24 December 2012 at Salem Lutheran Church, Gretna, LA
Text: John 1:1-14 (Isa 7:10-14, Mic 5:2-4, Isa 9:2-7,
Matt 1:18-25, Matt 2:1-12)
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.
At the fullness of time, the
ancient prophecy was to be fulfilled, “Behold the virgin shall conceive and
bear a Son, and you shall call His name Immanuel.”
When the time had come for
the Light to finally dispatch the darkness, the ancient prophecy was to be
fulfilled: “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the
clans of Judah, from you shall come forth to me one who is to be ruler in
Israel.”
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 these prophecies,
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, the King of kings and Lord of lords!
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 we close out this Christ’s
Mass in singing Christ’s glory while we hold small candles in our 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!
And let us pray with the
entire Church on earth the words of the ancient prayer:
“Enlighten our darkness by
the light of Your Christ; may His Word be a lamp to our feet and a light to our
path…. Let Your light scatter the
darkness, and illumine Your Church…. Jesus
Christ is the light of the world, the light no darkness can overcome!”
A blessed and joyful
Christmas to each of you, to our community, to the Church in every place, and
to our entire world! May the light of
Christ shine on all of you! Amen.
In the name of the
Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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