The Advent of LOVE – John 1:1-9, 14

Lectionary Readings for December 20, 2020         Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year B
2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16   v16 “Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.’”
Luke 1:47-55       Mary’s Magnificat
Romans 16:25-27    Paul’s Benediction to the Romans   v 25 Now all glory to God…
Luke 1:26-38   The Birth of Jesus Foretold    v 30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her…

But today, we’ll focus on John 1:1-9, 14 as our final reading before Christmas Eve.

Peace Quotes

“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” ~ Charles Dickens

“Christmas is a season for kindling the fire for hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.” ~ Washington Irving

If we treat every day like Christmas, with an attitude of great generosity to others and a time for reflecting on our own relationship with God and the world, we will naturally create “Peace on Earth” around us.

Any time I preach or lead a group, regardless of age, I start the same way. I’m going to say three short sentences. Please repeat each sentence, with enthusiasm.
God made me.           God loves me.            God has plans for me.

Preface to Today’s Scripture Reading

For the first three weeks of Advent, we read the birth stories from Matthew and Luke. For our final Sunday of Advent, we end with John.

The Gospel of John tells the story of Jesus’ birth in a unique way that some people find disorienting or confusing. And that’s because, unlike the first three gospels, John writes with a “high Christology.” That’s fancy seminary language that means John starts with Jesus “up” in heaven as a part of God and then works Jesus “down” to full humanity on earth. In comparison, Matthew, Mark, and Luke have a “low Christology;” they start with Jesus as a person and work Him up to full divinity with God.

Today’s reading comprises the opening verses of the Gospel of John. Notice that in today’s reading, John refers to Jesus as “the Word” – capital W. Jesus is the Word of God whereas the Bible contains some of God’s words – lower case w.

Also notice how John immediately hits many of the major issues of our faith: the unity of God’s nature, the story of our creation, light vs darkness, as well as incarnation (God became human).

Let’s open our ears, minds, and hearts as we hear John’s mystical version of Jesus’ entry into our world.

Read John 1:1-9, 14.

Everyone has felt alone at one time or another. For some of us, that feeling happens more often than not. But every Christmas season, we remember and celebrate our belief that we are not alone. God’s presence is always with us. Hopefully, that belief gives us great joy in both good times and bad.

John’s story tells us that the essence of Jesus has always existed and plays an ongoing role in the creation of the universe, our planet, and every person who has ever lived. That is an amazing and encouraging concept!

John describes Jesus as being light in darkness. Light helps us see what’s around us. Light gives us warmth when we’re cold. The light of each sunrise reminds us that a new day awaits us; a new day full of potential. When we share a personal relationship with God through Jesus, that relationship is illuminating – it helps us more clearly see hope and joy around us. That relationship lights our way, helping us better understand how we are to interact with the people around us. When we read Scripture and other encouraging texts, our hearts can be warmed by God’s love.

When I was 7 or 8 years old, I remember my grandfather taking my cousin and me to an Alabama state park that included a tour of a massive cave. They tried to prepare me ahead of time by saying the tour guide would lead us into the cave and then turn the lights out making it impossible to see anything, including your hand in front of your face. That didn’t sound so bad because they were explaining all of this while we were outside enjoying a warm, sunny day. But once we walked into the cave, once we lost sight of the entrance, once the temperature dropped 30 degrees… suddenly I wasn’t so sure. And then, lights out. The only reason I didn’t freak out was because I was holding Papa’s hand. I knew I could trust that as my steady source of safety. And Papa knew he could trust the tour guide to find the light switch.

In today’s reading, verses 4 and 5 describe Jesus as bringing the light of God’s love to everyone, a light that can never be overcome by any darkness. This challenges us to see the light of God’s love in every person we meet. This challenges us to acknowledge the darkness in our own lives and in the lives of others AND find ways to bring a helpful light into those dark places. Make no mistake, taking warm light into cold darkness can often be difficult, scary, and exhausting. Jesus led by example, and – from our human perspective – paid a terrible mortal price.
What price are we willing to pay to be light in darkness, to bring God’s love to people who desperately need it?

John also describes Jesus as the Word made flesh. The first chapter of Genesis tells us that God’s first act was speaking the universe into being. That voice and the life-creating power within it is the Word John describes. And this Word – God’s creative voice – became flesh in the person of Jesus. God has always loved humanity so much that the Creator of the Universe chose to become flesh among us. I tell and retell that concept so often because it is incredible, and much like the Christmas story, it’s worth retelling as a reminder to ourselves and as a new word of acceptance, healing, and encouragement to people hearing it for the first time.

As much as I held onto Papa’s warm hand in a cold cave, all of us can hold onto God’s Word (capital W) and God’s words (lower case w) as our source of safety and hope no matter how dark or cold our lives may be.

 2020 has been a crazy year; there’s no debating that. But despite all that has happened, we believe that God is with us through it all. No matter who or where we are; no matter what we have or have not done, we fundamentally believe that the light of God’s love IS with us through it all helping us see hope in the midst of despair, helping us see faith in the midst of uncertainty. Wherever you are – in your homes and in your lives – as you hear this, I encourage you to embrace the illuminating Christmas joy of believing that God made you, loves you, is with you, and has plans for you.

Amen? Amen!