Julia brought smiles to each one of us who went to welcome her and her family. Babies seem to have that affect on most adults. Many of you know that I spent many years working with young children in a daycare setting. The last twelve years I worked was spent caring for infants. No matter what was happening in my life, or how difficult the day, these little ones illuminated my heart. Each time they would wrap their tiny hand around my finger, my heart would melt. It did not matter that their skin was a different color, or 1 The Westminster Collection of Christian Prayers: Carol Wilkinson ; Compiled by: Westminster John Knox Press, 100 Witherspoon St. Louisville, KY 40202
the fact they were born while their mom was in prison, or living in a shelter. It did not matter their parent might be undocumented, or a different nationality, what mattered to me was that I could feel God's presence, and each time I looked into their eyes, I saw love. You see, babies do not judge; they do not hate anyone. They are not prejudice or racist. If only the world did not teach them to be. A tiny baby born so very long ago in a little town called Bethlehem, brought light and hope to a dark and broken world. In our Gospel reading for this morning, John takes us on a poetic and mystical journey as we travel to the very beginning. Long before the world was created, there was God. But, God was not alone. The Word was with God, from the very beginning. Not one thing came into being without him, in him was life and that life would be the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. (John 1:5) Everything that came into being was touched by this light. In a kind of mystical and poetic way, John tries to help us understand the relationship Jesus has with God and with us. John keeps his focus on the divinity of Jesus as the Logos, the Living Word of God. It is a theology of Christology; referring to and identifying Jesus as divine. John's Gospel is believed by some to represent a later stage in the development of early Christian beliefs. The persecution by Roman authorities was becoming more and more frequent and the conflicts between Gentile Christians and Jewish Christians were becoming increasingly more intense. For John, Christian belief in Jesus is based on the Incarnation. Jesus is the embodiment of God's word, he is the one true path in finding a relationship with God and receiving eternal life. A new relationship of grace and truth not one based on ritual laws. A relationship born through embracing Jesus as the living Word of God, the one true light. Through this belief, all people could become children of God, not just a chosen few. John the Baptist was sent by God to prepare the way for Jesus, to testify to the divinity of Jesus, so that others may come to believe. John the Baptist was considered to be both a servant and a prophet. He had courage to speak truth, even though many around him did not want to hear what he had to say. Those with power and authority were both fearful and enraged by his words. Their anger did not stop John and his popularity grew which angered them more. John continued to speak truths in a hostile world, a hostility which would eventually take his life. 2.
Jesus came to live among us in a world that proved to be hostile from the very beginning of his arrival. He was rejected by those who were his own. Spiritual leaders who should have recognized him, who should have embraced the light, instead feared, rejected, and plotted against him. Those who were consumed by greed and power turned away from the light and continued to walk in darkness. John the Baptist was a voice calling out of the wilderness to the people of ancient times, calling them to speak truth and embrace the light. Scripture can serve as a bridge that connects us to the people of ancient times, reminding us that they were not much different than us. What was happening in the world they lived in can sometimes be a reflection of what is happening in the world we live in. Each generation has had to face their threats of darkness, yet the light has continued to shine for over two thousand years, illuminating one generation to the next. Just as John the Baptist called to the people of ancient times, we too are being called. In the Advent Forward Movement, Danielle Tumminio writes: As Christians, we are called to be prophets, yet prophecy is not something we hear much about today. We tend to think prophecy ended with Revelation and that prophets today are simply fortune tellers with a different name. It's important for us to remember that a prophet isn't defined by an ability to see into the future. A prophet is defined by the ability to speak the truth. Whenever a person is daring enough to speak truth, even if it's not what people want to hear, they are doing the work of a prophet. By being prophets, they are Advent's hope of new birth, helping to name and to right wrongs and to bring about the Kingdom of God on earth. 2 Tomorrow we celebrate New Year's Eve. A time when we transition from the present year and begin a new one. It is often a time for reflection and resolutions. Along with the hope and promise a new year might bring, there can also be apprehension and concern for the unknown. The year of 2018 brought a deep division within our country, with fear and uncertainty fueling the darkness. There were earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanoes, extreme fires, and mass shootings. How will we find the good among the chaos? We embrace the light! Even in the midst of flood waters, broken structures, and shattered lives; beneath the ashes, a light still glows. With each act of loving kindness given among the chaos, the light continues to illuminate the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it. 2 Expecting Jesus, by: Danielle Tumminio 2014 Forward Movement, Cincinnati, Ohio Morehouse Publishing: NY, Harrisburg, Denver 3.
4. As we consider our New Year's resolutions, maybe it is also a time to reflect on our faith journey in this coming new year. How will we as Christians answer the call to be prophets in our world today? Will we embrace the light which gives us the hope and assurance that we are not alone, so that maybe we will also find the courage to speak truth, to name and right the wrongs? To love in the face of despair? Jesus is God's gift to us. Jesus showed us how to love God and how to love one another. Whenever we share even small acts of loving kindness, we are illuminating the light of Jesus' presence in our lives and in our world. But, just like the people of ancient times, we too can let fear, greed and power take hold of us, causing us to walk in darkness. When we respond out of fear, we fuel the darkness. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. (John 1:3) In him was life, and the life was the light of all people. (John1:4) Everything that God created, everything that came into being, was somehow touched by Jesus. No one is a stranger to Jesus. Jesus taught us to not be afraid, but to welcome a stranger. How we respond to others, is also how we respond to Jesus, how we testify to the light. When Mary and Joseph entered Bethlehem, they were seen as strangers looking for a place to stay the night. The response to this young couple ready to have a baby was, No room at the Inn. Throughout history, strangers have been met with fear and mistrust, it is no different today. Many people have reached our borders, escaping horrific violence, risking everything just to have what many of us are blessed to have, a place where our children and grandchildren can grow and thrive. Yet like Mary and Joseph, they are met with the same response, No room at the inn. But in our world today, the response is backed with armed soldiers, tear gas and encampments. Two young children have already died while being held in custody at the border. One boy died late Christmas Eve. As followers of Jesus, we must ask ourselves if these actions illuminate the light, or fuel the darkness? Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once wrote, Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. He believed that hatred and fear darkened life, but love illuminates it. John the Baptist was sent by God to prepare the way for Jesus, to testify to the divinity of Jesus, so that others may come to believe. To embrace the light.
5. Jesus came to teach us how to love. How to love God and how to love one another. If we are truly called as Christians to be Prophets in our world today, how will we respond to that call? As we reflect on the coming year, it is important that we remember to embrace the light, the light that already dwells within us, reminding us that we are not alone and that we are all children of a loving God. The Living Word of God came to us in the form of a tiny baby lying in a manger, and because of this tiny baby, the world was forever changed. As we bring in the New Year, let us raise a glass and in the words of the very wise and wonderful Dr. Seuss: Let us make a toast to love and kindness, the things we need most. References: 1. Feasting on the Gospels: John Vol.1; Cynthia A. Jarvis & E. Elizabeth Johnson 2. Feasting on the Word: Year C Vol. 1: David L. Bartlett & Barbara Brown Taylor 3. The Westminster Collection of Christian Prayers: Westminster John Knox Press 4. Expecting Jesus: Danielle Tumminio 5. Quotes by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (internet)