Christmas 2022

John, the follower of Jesus who wrote the words read a moment ago, recorded a vision granted him late in his life.

Revelation 22:1–4 (HCSB)

Then he showed me the river of living water, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb

down the middle of the broad street of the city. The tree of life was on both sides of the river, bearing 12 kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations,

and there will no longer be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His slaves will serve Him.

They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.

To ‘see’ God with our eyes, to experience His presence in every sense, is the ultimate definition of life.

We were created for this purpose - that we might see God and by seeing Him we might reflect Him to the world around us.

Yet when we ‘see’ what’s going on in our world, when we ‘see’ how people treat people, we rarely see God. Instead we see darkness, we see defeat, we see death.

Is there hope for ‘seeing’ God in the midst of the darkness and chaos of our lives?

John uses the words “In the beginning” to direct our attention to the opening words of Genesis:

Genesis 1:1–4 HCSB

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.

Before light there was God. God, in His fullness is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All are acknowledged as present and active in creation throughout God’s Word.

Light Overcomes Darkness

One author describes the era of Jesus’ birth like this:

Since the Babylonian invasion of 597 B.C., the Jews had been kicked like a soccer ball from empire to empire. In 164 B.C., they’d managed to rebel and re-establish sovereign rule—a triumph that Jews still celebrate at Hanukkah. But then, in 63 B.C., the Romans took Jerusalem. The Jews were back to living under foreign, pagan overlords. Ancient Israelite prophets had sworn that God would one day send an everlasting, empire-breaking King, the “anointed” one—Messiah (in Hebrew) or Christ (in Greek). But no such King had come.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/when-mary-met-the-angel-11671810935?mod=Searchresults_pos2&page=1

No such King had come. Darkness enveloped the people as they hoped against hope that God would do as He had done in the past - work a miraculous deliverance.

John the Baptist, an often overlooked figure in the Christmas story, (vs 6-9), has a message:

John 1:9 HCSB

The true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

Light was coming! Not artificial light - but genuine light.

Just a few years prior to the angelic message to Mary

In 4 B.C., a group of Jews had captured an armory at Sepphoris, just four miles from Mary’s hometown, Nazareth. In response, the Romans had burned Sepphoris to the ground, sold its inhabitants into slavery, and crucified about 2,000 Jews. Resistance to the rule of Rome was not just futile. It was suicidal.

Ibid.

Could there really be light in the midst of such darkness?

Life Requires Light

Living in the clouds and for as many in the PNW do, we often yearn for a little sunlight - without which life is impossible. Sunlight is necessary for our bodies - we absorb vitamin D from the sun which makes it possible for our bodies to use calcium, and without light there would be no food - period.

The light which God in His fullness created is more than just that which separates day and night. Light makes possible the very life which we live!

Avoiding the Light

For you and I avoiding the light seems irresponsible. Why would people prefer darkness instead of light?

John the writer of the gospel answers this question as he outlines a conversation between Jesus and a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin named Nicodemus.

John 3:19 (HCSB)

“This, then, is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.

People ‘loved darkness because their deeds were evil.’ Instead of seeking to discover the presence of God there are those who do all they can to ignore, to run from, to avoid the truth of God.

John 1:11–12 HCSB

He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name,

Not everyone who heard Jesus’ call dropped everything as did Peter, James, John, Andrew and countless others.

Matthew 8:18–22 HCSB

When Jesus saw large crowds around Him, He gave the order to go to the other side of the sea. A scribe approached Him and said, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go!” Jesus told him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.” “Lord,” another of His disciples said, “first let me go bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

The Ever Present Light.

The birth of Jesus, the Word becoming flesh, means God’s light is always present.

Blinded by our own sin, choosing to ignore our own failure to ‘see’ God chose to make His light visible in a way we cannot ignore.

One pastor, living at the turn of the 4th century (296AD - 373AD, wrote that

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers 2.4: St. Athanasius: Select Works and Letters (§ 16)

...men’s mind having finally fallen to things of sense, the Word disguised Himself by appearing in a body, that He might, as Man, transfer men to Himself, and centre their senses on Himself, and, men seeing Him thenceforth as Man, persuade them by the works He did that He is not Man only, but also God, and the Word and Wisdom of the true God

God became flesh, taking residence among us that we might ‘see’

a). the glory of God

God’s glory is a bibilcal shorthand for describing the majesty and awesome nature of our God.

We cannot see the full expression of His majesty apart from the life of Jesus Christ.

b). the full revelation of the Father

John writes, “No one has ever seen God.”

Moses glimpsed the back of God. Isaiah saw the hem of God’s robe that filled the heavenly temple. Others wrote of experiences. John though assures us that we who have been born of the will of God (see Jn 1:12-13), are given a supernatural vision of God in the person of Jesus - whom we see described in word and deed in the gospels.

The Light of Christmas

In 1882 Edward Johnson, a partner of Thomas Edison

hand-wired 80 red, white and blue light bulbs and wound them around his Christmas tree. Not only was the tree illuminated with electricity, it also revolved.

https://www.loc.gov/everyday-mysteries/technology/item/who-invented-electric-christmas-lights/

For the first few decades of the 20th century Christmas lights were only possible for the wealthy.

Homes were not wired to handle the electrical load.

It was Christmas Eve, 1923, when President Coolidge threw a switch and lit the first National Christmas Tree - with some 3,000 lights!

From the 20’s till now Christmas lights are seen almost everywhere - homes, yards, businesses, and so on.

It’s hard for me to even visualize Christmas without lights.

How much harder would it be to experience life without light?

We do not have to experience life without life. Because Jesus has come, because the Word is made flesh, because Jesus - even as an infant expresses the full glory of God - we can live in His light.

Darkness surrounds us. Death, defeat, despair seem to be the rule rather than the exception. Wars are being fought all over our world. People are seeking to destroy one another in every way conceivable.

But, as the angels said to shepherds on the night Jesus was born:

Luke 2:10–11 (HCSB)

“Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people:

Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David.

The light of the world is present!

Claim the assurance of which John wrote in

John 1:12–13 HCSB

But to all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.

Darkness may appear to rule, darkness may threaten to overwhelm -

“Then Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows Me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”” (John 8:12, HCSB)