INCARNATUS EST
SERMON PREACHED BY FR. TONY NOBLE ON SUNDAY DECEMBER 27th 2009
John 1: 18 “No one has ever seen God; the only Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known “.
In the days before Christmas I read two interesting newspaper columns by two people who described themselves as non-Christians. The first said he was an atheist, and he was very critical of Christmas traditions and observances. But he was critical not because he was anti-Christian or anti-Church, far from it.
His point was that Christmas was about the birth of Jesus, and could only really be celebrated by those who believed in Jesus. He went on to point out that Christmas can only be understood in the context of John 3: 16: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that all who believe in him might not perish, but gain eternal life”.
He was right – and I could not believe that an atheist would be stating the Christian Gospel in a newspaper, quoting to us John 3: 16. In fact I thought he was a better preacher of the Gospel than many preachers that I’ve heard over the years! So congratulations to an atheist for reminding us of what Christmas is really about.
The second writer seemed to be what we would call a lapsed Christian. Brought us as a Christian, he no longer attended Church and he didn’t believe the Gospel. He criticized all those politically correct people who object to anything slightly Christian about Christmas – such as those people who always say “Happy Holidays”!
His point was that even though he doesn’t believe, he still wants all the Christmas trappings – the cards, the tree, the nativity scene, the gifts, the carols. He doesn’t believe in the Gospel, but he doesn’t want to be denied Christmas.
I agree with both writers – although part of me thinks that the lapsed Christian who doesn’t believe in the Gospel but wants to celebrate Christmas is really a bit of a cheat, and wants the best of everything.
I think that lapsed Christian is very typical of many Americans – they love the story of the baby Jesus, they love to see the nativity scene, they love the animals, the star, the manger, the kings, the shepherds. It is all so lovely – and who would deny that to anyone?
But as the atheist reveals, the Christmas crèche doesn’t convey the truth of what it symbolizes. If you just see the baby in the manger, you don’t understand why he is in the manger.
When the first Christians came to understand who that baby turned out to be – Jesus Christ the only Son of God – they realized that because he was special his birth was very special. They wanted to move on from the lovely story, to its spiritual truth.
That is why the readings today are not about the nativity scene, but about its meaning. St Paul writes quite simply in Galatians 4: “When the time had fully come God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law”.
The first thing we notice is that Saint Paul doesn’t say born of the Virgin Mary, he says born of woman – a generic term to symbolise that Jesus was born like all of us, as a human being. Not only that, but born under the law, the Jewish law, to redeem those under the law.
Saint Paul is declaring that the Son of Mary is also the Son of God, sent forth from God. Firstly God sends forth his Son, and then Saint Paul tells us the purpose – redemption. Now there’s not many people who would look at the Christmas crèche and see redemption. But Saint Paul says that is what it is all about – salvation and eternal life in heaven. This is not a nice story set in the past, a mere historical event – but it is directly related to our existence now 2000 years later.
The reference to being adopted sons might seem a little strange, particularly for those of you who are women – but like the use of the word woman rather than a woman, Saint Paul is talking in generic terms. In particular, when he says adopted sons, he is talking about a relationship between God and us. That God invites us to be in a relationship with him, which is a relationship of sons, as understood in terms of the society of the day. The slave gets nothing, the daughters get nothing, the other sons get nothing, but the first-born son inherits everything from the father. Saint Paul is saying that all of us, men, women, and children, receive an inheritance from God who is our Father. To be adopted as sons means to inherit everything from God, particularly what is of his nature – eternal life.
We inherit it not by birth – our inheritance comes by God sending forth his Son. The Son was sent that we might become sons of God, with all that such inheritance means. Inheritors of eternal life. So Saint Paul in a few lines has given us a deep theological meaning behind the baby in the manger, whom we celebrate today.
However it is left to Saint John in his Gospel to develop this theme.
This opening of Saint John’s Gospel is a wonderful passage of Scripture, and through its poetry and majesty declares the theological meaning of Christmas day. Again no shepherds, no manger, no kings, no angels, no animals, no star…….but these stunning lines:
“In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God…..and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us”.
And then Saint John gives his interpretation of what Saint Paul says in Galatians 4 –
John 1:12 “To all who believe in his name he gave power to become children of God”.
Today we worship the Christ Child, because in that child we see ourselves. We see ourselves as the children of God, because he is the child of God. And we not only see ourselves – we see what we might be, inheritors of eternal life.
This truth is really the best Christmas gift of all because it really is everything we would really ever want – everything that the world would ever want. As we look at the Christ Child and we see ourselves, we see another truth about what Saint John says – for we see that this child has made known God to us.
What better gift could anyone receive?