WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:05.980 during Christmas time in 2012 in the middle of 00:00:05.980 --> 00:00:09.380 Times Square where millions of people Walked 00:00:09.380 --> 00:00:12.460 and shopped and would soon come to watch the 00:00:12.460 --> 00:00:18.780 ball drop to usher in 2013 There was a billboard 00:00:18.780 --> 00:00:24.739 which read keep the Mary dump the myth and Above 00:00:24.739 --> 00:00:27.019 the words keep the Mary was a picture of Santa 00:00:27.019 --> 00:00:32.310 Claus above the words dump the myth, was a picture 00:00:32.310 --> 00:00:36.210 of the crucified Christ. This billboard was put 00:00:36.210 --> 00:00:40.329 up courtesy of a group called American Atheists. 00:00:42.590 --> 00:00:44.590 In something that strikes a little bit closer 00:00:44.590 --> 00:00:50.210 to home, an assistant to a bishop of a major 00:00:50.210 --> 00:00:53.990 Protestant denomination, who was himself an ordained 00:00:53.990 --> 00:00:57.369 minister, was once commenting on the biblical 00:00:57.369 --> 00:01:03.210 accounts of Jesus birth, and in his blog he stated, 00:01:04.650 --> 00:01:09.129 I think that the stories are made up. They are 00:01:09.129 --> 00:01:16.709 myth. We expect atheists to reject Jesus, but 00:01:16.709 --> 00:01:20.049 we shake our heads in amazement as some who call 00:01:20.049 --> 00:01:23.269 themselves Christian pastors not only question 00:01:23.269 --> 00:01:27.109 the virgin birth, but reject the Bible's truth 00:01:27.109 --> 00:01:31.629 outright. However, this sort of rejection of 00:01:31.629 --> 00:01:36.989 Jesus is nothing new. In his own day, Jesus had 00:01:36.989 --> 00:01:39.730 to contend with the Pharisees and the teachers 00:01:39.730 --> 00:01:42.730 of the law, those who should have best known 00:01:42.730 --> 00:01:46.769 the signs of the promised Messiah, calling him 00:01:46.769 --> 00:01:51.409 a heretic and a liar and trying to undermine 00:01:51.409 --> 00:01:55.030 his ministry and his teaching in every possible 00:01:55.030 --> 00:01:59.519 way. Even within the early church there were 00:01:59.519 --> 00:02:03.459 those who did not truly understand who he is 00:02:03.459 --> 00:02:06.959 in the third century of the church for example 00:02:06.959 --> 00:02:09.979 The divinity of Christ was being challenged by 00:02:09.979 --> 00:02:14.060 a heresy called Arianism which wrongly taught 00:02:14.060 --> 00:02:21.319 that there was a time when he was not In other 00:02:21.319 --> 00:02:24.500 words the Aryan said that Christ was merely a 00:02:24.500 --> 00:02:29.289 created being a most excellent created being, 00:02:29.310 --> 00:02:34.870 to be sure, but even though there were some aspects 00:02:34.870 --> 00:02:38.389 of him that were almost godlike, that he was 00:02:38.389 --> 00:02:43.069 not true god. And it was because of this false 00:02:43.069 --> 00:02:46.469 teachings that a number of concerned church fathers 00:02:46.469 --> 00:02:50.449 gathered at a council at Nicaea to address this 00:02:50.449 --> 00:02:55.689 deadly heresy of Arianism. If this teaching continued, 00:02:56.090 --> 00:02:58.590 It would destroy the foundation of the Christian 00:02:58.590 --> 00:03:03.430 Church. And so they put together a beautiful 00:03:03.430 --> 00:03:08.050 confession defining the person of Christ. The 00:03:08.050 --> 00:03:14.650 union of his human and his divine nature. They 00:03:14.650 --> 00:03:17.629 wrote, and we confess it with them in the words 00:03:17.629 --> 00:03:20.610 of the Nicene Creed, that we believe in one Lord 00:03:20.610 --> 00:03:24.110 Jesus Christ, begotten, the only begotten Son 00:03:24.110 --> 00:03:27.360 of God. Begotten of his father before all worlds 00:03:27.360 --> 00:03:32.360 God of God light of light very God of very God 00:03:32.360 --> 00:03:36.500 Begotten not made Being of one substance with 00:03:36.500 --> 00:03:40.919 the father By whom all things were