“The word became flesh, and dwelt among us”- The Incarnation
Jn 1:1-14 Sun 22.12.02am
It was late at night and Heidi, who was expecting her second child, was home alone with her 3 year old daughter, Katelyn. Heidi started to go into labour and called 911.
Due to a power outage at the time, only one paramedic was able to respond to the call.
The house was very, very dark, so the paramedic asked Katelyn to hold a flashlight high over her mommy so he could see while he helped deliver the baby.
Very diligently, Katelyn did as she was asked. Heidi pushed and pushed, and after a little while Connor was born.
The paramedic lifted him by his feet, and spanked him on his bottom. Connor began to cry. The paramedic then thanked Katelyn for her help, and asked the wide eyed 3 year old Katelyn what she thought about what she had just witnessed. Katelyn quickly responded, "He shouldn’t have crawled in there in the first place. Spank him again."
- lots about birth etc this morning. Maybe a bit ‘earthy’ in bits- but as I go on, you’ll understand why. My text is v14
The Word
What is ‘the Word’? Maybe you haven’t asked this question?
- maybe just think it’s a reference to ‘the Bible’
o actually – it’s not. Though is something to do with communicating
The first occurrence of this word/ concept (the Logos) does not appear in the Bible- but in Gk literature, culture. The logos was
- the divine, ruling principle of the universe
- eternal. Divine. And an intermediary between God and man
o the ‘interface’ if you like… ‘internet’
So- the concept is in Gk culture, but this record slightly changes it-> goes further with the concept
The Greeks
1) believed in many gods. Here:
- echoes of Gen 1 “in the beginning GOD”… “in the beginning was the WORD”
o and the word WAS God and was with God
§ (sorry: JW’s are wrong on that bit!)
o unpacks how God did it at the start: He did it with/through Jesus.
§ He spoke the Word and it was (talk doesn’t come cheap to God. Speaking and it happening are synonymous)
· In fact same word used for ‘word’ and ‘event’ in Hebrew
o Eternal; with God in beginning. Pre-existent
So- something this passage makes clear is the Divinity of Jesus. That He was/is FULLY God. But that’s not the main point of my talk this morning.
2) despised ‘earthy’ things
to them: why God needed an intermediary… the word… is because God… the gods.. wouldn’t dare ‘soil his hands’ with earthy things.
- in fact, God would only touch earth through LAYERS of intermediaries
- the ‘spirit’ counted for everything. ‘the body’ was worthless, despicable. Neglect it, worship it or abuse it
Not so unlike our thoughts, today. True to say: our culture and even Christianity has been more influenced by Gk thought… than Biblical
They would NEVER have thought THIS was possible:
Became flesh
God… the Word would never have done this! It was abhorrent, offensive (to both Gks and Jews- who DID value the world/earth) and a waste of time to Gks (why bother?)
Actually- we… and history… have often made the same error. Truly!
Around… soon after… this was written a movement/cult arose that tried hard to pull Christianity off course
- Gnosticism. Flesh didn’t matter. Jesus wasn’t fully human. ‘knowledge is what mattered’
o 2nd century Gnostic- Valentinus “Jesus ate and drank, but didn’t defecate”
§ because , of course, God wouldn’t do that!
- Doceitism- Jesus only SEEMED human. Wasn’t really
In his book ‘the unbearable lightness of being’, Czech novelist Milan Kundera describes his thought processes as a child- that God has a mouth… and therefore must have intestines- and how he recoiled thinking such thoughts sacrilegious
- he describes our desire to distil out of real life the nice and the nasty… and separate the two
- Nice, sanitised, Christmas cards – the ‘silent night’… blissful while our lives are anything but! And Christmas is actually full of drunkenness and flatulence
- ‘Nothing wrong with it’- you say. Well – he recognises that the sanitised world view necessitates a gutter, dump, where all the nasty things and imperfect people are placed
o the ghetto and the concentration camp
He’s got a point. Maybe the whole problem with our Christmas… Christianity even, is not that’s too materialistic
- but not MATERIALISTIC ENOUGH. Of the real kind
- > the Word became FLESH
Earlier this year the Catholic League of America was up in arms about an exhibition in Napa, California… because the crib scene included a traditional Catalan figure called a ‘Caganer’. A bloke near the crib with his trousers around his ankles. They were offended by someone defecating in the Holy Stable
- but that’s how it would have been.
He IS GOD, but Christ became FLESH.
- and there was mess and afterbirth. Just like in real life
And dwelt among us
And this means SO much!
