GODS WORD FOR A NEW YEAR

(Preached on Sunday, December 30, 2007)

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 1:14

 

Imagine, if you can, what Christmas celebrations would be like if we did not have the gospels of Matthew and Luke, but only the gospel of John.  That means no Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem on a donkey; arriving to find no room in the inn and settling for a stable where Mary gives birth to Jesus, laying him in a cow manger.  No angels appearing to shepherds in the fields, no visit of wise men from the East, no Herod slaughtering innocent children, no flight to Egypt.  No, all you have are these opening verses from John=s gospel.

 

Why John doesn=t seem to be aware of stories about shepherds and angels and magi, I don=t know.  If, as some believe, the author is the same John known as Athe beloved disciple,@ one would expect that he possibly knew more about the birth of Jesus than any other author, having been so close to Jesus and, especially, to Jesus= mother, Mary.  Surely he must have often heard the story from Mary ... the shining stars, the silent village street, the straw, the oxen, the stable ... God touching the earth ever so gently...

And yet, when John began to write the story years later he began with one line beyond, beneath, and above the stars, the shepherds, and the angels: AThe Word became flesh and lived among us...@  This is a birth story.  But here it is God=s Word becoming flesh, rather than a child being born in Bethlehem.  It is a cosmic celebration of a new reality.  After all, how does word become flesh?   What does that really mean?  And what is that word?

 

Words are an act of revelation.  They reveal our inner most selves to the world.  AIn the beginning was the Word...@  From the very start of creation God has been revealing God=s self through God=s Word.  Genesis tells us that God spoke, and the world came into being.  When God spoke creation into life God spoke God=s inner most self, God=s need and drive to love, to express love, to receive love. 

 

Words are revealing, but words can also be ambiguous.  Rarely does 100% of the message transfer between speaker and hearer.  I am continually amazed at what people hear compared to what I thought I said.  So, John tells us, God has gone the extra mile to communicate God=s self to us.  Now God=s word has taken on a fuller expression of God=s self in this flesh and blood human being, Jesus of Nazareth.  In Jesus, the Word of God, God=s own speech, has become flesh.  The Word which stems from the very heart of God.  The eternal, loving Word.  Embodied in a human life, the Word that looks you in the eyes and says: AFriend, what you see is what you get.@  God=s own, clearest message is lived out among us.  The Word is 100% present with us.

 

Dr. John Rosen, a psychiatrist in New York City, is well known for his work with catatonic schizophrenics.  Normally doctors remain separate and aloof from their patients.  Dr. Rosen moves into the ward with them.  He places his bed among their beds.  He lives the life they must live.  Day-to-day, he shares it.  He loves them.  If they don=t talk, he doesn=t talk either.  It is as if he understands what is happening.  His being there, being with them communicates something that they haven=t experienced in years C somebody understands.  But then he does something else.  He puts his arms around them and hugs them.  He holds these unattractive, unlovable, sometimes incontinent persons, and loves them back into life.  Often, the first words they speak are simply, AThank you.@ 

 

This is what John is trying to communicate to us.  This is what it means that Athe Word became flesh and lived among us.@  God moved into the ward with us.  God placed a bed among our beds.  All for the purpose of communicating God=s great and constant love and acceptance for us. 

 

Theologian Matthew Fox describes this truth as the Cosmic Christ came to earth in the life of someone called Jesus.  He was God=s proclamation of life C God=s Word C and as such, he held children instead of ignoring them as most adults did; touched those the world said were Auntouchable;@ challenged the unjust powers in charge of everything, calling them to be just and fair, compassionate and caring, especially for the weak and marginalized in society; dined with outcasts, accepting them as valued friends and members of the family; healed the sick; and lifted up those who had been put down.  This is the light that the world cannot put out.  This is the Word that cannot be silenced.  This is the one who gives new life.  This is the one who is greater and bigger and Abeyonder@ than everything imaginable.  Here.  Now.  Then and forever.  In our midst.  Wow! 

 

This Word of God is just so amazing, overwhelming, and awesome!  I can imagine Matthew or Luke sitting down and saying, AHere, let me tell you a story@ and before they even get started John bursts into the room and shouts, AGuess what!  The most amazing thing has happened, beyond description!@

 

Before moving to Miami, I lived for nine years on the Space Coast, in Brevard County, where Kennedy Space Center is located.  It was a regular occurrence to witness the launch of a rocket or the space shuttle.  They were always awe-inspiring moments.  Especially if you were able to watch a shuttle launch from one of the official viewing spots, just a few miles from the launch pad.  Jacob Needleman was an observer of the launch of Apollo 17 in 1975 and his description is far better than any I can offer, though my own experiences resonate with his words.

 

This was a night launch, and there were hundreds of cynical reporters all over the lawn, drinking beer, wisecracking, and waiting for this 35-story-high rocket.  The countdown came, and then the launch.  The first thing you see, he writes, is this extraordinary orange light, which is just at the limit of what you can bear to look at.  Everything is illuminated with this light.  Then comes this thing slowly rising up in total silence, because it takes a few seconds for the sound to come across.  You hear a WHOOOOOSH!  HHHH-MMMMM!  It enters right into you.  You can practically hear jaws dropping. The sense of wonder fills everyone in the whole place as this thing goes up and up.  The first stage ignites this beautiful blue flame.  It becomes like a star, but you realize there are human beings on it.  And then there=s total silence.  People just get up quietly, helping each other up.   They=re kind.  They open doors.  They look at one another, speaking quietly and interestedly.  These were suddenly moral people because the sense of wonder, the experience of wonder, had made them moral.

 

When the power of the Christmas story grabs hold of you deep inside, it changes you.  You cannot approach life or the world in the same way as before.  When that happens, the Word has once again become flesh, in you and in me.

 

Manuel Garcia lived in Pittsburgh.  In middle age he contracted cancer.  Manuel was in the hospital for weeks, undergoing the long and difficult treatment.  His weight plummeted to 126 pounds.  His hair fell out.  When the treatment ended, the doctor told Manuel he could go home to wait and see if the treatment saved his life.  The night before his release, Manuel was listless and uneasy.  He looked into the mirror and felt sick, wasted, and unloved.  His hairless head embarrassed him, and he dreaded being seen by his friends and neighbors.