Word Become Flesh: A Christmas Day Sermon

​It is good to gather with you this morning!
 
In theory, all Christians agree that the most important thing we do to celebrate Christ’s birth is worship, and worship is what brings us together. I’m grateful for the opportunity to worship with you before my family swings into full Christmas mode when I get home.
 
But in our broader culture, worship seems to matter very little. Ironically, that is especially true at Christmastime.
 
Not so long ago, some Christians complained about a “war on Christmas.” As best I can tell, they were concerned especially about how people greeted each other. Was it important to say, “Merry Christmas”? Or was saying “Merry Christmas” intolerant somehow, and “Happy Holidays” was better?  
 
As you might guess, my own preference is “Merry Christmas.” But how we greet each other in this season was not a big concern for me personally, then or now. I prefer to greet people in a way that they will welcome. If some people find Christmas greetings offensive, I don’t mind saying “Happy Holidays” instead.
 
But I do think there is an undeclared war on Christmas, at least as Christians understand Christmas.
 
For Christians, Christmas is all about Christ’s birth, the coming of God into our world in a new and special way. But for most people in our country, including for many Christians, Christmas has become essentially a secular holiday, with virtually no religious significance whatsoever, at least that I can see. For many, Christmas seems to have little to do with Jesus and a lot to do with consumption, with what we eat and what we buy.
 
A few weeks ago, a friend of mine told me he had recently tried to watch a Christmas movie, but couldn’t do it. He started three, and gave up each time partway through.
 
Apparently all three had more or less the same plot. In each movie, something happened that threatened to prevent Santa from delivering presents on Christmas Eve. People panicked because Christmas wouldn’t happen without Santa. Presumably the day was saved by the end of all three movies, and Santa was able to do his thing, and Christmas was saved after all, although my friend didn’t make it far enough to know for sure.
 
Now, I assume the movies my friend tried to watch were aimed at children. I assume they were light and funny and good-spirited.
 
I’ve enjoyed plenty of Christmas movies like that. We showed a movie like that here at Saint David’s, and it was sweet. In our Christmas movie, the main character started out cynical and selfish. Another character was so wounded by grief that he had cut himself off from virtually all human contact. A third was bitter and alienated. By the end of the movie, all three had discovered love and the joy of giving.
 
It’s a good message as far as it goes. But from a Christian standpoint, it is also a radically incomplete message.
 
That incompleteness is what bothered my friend about the Christmas movies he tried. He was distressed by the almost entire absence of Christ in movies that were supposed to be about Christmas. He was distressed by the profoundly unchristian assumptions that Christmas is defined by Santa Claus, and that gifts are what make this season joyful.
 
Unfortunately, that is the message about the meaning of Christmas promoted by much of our culture.
 
For the record, I am not a total Scrooge about Christmas, and neither is my friend. Mostly I enjoy all the Christmas festivity. I am glad to be here this morning for worship, but I anticipate a wonderful day with my family, too, doing lots of secular Christmasy things.  
 
I just think it is vitally important for Christians to be clear. At its heart, Christmas is NOT about Santa Claus, and not about presents, not even for children.
 
Christmas is about Jesus, about the Christ child, about Immanuel, who is God with us. If Christians are not totally clear about the central importance of Christ to Christmas, we certainly can’t expect our larger culture to understand that.
 
And to make that point about Christ’s centrality, I’ve come to prefer our reading for this morning even to the wonderful Christmas story in Luke’s Gospel, which we heard last night.
 
Luke’s version is familiar, and nostalgic, and child-friendly. Those are good things. But John reminds us who we are talking about here—not just a cute baby, but God incarnate.
 
Here are some of the things John tells us about Christ. We have heard them many times before, but I’ll say them slowly so that they can sink in.
 
Christ is the Word, who was with God and who was God.
 
Christ is the one through whom all things came into being.
 
Christ is life and light, light which shines in the darkness and can never be overcome.
 
Before getting to the Christmas story, John tells us all that about Christ to make sure we know just whose birth we are celebrating.
 
Only after saying all that does John get to his version of the Christmas story, and even then the Christmas story comes in just a single verse. “The Word became flesh”—that is, was born of the Virgin Mary—“and lived among us.”
 
For John, the important thing to know about Jesus is not that he was born in a manger, attended by shepherds. John omits that. It’s not that angels heralded Christ’s birth. John doesn’t mention them either. It’s not even that Christ’s parents were Mary and Joseph, who are not named by John. I’m sure John knew all that. But what John wants to tell us is that in Jesus God became incarnate.
 
That is the Christmas story that matters. Christmas is all about God taking flesh and living among us.
 
It can be challenging for us as Christians to keep focused on Christ and also participate in Christmas as we have come to celebrate it in our country.
 
I’m pretty sure Santa came to my house last night. But Santa is NOT necessary for Christmas, as Christians understand it. Christians celebrated Christmas for centuries before anyone came up with the idea of a fat elf who delivers presents to children around the world.
 
In my house, we are going to exchange gifts later today. But for Christians, gifts are not what makes Christmas merry.
 
Thankfully John tells us what makes Christmas merry.
 
Christmas joy comes from the fact that Christ gives power to his followers, to us, to become children of God. And, John continues, in Christ, in the Word made flesh, we can see the Father’s glory and grace and truth.
 
And so we gather this morning, with true Christmas joy, to hear the Word of God, and to sing songs of praise, and to share the sacrament of Christ’s body and blood. We gather with true Christmas joy to glimpse God’s glory and grace and truth. We gather with true Christmas joy to greet God incarnate, to celebrate Christ’s presence with us today and always, and to be reminded about the true meaning of Christmas.
 
After our service ends, I hope that we can all enjoy the rest of this day and this season in whatever way we celebrate it. But in the midst of whatever we do to celebrate Christmas, let’s not lose sight of the true reason for the season, Christ made flesh and living among us.
 
Merry Christmas! In Christ’s name. Amen.