Christmas Day Sermon

 

Christmas Day, 2021 – John 1:1-18

In the Name of Christ Jesus our Newborn King +

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him. John here gives one of the simplest and best descriptions of the state of what sin looks like. We often think of sin primarily in terms of doing bad things, being naughty. And we therefore contrast sin with doing nice things. If I just do enough good things, then clearly I've dealt with sin. But that misses the point. Sin isn't just about my actions – defeating sin isn't a matter of “works done by us in righteousness” as St. Paul points out in Titus (a verse you should have all memorized from the Catechism, because if you want your Pastor to talk about righteous works he'll start at memorizing the Catechism). Bad acts, bad thoughts, words, and deeds are all just a side effect of what sin is. At its core, sin is not knowing, not experiencing Christ Jesus.

When Christ Jesus made the world, when the Word Himself summoned forth creation, it was all gift to us. Nothing but gift – and not to slate any of your shopping skills or the cleverness of Santa - better gifts than anything found under the tree this morning. And Adam and Eve knew it as gift, and they knew their relationship with the LORD as gift – they'd walk with Him together in the garden in the cool of the day. But the temptation, the lure Satan put forth was that there was something else to know, something better than the LORD and His gifts. Eat the fruit, have the knowledge of good and evil – don't receive merely what God gives, but take for your own. Ignore the trees God gave you and pull a “gift” off of this one. And sin is unleashed. And nothing is good. Contentment is gone. Fear and anger have come. And then what happens? Adam and Eve hear the sound of the LORD coming, and they hide. Why? Why hide from God, why hide from your Creator? Because they didn't know Him anymore. There was Jesus, in the world, the world that He had made, and Adam and Eve acted as though they didn't know Him. As though they thought that Jesus was going to show up and smite them instead of show love to them. Love that should have been the most obvious thing becomes a love unimaginable.

And Jesus promises to clean up the mess. He could not be with Adam and Eve as He had been before the Fall – they couldn't handle it. Satan had his claws upon them, wickedness enveloped them in anger and excuses, sin had blinded and deafened them. And so He promised right then and there in that garden that He would rescue them – the LORD stares down Satan and promises to come, become Man Himself to rescue His creation and to crush Satan under His feet.

And then we have the rest of the Old Testament. And it is nothing but over and over the Word of God coming to people who have forgotten, who intend not to know Him, and reminding them of the promise over and over. The LORD comes to Abraham – have a covenant, be circumcised and remember the promise. The LORD comes to Moses, rescues Israel who had all but forgotten Him – have the Law, remember the promise. Judges and Kings and prophets, all dealing with sin, with folks not knowing the LORD, and yet there is preaching and prophecy again proclaiming the promise. Know the LORD.

And finally, in the fullness of time, He comes. Jesus is born of Mary. The Word becomes flesh and dwells among us. And even when He comes in the flesh, people still don't know Him – thus the power of sin. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. Think on the Gospels, how often people don't understand who Jesus is, how often He surprises them with His love and compassion. Even the disciples, who should know Him better than anyone are repeatedly caught off guard. Why would He heal even gentiles, why would He cast out their demons, how can He be walking on water and stilling storms, why would He eat with sinners and tax collectors? Over and over – people don't know. Why? Because He is the Word by Whom all things were made, without Whom nothing was made – and there is not one of His creatures that He does not love and care for. But sin, but this stupid desire and determination to not know who God actually is blinds them, blinds us, and Jesus and His love continually catches people off guard.

And of course, it caught the disciples off guard the most when He told them bluntly that He would fulfill the promise – that He would go to the Cross and die to crush the Serpent's head, that He would rise to life on the third day to bring back life for His friends. Peter tries to talk Him out of it – get thee behind Me, Satan. Sin is not knowing who Jesus is. And yet, as He wanders though this world infested and made idiotic by sin, Jesus simply goes on to the Cross and does what He promised to do. And there, the very Body that our LORD took up, that was shown forth and revealed on Christmas – dies. And then, He rises, and life is won again for us, life with God.

But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. Oh, Jesus comes to make us children of God again, to restore us unto what Adam and Eve were before the fall. Because that restoration, being again what Jesus created us to be – it wasn't going to happen by anything we did. It wasn't going to be a matter of inheritance, nor of self control keeping our flesh in check, nor of making a decision to be better folks. Jesus knew none of those would work. Instead He does the work for you – and by His blood and by His life, you receive again a welcome into the family of God. You were claimed by God Himself in Holy Baptism. There at the font Jesus declared that He Himself is your brother, and that all that is His is in fact yours, given to you. That's the right that you have – all that belongs to Jesus now belongs to you. Because that's who Jesus is and always has been – the Giver of gifts. Here's a gift, receive it, delight in it.

And you will. Eternally. Now, you still contend with sin. Satan, the world, and your sinful flesh all conspire to make you forget Jesus, to not know Him. Yet that doesn't stop Jesus – He's not intimidated in the slightest. He came to you in Holy Baptism – of course He will come to you again and again. The Word Incarnate comes in His Word. He dwells among you today as He gives you His Body and Blood under bread and wine. Jesus makes you to know Him in His Word and His gifts of Baptism and the Supper. And even as things rage, even as sin tries to blind you and often enough does – Jesus comes to you again and again. And even when death comes for you and tries to close your eyes off to God forever, Jesus will speak His Word and open your eyes and you will see Him, and you will be raised from the dead and restored unto life, true life, life like back in the garden life. Because Jesus remains a giver – not just on December the 25^th, but always, now and forever. So that being justified by His grace [that is His gift, His free gift] we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is the reality, this is the truth of who you are and who Jesus is for you. And because He keeps His promises you will see it – now though a mirror dimly, but then face to face. The world might already be thinking about tearing down the decorations, wrapping all this Christmasy stuff up by Monday or Tuesday – but no – the real Christmas celebrations have just started. The feast is today, the feast is to come – and you will see it, and you will know your Savior's face, and see His own joy as He gives you grace upon grace for all eternity. Merry Christmas my friends in Christ! In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Newborn King.