The Nativity of Our Lord

Richard Davenport December 25, 2022 - Christmas Day John 1:1-14 I've never been much for carpentry. I can do some basic home repair kind of stuff, but actually building something and making it look good? Not so much. The last time I really did anything like that was back in shop class in high school many years ago. I know, more or less, what all of the various tools a carpenter might use are and what they're for, but I don't have any practical experience with them. I've picked up some things from friends of mine back in Michigan who build homes and do home repair stuff. But, really what I've learned from them is how much effort it takes to do a really good job. There's been a couple of times I've called them up and talked to them about something or shown them some photos to get their opinions of things. For the most part, they all do rough carpentry, building big things that don't need the same kinds of tools you might need when you're building something smaller, like a table. As you learn more about something, you start to appreciate more and more what it takes to truly excel at the chosen occupation, whether that's carpentry, baking, writing, music, sports, or just about anything else you could name. Those who do well at their given trade end up being celebrities, especially to those who also enjoy that sort of thing. If you watch the Great British Bake Off, the contestants all know the judges, Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith, because they're masters at the art of baking and are well known in the world of baking for what they do. As with anything created by a true master, you know every detail will be impeccable. The years of knowledge and experience that go into the craft are such that even something as simple and basic as a loaf of white bread or a dining room table can be seen for the masterworks they are. Every so often you hear a story about someone who discovers that they have a work of art from one of the great masters, a lost manuscript from a famous author, or a unknown piece from one of the great classical composers. Maybe you had the art up on your wall and enjoyed it but never realized its significance until someone points it out to you. In those situations, all you can do is reflect on the master's work and the skill that went into creating it. But, imagine if the situation worked a little differently. What if the master was creating something just for you? Maybe Rembrandt or Monet is painting something just for you. Maybe Mozart composes a concerto for your anniversary. Maybe Paul Hollywood bakes you the birthday cake to end all birthday cakes. I can imagine Rembrandt standing there in front of his blank canvas, planning out the whole picture in his mind before he ever even picks up the brush. This is a special gift that he's making just for you and he's going to pour all of his years of experience and expertise into the work to make it just perfect. Mozart is sitting there at his grand piano, working late into the night furiously marking the notes on the sheets, erasing them, and making new ones to make sure it all perfectly captures the joy of your celebration. Paul Hollywood stands there in his kitchen, surrounded by ingredients of only the finest quality. He pondering the number of layers and what will be in them. A layer of red velvet and buttercream? Orange with chocolate ganache? Will the decoration be colorful icing or will we have spun sugar as well? What about some macarons or profiteroles on the side? A master in his element, with all of the tools of the trade at his disposal can accomplish things the rest of us can hardly conceive of. A master can add details others wouldn't even think of or believe were possible. Where someone like me could take those tools and just make a mess of things, a master can use those same elements to craft something that is a delight to the eyes, ears, and taste buds. It's one thing to be a collector of art or something like that and buy one of these kinds of things to have and enjoy. It's a whole different matter to have one made especially for you. John's Gospel doesn't really begin the same way the other Gospels do. Matthew and Luke both give us at least a little bit of information about the events leading up to his birth. They tell us how all of those historical events came together and how Jesus was born right in the midst of all of it. They then give us a little more about what happened just after that. John's Gospel doesn't really work like that, not really. Sure, John tells us the savior became flesh, but that's about all he says about the event. Don't get me wrong. It isn't because John thinks Jesus' birth is unimportant. Quite the opposite. John makes clear God became a man, a human like you and me. John just isn't as concerned about all of the other details we get from Matthew and Luke, Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem, the angel speaking to Mary, the angel speaking to Joseph, the angels that appeared to the shepherds, so on and so forth. Instead, John goes further back. He goes back to the beginning. How did all of this get started? As John tells it, the story starts with the Father looking at his blank canvas. He's going to make something special. The master artist plans out all of creation and then he cracks his knuckles and gets to work. Instead of using a brush to paint, a pencil to scribble musical notes, or spices and seasonings to craft his masterwork, he uses words. As John tells us, it isn't so much words, as an author might use words. It is a word, Word with a capital W. The Father speaks and the language he uses is the tool he uses to create and that tool is his own Son. Father and Son together crafting the universe and all that is in it. The Spirit also plays a role, as he is the one to breathe life into the most important part of the work, the humans that will tend and care for it. Though Adam, Eve, and all of us who are descended from them were created, we are also the ones who receive the gift of the master's work. Every flower, every tree, every cool breeze, every warm ray of sunshine, every sensation of the sandy beach under your bare toes or the raindrops on your face, every cup of cocoa on a cold day or bowl of ice cream on a hot day, all of it crafted specifically for you. And, if that weren't enough, the body you use to enjoy all of those things was also made just for you. The intricacies of the human body are such that even the smartest doctors and medical researchers are still baffled as to how different parts operate. And make no mistake, the human body is a master work all on its own. Such precision and detail that go into making our bodies work is astounding. That's one of the things the disease HIV showed us. HIV targets one very specific cell in our immune system and knocks it out. Yet, with that cell gone, the whole system fails. It all works or none of it works. The master doesn't do things in half measures, leaving