Jeremiah 31:7-14; Ephesians 1:3-14;John 1:(1-9) 10-18
Christmas 2A
Adjectives abound this second Sunday after Christmas.
The Gospel lesson exudes descriptors of the Logos, of Jesus Christ through whom all things came to being. This Word is life and light. This Word has power to make us children of God. This Word is flesh and this flesh is known by its grace and truth, grace upon grace. The beauty of this passage soars with divine mystery and majesty because human words cannot contain the glory of the Most High God.
Ephesians provides an antiphonal response to the first chapter of John’s Gospel, revealing the impact of all of those divine characteristics. Through the Word, through Jesus Christ, we mortals are blessed and chosen, adopted and redeemed, gathered, made heirs of God and marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit.
Prose feels inadequate this week; poetry becomes the biblical texts appointed. Jeremiah provides a clue as to how we ought to respond to such glory and grace, truth and redemption. Those scattered and now gathered from the farthest parts of the earth, those radiant with the goodness of the Lord, can only erupt in praise, sing and rejoice. Might that be a word for us this week?
As we reflect on the Incarnation and move forward into a new calendar year, could we preachers and teachers of the faith call for a season of unabashed praise for all that God has done, all that God is doing, all that God will do? More than gratitude, praise incorporates our entire being, praise reflects back into the world the radiant goodness of our God, praise refuses to be embarrassed by evident emotions of joy made known in shouts or tears, dance or song, poetry or prose. Such demonstrative shows of delight, wonder and joy would garner the attention of others given their rarity. Outrage we see. Righteous indignation we know well. Cynicism is all too familiar. Aloof boredom is typical. Numbness and skepticism are the stock and trade of our culture. But when was the last time you witnessed or experienced or participated in unmitigated praise in the face of God’s glorious beauty and truth, light and power, grace and goodness?
What might it look like for us to show our redeemedness or blessedness, that we are marked with the seal of the promise Holy Spirit? Imagine if the goodness of our God radiated from the walls of our sanctuaries and out into God’s beloved world. Sometimes I think that Jesus’ admonishment that we must be like children if we are to enter the Kingdom of Heaven has something to do with the unfiltered nature of children. When they hurt, they cry. When they are frustrated, they scream. When they delighted, they squeal. When they are happy, they laugh. They radiate that which is within them at any given moment. As we grow older, we learn to mask much: our feelings, emotions, hopes, vulnerabilities. This is, of course, often appropriate and healthy. However, this greater control sometimes stunts our very being and prevents us from fully living the life God gives. We stop seeing the wonder in all creation. We miss the light-filled, grace-filled, truth-filled Word still speaking all around us. We worry about what others might think if we exhibit too much joy or lament, praise or angst. Now is the time to live as the children of God that Jesus empowers us to be.
Many afternoons when I am sitting in my car outside my daughter’s high school, waiting for the final bell of the day to ring, I am gifted with an enfleshed, grace-filled, illuminating word. The children in the special education classes get dismissed a few minutes early, and their teachers walk them to their respective buses. Almost without fail, they radiate a sense of joy as they make their way out of the building. They skip. They hold their teachers’ hands. They stop to hug a fellow classmate or pause to look at something they find interesting. The teachers appear to be happy, too. They do not rush. They stop and observe with their students. They receive and give hugs. The entire group seems attuned to the present moment, whether it brings wonder or the occasional frustration. I observe and find myself both delighted and reminded to notice the grace, the glory, the life, the light, the community, the children, right in front of me. In those moments I remember to praise God for the gift of being alive and gathered, chosen and blessed.
The texts appointed for this second Sunday of Christmas invite us to silence that voice within us that tells us to keep everything under control, do not expect too much, do not hope too much, do not reveal too much, do not rejoice or grieve too much, and instead give ourselves over to the Word made flesh and embodied in our own flesh. Allow the Word to overwhelm and envelop, silence in you any voice but God’s. Open your mouth, your body, your whole Jesus-redeemed being to praise and song, truth, grace upon grace. Let it radiate through you so that you will be, we will be, the light of the world no darkness can overcome.
This week:
- Read the text from John and then the one appointed from Ephesians. Do you see the connections? What words are present in both texts?
- When was the last time you experienced pure praise? When were you lost in wonder? Joy? Song?
- What does it mean to you that you are a child of God? What does it mean to you that others are children of God?
- Read the adjectives that describe the Word made flesh. Pick one to focus on each day of this week. At the end of the day, write down where you saw that characteristic of Jesus present in the world.
- Read the adjectives that describe the impact of Jesus Christ for human beings. Make these words the focus of your prayers this week and notice how this focus shapes your decisions, interactions and words.
- Have you ever felt scattered? Have you ever been displaced? Far away from home? What was it like? How did it feel to be gathered from those places?
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