Sermon - 2015-01-04

We often speak of Jesus being God’s Word made flesh, but how often do we stop and actually realize it?  Are we actually still thinking and bearing witness to it in our daily life?  Do we stop and see the trees, the sun, the people, and all the other life that is taking place around us as a constant reminder that God is indeed with us, loving us, and caring for us?  Like the four seasons, we know that they happen, and we even expect them to happen, and we can often even miss the very things that are taking place right in front of us.  

The very beginning of the Gospel John opens with echoes of Genesis. We are drawn all the way back to the very beginning of life and all existence.  To a time before sin was among us at the very beginning God brought us into existence, and will use the same means through Jesus when we shall be restored. Here, John seems to be helping us realize the very gift  we have received of life.  We shall receive the gift of God’s Grace through God’s own Son.  This gift will be as real as the flesh that we have on our bones.  It will be as real as the life we are able to enjoy here and now.  

Does this mean that just as my life shall end, the grace and mercy of God shall also come to an end?  No, for we are brought into the history, the work that God was doing in the life of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ.  We bear witness to the life that Jesus lives and we see the death that Jesus faces.  However, death is not the end, for Jesus was resurrected from that death and brought into glory of the Father in Heaven.  So even that death that we fear does not separate us from love that God has for Jesus and for us.  

Does this mean that God has a plan for me, a script that I do not know about?  NO, God does not control your life as though you were some puppet or a piece on a game board.  You have been given the ability to have free will.  For you to decide your own outcome of how you live your life.  However, with having that gift, you shall experience the hardship and consequences not only of your own choices, but also you will feel the impact of other’s choices around you.  

Truly, the work and Gospel of John is to draw you into the fact and realize that Jesus Christ and the promise that comes through him is real.  It means that Jesus Christ is God’s Word having life.  God’s Word becoming real and present within each of our very lives.  We did not ask for it. We do not even realize it.  However, it is given directly to us.  Then we no longer have to wonder or fear whether are we saved. Rather we are being called forward to care for those who are in need and share the love, grace, and mercy that is found in Jesus Christ.