Love's Discontent
A Sermon for Epiphany
Based on John 1:1-18
Presented at San Leandro Community Church
January 2, 2011
by Tammy Nelson
Based on John 1:1-18
Presented at San Leandro Community Church
January 2, 2011
by Tammy Nelson
I have to confess that when I saw the lectionary text for today I jumped at the chance to stand here before you to share what is perhaps my favorite passage of scripture. Don’t get me wrong, I love the story of the Nativity. Who can resist the excitement of the angels, the daring of Mary, the courage of Joseph? Who doesn’t want to gather ‘round the manger to greet the newborn babe with shepherds and little drummer boys and three kings who traversed afar?
But sometimes I think in the crush of everything that comes with “Christmas” we have forgotten what it is we’re really celebrating. Christmas is actually an Epiphany. Epiphany, as defined by my handy online dictionary, can mean “an appearance or manifestation, esp. of a deity.” It also can mean “a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.” Both of those definitions seem to fit Christmas rather well, don’t you think?
What is Christmas? Why do we celebrate the birth of Jesus? What makes this particular baby so special that the heavens themselves rejoiced at his birth? Quite simply, Jesus is a living Epiphany. And I love this first chapter of the gospel of John because it reminds us just what Christmas, just what Jesus, just what this great epiphany is.
I’d like to take just a moment to work some quick spiritual mathematics so that we can take a look at this scripture with a new appreciation.
“In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) In First John chapter four verses seven and eight, we are admonished, “Dear friends, let’s love one another. Because love is from God, and everybody that loves is born from God and knows God. The person that doesn’t love doesn’t know God, because God is love.” So, if we know that the Word was God and we know that God is love, then it is a fair assumption that the Word is love. So just think about that for a moment.
"In the beginning was Love." Love was not content to remain a word, isolated and alone. In love's breath all creation took root. Love molded and fashioned humanity in its image and gave us the capacity to love in return.
Just look at the universe around us! Everywhere we turn, we see hints of our Creator. The beauty of nature, the majesty of the night sky, the infinite array of animals with whom we share our earthly home. They are all signposts to a great and mighty artist. But more than a signpost of an artist who has created his masterpiece and moved on, the universe and all the beauty that is contained within is a gift from someone who lovingly and lavishly woos us to himself.
Of course people looked at the world and saw many different things. Some saw resources to be exploited and power to be obtained. Some saw enemies waiting to take what was rightfully theirs. Others saw workforces to build monuments to their own greatness. Many saw the world as theirs, some even by divine right. They conquered nations and toppled dynasties because their God had sanctioned the destruction of the “other.” There were arguments and debates about which god was greater and nations crumbled under the foot of religious superiority.
Even those to whom God chose to directly reveal the awesome and endless love that courses through all God is, even they misunderstood what they had been given. So the message of love became a law, something to measure one’s self against to make sure life was lived correctly. Failure to live up to the exacting standards of this law could be harsh. The message of love could now be used to punish and even kill. And people worked to find loopholes - loopholes in love!
Time and again God raised up people to deliver his message of love. The prophets strove to translate God’s outrageous love for humanity into ideas that people could understand. Some of the most beautiful images we have of God come from the prophets: The Master Potter, God as gardener, The Lord is my Shepherd. But even prophets were not able to convey the true message of love that God longed to deliver. They were ignored, thought to be insane and even killed.
As we saw earlier in our Words of Reflection, “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” (Nelson Mandela) Love was not content to remain a word, some distant concept to discuss and debate. Instead, Love became human and walked in our midst; lavishly pouring out aspects of himself. Mercy; Grace; Affection; Kindness; Fellowship; Devotion; Peace; Belonging: aspects which had previously been words themselves and difficult to truly understand. That is the great Epiphany of Christmas: God, creator of all that is, knew that humanity would continue to misunderstand the purpose of his gifts: the message of love freely offered for all. So the light of the world, Love, descended into darkness and the message became the messenger. The infinite became an infant. “The Word became flesh and he lived with us.”
No longer did God have to rely on the postal service, email service providers or cell phones to broadcast the message of unconditional love. For 33 years Love itself walked in the midst of humanity, spreading his message and teaching us what love truly is. But people feared Love when they finally saw it. It upset the balance of power, the status quo. Love declared that all have worth in the heart of our heavenly father and Jesus showed his followers what this radical love could do.
