Sermon by Rev. Bernadette Hartsough
Christmas 1-
December 27, 2020
After Christmas sales have begun. Christmas decorations are 40 or 50% off. For some of the world, Christmas is one day. One yearly celebration with gifts, parties, and family get togethers.
We celebrate the feast of Christmas for twelve days. I celebrated with my children in the rectory. It was fun exploring such an old, historic house. We connected with family through phone calls and Zoom. I hope you are all finding ways to connect with loved ones during this Christmastide.
Today we heard the birth story from the Gospel of John. The words are familiar, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” We become so accustomed to hearing these words that we may forget the importance of them. The event that we remember during Christmastide is not a one-day, one-time event. The Word coming to earth as Jesus changed our world forever.
God through Jesus enters our time and space. The Word mingles and sanctifies all of creation. Everything on heaven and on earth is united and is a part of the Word-Jesus.
“The Word became flesh and lived among us.”
The story of the Word is the story of how the Word as Jesus came as human flesh to be with us. Jesus the word becomes the self-expression of God. God choose to be one of us. To experience our world and to be part of humankind, vulnerable and dependent on others for human needs. As fully human, Jesus became vulnerable.
I see vulnerability is one of our most human traits. Vulnerability allows us to let others care for us and for us to care for others. It creates a system of dependence. Vulnerability opens us up for moments of deep joy and love and for moments of agonizing grief.
Vulnerability is what connects humankind, but it can be created by humans in power to target specific groups of people and then those people become vulnerable to abuse and violence.
In first century, Palestine, the poor and the young were vulnerable to being abused and killed. Tomorrow we remember the feast of the Holy Innocents. The remembrance of all the babies that were killed as the governing powers in First Century Palestine tried to kill Jesus. Just as in Jesus’s time, today 2,000 years later, many groups are still vulnerable because of the color of their skin, their religion, their gender, their sexual orientation, their lack of resources…etc. The list could go on. As Jesus lived among us, he showed us that we are to care for those who are vulnerable and not adhere to and create systems that make others vulnerable to violence. Jesus the vulnerable baby, the poor Jewish rabbi, was oppressed by a system that made him vulnerable to being abused and murdered. This is the world that our god choose to enter.
“He was in the world and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him…but to all who received him who believed in his name he gave power to become children of God.”
The Word came into the world and is still with us. Through creation, the Word is revealed.
We experience the Word-God in creation. It takes our attention, our noticing to meet the Word. As we slow down. We notice the things that seem beyond our human understanding. We encounter the Word as we hear and feel the power of a wave in the sea. We see the intricacies of ice crystals or spider webs; we see the smile in the eyes of another who wears a mask. We experience the Word as we offer forgiveness to others or when we ask for forgiveness. Sometimes we perceive the Word in ways that transcend our boundaries of perception. A piece of art that reveals a window to the Word. We sense a presence of peace during a time of chaos. We hear a whisper that gives us the strength to continue.
The Word may be experiences of awe in the face of our everyday mundane life. Those experiences that we encounter that seem to speak deeply to our humanity. The Word is present in the birth of a baby, or a kitten, or a puppy, or a colt. A new growth on a tree. A musical piece that provides solace and comfort to one passing over to death. People going to extraordinary lengths to give of themselves. During this pandemic thousands of people around the world have donated money, time, and materials to help others. I am awed when I hear of volunteers giving away large sums of money to buy tablets and masks for schools. Or people raising funds to help those who need money for food or rent or those who find new ways to connect with those who are alone. Those who have enormous amounts of courage to speak up against unjust laws and systems that target groups of people. We unite in our humanity with the Word to help those most vulnerable.
These experiences draw us out of our human understanding. We are invited beyond our human perception to experience the Word in creation. We sense God with us. We glimpse what the whole world can and should what it was created to be. We experience the Word. We are strengthened and we have hope. This is the work of God through the Word made flesh transforming the world. The story of the Word becoming flesh and living among us is the story of how our earthly world intersects with the eternal cosmic world of God. It is about renewing and redeeming all of creation-the beginnings of a world where heaven and earth are united.