By The Rev. Deacon Virginia Jenkins-Whatley
And the Word became flesh and lived among us” (From
John 1:1-18; First Sunday after Christmas)
Bishop Hughes recommends that since things
are so hectic we can take a break and we do
not have to write sermons each week. She
suggested using prepared sermons to present
available for priest on the diocese website.
Today’s sermon and last Sundays sermon are
from their website with some revisions….
How was your Christmas? People will be
asking each other that question for weeks
to come. While I understand what is being
asked. I also hear an underlying assumption
that Christmas is over. It is the same
assumption that underlies the birthday
wishes to Jesus. “Happy birthday Jesus”
suggests that Christmas is the celebration of
a past event, an anniversary. It is the reason
why in at least a few homes the tree has
already been taken down, the decorations
are being packed away for another year,
and the leftovers thrown out.
I raise these three points not as a criticism
or judgment but to show that we are event
driven people. We tend to live our lives
from one event to the next. If you don’t
think so, take a look at your calendar. It is a
schedule of events.I look for holidays for
days off from work. CVS, Walgreens, Target,
Walmart already have Valentine’s Day,
Easter and St Patrick items for sale. If we
have nothing scheduled on any given day, it
is as if there is nothing for us to experience
or learn that day.How different is St. John’s
understanding of Christmas, life, and
humanity.
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.
This, for St. John, is the Christmas story and
it is set in the context of creation, “In the
beginning.” Creation is not an event of the
past but the ongoing life of God with his
people. St. John echoes and continues the
Genesis story of creation, “In the beginning
God said, ‘Let there be…’ and there was….”
Land, sky, vegetation, living creatures from
the water, birds of the air, living creatures
from the earth, and humankind made in the
image and likeness of God.
Christmas is God continuing to give life to
his people. “And the Word became flesh
and lived among us.” Christmas, says St.
Gregory of Nyssa, is the “festival of re-
creation.” It is God giving God’s own life to
his people. It is as if God said, “I want
humanity to see my face. I want them to
hear my voice. I want them to touch me. I
want them to smell my sweat. I want them
to eat my body. I want to live their life. I
want them to live my life.” “And the word
became flesh and lived among us.” This is
God in the flesh, the divine human, holy
humanity.
This festival of re-creation is God’s
celebration of humanity. It is God
entrusting God’s self to human beings, to
you and to me. It is God’s reaffirmation of
humanity’s goodness. It is the sharing and
exchanging of life between God and you
and me. That’s why the early church could
say that God became human so that
humanity might become God. The Son of
God became the son of man so that the
sons of men might become sons of God.
That is really nice… Imagine what that
means for us. It means we are holy and
intended to be holy, not as an achievement
on our own but as a gift of God. This is the
gift of Christmas. We have been given the
power to become children of God. This
happens not by blood, or the will of the
flesh, or the will of people, but by God.
“And the Word became flesh and lived
among us.”
God sees humanity as the opportunity and
the means to reveal himself. Yet far too
often we use our humanity as an excuse. If
something goes wrong we are the first to
say “what do you expect I’m only human,”
we declare, as if we are somehow deficient.
We fail to see, to believe, to understand
that in the Word becoming flesh and living
among us we are God’s first sacrament.
Human beings are the tangible, outward,
and visible signs and carriers of God’s
inward and spiritual presence.
Have you ever thought of yourself as a
sacrament? Have you ever looked at
someone across the street and said, “Hey,
look! There is the sacramental image of
God?” Why not? Why do we not see that in
ourselves and each other? After all, “The
Word became flesh and lived among us.”
In the Jewish tradition rabbis tell a story
that each person has a procession of angels
going before them and crying out, “Make
way for the image of God.” Imagine how
different our lives and world would be if we
lived with this as our reality and the truth
that guided our lives.
Everywhere we go the angels go with us
announcing the coming of the image of God
and reminding us of who we are. That is the
truth of Christmas for us. It is also the
Christmas truth for the person living next
door, for those we love, for those we fear,
for those who are like us and those who are
different, for the stranger, and for our
enemies. “And the Word became flesh and
lived among us.”
The implications are profound. It changes
how we see our selves and one another, the
way we live, our actions, and our words. It
means that Christmas cannot be limited to
an event. Christmas is a life to be lived, a
way of being. It means that Christmas is
more properly understood as a verb rather
than a noun. So maybe we should stop
asking, “How was your Christmas?” Instead
we should be asking, “How are you
‘Christmassing?’” Are you recognizing the
Word become flesh in your own life? Are
you recognizing the Word become flesh in
the lives of others? Do you see the
procession of angels and hear their voices?
“And the Word became flesh and lived
among us.” The Word became flesh and has
never ceased living among us. The Word
became flesh and will never cease living
among us. So make way. Wherever you go.
Whatever you are doing. Whoever you are
with. Make way for the image of God.
Christmas your way through life.
Amen..