2nd Sunday after the Nativity 2 January 2011
Jeremiah 31:7-14 Psalm 147: 12-20 Ephesians 1: 3-14 John 1: (1-9), 10-18
John 1:1-5 “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
This is one of my favourite passages as it very poetically speaks about the “Word” as a mysterious entity which, although spoken of as the word, obviously is way more than thoughts spoken aloud. This “Word” is not just God speaking, but we are shown this entity has attributes and power. This entity, the “Word” was there in the beginning and with God. More than that, this entity IS God! It is through this entity that all things were made. Although this entity existed for all time we now know him by his name; Jesus.
This reminds me of a part in the movie “The Dawn Treader” from the Narnia Chronicles. Aslan, the lion, speaks to the children about going back to their home and says that when they are back in their world he will be watching them, he’ll be there, but they will need to learn to know him by his other name. The “Word” was known to the ancient Israelites as personally... when you read the Old Testament you get the impression that the “Word” is more of a personal relationship with God rather than a written or spoken word. In the New Testament the people needed to know the “Word” by his other name, “Jesus”.
It is difficult to comprehend that Jesus, that historical figure, written about by Jewish historians and proclaimed in the scriptures, who walked this earth, was there at the beginning of creation and is both with God and IS God. But he IS!
And now we get to the frustrating part. Have you ever known something to be true but unable to convince anyone? Well, Jesus came but his people didn’t recognise him. The God of the Israelites came in human form and not only did most reject him but they crucified him.
John 1:9-13 “ 9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
And now we get to the good news. We who recognise the fullness of who Jesus is, are given the privilege of becoming Children of God. Really, this is a pretty big deal and a huge honour and gift. We the created beings who constantly go our own way are given the privilege of becoming God’s child simply by recognising the truth that Jesus is God... and then, by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, we have the price of our sin paid for. One of the words used to explain what Jesus did for us on the cross is “redemption”. Our sins cause us to have a price on our heads... and the price for sin is death.
Death! Yes... not just in this life, but also the second death which is spoken of in the book of Revelation. It is one of those unpopular things that we don’t like to talk about but in the year 2011 I believe we need to stand face to face with the truth whether it makes us uncomfortable or not and realize that this is serious stuff. If we die in this life as Christians, redeemed by God and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, then we needn’t fear the second death. This is not a subject to take lightly and when we realize the fullness of God’s gift to us we can be so grateful, because through the sacrifice of Jesus we have been redeemed –or purchased, for a price and now our lives are safe in him.
Ephesians 1:7-10 “7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.”
I believe that most of us, including myself, do not have a proper grasp on the big picture that God has. We look at the here and now and worry about mountain which God knows as an anthill. In this life we have hardships and sorrows and because the “Word” became flesh, we know that he understands and cares about our concerns, but we can have comfort that goes beyond understanding when we understand the promises and the gift of God.
Jeremiah 31:11-14 “11 For the LORD will deliver Jacob and redeem them from the hand of those stronger than they. 12 They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the LORD— the grain, the new wine and the olive oil,
the young of the flocks and herds. They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more. 13 Then young women will dance and be glad, young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.14 I will satisfy the priests with abundance, and my people will be filled with my bounty,” declares the LORD.”
We are the children of God and, like any father, He cares for our concerns and we are precious to Him. More than that God has known us before the creation of the world and he chose us. How amazing is that??!! Back when the “Word” was there creating in the beginning, we were in the mind of God and Chosen.
Ephesians 1:3-5 “3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.”
This gives us just a glimpse into who we really are. Just as we often fail to see the bigger picture of God’s plan and promises, we also often fail to realise the enormity of our identity in Christ. I often get a bit irritated when people want to run “self-image” classes to help people, when a class on our identity in Christ would give a much truer and more amazing sense of purpose and direction.
John’s Gospel tells us that Jesus is the “Light”. When we are in the light we can see things as they really as. We can see who Jesus really is and we can see who we really are. This is at once comforting and frightening.
I can remember swimming at a place called Marian falls and when I went under the water I kept my eyes closed. The reason was that I might be scared by what I saw. I was swimming and in the water – but didn’t want to see what I was swimming with. I preferred to be “in the dark” rather than know the truth. How senselessly foolish! Many people are like this about life.
We read in John’s Gospel that Jesus was rejected. It would seem that Jesus is still rejected and often for the same reason as me swimming at Marian falls.... People prefer to be in relatively comfortable ignorance rather than face the truth about life and death and the spiritual and physical world. It is like the song “One of us”, which asks the question “What if God was one of us.... and would you want to see, if seeing meant that you would have to believe....”.
When we consciously begin to think about the reality of this, hopefully we realize the foolishness. This world and the spiritual world is a reality which we are “swimming in”. We can close our eyes, but it will not change the reality and the consequences.
In the light of Christ we will find the frightening truth that we are sinners and what the consequence for that sin is, but we need to be assured of the amazing Good News of the promise of God. Assured of God’s love we need to walk in the light of Christ, our lives as an open book before the searchlight of God, acknowledging our need for a saviour, and as a child of God receive the redemption of Jesus Christ.
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