’Twas much,
that man was
made like God before,
But that God should
be like man
much more.
-- by John Donne.
God became man. He entered time and history and a race
It shows the VALUE of flesh… the earth… the world
- THIS (tap pulpit) matters to God.
- The physical real IS: a concern to God… part of the KOG
o Injustice, justice, food, work, politics, your body, people starving- matter to God
- In fact: heaven will be like THIS. Seriously
o The picture in the Bible is NOT of drinking harp lager on clouds. It’s a new garden. A new EARTH
§ Because to be fully US it has to be fully PHYSICAL (hence ‘resurrection’ of body not immortality of soul)
- Don’t give me a Christianity that is of no earthly value or good
- The value of PEOPLE. (this is where communism fails. Doesn’t value God and so doesn’t, ultimately, value people)
It shows OUR value
You… and your very body… is of value to God.
That He took on flesh is an absolute miracle! We should shout it from the rooftops with gratitude.
Martin Luther re-tells the folklore story of a stubborn and unspiritual man – Luther called him “a coarse and brutal lout” – who showed absolutely no reverence for any of the great truths of Christianity. When the words “And was made man” were sung in church, this man neither crossed himself nor removed his hat, both of which were common practice in the Roman church of that day. When the creeds were recited the man would not kneel. Luther says, “Then the devil stepped up to him and hit him so hard it made his head spin. He (The devil) cursed him gruesomely and said: ‘May hell consume you…. If God had become an angel like me and the congregation sang: “God was made an angel, “I would bend not only my knees but my whole body to the ground!…..And you vile human creature, you stand there like a stick or a stone. You hear that God did not become an angel but a man like you, and you just stand there like a stick of wood”
Martin Luther, from Luther’s works Volume 22
It shows Jesus… God… understands
- Our world. There’s lots we DON’T understand- but this I know: He felt the earth, nature red in tooth and claw. He took His own medicine
- Our humanity. Our frailty. Our weaknesses
It teaches us true balance
It’s not all about the spiritual! The Judao-Christian approach has always to value humans body, mind and spirit.
- I’m not sure it even divides us into those three! It sees us as a whole and TREATS us as a whole
o And so do the mature
One fascinating thing many of you who have a lot of ‘people contact’ will experience is – just how much the weather affects people!
- true! Miserable weather: more miserable people
- often: sun comes out… people’s problem’s vanish
many folks think they have a spiritual issue/problem:
- but just plain tired… or physically low. And THAT’S the root… where the solution lies
o (do you see: being ‘highly spiritual’ isn’t always helpful?)
o The angel gave Elijah sleep and food
The soul affects the spirit. Many of us need to get our act together physically, and start valuing the body (like this shows)
- THEN the spiritual renewal will come
- Illustr: Thurs felt low. Some of it ‘spiritual’ (after ministry)… much of it sheer tiredness and the ‘flump’ after completion (of Nicky G event).
- If I’d gone into ‘what have I done to grieve you, Lord’- it would have been counterproductive!
Is it possible that you’re looking for solutions ‘in the Spirit’ when the answer lies ‘in the flesh’ that Jesus so valued
This is why so many Christians are doctors, nurses, carers, homeless workers etc
- quote Kirk: ‘it’s the Christians who are there first’
- Illustr: Wed pm. Had dinner with a couple homeless. “Are you a Christian?” Aim not to convert them (they wouldn’t understand)- but to value them and show God’s value of them and their needs.
It shows He was able to
- be tempted
- suffer
- DIE.
Do you see why ‘the Incarnation’ (in-flesh) is so important?
- why Christmas is?
Praise God!
Now- how might you apply this
- to valuing people… the world… your work
- to seeing how GOD values these things
- to valuing your body and soul, and realising the part they play in your SPIRITUAL well-being.
o Getting yourself sorted, emotionally, physically
- To understanding what God… Jesus… did for you
o And receiving… thanking.
SILENCE, thought and prayer while listen to song. (Joan Osborne)
If God had a name, what would it be?
And would you call it to His face if you were faced with him
In all his glory? What would you ask
If you had just one question?
Yeah, yeah, God is great
Yeah, yeah, God is good
Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah yeah
What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us?
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home...
If God had a face, what would it look like?
And would you want to see, if seeing meant that you would have to
Believe in things like heaven and in Jesus
And the saints and all the prophets?
Yeah, yeah, God is great
Yeah, yeah, God is good
CLOSING PRAYER.
Hark the Herald Angels sing
