And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
-------
I was going to tell you something but I forgot what it was.
I was going to tell you something, but I was afraid you would be offended.
I was going to tell you something, but I didn’t have time.
I was going to tell you something, but I could not find the words.
-------
It is characteristic of your fallen flesh that you forget what you were going to say; that you fear the feelings and opinions that might result from your speech; that you are subject to spans of time that never seem to be enough to get things done, whether it is Christmas shopping, saying “thank you,” or even saying “goodbye;” that even when the thought is there, the words just cannot be found to express them.
Thoughts and words come and go. They appear and disappear as randomly and quickly as waves of water that land on the beach, crash on the rocks and fade into oblivion. Though they may be remembered after they are spoken, they cannot be retrieved and put in their proper place.
Where do thoughts come from anyway? Do words come from thoughts, or do thoughts come from words? Which comes first?
The Word become Flesh does not ask these questions. Not so for Him Who was in the beginning, by Whom all things were made, Who was in the beginning with God. Not so for Him Through Whom all things came into being, apart from Whom nothing came into being that has come into being.
-------
"I was going to tell you something but I forgot what it was."
Your Father in heaven does not forget, but He remembers and He speaks in mercy, for it is written:
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,
And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of David His servant—
As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old—
Salvation FROM OUR ENEMIES, And FROM THE HAND OF ALL WHO HATE US;
To show mercy toward our fathers, And to remember His holy covenant,
The oath which He swore to Abraham our father,
To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
All of this is fulfilled in the Word mad Flesh, the Christ. Whose birth, begotten from eternity, we celebrate this day.
Your Father in heaven does not want this gift for you to go unnoticed. So he sent His prophets from ages past. He sent His holy angels to the Shepherds, just doing their jobs.
He sent John the Baptist to point the finger in the wilderness and cry out: “Behold! The Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world.” He sent his Holy Evangelist, St. John, to write down so plainly yet so profoundly that which has sounded into your ears yet again this morn: how He who has no genealogy to speak of took upon Himself your genealogy of sin and death in exchange for His life.
He has it all written down and promised even from before the moment Adam and Eve traded their glory for a life of sorrow, labor, fear, and anxiety.
He sends His Pastors, so that the same Word may sound out into your ears; so that the same repentance and faith, life and salvation, be joined to you to raise you up at the Last Day.
-------
"I was going to tell you something, but I was afraid you would be offended."
Your Father in heaven is not afraid of offending by way of his words, for every word of His is aimed at saving poor sinners. He does not withhold the full, straight, sharp shock of His Law, which declares unequivocally; without regard to wealth, age, social status, or dreams – For there is no partiality with God, Who will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.
“You shall have no other gods before Me,” He says. That includes the Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle, because eternal damnation is not just a matter of shooting your eye out, kid; because The guillotine, Hanging, The chair, The rack, and The Chinese water torture are mere child's play compared to what surely awaits those who cherish this world without consideration for the world to come.
He says: “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell."
He says: “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple."
He says: “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
And He says: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.”
Your Father in heaven, through the Word become flesh, lays these things out plainly for you. He exposes your false allegiances. He lays bare your iniquity. He does not mince words in declaring Who He is and what He does, both in regard to the Law as given through Moses; and the grace and truth realized through Jesus Christ.
-------
"I was going to tell you something, but I didn’t have time."
Your Father in heaven does not run out of time when it comes to dealing with you in love. This is He Who was in the beginning; whose grace extends from before the first Christmas until the last Christmas is celebrated as the old creation passes away and the new creation assumes the fullness intended for it from the beginning.
What has been in the heart of God from the very beginning now sees its fullest expression in this Babe in a manger, so humble and weak and small; the very face of God now shown before they eyes of men, so that they might behold His glory. Glory sent not to put on a display of might and power, but to be crucified, dead, and buried, and risen from the dead after making atonement for the sin of the world.
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
As God the Father Almighty enters into time through the flesh of His Son, He has taken time to deal with all of creation, so that your time, your days, and all that you are is sanctified, made holy in this Christ Jesus.
While you may feel as if you run from one short time span to the next, with barely the time to think back on an entire life of rising and setting suns, Your Father in heaven has worked out your salvation and set before you a path of righteousness for His Names’ sake, in which you are made to walk by faith; not by sight.
-------
"I was going to tell you something, but I could not find the words."
Your Father in heaven has not only found the words to deal with you in love, but as THE WORD, He became bone of your bone and flesh of your flesh to share in your weakness and take you to Himself. All the words necessary to make Himself known, and to tell you His good and gracious will for you and for all people, He has proclaimed by His Holy Spirit, testifying, as does St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist, of this One who is given as a light to the world.
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
After all the preparation and anticipation; after all the shopping and wrapping of gifts; after all the crazy, premature celebration sputtered forth for weeks by a world that does not receive patience, and know nothing of Advent let alone repentance, it all comes down to this: The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
This is True God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also True Man, born of the Virgin Mary, delivered into your lap, placed before your eyes, sounded into your ears, and yes - even given into your body which will be raised again; with tender loving care for you to receive and rejoice over.
Many gifts throughout the ages have been purchased, prepared, and delivered between one person and the next, but this gift was most carefully prepared and delivered to you. This gift is one life in exchange for yours. O how marvelous it is that your are now His, and that He has given you all things in His Son, and placed you into His kingdom to serve gladly despite all that meets your eyes and ears otherwise.
-------
"I am going to tell you something," says your Father in heaven, "and I know exactly what it is: I have come down from heaven to bear your sin and iniquity. In this Christ Jesus you have the forgiveness of sins and everlasting life."
"I am going to tell you something," says your Father in heaven, "even if it is difficult for you to bear: Behold my Law, from which you cannot save yourself. Behold My Son, Whose righteousness, and true body and blood are given for you."
"I am going to tell you something," says your Father in heaven, "because I have more than time for you. I have eternity for you."
"I am going to tell you something," says your Father in heaven, "and I have no difficulty in finding the words. In my Son, I Am the Word made flesh, Who came to save you from your sins. His righteousness is your righteousness. His obedience is your obedience. His conception is yours. His birth is yours. His cross is yours. His resurrection is yours. All of these are yours, and in Him you have all things, even life everlasting."
No comments:
Post a Comment