John 1:9-18
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.
(John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’”) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.
Back in the day, when your Pastor Mark and his brother were little and rambunctious, I was known to say, “What on earth are you guys doing?!” Have any of you said that to your kids or grandkids?
I think it is appropriate that on this second Sunday after Christmas that we stop and ask God, “WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING?” Something incredulous has taken place.
After all, why would God leave the glory of heaven with its choir of angels…with its peaceful harmony; heaven where there is no suffering, no tears, no death? Why would God leave all of that to come to earth as a dependent and weak baby, to be born in a stable to a teenage girl, born amidst the smells and grunts of animals, and with a surrogate father? Why would God do that? What on earth is God doing?
Well, the reason God is on earth was cast early on, there in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve decided they wanted to be like God and so ate the forbidden fruit;
Then Cain killed his brother;
and then throughout human history when people constantly disobeyed God -- the need for salvation – was evident. The wages of sin is death…
Even the chosen ones—God’s own people disobeyed. Moses killed his enemy; the great King David committed adultery; there were wars and more wars; there was even a golden calf -- unfaithfulness was rampant. Sin—missing the mark—had become the human way, even for the chosen people of God.
But, God, being loving and abounding in grace, didn’t give up on the creation or its people. Instead of just turning everything into a giant, flaming cinder, God made a series of promises through centuries of prophetic voices.
WHAT ON EARTH IS GOD DOING AT CHRISTMAS? God is keeping those promises. Here is how we remember a few them: A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. Isaiah 700 years before the birth of Jesus told of his coming: Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son and shall name him Immanuel (God with us.) Here is my servant…my chosen, in whom my soul delights…he will bring forth justice to the nations.
Over and over again God looked upon creation through tearful eyes, and God made promise after promise of a Savior, of a Messiah; of Immanuel.
What on earth was God doing that first Christmas? God was keeping a promise to save creation; to save God’s own people; to save you and me.
But, that wasn’t all: God came to earth to PROVE A LOVE. And not just any sort of love. This was something very special: LOVE DIVINE, ALL LOVES EXCELLING, JOY OF HEAVEN TO EARTH COME DOWN!
This love come down to earth excels all other love! Jesus said it best when he told Nicodemus: FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY SON, SO THAT EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM MAY NOT PERISH BUT MAY HAVE ETERNAL LIFE.
That takes a divine/stubborn kind of love. A love that is willing to die for its fulfillment. A love that requires sacrifice in order to be fulfilled, and it is a love that Jesus showed his followers then, and it is the same love that he shows you and me today.
Jesus told his disciples that because he loved them, that he would go to Jerusalem and would die for them, but they didn’t get it. They asked, “Who does that?” Who would die for a sinner like me? Who deserves that sort of love?
The Baby Jesus born in Bethlehem was proving God’s love. That he would leave the Father and the glorious company of heaven to be born as one of the humans he came to save was proving a love beyond comprehension.
Perhaps St. Paul said it best: In Jesus all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. And through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, by making peace though the blood of Jesus.
The body and blood of Jesus -- given and poured out – that proves a love that has no bounds.
WHAT ON EARTH IS GOD DOING? God is keeping a promise; God is proving a love; and, God is shining a Light.
God is shining a light on this dark and weary world. And it is dark and weary for sure. Especially in these days of a deadly virus;
in these days of hunger and disease and all sort natural disasters;
in these days of gun violence run rampant;
in these days of all of the “isms” that afflict humanity;
in these days of wars and rumors of more wars—it is a dark & weary time.
But, light has come my friends. There was light that first Christmas – it hung as the guiding Star over the manger in Bethlehem, and it continues to shine over us.
Again, hear Isaiah’s words, “I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations.” And, “the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined.”
And in the majestic words of John, chapter one, “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.” Ah, yes, there it is—the darkness did not and will not overcome this light that shines through the resurrected life of Jesus.
There are many references in scripture to Jesus being the light of the world, and so he is.
He is the light of our Christmas Eve’s silent night candles.
He is the light that gives hope to many through our food pantry gifts; our bags of blessings; our meals to the sex workers in Indy; through all of our mission-focused giving; he is the light that gives hope to our friends in Haiti.
He is the light that gives hope as we fight injustice, illness suffering and death.
And so, as we soon leave the Christmas season we go knowing that God, ON EARTH has kept a promise;
that God has proven a love;
and that God has shined a light on this dark but wonderful world. We go into this new year sharing that love and living in that light. Amen.