made Who for 00:03:40.919 --> 00:03:43.539 us men and our salvation came down from heaven 00:03:43.539 --> 00:03:46.659 and was made incarnate by the Holy Spirit of 00:03:46.659 --> 00:03:52.300 the Virgin Mary and was made man These modern 00:03:52.300 --> 00:03:55.610 and historical examples of unbelief acknowledge 00:03:55.610 --> 00:03:59.310 the truth of God's Word recorded by the Apostle 00:03:59.310 --> 00:04:02.550 John in our Gospel text for this morning. The 00:04:02.550 --> 00:04:05.889 light shines in the darkness and now you're going 00:04:05.889 --> 00:04:07.229 to hear something a little bit different than 00:04:07.229 --> 00:04:09.389 you heard earlier because I am working from the 00:04:09.389 --> 00:04:13.930 NIV translation. The light shines in the darkness 00:04:13.930 --> 00:04:18.810 but the darkness has not understood it. The text 00:04:18.810 --> 00:04:21.490 in your bulletin said overcome it but the NIV 00:04:21.490 --> 00:04:27.800 states understood it. The life of the world baffles 00:04:27.800 --> 00:04:32.620 the darkness. It baffles atheists. It baffles 00:04:32.620 --> 00:04:37.800 liberal theologians. It baffles non -Christian 00:04:37.800 --> 00:04:42.560 religious leaders. It baffles the outside observer. 00:04:44.459 --> 00:04:49.240 God in the virgin's womb? God born just like 00:04:49.240 --> 00:04:53.959 you and me? God beaten, bloodied, and crucified? 00:04:54.800 --> 00:05:03.259 God dead and buried Words water bread and wine 00:05:03.259 --> 00:05:11.540 we find God in these things Even in our own darkness 00:05:11.540 --> 00:05:15.639 in our weak and sinful human wisdom we struggle 00:05:15.639 --> 00:05:21.100 to grasp it sometimes to understand Jesus the 00:05:21.100 --> 00:05:25.379 Christ the Word made flesh So it is good for 00:05:25.379 --> 00:05:30.959 us to have and to believe such a clear confession 00:05:30.959 --> 00:05:35.339 of faith that the Church Fathers crafted at Nicaea 00:05:35.339 --> 00:05:39.480 under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And in 00:05:39.480 --> 00:05:44.800 a way, it's good that things like this billboard 00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:50.399 and this blog happen each Christmas. It's good 00:05:50.399 --> 00:05:53.439 to be confronted by the atheist's anger and the 00:05:53.439 --> 00:05:57.509 myth mongering. It's good to have to deal with 00:05:57.509 --> 00:06:00.490 the majority of the world who refuse to accept 00:06:00.490 --> 00:06:05.170 the Bible as God's holy and unchanging truth. 00:06:06.230 --> 00:06:10.490 And they try to twist it for their own purposes. 00:06:11.329 --> 00:06:14.949 It's good because it forces you and me to think 00:06:14.949 --> 00:06:20.509 deeply and then to speak boldly about our God. 00:06:21.490 --> 00:06:23.920 And what better time is there to do that than 00:06:23.920 --> 00:06:27.920 during this Christmas season, when the world 00:06:27.920 --> 00:06:31.000 has tried to celebrate something they don't even 00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:33.740 understand and have already put it away in a 00:06:33.740 --> 00:06:39.980 box for another year. What better time than when 00:06:39.980 --> 00:06:44.300 we, as believers, celebrate the miracles of that 00:06:44.300 --> 00:06:47.560 first Christmas morning? And yes, you heard me 00:06:47.560 --> 00:06:52.519 correctly. I did say miracles, plural. There 00:06:52.519 --> 00:06:56.209 are two great miracles proclaimed in today's 00:06:56.209 --> 00:07:00.410 gospel text. One is that the Son of God became 00:07:00.410 --> 00:07:06.870 man. And the other is that because he did, we, 00:07:07.529 --> 00:07:12.089 the son of men, can become the children of God. 00:07:14.670 --> 00:07:17.129 On Christmas Day, we celebrate the day mankind 00:07:17.129 --> 00:07:20.350 first heard about the arrival of the long -awaited 00:07:20.350 --> 00:07:24.540 Messiah on earth. The day God's promise