December 27, 2009
Introduction Rejoice in his coming! That’s what the Christmas message is all about. The Lord Jesus has come to fulfill God’s eternal salvation plan. That’s why Christmas was celebrated all around the world. “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.”
But as December 25th came and went in 2009, people throughout the world still live and die without the opportunity to hear about and know Christ. There are many (and a growing number) of those who actively use whatever power they have to suppress the message. In our own country, people “shopped ‘til they dropped,” decorated like crazy, got drunk at office “holiday” parties, celebrate “Season’s Greetings,” and they completely ignored the call to faith in the One who is “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” As we close out 2009 and open up 2010, there are those who have or will be deeply touched by the saving grace of Christ and there have or will be those who just can’t or won’t open their lives to the Lord Jesus. John writes it in the prologue to the gospel. “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.” The world didn’t even notice. It says, “He came to his own people, but they didn’t want him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave the power to become children of God; to be their true selves, to be their child-of-God selves.” I. Rejecting the Light of Life John chapter 1 brings us to a point of decision. There are those who ignore or reject and they are those who receive. Picking up a few gift cards at Barnes and Noble, I came across one of those pseudo-religious books on the bargain shelf. A History of God by Karen Armstrong (once a New York Times Bestseller), it suggests that the whole idea of God is dysfunctional. She writes, “In the beginning human beings created a God who was the First Cause of all things and Ruler of heaven and earth… to explain the mystery and tragedy of life.” Throughout the book, she considers the three major monotheistic religions in the world (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) in a thorough, documented, academic way. Then somewhere in 400 pages her conclusion is this: “Maybe God really is an idea of the past.” T.S. Eliot offered a poetic analysis of where we are, still in our times. “It seems that something has happened that/ has never happened before:/ though we know not when,/ or why, or how, or where./ Men have left God/ not for other gods, they say,/ but for no gods;/ and this has never happened before/ that men both deny gods and worship gods,/ professing first,/ Reason, and then Money, and Power,/ and what they call Life, or Race, or Dialect./ The Church disowned,/ the tower overthrown,/ the bells upturned,/ and what have we to do/ But stand with empty hands and palms turned upwards/ In an age which advances progressively backwards?” We live in a time when negative influences or experiences dissuade people from faith in God or trust in Jesus Christ. There are upsetting disappointments, harsh confrontations, or painful rejections. Doubt and despair can plague anyone who lives in this world. Yet, the Christmas message is one of God’s continuing invitation to discover the Lord of love, reconciliation and peace. Mary’s song proclaimed how God “fills the hearts of the hungry… and draws near to those who fear” (remember Luke 1). God had you and me in mind when he sent Jesus into the world. The Lord’s desire is to recover, restore, redeem us in Christ. The heartbeat of John, this gospel writer, moves in the same direction. His conviction, his experience of the One who loved him and claimed him as his own, says that those who receive Jesus, those who believe in his name (Jesus, Yeshua, the One who saves) become something we could never have become on our own. It says that we are given the power, the authority the right to become children of God. II. Accepting the Light of Life “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.” As the prologue to this gospel unfolds, before all the teachings, miracles, and life of Christ are written, John is already setting up Jesus as the unique, one-of-a-kind, once-in-eternity expression of God’s truth. I dare say that all of human history, all of Israel’s experience, all of the church’s life, and all of your existence (and mine) are summed up in the coming of Christ. It’s here in John’s gospel that we find Jesus saying, “I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me” (that’s John 14:6). At the end of his book, John expresses his purpose in writing: “These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name” (20:31). Jesus said, “I am the truth.” Remember how the Roman official Pilate skeptically or mockingly asked Jesus, “And what is truth?” Anything extremely valuable will be counterfeited. Precious gems have been prized around the world for thousands of years. But as the technology for making them has advanced, fakes are now harder to detect with the naked eye. Gem buyers and sellers today need to be aware of the counterfeits, even as much as they look so good. 1) Synthetic gems are lab-grown stones that closely duplicate a natural gem’s physical and chemical properties; but they’re not the real thing. 2) Simulated gems are made to simulate the color of a natural gem but are different physically and chemically. Cubic zirconium is a well-known diamond simulation. It’s not the real thing. And 3) enhanced gems are natural gems altered in some way to improve their look. Color can be enhanced through heat, radiation, oils of chemicals. Experts advise buyers to verify a stone’s value with gem-testing labs before sales are final. When paying big bucks for jewels, you want to know that what you’re buying is the genuine article. So it is with religious truth and the Christian faith. There are many counterfeits in the world. There are many religious movements in world and American history that claim to be Christian but fail measure up to the Biblical witness. I could list several and go through many of their teachings that are not true to the gospel. And as your pastor, I’m available for conversations about these things. John, however, was an eyewitness to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. He provides (along with Matthew, Mark, Luke, Peter, Paul and others) a careful expression of the unique truth claims of Jesus. Authentic faith is Biblical faith. Clearly, people and groups can believe whatever they want to, but those who read and hear the Bible’s account are confronted with a choice. Is Jesus the only-begotten Son of God or not? Is Jesus the only hope for salvation, for life today and into eternity? Or are there many other ways? Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” He never said, “Look – there’s the light of the world; go and follow.” Jesus said, “Follow me.” Conclusion The Christmas season is unlike any other. The message of Jesus is out there to see and hear. Yes, it has been diluted with reindeer, Santa, elves, and all the attending consumerism that drives our pagan culture. But the truth claims of Jesus are readily available to all. And what one ignores, rejects or receives and believes will make the difference for life now and when this brief life on earth is done. The question that the Bible asks in all of its telling is this: “Will you receive Jesus? Will you accept and believe the truth of the gospel?” Life-giving light is what the Lord God desires for you and me in Christ. Let us pray together. |
