The Gift of Christmas

The Gift of Christmas  Each of the four Gospels open with an accounting of the origins of Jesus.  Mark begins by introducing the “beginning of the good news” as told by the prophet Isaiah.  Here we see Jesus introduced as an adult man from Nazareth.  In the gospel of Luke, we are presented with the story of Jesus’ birth and his humble human beginnings of being born in a barn and then lain in a manger for his crib.  In the gospel of Matthew, we are taken a bit further into history, through the genealogy of Christ and then we are ushered into the story of Jesus’ birth and the story of the Epiphany. And in today’s gospel we are taken back even further still, as John invites us to travel all the way back to the very beginning of creation where the Word brought all things into being; the day, the night, the earth, the sky, all flying things, all things under the sea, and all things that walk and crawl on the face of the earth, including human beings.  John’s prologue, which has all the characteristics of a hymn, is a full manifestation of the God’s Word and God’s very being.  We are ushered through the beginning of time where the Word was with God and the Word was God, to the time when the Word became manifest in human flesh to live and dwell among us.  It is in trying to comprehend the awesomeness of this gift of love that I am brought to my knees, time and time again, in thanksgiving and praise for God’s faithfulness, loyalty, and love of creation.  God so loved us that God came to us incarnate in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, the embodiment of the Word in flesh, in truth, and in grace.  The other day, I was sitting on the couch in my living room with my dog Alabaster.  We were enjoying a fire and the beautiful decorations that my sons and their girlfriends had put up for me.  My heart was full of such joy and thanksgiving as I reflected on the unending faithfulness and grace of God.  At one point I had gotten up and as I did so, Alabaster also got up, and as he always does, followed me around the house.  When I returned to the living room and sat in the lazy boy, Alabaster faithfully followed and joined me in the chair.  I looked at him and smiled feeling his love and I said out loud, “You are so beautifully faithful and loyal and always by my side, I love you.”  And then I thought of Jesus, and how Jesus is also so beautifully faithful and loyal and without fail, always by my side.  As I considered the act of being faithful even further, I realized that Alabaster is teaching me how to be a loyal and faithful follower of Christ because no matter where I go, or what I do, Christ is always with me, and I am called to follow him as faithfully as Alabaster follows me.  But following Christ is not always easy to do, is it?The Word did not come to us in the human flesh of God’s only son because we were doing everything right.  God came to us incarnate through the Virgin Mary in the very human form of Jesus Christ to bridge the gap between us and God by showing us how to be true followers.  Jesus, in every sense of the word is a repairer of the breach of our relationship and covenant with God.  I love John’s Christmas story because it calls so prophetically for us to follow the light of Christ.  We are told from the beginning of the prologue who God is, who God was and how God created all things.  As the story unfolds, John shares with us the miracle of the incarnation as God gives us the unbelievable gift of self by being born into the flesh of a human man – “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory…full of grace and truth.  John points out that the law indeed came through Moses, but how we are to live the law in grace and truth is given to us through God’s gift of Jesus Christ – the true gift of Christmas.  God did not come to us at Christmas, roaring like a lion and in wrath.  God came in the most humble and beautiful of human ways – being born of a woman, who, without question, followed the calling of God to become the mother of God by becoming the mother of Jesus.  And as mothers do, Mother Mary loved and comforted and nurtured Jesus into adulthood.  I do not think we can possibly discuss the coming of Jesus in this way without also considering the brutal end of his human life.  As we read later in John’s gospel, “For God so loved the world he gave his only son so that everyone who believes in him may not parish but may have eternal life.” (3:16) As many commentators of this fourth gospel tell us, John shows us that not only did the Word become flesh and live among us, that very Word who came to us incarnate in Jesus Christ also became so involved in the twistedness of human life that he embodied the very hatred and humiliation of the cross. And in his final act of human faithfulness to God, Jesus forgave his trespassers and asked God to also forgive them; as God taught us to do.  So does this mean that God patronizes the brutality shown Jesus – not in the least.  What God does is manifest God’s glory in the resurrection of Jesus Christ whereby embracing all of humanity in the promise and hope of eternal life.  God came in love to show us through the life of Jesus how to love one another as ourselves and love God with all that we are.  As we enter into the remaining days of Christmastide, let us carry the gift that God has given us through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.  Friends, the work of Christmas is just beginning and as Howard Thurman shares in his book, The Mood of Christmas and Other Celebrations;  "When the song of the angels is stilled,When the star in the sky is gone,When the kings and princes are home,When the shepherds are back with their flock,The work of Christmas begins:To find the lost,To heal the broken,To feed the hungry,To release the prisoner,To rebuild the nations,To bring peace among others,To make music in the heart.”    The people of St. David’s shine the light of Christmas in all the work you do to feed the hungry, raise awareness to the racial and social injustices of this world, and spread the gospel of truth by word and example.    I invite us to revel in this light and in this work.  In another poem Howard Thurman shares the light of hope we find in the gift of Christmas in the following words saying:"I will light candles this Christmas.Candles of joy, despite all the sadness.Candles of hope where despair keeps watch.Candles of courage where fear is ever present.Candles of peace for tempest-tossed days.Candles of grace to ease heavy burdens.Candles of love to inspire all of my living.Candles that will burn all the year long. "  Let us go forth in this light, keeping the flame of hope burning not just today, not just through Christmastide, but every day in the new year and beyond.  Merry Christmas to you all and may the Blessing of Christmastide fill your hearts with the joy and light brought by the Christ Child.  Amen