Christmas Day - The Word became flesh

JOHN 1: 1-5, 14

And so the big day has arrived. Today is Christmas Day when we celebrate the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Two of our Gospels, those written by Matthew and Luke, tell of this birth in colourful language. They tells us of travels, Mary and Joseph, shepherds, wise men and even angels. They provide the material which we weave into our Nativity plays.

But all of that is missing from our Bible reading this morning. Instead we have a meditation about the “Word.” This "Word" is and always has been Divine. It cannot be separated from the godhead. But John wants to say more than that and so in one of the most incredible sentences ever written, he writes;

“And the word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory.”

Wow! God has become flesh like you and me! So if we want to know what God is like, we only have to look at the Word made flesh.

Well that is a big issue. But this morning I want to share a view as to how the birth of Jesus is of help to us.

Some of you may know that during the period when I was waiting to move to the Isle of Man, one of the jobs I did was as a relief worker for the Devon and Cornwall Autistic Trust. I found it to be a difficult job. I think the reason is that I never really understood what made our clients anxious. I guessed but I didn’t always get it right.

Three years ago in his Christmas letter, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams told of watching a video presentation by a therapist working with children who have autism. The Archbishop told of a disturbed lad beating his head against a wall and then walking quickly up and down the room, twisting and flicking a piece of string. To the Archbishop’s amazement, the therapist began to do the same things as this lad. Incredibly after two days the boy began to smile at the therapist and even to respond to her touch. As the Archbishop put it;

“when the therapist gently echoes the actions and rhythms, the anxious and wounded mind of the autistic person sees that there is, after all, a link with the outside world that isn’t threatening. Here is someone doing what I do; the world isn’t just an unfamiliar place of terror and uncertainty…. And so relationship begins.”

Now the Archbishop goes on to suggest that humans are wrapped up in themselves but God acts to bring us out of our isolation just like the therapist in the video. He lives a life like ours with all the mundane things that help to make up our lives. Speaking our language and responding to our deeds and words, he enables communication and relationship between God and humanity. And he shows us through this life that is so full of love, that we can have a healthy relationship with God which is life affirming.

Years ago, the then Bishop of Durham, David Jenkins spoke of a simple creed that went like this;

“God is.
He is as he is in Jesus.
Therefore there is hope.”

So let’s go for it. Let us celebrate this Christmas Day, buoyed by the conviction that God becoming a human being is great news. Let us rejoice in the message of this day that God is truly for us!

Bideford Methodist Church Christmas Day December 25th 2007

This sermon owes much to lectionary notes by Chris Lockley concerning the Archbishop of Canterbury's letter for Christmas 2004