Christmas 1
The Rev. Nigel Taber-Hamilton, Rector
Isaiah 61:10-62:3; Psalm 147: 13-21; Galatians 3:23-25, 4:4-7; John 1:1-18.
Every year - every year! - the first Sunday after Christmas has the same readings. That doesn't happen very often. At Easter, for instance, we move between Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Pentecost is an example of a day when things are the same each year. And Thursday and Friday of this last week - Christmas Eve and Christmas day (or, more properly, The Feast of the Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ), Christmas Eve and Christmas Day is another example.
But both of those days are The Days - of Christmas and of Pentecost. Today is "just" the 1st Sunday after....what's going on?!!
Well, the answer is given away by the passage chosen for the gospel - it's always John's gospel: and always the opening sentences: Chapter 1 verses 1-18. We hear verses 1-14. So obviously the unique thing is the added verses - 15-18:
"From [Jesus'] fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known."
On Christmas day we celebrate a specific event, that happened in a specific place, at a specific time. We all know that story: Census, journey to Bethlehem, no room, the stable, birth, use of a feeding trough as a crib, shepherds from the fields, celebration (did I miss anything?!!).
Today we're asked to move beyond the specific moment and event described by Luke and Matthew, the "what-ness' as in "what happened."
That's why we get John's gospel, because is about both the "why" and the 'what now?"
And the way John communicates the answer is quite different from the other gospels. John is not only all about symbol and metaphor, that's the only way he communicates - everything always points to something else. He does that in part because he is so obviously intent on expressing the spiritual implications of the words and deeds of Jesus and the events that happened around and to him, and metaphor and symbol are the most appropriate vehicles to do so..
Back to that additional passage. We have, says John, received multiple blessings, "grace upon grace." And we have received something else, too: "truth". John wants us to know about The Truth (capital T T) that is Jesus who is from God, and is God. So all through his gospel he uses that word: even Pilate wonders about it (remember? "What is truth?"?)
The season of Epiphany, which follows immediately, is the time to try and answer that question. For the moment, however, the invitation of this day is to realize that there is a "more", that this birth we now celebrate has profound implications for all of our lives.
And, I wholeheartedly believe, the invitation of this day - falling between Christmas and Epiphany - is to relax and celebrate without thought for the morrow and what will follow, for the morrow - as Jesus reminds us - will take care of itself. So these are enough words for this day! Amen.
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