25 December 2012 at Salem Lutheran Church, Gretna, LA
Text: John 1:1-14 (Ex 40:17-21, 34-38; Titus 3:4-7)
In the name of +
Jesus. Amen.
“In the beginning was the
Word…. And the Word became flesh and
dwelt among us.” On this day, the entire
world celebrates the Word becoming flesh.
History was never to be the same.
Eternity itself is what it is because of what God did “in the
beginning.”
“In the beginning, God
created the heavens and the earth.” And
at that time, “the earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the
face of the deep.” There was only
darkness, because the Word had not yet commanded light into being. But when the Word spoke the words: “Let there
be light,” there was light.
And the universe has never
been the same. For darkness is a lack of
light. One tiny flickering candle, one
small spark, just a few streaming microscopic electrons serve to remind us that
darkness – though at times scary and intimidating – is nothing. It is literally nothing, for the substance of
light eliminates the non-substance of darkness – even the small candles held by
Christians on Christmas Eve serve to eliminate the cold of darkness by
replacing the void with substance of warmth and brightness.
Before human history, one of
God’s creatures, an angel of light, decided that he would rather live in
darkness than in the light created by God through the Word. This creature preferred his own ugliness to
the Creator’s beauty, seeking his own chaos rather than the Creator’s order. And since this time, he has been trying to
undo the work of creation – including us, the handiwork of God, creatures made
in the divine image. For mankind is
repugnant to the devil, we creatures who remind him of His True Master.
As a result of this war
between darkness and light, the Word that was with God in the beginning, the
Word that was God, was sent here to earth to bring light to us who, as a result
of Satan’s tyranny, sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.
Indeed, as the prophet spoke:
“The people who have walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who
dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone…. For to us a child is born, to us a Son is
given.”
The fulfillment of this
prophecy, the beating back against the darkness of sin and death by the light
of righteousness and life took place when the “Word became flesh and dwelt
among us.” To manifest this reality that
the Lord Jesus Christ had been born, the wise men followed the star, whose
light led them to the True Light, as we sing in the Evening Prayer liturgy:
“Jesus Christ is the light of the world, the light no darkness can
overcome.” The light of the star led
them to the Christ Child, the Word made flesh, the light shining in the
darkness, the one born into our world to save our world, as St. Paul wrote to
St. Titus, by virtue of the “goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior,”
who “saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according
to His own mercy.”
And as the testimony of St.
John in Holy Scripture confesses and reveals about this Christ Child: “In Him
was life, and the life was the light of men.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome
it…. The true light, which gives light
to everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world
did not know Him.”
This Uncreated Light shining
in the darkness of our corrupted world came as a humble child, He by whom all
things were made, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God,” born with
the forces of darkness trying to extinguish the young flame of His fleshly
existence, “came to His own,” taking flesh and blood in a world populated by
the very people created in His image and through Him.
And even though “His own
people did not receive Him,” we know this: “To all who did receive Him, who
believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were
born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor the will of man, but of
God.”
Dear friends, this is the
true significance of Christmas: in Christ, the light has dispelled the
darkness. Good has come to extinguish
evil. The gift of the Christ Child is
offered to each of us, making us also children of God, forgiven of our sins,
given the gift of eternal life, blessed to be a blessing in this world. For we Christians, we followers of this
Christ Child, are to let the light of our good works shine before the world
that the Father may be glorified. We are
to leave the darkness and walk in the light of Christ. For darkness is the absence of light. Light is a positive reality that causes
darkness to flee.
“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.”
Think and meditate on this
reality, dear brothers and sisters, even as we see the flames dancing at the
altar in celebration of our Lord’s birth, even as Christians around the world closed
out the eve of the Christ’s Mass last night in singing Christ’s glory while brandishing
small candles in their hands. Think and
meditate on this reality, dear friends, when you see the colored lights of the
season adorning our trees and our homes, as we see light, great and small, joyfully
set the darkness and all of its dark forces fleeing from the True Light of
Christ!
Jesus Christ is the light of
the world, the light no darkness can overcome!”
And let us pray with the
entire Church on earth the words of the ancient prayer:
“Blessed are You, O Lord our
God, king of the universe, who led Your people Israel by a pillar of cloud by
day and a pillar of fire by night. Enlighten
our darkness by the light of Your Christ; may His Word be a lamp to our feet
and a light to our path; for You are merciful, and You love Your whole
creation, and we, Your creatures, glorify You, Father Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.”
In the name of the
Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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