John 1:1-14

“In the beginning was the Word.”

I wonder if guests and visitors joining us here at St. James’ on Christmas ever wonder: is this the only bit of gospel Scripture these people ever read? “In the beginning was the Word.” Every. Single. Christmas.

But here’s the thing: In the beginning… was the Word. Before Adam and Eve in the Garden, before Noah and the flood (yes even before dinosaurs), there was the Word. 

Before the Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and all of the miracles wrought by God for them and their descendants through generations of generations, there was the Word. 

Before Moses and Mt. Sinai and the Ten Commandments… before judges and prophets, before the magnificent kingdoms of David and Solomon, and the Great Temple of the Jews in Jerusalem, there was the Word.

Through all the centuries of war and strife that plagued the Jews on account of their unfaithfulness, before their exile and long captivity in Babylon, there was the Word… always present, always comforting, always mighty to save.

And after thousands of years of broken covenants—promises broken by God’s rebellious people… not by God—that very same God reached out across time and space to show us that he had skin in the game, and that he was in it to win it… was in it to win us. The Word became flesh… and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth. Not to lord it over us or to rub our noses in our sin and unbelief. No. The Word became flesh to love us… and heal us… and show us that death was not the end. Before everything that ever was, is or ever will be, there has always been the Word.

And that’s why we always read John this time of year. During this season of temporal gifts and giving, it reminds us that greatest gift ever given in the history of Creation was given by God… to us. His own beloved child, born as a human, yet without sin… sent to earth to show us how we could become fully-human in accordance with God’s will for our lives since the beginning of time.

Six hundred years before Jesus’ time, the Prophet Isaiah (perhaps Jesus’ favorite seer and poet) held fast to hope in God’s faithfulness… strong in his belief that, though the Jerusalem Temple lay desecrated and in ruins, God had not abandoned his Chosen People. Isaiah said, “Hear O Zion, your God yet reigns, and will return!” “Shout for joy… your salvation is at hand!” And later, the author of Hebrews would observe that salvation had became personified in the Son of God, who was “the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being…” who sustains all things by a powerful word, spoken by the One who was before all things. But it’s John’s testimony: “The Word became flesh and lived among us…” (v. 1:14a) that gives us the greatest cause for hope. God sent his only son to take on human flesh because, as it was said by St. Gregory of Nazianzus, “That which he has not assumed, he has not healed.” So, God’s got skinin this game, and he’s leaving it all on the field. 

So, what does that mean to you? What does that mean to us gathered here this night? It means God loves us… of course! It means God will never forsake us… of course! And it means we’re forgiven for all our sins before we ever even have to ask. I’ll say it again: We are forgiven before we ever even have to ask. Wow. And yet… we do have to ask. Not for God… for ourselves. Because only in asking for God’s forgiveness can we become reconciled with our selves… which is necessary for us to be atoned (“at-oned”) with God. God will never force relationship (or anything else, for that matter) upon us. God’s arms are always open, but it’s up to us to step into his embrace. 

So, let us rejoice on this day of days… the day the Creator of the universe and everything that is… stooped to comfort and save his people from the power of sin and death by sending his only Son, the eternal Word, to show us the way to salvation, once and for all. The path lies straight and smooth before us. Jesus beckons. “What then shall we do?” (cf. Luke 3:10) Give in to love… give in to God’s will for our lives. Accept the gift, freely given! Take hold of—and immerse yourself in—the fullness of grace and truth offered to us in the birth of our Savior Jesus. God’s in it to win us! Step into his Almighty embrace and be healed.

Merry Christmas.