“THE WORD MADE FLESH FEEDS YOU GRACE AND TRUTH”
Saint John 1: 1-18
The Feast of The Nativity of The Lord: 25 December Anno Domini 2022
Fr Jay Watson, SSP
Scripture, the 1st Book of Moses, commonly called Genesis (which means origin, creation, the beginning of), starts “In the beginning.” The Septuagint correctly translates the Hebrew “bereshith” to “en arche.” That is exactly the way John 1 begins—for the same reason. The Book of Gensis and the 4th Gospel are connected at the hip, or, should we say by the pierced hands of Christ! “For The Law was given by Moses, but Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ.”
God is eternal, no beginning no ending; no time when He was not. God is the one who brought all of creation into being. Verse 3 in Genesis “and God said ‘let there be light’ and there was light.” The Word of The Lord, yes, but The Word of The Lord did the creating. That Word wasn’t The Father speaking or The Holy Ghost over-shadowing the deep “moving on the face of the waters.” That Speaking was done, simply WAS by God The 2nd Person—The Son. This Son Saint John calls “ha Logos,” Greek for “The Word.”
He who was “with God” i.e., The Father, that “Word” “was God.” The 2nd Person, The Son, is fully God and not just 1/3 of something. This is the mystery of The Trinity. This mystery, this Sacrament, is not the mystery we celebrate this Blessed morn, at least it’s not the prime focus. The Sacrament, The Mystery is Emmanuel. God in the flesh and God with you!
The reason you have not died from pure joy is that you are still a sinner even on Christmas Day. Even a Christian is beset with struggles, sicknesses, setbacks, heartaches, and…weak faith. The trials will come no matter what. The weak faith is made or kept weak by not being in The Word.
You were made by The Son of God just like He made the cosmos. Stop being like Pinocchio the puppet—rebelling and disobeying your maker. The Word is not Geppetto but Jesus The Christ—The Word Made Flesh!
The Christmas Gospel is The Christ: full stop. You were sitting in darkness. He is The Light and your Light. You were dead in trespasses. He is The Life and your Life. You were alone and full of misery and despair—in the valley of the shadow of death. He is your Shepherd who has found you, rescued you and brought you home. You were full of anxiety and attacks. He Who is The Prince of Peace is your Peace.
In the past, maybe this year, there have been some well-meaning theologians (good confessional Lutheran theologians), some fine faithful pastors, who may have been a bit “hard” on you in respect to your emotions and memories and nostalgic yearnings for the good-old-days of Christmases past.
They have wanted pure distilled 100% proof theology just like the Blessed Apostle and Evangelist Saint John lays down in his prologue of Chapter 1! They’re not wrong. But, why the babe in the manger? Why God not just wearing a “meat-suit” but The 2nd Person of The Trinity taking into His very Person (and His Divine Person; His Divine Nature is God—total essence God) real, true, and veritable Body and Blood, i.e., FLESH of your flesh, BONE of your bone, from the Ever Virgin…why?
It’s all for you. Not just for some long laundry list of generic sins. Not just for the true and correct exposition of the doctrine of “original sin.” Not just the correct juridical and forensic declaration of not-guilty by way of the Cross—and the preachment of The Cross: a declarative absolution by way of Jesus paying the price at Calvary and thus redeeming you.
Redeeming you from what? From darkness, sadness, loneliness, being outside of Eden—weeping with Eve and Adam at the loss of innocence, at the loss of dear decease Abel. Yes, The Son, “ha Logos” took on flesh to be the perfect Second Adam and do all the work; all the Law-Keeping. Yes, The Son of God has flesh and blood, just like all of you, so that He could be whipped, flogged, slapped, crowned, spit upon, blasphemed, and then spiked to a horrible wooden cross. Yes.
But the Mystery, The Sacrament of The Nativity; The Incarnation; Immanuel; is so that He could actually be with you and have you with Him. Not God’s memory; not God’s past historical rescue; Not God’s spiritual indwelling and strengthening of you; but Jesus actually, bodily, truly WITH YOU; FOR YOU!
No, He can’t embrace you the way He did His Mother. No, you can’t rest your head on his shoulder the way young Saint John did at the Last Supper. No, you can’t place your fingers in His wounds as did Believing Saint Thomas. But you hear Him speak in real words in real sounds by way of His servants. You believe those words because He is The Word made Flesh. This is your family. These are your traditions. And Jesus understands your memories and longings for when you were younger, your children were younger, your health was better, and everything seemed simpler—warmer and more familiar. He wants you to have those sentiments now this day as well—but emotions founded on the realities of The Word and The Sacramental Word.
So that’s why Christmas is The Great Sacrament itself—the very Christ Mass—the Body and Blood of God in The Sacrament of The Altar—The Eucharist, i.e., the good gift: The Gospel!
You receive Him my fellow “sons of God” and you “believe on His Name.”
The wine will be made Blood and the bread will be made Body. And you will eat and drink and be “full of grace and truth.” This is The Peace, good will toward man.
“And The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.”
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of The Holy Ghost
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