SERMON 2 nd Sunday of Christmas January 2, 2011 Jeremiah 31:7-14 Psalm 147:12-20 Ephesians 1:3-14 John 1:[1-9] 10-18 Brothers and sisters in Christ, grace to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus, who is the Christ. Amen. I grew up most of my younger years in a suburb of Minneapolis, very similar to Atascocita. As with most suburban communities, it was always changing. There were always new buildings being built and new people moving in. To give you an example of how fast our community was growing, I moved in when I was in third grade. From the time I was in third grade until I graduated from High School, I changed schools 7 times while living in the same house! In some ways, it can be a difficult way to live. There are always people coming and going. Therefore, it was not easy to make long lasting friends. Of course, I was used to that, growing up on Air Force bases until the age of eight. However, I do remember that I would always get excited when a house in our neighborhood was sold. I always thought that maybe a family might move in that included some cute girls. Or at least I hoped that they would have some kids my age so I could make some new friends. Unfortunately, I am sad to say that there were times when people moved into the neighborhood that were not welcomed by the community due to various reasons. That is a topic for another time.
But my question to you this day is this: How would you feel if you found out that Jesus was going to move into the house next door to you? Think about that for a moment. Would you change the way you lived? Would you invite him over for a barbeque? Would you think; Dang! I guess I won t be having anymore late parties on Saturday nights. Would you be afraid? Maybe you would be excited, since he would come in pretty handy if you ever ran out of wine. It s an interesting question to think about. And believe it or not, that is exactly what has happened. Listen again to the beginning words of St. John s Gospel. No book in literature begins with such profound breath-taking words. 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. And the Word became flesh and lived among us. There you go right there. The Word became flesh and lived among us. Jesus became our neighbor! The Son of the Most High was born in human form and lived as one of us. This was what we celebrated a little over a week ago. Now as you all know there are 12 days of Christmas. This Thursday will mark the end of the Christmas season when we celebrate The Epiphany of Our Lord. So as you can see, the holiday season is winding down. If it has not happened already, the tree will be taken down, the ornaments will be packed away, the decorations and mementos will be put back into their boxes, stacked again on the shelf to wait out another year.
And perhaps the post-yuletide blahs are ready to set in once we realize that the parties and the celebrations are coming to a close. Perhaps, in some cases the hopes we had for a perfect holiday did not quite materialize the way we had planned. Kids home from college will be returning to school and leaving the nest suddenly empty once again. Out of town relatives will be departing. Classes will resume and vacations will come to an end. I remember that this time of year was always depressing for me growing up, especially in Minnesota, because the frigidness of winter was just getting started. It was nice having snow for Christmas, but after the first of the year, I was ready for spring. Besides, school was not something that I enjoyed. I think it was mainly because I was picked on so much. Perhaps it was because I took everything so seriously. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. I was taught to say this on the playground at elementary school. The taunting that occurs on the playground is often merciless. When humiliating things were yelled at me, I would say those words. Sometimes I would say them with tremendous speed and force. But it was obvious that I did not truly believe what I was saying. I was just using the words to convince my classmates or even myself that whatever they said did not bother me. In reality, the words that were said did hurt and were often embarrassing. It would be more accurate to say: Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can really hurt me. You see, our culture has a very different understanding of words than the culture surrounding the writer of John s Gospel. In those days, people were very careful about words.
