Second Sunday of Christmas
Jeremiah 31:7-14
Psalm 147:12-20
Ephesians 1:3-14
John 1:1-18
Dear fellow ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
grace and peace to you
from the one from whom we have received grace upon grace. Amen
The Lectionary on this Second Sunday of Christmas,
when it occurs
always falls after the change of the calendar year,
And so starts us off with a reminder of God’s grace,
particularly as revealed to us by Jesus
the Word made flesh who came among us
revealing the glory of God.
This is what we celebrate at Christmas,
but how quickly our attentions turn to the next thing,
which for us is the new year
and with it the secular messages of “new year, new you!”
aided of course by any number of services
that point out how you could be a better version of yourself
and offer to help you achieve the new you,
for a small fee of course.
And even if we don’t observe the change of the calendar
as motivation for self-improvement
there is always the lingering optimism
that comes with new beginnings
even arbitrary ones like a new calendar year,
that maybe this year will be different,
less hatred and violence,
more peace on earth,
and it’s always a bit of a blow to be disabused of this optimism
- that seemed to come particularly quickly this year
with attacks in New Orleans and Los Vegas-
and may leave us wondering,
what’s the point of even trying.
At which point our scripture breaks in,
and takes us back to the very beginning.
the beginning of the gospel of John
mirrors the beginning of Genesis,
and places Christ, the Word
at the very beginning
when God spoke order into the chaos,
and promised that the chaos of the world
will never overwhelm the goodness of God.
The chaos tries very hard though
including trying to get between God and God’s good creation,
as John puts it “He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. “
which is a concise history
of the relationship between people and God
- God creates and tries to connect
and the people break the connection.
And here’s the main point-
God doesn’t give up trying,
even going as far as becoming flesh,
becoming human and living among us-
not because we deserve it but because of the grace of God-
and through Christ, the Word made flesh,
God has given us as John puts it, “the power to become children of God.”
Paul, writing to the Ephesians
also takes them back to the beginning
and puts it another way: “he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved”
This is who we are,
children of God,
and we are this not because we’ve lost those last five pounds,
or cleaned the garage,
or said our prayers every morning,
Or even braved ice and snow
so that we could say we never cancel church,
we are children of God because of the grace of God,
given to us as a gift, through Christ,
the gift of Christ.
Christ, who is God’s way to deal with the chaos of the world
“With all wisdom and insight [God] has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”
As we remember from Advent,
God’s time is not our time,
and while we might wish God would hurry up,
the promise is that God has our past, present, and futures in hand
and God’s intention and promise
is lived out in Christ,
who even now comes among us,
in water, Word, bread and wine.
Who seals us with the Holy Spirit at our baptisms,
who feeds us with himself at the table,
abundantly forgiving us and drawing us closer even as we are drawn away.
This is who we are,
beloved children of God,
and if this is the case, (which it is),
it might leave us wondering,
well what are we to do?
Again from Paul: In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory.”
This is our purpose,
to live for the praise of God’s glory.
And how do we do that?
We follow Christ
who lived for the praise of God’s glory
by feeding the hungry,
healing the sick, befriending the outcast,
who lived out the grace of God
in all his relationships and interactions,
and most of all
we fall back on the grace of God
that reminds us
that even if we fail miserably at that
we are still loved,
still worthy of relationship with God
and sometimes living to the praise of God’s glory
is as simple as trusting God
and offering grace
Starting with ourselves
in the midst of a chaotic world
So happy new year,
Remember,
you are a beloved child of God. Amen
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