“Word Made Flesh”

John 1:1-18

(sermon note: 12-21 sermon note)

¹In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
² He existed in the beginning with God.
³ God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
⁴ The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
⁵ The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.

⁶ God sent a man, John the Baptist, ⁷ to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. ⁸ John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. ⁹ The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

¹⁰ He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. ¹¹ He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. ¹² But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. ¹³ They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

¹⁴ So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

¹⁵ John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’”

¹⁶ From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.

This morning’s reading reminds me of the one about a priest and a rabbi who were seated together on a plane. After a while, the priest turned to the rabbi and asked, “Is it still a requirement of your faith that you not eat pork?” The rabbi responded, “Yes, that is still one of our beliefs.” The priest then asked, “Well, have you ever eaten pork?” To which the rabbi replied, “Yes, on one occasion, I did succumb to temptation and tasted a ham sandwich.” The priest nodded in understanding and went on with his reading. A little later on, the rabbi spoke up and asked the priest, “Father, is it still a requirement of your church that you remain celibate?” The priest replied, “Yes, that is still very much a part of our faith.” The rabbi then asked him, “Father, have you ever fallen to the temptation of the flesh?” The priest replied, “Yes, rabbi, on one occasion I was weak and broke with my faith.” The rabbi nodded understandingly.

He was silent for about five minutes, and then he said to the priest, “Beats a ham sandwich, doesn’t it?”

Aaaaah, to live in the flesh comes with all sorts of joys and temptations! There is much to experience in this world, some of it better than others. Some experiences shouldn’t be experienced at all. Some experiences lead to a world of trouble that only a fool would want to venture into. But there are some experiences that lead to wisdom and/or joy in this world. I’ve often wondered why anyone would abstain from pork or intimate relations. I mean, I get that swine can be filthy animals and avoiding them as food can prevent disease and sickness. But we’ve come a long way since the dietary restrictions of the Old Testament. Swine is raised and processed just as well as any other meat sources and disease and sickness are kept to a minimum. And besides, pork has a unique taste that brings unique joy. Why wouldn’t God want us to experience such joy? And intimate relations?! Again, I get that abstaining from them can limit the spread of disease and sickness but there are few substitutes for deep connection between people. Why wouldn’t God want us to connect with each other so deeply?

Well, people are funny and come up with funny ways to live in this world. It is, after all, a broken world full of sin and death. And our bodies are especially vulnerable to the sin and death of this world. We have to protect our bodies the best way we can if we want them to carry us through this world for as long as possible. We have to realize that not all experiences are healthy. And unhealthy experiences, though good at providing joy and wisdom, must be taken in moderation. The key is to always maintain balance and harmony within us and the world around us.

Now then, what does any of this have to do with our reading for today? John gives us an alternative birth narrative for Jesus, a more poetic narrative than the other gospel writers. Rather than giving us the who, what, where, and how of Jesus’ birth story, John uses more creative language that ties back to the opening verses of Genesis when God spoke all of creation into existence. In speaking, God used words to bring about his creation. So in a sense, words were the source of all creation. And we heard in our reading, “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.” According to John, Jesus is the Word, not to mention the Light. According to John, Jesus was around a lot sooner than with Mary and Joseph and the manger in Bethlehem. Jesus has been around since the beginning, so his birth story is really a paradox. But that’s a mystery to be solved another time. What’s important is that in Jesus, the Word became flesh. God stepped into time and space and wrestled with the same vulnerability to sin and death that we all have. Jesus had to wrestle with choosing certain experiences over others and choosing moderation over indulgence. Of course, we know it wasn’t much of a choice for him. Though tempted, he always chose the right experiences in complete moderation, just enough to experience joy and gain wisdom. He didn’t have the sinful nature that the rest of us are cursed with. He lived IN the flesh but not OF the flesh.

In just a few days, Jesus will once again be born anew in that lowly manger in Bethlehem. He will take on the vulnerability of the flesh and show us how to live in this world despite that vulnerability. Believe it or not, we can live with strength and courage in this sinful world. Inspired by Jesus’ witness, the apostle Paul does a good job of showing us how to do it. Recall his words in his letter to the Romans, “So letting your sinful nature (flesh) control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.” (8:6) Like Jesus, we can live IN the flesh but not OF the flesh by simply allowing the Spirit to control our minds. And our minds can overcome our flesh and its sinful nature. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul writes, “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature (flesh) craves.” (5:16) The Spirit is a powerful force in this world, much more powerful than sin and death. Jesus himself lived according to the Spirit and look at how strong and courageous he lived!

This week we will celebrate the birth of Jesus. We will celebrate God coming into our world as one of us, vulnerable to sin and death. We will celebrate God bringing a light into our darkness. Let us rejoice and give thanks! Thanks be to God!

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.