Of course, those who feared the love that God offered did what fearful people often do; they lashed out. As so often in the past, they killed the messenger. But this time they were in for a surprise. The messenger was the message and Love is stronger than death. As one of my favorite movies so aptly put it, “You cannot kill True Love; all you can do is delay it for a while.” (Princess Bride, 1987)
Love was not content to remain a word. Despite blindness, despite fear, Love still seeks to make itself known. Not content to remain a word, Love constantly acts through the lives of those he loves. The scripture today tells us that “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came to testify; to testify about the light so that everybody would believe through him. He himself wasn’t the light – no, he would testify about the light.” He used words to call God’s children back to the light. Then the Light came and showed us that words are not enough.
It was Jesus’s actions that illuminated his words. People heard him speak about the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son, but Jesus didn’t stop there. He touched the untouchable, he ate with the outcast and he taught anyone who earnestly listened to him, even women! J All who believed his message finally came to realize their worth as beloved children of God. And then, God took it one step farther.
God’s adopted children were entrusted with the message of Love. This time, the message was written on their hearts and overflowed into the world to make itself known. Love taught through experience and experience taught God’s children to love. And that same love exists in the world today. The light still shines in the darkness. In the darkness of depression, in the darkness of unemployment, in the darkness of persecution, in the darkness of hunger and homelessness, the light shines. Where ever one of God’s children allows God’s love to burst forth in their lives, the light shines. Where ever someone stands up for one who is outcast, takes care of one who is destitute, or embraces the lost and lonely one, God’s light continues to shine.
“The Word became flesh, and he lived with us. And we have seen his glory – like the glory of a father’s only son – full of grace and truth.” Love, the concept, became a reality and the effects of that moment echo throughout time.
When our love becomes action in the life of a world that is hurting, then, those around us, our neighbors, will be drawn to the love that we share and the God who is Love. The Epiphany of Christmas is born anew!
Love was not content to remain a word; let us not remain content in keeping it so. Amen.
Invitation to Offering:
May we give of all that we are so that Love incarnate may be made known in our congregation, our community, and to the ends of the earth.
Offering Prayer:
God of infinite power and glory, than you for showing us what love truly is. As we celebrate the mystery of the Word made flesh, help us to remember that what we celebrate during this Christmas season is not for us alone. May the gifts we bring to you this day be used to spread a beacon of hope to all who need the warmth of your Light and the comfort of your Word. We pray this in the name of Jesus, our hope yesterday, today and forever. Amen.
But sometimes I think in the crush of everything that comes with “Christmas” we have forgotten what it is we’re really celebrating. Christmas is actually an Epiphany. Epiphany, as defined by my handy online dictionary, can mean “an appearance or manifestation, esp. of a deity.” It also can mean “a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.” Both of those definitions seem to fit Christmas rather well, don’t you think?
What is Christmas? Why do we celebrate the birth of Jesus? What makes this particular baby so special that the heavens themselves rejoiced at his birth? Quite simply, Jesus is a living Epiphany. And I love this first chapter of the gospel of John because it reminds us just what Christmas, just what Jesus, just what this great epiphany is.
I’d like to take just a moment to work some quick spiritual mathematics so that we can take a look at this scripture with a new appreciation.
“In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) In First John chapter four verses seven and eight, we are admonished, “Dear friends, let’s love one another. Because love is from God, and everybody that loves is born from God and knows God. The person that doesn’t love doesn’t know God, because God is love.” So, if we know that the Word was God and we know that God is love, then it is a fair assumption that the Word is love. So just think about that for a moment.
"In the beginning was Love." Love was not content to remain a word, isolated and alone. In love's breath all creation took root. Love molded and fashioned humanity in its image and gave us the capacity to love in return.
Just look at the universe around us! Everywhere we turn, we see hints of our Creator. The beauty of nature, the majesty of the night sky, the infinite array of animals with whom we share our earthly home. They are all signposts to a great and mighty artist. But more than a signpost of an artist who has created his masterpiece and moved on, the universe and all the beauty that is contained within is a gift from someone who lovingly and lavishly woos us to himself.
Of course people looked at the world and saw many different things. Some saw resources to be exploited and power to be obtained. Some saw enemies waiting to take what was rightfully theirs. Others saw workforces to build monuments to their own greatness. Many saw the world as theirs, some even by divine right. They conquered nations and toppled dynasties because their God had sanctioned the destruction of the “other.” There were arguments and debates about which god was greater and nations crumbled under the foot of religious superiority.