things partly finished. He creates an intricate system that is at the same time incredibly complex and yet operates just like it was designed. Whatever gift we're talking about, artwork, musical composition, birthday cake, the gift itself would be amazing all on its own, but getting to sit and talk to the master would give it all even more significance. To hear a skilled artist, musician, or chef explain some of the nuances of a piece is often very enlightening. Looking at the use of light and color, how certain things stand out and you eyes move from here to there and what it all might mean. How a harmony interweaves through the music, how certain chords are used in these places to add emphasis. How certain flavors work together differently based on what you're trying to bake, how you would want a French meringue instead of an Italian meringue which would compliment the textures in your dessert much better. For all that an outside expert can tell us about something, to have the master himself explain it would given the gift a significance that couldn't be found anywhere else. An outside expert can only guess at why an artist chose to emphasize this or that. Why a composer used this key or called for a crescendo in this place. Why a baker chose a genoise sponge for his cake versus a Victoria sponge. But the master knows. The master crafted all of the details very carefully, very intentionally, and very specifically for you and he would love to talk you through it and help you see it too. There are hidden details that only come to light when the master himself explains them. There is significance in there that only becomes apparent when the master talks you through the creation process and why he did things this way to create the precise end result he wanted. For as much as the master enjoyed creating his gift for you, seeing the wonder and delight as your eyes, ears, and taste buds fully absorb his creation and understand its full significance is what brings him delight as well. Reading through John's Gospel again we hear, "The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him." The master, the creator himself created the world and everything in it. He created your body and gave it life. He crafted it all in exquisite detail and made it all a big gift to you. Then he prepares to tell us all about it. He waits to tell us how all of it fits together, how it is all designed to bring delight to the senses, all of it there to support us and care for us, all of it a way of showing his love for us. We're happy to have the gifts. Our bodies are wonderful. The world is wonderful. There are a lot of great things out there. But the master, the creator? His opinion doesn't matter too much. We already have the gift. We consider ourselves experts in the subject matter. We don't need him to explain it all to us. We don't want to waste the time listening to him talk us all through it when we can figure it out on our own. When you consider how much better a gift like that would be when you can fully understand it, how much more you'd appreciate it when the master explains it to you directly, and then to have John convict us by reminding us that's exactly what we do, it hurts. You come to realize exactly how much you're throwing away, how much will never be understood because we're always having to guess at why this or that, instead of truly knowing. We don't take the time we should to know the creator who would go to effort to craft such a loving gift. It's no surprise the world breaks down, that we break down. We think we've got it all figured out. We have the masterpiece in our hands and we think we know everything there is to know about it. After all, we're the experts. Why do we need the master to explain it to us? Why do we need the master at all, now that we have his creation? So much of the wonder, so much of the joy and delight is never discovered because we don't know where to look, we don't know how to look. Sitting together with the master and letting him explain what he did and how he did it, letting him share the story of how he planned it all out and wove it together to make it just so, letting him point out all of the tiny details and how they all fit together in a way no lesser person would have ever thought possible, and how he did all of this for you, and yet have little desire to get to know him and hear what he has to say. Christian life is often one dictated by the gift and not the giver. We think about the forgiveness we've received, the eternal life that awaits us, and we are grateful for these things. But, now that we have them, we make little effort in looking further, wanting to look deeper. We think we've already got everything there is, but the master has so much more to show you. The season of Advent had been all about preparation. We are waiting for the savior of the world. We are waiting for his birth because that means the victory over sin and death is now very near. The Creator is stepping into his creation. The master is entering the masterpiece and becoming a part of it. We gather around the manger to receive and stand in awe of this great gift. But, the savior isn't just the gift, he is also the master. He has come to us to share the wonders of his creation. He comes to walk beside us and reveal his work to us more fully, so that he can also share in our delight and our joy at what he created. He wants to share it with you. He has come here to share it with you. He has come to hand deliver salvation to you and to show you how he has worked all things in creation to bring about that salvation. He wants to show you the details he has crafted into his creation, how they speak to glory of their creator but also how they are there for us, to bring delight to his people. The meticulous nature of the sciences and how all of the individual parts function together to make this creation work the way it does. The ability of the arts to take different parts of creation to fashion new works of beauty and majesty. All of this made for you and all of it only truly understood with the master's help. Without our Creator to explain it to us, we would never know the work of our savior Jesus and what he did on our behalf. Without our Creator, we would never know that the creation isn't working the way its intended because we aren't using it properly. We would never know that we were intended for eternal life, and not for the sin- and sorrow-filled existence we think is normal. Without the Creator, we would never understand the purpose of all of this that he has created, why any of these things exist at all. But the Creator made them for you. He invites you to come and learn from him, to spend time with him, to let him reveal all of this to you because he delights in bringing you joy. Welcome the Christ child, not just because he is a gift, but also because he is the master, the Creator himself who has come to seek you out in order that he may share his creation with you.