Words exercised a power of unpredictable force in the world. Words unleashed the unthinkable. Words could curse, and words could bless. The difference between life and death depended on the word. Words were so powerful that they brought the entire universe into existence. For example, the first chapter of Genesis tells us that the creation was brought forth out of nothingness by the sheer force of God s word, Let there be light... Let there be a firmament...let there be lights in the firmament... Let the earth bring forth living creatures. You see, the Word is more than a sign. It is a force. Even up until recent times, words had power. A common saying from just over a hundred years ago was; The pen is mightier than the sword. I would guess that not many people would believe this anymore. Today, we seem to use our swords much more readily without giving words a chance. However, we can never forget that words do have power. Perhaps that s why Jesus is said to be the incarnate Word of God. Jesus did not come as a great warrior with the purpose of destruction, but rather as God s creative and loving Word. And this is the mystery which we proclaim. The mystery of the Word becoming flesh and taking on a life of its own. Now you might ask; How can you proclaim a mystery? If something is a mystery, is it not therefore incomprehensible? No, that is not the meaning of mystery. A mystery is not something that cannot be known. A mystery is something that has been revealed but cannot be explained. Let me say that again. A mystery is not something that cannot be known. A mystery is something that has been revealed but cannot be explained. A virgin with child, God becoming a human being, the resurrection of Jesus, everlasting life, this is my body and blood given and shed for you to name just a few. In our common language we may speak of mystery in a rather naive manner. For example, I wrote this sermon on a computer.
I might say that it is a mystery to me how a computer works, but all I mean is that I am ignorant. There are people in the world who can explain how a computer works. I am not one of them. It is a mystery to most of us as to how the genetic code functions in our bodies, but scientists in the Genome Project explain a little more each day how our genes work. A scientist can explain much about the functions of the body. But when it comes to human life, even the scientists cannot explain how we got here, or more importantly why we are here. What is the purpose of human existence, and what is our destiny. This is the question that scientists will never answer. The answer cannot be found in a test tube. It can only be found in the mysteries of God, as have been revealed to us through Jesus, who we believe to be the Christ. Personally, I cannot explain the mystery of life and of faith. I can only give witness to it. The Word became flesh and lived among us. God is with us as the Word. And to be sure, in the biblical understanding, Word is not simply an idea or an image. Word is an event, a happening. That is why when we proclaim the mystery of faith, we are not only describing what God is doing. Rather, we ourselves are participating in the very actions of God. When we speak about God s love, we are actually bringing about God s love. That is why we gather together. That is why the Word must be activated in the preaching of the Gospel and the celebration of the sacraments. We must do this over and over again so that God s love may become so much a part of us that we cannot get rid of it. Word and Sacrament is God s love in action. Therefore, you cannot leave this place today with the notion that the Word of God is some sort of an idea that you can possess and carry away never to return. That is not the event.
The Word made flesh is the event of God living with us. God walking in our shoes. God experiencing what we experience. God with us; Emmanuel. A 5-year-old boy one day was playing with his 2-year-old bother when the 2-year-old reached up and yanked his older brother s hair. He screamed in pain, and his mother came rushing in. He cried and said that his little brother had pulled his hair. His mom said, Well, he s only 2 years old and he doesn t know what its like to have his hair pulled. The mom left and seconds later she heard another scream from the bedroom. This time it was the 2-year-old screaming in pain. She rushed in and asked what happened, to which the 5-year-old explained, You said he didn t know what it felt like to have his hair pulled; well, now he does. God knows what it is like to be human, for the Word became flesh and lived among us. This is the power of the Word. It is a mystery. A mystery we call faith. Amen. May the peace that passes all understanding be with you now and for life everlasting. Amen.
How many of you know what a word is? Can you tell me? Something you say Something you use to explain something to someone In our Bible story today we heard that in the beginning of time there was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. This Word became a human being and lived among us. In this case, a word is not SOMETHING, but SOMEONE. Who do you think is this Word that we just heard about? JESUS That s right. Jesus is God who decided to become human just like us so that he can know how we feel. Can you name some feelings that you have had? Jesus was a child too, just like you. Can you believe that? He knows what its like to be your age exactly how it feels. He knows how you feel when you feel scared. Or when you feel very very small and everyone around you seems so big. Jesus knows how you feel when you re sad or when you re happy or excited. Everything you feel Jesus knows about. Now, why do you think that God would want to become a human being like us? Because he loves us so very much. So the next time you hear or read the Bible, remember that that s how Jesus is alive for us. Jesus will always be with us because Jesus is the Word that lives with us. Let us pray.. Dear God, you sent Jesus your son to live with us, to become one of us. You did so because of your love for us. Always help us to follow him and serve you. Amen.