from 00:07:24.540 --> 00:07:28.980 the Garden of Eden was fulfilled the day God 00:07:28.980 --> 00:07:32.759 began his revelation of himself to mankind through 00:07:32.759 --> 00:07:38.579 his beloved son. And every day since then, God 00:07:38.579 --> 00:07:44.540 has been revealing himself to us through his 00:07:44.540 --> 00:07:50.500 word and through his son. Today, God has reminded 00:07:50.500 --> 00:07:53.649 us that he sent light and life into the world 00:07:53.649 --> 00:07:55.990 and it is confirmed in those marvelous words 00:07:55.990 --> 00:08:00.230 from our gospel text the word became flesh and 00:08:00.230 --> 00:08:05.769 made his dwelling among us the word became flesh 00:08:05.769 --> 00:08:10.490 the word who was in the beginning the word who 00:08:10.490 --> 00:08:15.949 was God was with God the word who was and is 00:08:15.949 --> 00:08:22.250 God the word through whom all things were made. 00:08:24.370 --> 00:08:27.209 The Greek word the Saint John used for the word 00:08:27.209 --> 00:08:31.850 is logos. Greek philosophers thought of logos 00:08:31.850 --> 00:08:35.110 as the unifying principle holding the universe 00:08:35.110 --> 00:08:40.389 together and giving it order. John borrowed this 00:08:40.389 --> 00:08:42.909 thought from Greek philosophy and put it to use 00:08:42.909 --> 00:08:47.470 in a new way. He took that term and transformed 00:08:47.470 --> 00:08:51.289 it. He tells us that what holds the universe 00:08:51.289 --> 00:08:57.090 together is not a principle but a person It is 00:08:57.090 --> 00:09:03.250 this one whom he calls the logos the word It 00:09:03.250 --> 00:09:11.490 is this person of the Trinity This distinct Person 00:09:11.490 --> 00:09:15.330 separate from the father yet one with the father 00:09:15.330 --> 00:09:20.919 in the Godhead It is he who created and upholds 00:09:20.919 --> 00:09:27.480 all things It is Christ Jesus our Lord The word 00:09:27.480 --> 00:09:31.419 made flesh is much more than he appears the human 00:09:31.419 --> 00:09:38.220 eye While he is fully man he remains fully God 00:09:38.220 --> 00:09:42.919 The word bears all the attributes of his deity 00:09:42.919 --> 00:09:48.899 wrapped up in the physical nature of a man Jesus 00:09:48.899 --> 00:09:51.960 is all of the things that John described in our 00:09:51.960 --> 00:09:56.460 gospel text today out of necessity For this is 00:09:56.460 --> 00:10:02.639 what you and I need Hebrews 2 tells us Since 00:10:02.639 --> 00:10:05.879 the children have flesh and blood he too shared 00:10:05.879 --> 00:10:08.759 in their humanity so that by his death He might 00:10:08.759 --> 00:10:12.759 destroy him who holds the power of death that 00:10:12.759 --> 00:10:16.970 is the devil and free those who All their lives 00:10:16.970 --> 00:10:20.110 were held in slavery by their fear of death. 00:10:20.710 --> 00:10:23.549 For this reason, he had to be made like his brothers 00:10:23.549 --> 00:10:26.549 in every way in order that he might become a 00:10:26.549 --> 00:10:28.990 merciful and faithful high priest in service 00:10:28.990 --> 00:10:31.950 to God and that he might make atonement for the 00:10:31.950 --> 00:10:35.309 sins of the people because he himself suffered 00:10:35.309 --> 00:10:38.330 when he was tempted. He is able to help help 00:10:38.330 --> 00:10:44.889 those who are being tempted. Only God. could 00:10:44.889 --> 00:10:49.629 rescue us from our plight. Only the one who is 00:10:49.629 --> 00:10:53.909 true God and true man could accomplish our salvation. 