Even those to whom God chose to directly reveal the awesome and endless love that courses through all God is, even they misunderstood what they had been given. So the message of love became a law, something to measure one’s self against to make sure life was lived correctly. Failure to live up to the exacting standards of this law could be harsh. The message of love could now be used to punish and even kill. And people worked to find loopholes - loopholes in love!
Time and again God raised up people to deliver his message of love. The prophets strove to translate God’s outrageous love for humanity into ideas that people could understand. Some of the most beautiful images we have of God come from the prophets: The Master Potter, God as gardener, The Lord is my Shepherd. But even prophets were not able to convey the true message of love that God longed to deliver. They were ignored, thought to be insane and even killed.
As we saw earlier in our Words of Reflection, “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” (Nelson Mandela) Love was not content to remain a word, some distant concept to discuss and debate. Instead, Love became human and walked in our midst; lavishly pouring out aspects of himself. Mercy; Grace; Affection; Kindness; Fellowship; Devotion; Peace; Belonging: aspects which had previously been words themselves and difficult to truly understand. That is the great Epiphany of Christmas: God, creator of all that is, knew that humanity would continue to misunderstand the purpose of his gifts: the message of love freely offered for all. So the light of the world, Love, descended into darkness and the message became the messenger. The infinite became an infant. “The Word became flesh and he lived with us.”
No longer did God have to rely on the postal service, email service providers or cell phones to broadcast the message of unconditional love. For 33 years Love itself walked in the midst of humanity, spreading his message and teaching us what love truly is. But people feared Love when they finally saw it. It upset the balance of power, the status quo. Love declared that all have worth in the heart of our heavenly father and Jesus showed his followers what this radical love could do.
Of course, those who feared the love that God offered did what fearful people often do; they lashed out. As so often in the past, they killed the messenger. But this time they were in for a surprise. The messenger was the message and Love is stronger than death. As one of my favorite movies so aptly put it, “You cannot kill True Love; all you can do is delay it for a while.” (Princess Bride, 1987)
Love was not content to remain a word. Despite blindness, despite fear, Love still seeks to make itself known. Not content to remain a word, Love constantly acts through the lives of those he loves. The scripture today tells us that “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came to testify; to testify about the light so that everybody would believe through him. He himself wasn’t the light – no, he would testify about the light.” He used words to call God’s children back to the light. Then the Light came and showed us that words are not enough.
It was Jesus’s actions that illuminated his words. People heard him speak about the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son, but Jesus didn’t stop there. He touched the untouchable, he ate with the outcast and he taught anyone who earnestly listened to him, even women! J All who believed his message finally came to realize their worth as beloved children of God. And then, God took it one step farther.
God’s adopted children were entrusted with the message of Love. This time, the message was written on their hearts and overflowed into the world to make itself known. Love taught through experience and experience taught God’s children to love. And that same love exists in the world today. The light still shines in the darkness. In the darkness of depression, in the darkness of unemployment, in the darkness of persecution, in the darkness of hunger and homelessness, the light shines. Where ever one of God’s children allows God’s love to burst forth in their lives, the light shines. Where ever someone stands up for one who is outcast, takes care of one who is destitute, or embraces the lost and lonely one, God’s light continues to shine.
“The Word became flesh, and he lived with us. And we have seen his glory – like the glory of a father’s only son – full of grace and truth.” Love, the concept, became a reality and the effects of that moment echo throughout time.
When our love becomes action in the life of a world that is hurting, then, those around us, our neighbors, will be drawn to the love that we share and the God who is Love. The Epiphany of Christmas is born anew!
Love was not content to remain a word; let us not remain content in keeping it so. Amen.
Invitation to Offering:
May we give of all that we are so that Love incarnate may be made known in our congregation, our community, and to the ends of the earth.
Offering Prayer:
God of infinite power and glory, than you for showing us what love truly is. As we celebrate the mystery of the Word made flesh, help us to remember that what we celebrate during this Christmas season is not for us alone. May the gifts we bring to you this day be used to spread a beacon of hope to all who need the warmth of your Light and the comfort of your Word. We pray this in the name of Jesus, our hope yesterday, today and forever. Amen.