Christmas 1 – The Word Became Flesh

Sermons – St. Brendan's Anglican Church

Flight into Egypt by Rembrandt (1627)

Christmas 1 2024
Rev. Doug Floyd
John 1:1-18

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”^[1]

Grant Osborne writes, “In my opinion, this is the single greatest sentence ever written in the history of the human language, the deepest theological statement ever written.”[2] Now let me repeat that verse:

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”^[3]

If we could but grasp the glory of this event, we would bow in speechless worship. This passage tells the story of God’s glory moving beyond the Tabernacle and Temple to the person of Jesus who lives and walks among the people: the broken, the sinful, the weary, and those living at the margins of society. As Osborne reflects on this event, he writes, “In Jesus as the Word, the Shekinah walked planet Earth; he was a walking holy of holies. I guarantee John was weeping with joy as he wrote this![4]

This revelation is so familiar to us that we often fail to see, fail to hear, fail to worship. Have mercy Lord! As I read, John 1:14-18, I think we might hear the impact if we think of it in light of Psalm 50. It is a Psalm of God’s coming. He comes to judge His people. Listen to the opening verses,

¹ The Mighty One, God the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
² Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth.
³ Our God comes; he does not keep silence;
before him is a devouring fire,
around him a mighty tempest.
⁴ He calls to the heavens above
and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
⁵ “Gather to me my faithful ones,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!” ^[5]

In the babe Jesus, He comes into our midst and reveals our hearts. Rowan Williams says, “Christmas is the moment of recognition, the moment when what we have always secretly known is set out in plain and fleshly terms. And at the same time, ‘Woe unto you who desire the day of the Lord’ and ‘Who may abide the day of his coming? For he is like a refiner’s fire.’”[6]

Listen to the words of Simeon when he beholds Jesus, “And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” ^[7]

The thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.

In just the initial stories of the birth of Jesus, we see this burning babe revealing hearts and passing judgment. The Biblical Theologian James Jordan has suggested that judgment is in the very fiber of all creation. Every day, each of us judge in seemingly mundane matters.

We pour a glass of sweet tea and taste it. Then we pass judgment. “It is good.” If we judge it good, we offer to those around us. Think of our Christmas feasts this week, quite of few people judged their meals as delicious! Sometimes the cook will say to themselves, “This dish doesn’t taste quite right. Let me add a little salt or a little garlic.” They make adjustments based on their judgment, and when it is deemed ready to serve, they offer it.

This can help us think more deeply about Fr. Les’s definition of God’s judgment, he says “that it always has a curative intent.” God reveals our hearts and passes judgment. In Ancient Israel, he determined his people were unable to serve as priests and kings for the nations. He will cure them and in the process, he will cure the Gentiles as well.

What does John’s Gospel tell us, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” ^[8]

He comes to judge but not with a baseball bat and an angry scowl. He comes to heal, to redeem, and to restore humanity. The baby Jesus reveals the hearts of those in power. Yesterday was the Feast of the Holy Innocents when Herod tries to kill all the children of Bethlehem so he can remove a threat to his ill-gotten throne.

At the same time, those mothers and innocent babes were judged as holy unto the Lord. The Feast of Holy Innocents is a feast day. A day of rejoicing. How could such a tragedy be a feast? The church honors these innocents as the first martyrs who didn’t choose to die but who ultimately laid their lives for Jesus Christ to live.

Let’s quickly consider many of those who were judged by this baby Jesus Christ. Mary yields entirely to the Word of the Father and bears the child who is her Lord. Joseph risks his life to protect Mary and the child. He obeys the word of the angel and names the baby Jesus and follows the angel out of Bethlehem and into Egypt.

Simeon and Anna are the faithful Jews who have watched and waited, and the Lord honors them by revealing His glory to them in the baby Jesus before they die. Think of the marginalized in the culture such as the shepherds. At the time of Jesus’ birth, shepherds were no longer the idealic figures of Israel’s past, like under King David. Shepherds were often considered untrustworthy and even dangerous. Yet, the Lord chooses to reveal this miracle to the lowly and forgotten and not to the high and mighty. He judges them worthy of redemption.

Or consider, the magi who travel from a pagan world, following the star to the baby. This alien man with alien gods are given grace to behold the glory of the only begotten Son. They are the first witnesses from the Gentiles to the birth of Christ.

Consider the mystery of Egypt. Joseph and Mary leave Bethlehem and seek refuge in Egypt. This once great empire enslaved the ancient Hebrews and eventually was judged and found wanting but was not abandoned. God still had plans for Egypt. Listen to the words of Isaiah,

In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border. It will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt.[9]

And the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the Lord and perform them. And the Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the Lord, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them.

In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.

In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.”[10]

Israel, Egypt, and Assyria would be seen as a blessing to all the earth. When Joseph and Mary seek refuge in Egypt, we see glimpses of this great promise coming true.

Throughout the life of Jesus, He will bring judgment and healing everywhere He goes. He will reveal the hearts of humanity. He is still revealing our hearts.

As I get ready to close, I want to revisit this image of the cook as judge. Think of the Lord preparing us as His great feast to the world around us. He might say, “This one needs more salt. He has lost his saltiness, but I will restore him and offer as a gift of preservation to the world around him.”

“Susanna has been beaten down by the world and wounded by oppressors. I am healing her. Those very places of brokenness and pain will become a balm of healing to the oppressed and forsaken.”

Jesus is judging and blessing each of us, preparing us as a gift of life for others. Consider the very places of weakness and even embarrassment in your life. He is touching those very places and revealing His strength and healing in your weakness.

Blessed be the name of the Lord.

I’ll end with a little dream I had last Friday night. In the dream, I was reading a book from another culture. Their book had a passage that caught my eye. “The people were feasting but they had no hallel.” When I awoke, I immediately remembered preaching on “hallel” a few years ago.

Hallel means praise but it is more like a shout rising up from the depths of belly and exploding out from the lips. Hallelujah is this shout of praise to our faithful, covenant God. Our world has been celebrating the Christmas feast, but many people have no hallel. They have no true joy. No source of joy. Their feast is ultimately empty.

He sends us out as a shout of joy the Lord that awakens our weary world to the goodness of our covenant God. Let us go forth rejoicing in the Lord who prepares us as a people to pour out His life and light to the world.

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^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Jn 1:14.

[2] Grant R. Osborne, John: Verse by Verse, ed. Jeffrey Reimer et al., Osborne New Testament Commentaries (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018), 33.

^[3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Jn 1:14.

[4] Ibid.

^[5] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 50:1–5.

[6] Williams, Rowan. Open to Judgement: Sermons and Addresses . Darton, Longman & Todd LTD. Kindle Edition.

^[7] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Lk 2:34–35.

^[8] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Jn 3:16–17.

[9] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Is 19:19–20.

[10] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Is 19:21–25.