00:10:56.210 --> 00:10:59.330 Those who say that it is only myth that God was 00:10:59.330 --> 00:11:02.470 born as a little child and grew up to be our 00:11:02.470 --> 00:11:05.950 savior by hanging on a cross and then rising 00:11:05.950 --> 00:11:11.419 from the dead. Those who shout their skepticism 00:11:11.419 --> 00:11:15.139 at the top of their lungs or plaster their opinion 00:11:15.139 --> 00:11:18.500 of unbelief on billboards for all to see are 00:11:18.500 --> 00:11:26.000 not Right In fact, they are dead wrong They are 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:30.659 dead in their sin Dead in their self -righteousness 00:11:30.659 --> 00:11:35.779 dead in their denial And that is not what God 00:11:35.779 --> 00:11:41.259 wants for any man or woman. God loves all human 00:11:41.259 --> 00:11:44.000 beings and he desires that they should be saved 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:47.179 from that death, that they should hear the truth 00:11:47.179 --> 00:11:49.639 of his word and that they should come to the 00:11:49.639 --> 00:11:53.580 saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as Lord and 00:11:53.580 --> 00:11:58.799 Savior of their lives. And so he calls people 00:11:58.799 --> 00:12:02.379 like you and me to faith through the power of 00:12:02.379 --> 00:12:07.100 his Holy Spirit and his word. And he calls us 00:12:07.399 --> 00:12:13.720 to proclaim his truth, to shine this light into 00:12:13.720 --> 00:12:18.100 the darkness of this world. So it is good that 00:12:18.100 --> 00:12:21.039 we are given this opportunity at Christmas time 00:12:21.039 --> 00:12:23.200 to share with those who have been shrouded in 00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:25.860 darkness that a great light has come into the 00:12:25.860 --> 00:12:30.179 world. It is good. That we have the opportunity 00:12:30.179 --> 00:12:33.240 to bear witness to our wonderful Savior this 00:12:33.240 --> 00:12:37.620 word become flesh who loves them yesterday today 00:12:37.620 --> 00:12:43.259 and always It is good that we have the opportunity 00:12:43.259 --> 00:12:45.860 to tell the world that Christmas is not only 00:12:45.860 --> 00:12:48.600 about the son of God being born as a man It is 00:12:48.600 --> 00:12:52.379 also about the sons of man being born as the 00:12:52.379 --> 00:12:59.200 children of God This passage from John is perfect 00:12:59.200 --> 00:13:01.919 for us to share with others during this Christmas 00:13:01.919 --> 00:13:06.960 season. Nowhere are the most profound mysteries 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:09.639 of the Christian faith expressed more deeply 00:13:09.639 --> 00:13:14.799 and yet more simply than here in this particular 00:13:14.799 --> 00:13:20.200 passage from John 1. For here we find the astonishing 00:13:20.200 --> 00:13:24.399 wonderful truth of what really happened on Christmas 00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:29.860 Day. The eternal God. who created all things 00:13:29.860 --> 00:13:34.240 came in the flesh to be the Savior of all men. 00:13:35.460 --> 00:13:38.899 There is nothing more profound and mysterious 00:13:38.899 --> 00:13:44.860 than this. And yet it is so plainly stated in 00:13:44.860 --> 00:13:49.139 these verses from John. It's kind of like the 00:13:49.139 --> 00:13:52.720 greatest Christmas present in the world wrapped 00:13:52.720 --> 00:13:58.139 in a plain brown wrapper. And so I encourage 00:13:58.139 --> 00:14:01.179 you to memorize these verses and be ready to 00:14:01.179 --> 00:14:04.320 share this gift with those who are still in darkness. 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:09.500 Help them to unwrap and to enjoy this treasure 00:14:09.500 --> 00:14:12.620 of life so that they will know that this miracle 00:14:12.620 --> 00:14:19.200 is for them. That because of the great love and 00:14:19.200 --> 00:14:21.899 the saving work of our Lord Jesus Christ, the 00:14:21.899 --> 00:14:27.250 Word made flesh, they too can become the children 00:14:27.250 --> 00:14:32.429 of God. Amen. Now may the peace of God which 00:14:32.429 --> 00:14:34.850 passes all understanding keep your hearts and 00:14:34.850 --> 00:14:38.370 minds through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord. 00:14:39.190 --> 00:14:39.450 Amen.