"The Word was with God, and the Word was God"

It's Wednesday, so I'm still thinking about Christmas

On Wednesdays, I workshop the sermon. This is a strange week for preachers! We still have to preach on Sunday - the First Sunday of Christmas (honestly, I don’t. But many do).

It turns out that I preached on Sunday’s Gospel - John 1 (and Luke 2) for Christmas Eve. I decided to combine them and read them together. So this is the basis of my sermon…

image by Cathie Caimano

Scripture: Luke 2:1-20 and John 1:1-18

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.

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 without him not one thing came into being.

All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David.

What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see-- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger."

But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us."

(John testified to him and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.'")

So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.

From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.

I’ve always known there were two choices for the Gospel reading on Christmas Eve - Luke 2 and John 1. I never paid much attention to the John Gospel, because I always want to read Luke 2: Mary and Joseph, baby Jesus, the shepherds and angels. We need this story on Christmas.

But then I read an article about the 1977 duet between a young David Bowie and a not-so-young Bing Crosby (he died just 5 weeks later). I had heard the song before - a layering of ‘the Little Drummer Boy’ and ‘Peace on Earth’.

I had heard this song many times, but I listened in new ways this time. I thought about how each piece of music brought out what was beautiful in the other.

Then I realized God was doing the same with the introduction of Jesus in these two Gospels.

John is vast and expansive and mysterious. It hearkens back to Genesis and Creation: ‘In the beginning…’

Luke is intimate and emotional and rich with detail. It echoes the Resurrection - miraculous life suddenly appearing.

When you hear each of them read together (I did this on Christmas Eve, interspersing the two Gospel stories), it highlights the mystery of the Luke story, and the intimacy of John’s Gospel.