Text John 1:1-14; Hebrews 1:1-4; Isaiah 62:6-12
Theme Just the Other Day
Subject The Incarnation (The Prologues of John and Hebrews)
Occasion Christmas
– 12/25/2007 –
Last night I talked about the
place of Christ’s birth
That we finally can say by faith
that God came to earth
not out there
but right here
“Where are you God?” was the question I wrestled with
Not in the field or up in the sky or even in the
manger
But right
here
That came as such a relief to me
But then I started rolling
the question around in another way
“Where are you God?” need not be not about place
It could be about time
Just the other day while I was at home recovering from surgery
I watched a guy waiting for the Westwind bus (the bus
stop’s just across the street)
By then I knew the bus usually arrived between 7
& 9 minutes before the hour
The guy was way early – at least 20 minutes early
It was raining and windy and cold
The guy wasn’t dressed for it
I wanted to invite him in or at least offer the shelter of our
porch
But then he wouldn’t see the bus coming down the
hill
Surely he thought as he looked north,
“where is the bus?”
He knew where the bus would come from and where it would go
“Where” was not so much about place as it was about
time
“Where is the bus?” was actually
“when will the bus get here?”
Carl
read for us the opening verses of The Letter to the Hebrews
Long ago God spoke …
by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son (Heb. 1:1-2a)
The
revelation of God in this passage crunches time
Long ago?
Moses lived 1700 years earlier
David lived about 1100 years
earlier
The prophets worked hard during
the 6th & 7th centuries BCE
That might seem “long ago”
But talk to a paleontologist
about long ago
Compared to
triceratops, Moses happened just the other day
In these last days brings the birth of Christ nearer
Hebrews was likely written within a couple of generations
of Jesus
His birth would have seemed like
something that happened
Just the other day
We who teach and believe that
scripture is the living word of God
Are invited into welcoming
the birth of Jesus as having happened
Just the other
day
That would make Christmas not
a history lesson but a current event
Please imagine what that could be for you
So near
So fresh
Let it be that way – let that revelation live for you
Jesus, born just
the other day
We
would visit more often
We
would be more aware of his presence throughout our days
Just the Other Day I heard about a guy replacing Larry Stewart as Secret
Santa
Larry
died two years ago – he was 58
He began his Secret Santa ministry in
Kansas City
He’d wander around and give
$100 bill
to anybody who looked like they needed it
Seems that in 25 years Larry gave away $1.3 million
To people
in laundromats, diners, bus stations, shelters & thrift stores
Lots
of these people were wondering, “Where are you God?”
Or maybe they’d given up hope
“Where are you God?”
Just the other day seems Jesus showed up at a bus
station in Kansas
Just in time
The Christmas Gospel
according to St. John begins
In the beginning was the Word
In the beginning – really?
Those are the first 3 words from Genesis
In the beginning
On a Christmas
morning, In the beginning should
seem like God never left
Continually present throughout the
biblical narrative
Always here – always with us
Even the beginning seems like just the
other day
Just
the other day I
read that the Jewish community in Iowa City filled the volunteer positions at
Mercy Hospital for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
Gracious ways are God’s ways
The birth of Jesus is ancient
We teach and
believe that Jesus is pre-existent before all worlds
Jewish people hold faith in the
promise of a Messiah
This kindness at Mercy, a
mitzvah,
is evidence of Jesus living among
the Jews
We know
God is with us
Right here
And we
know when God arrived
Just the other day
There
are many people awaiting the arrival of Jesus
Some have been waiting a long time
Others don’t know they are
waiting
Just
the other day,
You maybe remember,
Jesus was born in you
Pray
that others would save of you
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.
And some
might ask you,
When did that happen to you?
You can say confidently,
just the other day